Overclocking E2160 Settings

[WEW]

Hi - I finally decided to OC my E2160 to 3ghz.

These are the settings I have in the Motherboard Bios - need to get input if these are safe.

External Clock : 333 Mhz
Multiplier: 9
DRAM Speed: 1:1.00
PCI Express: 100 Mhz

CPU Core Voltage: 1.485
DDR2 Voltage: 2.00
CPU U77 Voltage: 1.2
ICH 1.50 Voltage: 1.50
MCH 1.25 Voltgage: 1.25
CPU GTLRE: 63%


The hardware I have is:

E2160
Abit IP35-E Motherboard
Antec 430 Earthwatts
Nvidia 7900GS
500gb Seagate
1.5 TB Seagate
4GB Crucial DDR2 667 Ram

I ran Prime95 for an hour, and it seemed to pass the blended test fine with no workers stopped. My Idle CPU speed is between 36, System is 36C, GPU is 65C.

This is based on SpeedFan 4.39.

My concern was raising the CPU Core Voltage to 1.485, but that is the only setting that would allow me to be stable without crashing or rebooting. I tried all CPU Core Voltage under it and it would crash.

I was able to get 2.8ghz at CPU Core Voltage 1.38 stable.

The setting in the Bios for the Fan are enabled and Auto to what Abit has defaults.

Any input if I should make any other setting changes or my settings now at a stable system are fine?

Thanks

 

[Spikesoldier]

3.0 is all i got out of my e2160 on ip35-e but it did it since day 1 and has done it since. only needed 1.375v on the core though. it today runs a e6420 @ 3.0 also.

is your 4gb 4x1gb or 2x2gb?

1.485v is a little high, you may want to try to nudge that vcore down step by step until you are unstable, then raise it two steps.

 

[WEW]

The ram is 2X2GB.

I tried lower CPU Core Voltage but it won't stick with 9 X 333.

I guess I might just lower it to the 2.80ghz that I tried at the lower CPU Core Voltage.

 

[nyker96]

i also has a e2160 that does about 3.1 or so. looks like your settings are fine. i don't mess with mch ich voltages personally. yours might just max out at below 3, btw you just need about 1.4v or so, 1.5 might be too high.

 

[WEW]

Could you guys post your settings?

For 3ghz for some reason im needing 1.485 to be stable with the following settings:

External Clock : 333 Mhz
Multiplier: 9

I might try the 2.8ghz tomorrow back at stock voltage and them climb up.

What do you guys run to test the OC? Prime or Orthos, and usually for how long? I dont want to run it overnight, i think its excess, but generally how long do you let it run.

Thanks

 

[vj8usa]

I guess you got unlucky with your chip; most of the E2xxxs don't need that much vcore to hit 3GHz. I'm fully stable at 333x9 with 1.3525v, which droops to something like 1.32v. I need way more voltage to go past 3GHz, though. The highest I've managed to get stable is 375x9, but that needed around 1.5v. The 1.485 vcore you need to get your chip stable at 3GHz might actually be good for more than that. Try bumping up your FSB to see how high you can get at 1.485. Also, upgrade your BIOS if you haven't already. My vdroop became a bit better after I did that.

I ran 375x9 for a while, but I dropped back to 333x9 after I beat GTA4 since I wanted to reduce power consumption and nothing I'm playing at the moment really needs anything more than 3GHz. I wasn't completely Orthos stable at the settings I used for 375x9 (crashed after a few hours), but it was good enough for GTA4 so I stuck with it. My 333x9 settings are completely stable though (Orthos/Prime stable for days on end).

Oh, and I spent quite a while changing other settings, but that ultimately didn't help at all. All I had to do was keep adding more vcore. I ended up locking everything else at stock/auto (though your RAM might need a tad extra juice to run at more than what it's rated for).

How are your load temps with 1.485v? The stock cooler was sufficient for me for 333x9 at 1.35, but just barely. For 375x9 at 1.5+v, I start going above 60C even with my CCF.

edit: I found some of the old settings I tried. I managed to boot up at 3.5GHz, but that was at a ridiculous 1.55v. 375x9 used 1.51v in BIOS.

 

[WEW]

When I have the voltage at 1.485, anything over 333 FSB causes reboot.

My limit is 3ghz at 9 X 333 with 1.485 vcore. The CPU idle temperature is 40C.

I placed it at 2.8ghz at 1.365 (i think that is the right number) and the CPU idle temperature is at 36C.

Yeah I think I have a bad chip in the sense it doesnt provide me any more range. I might just stick with it at 2.8ghz since mostly what im doing is media related, not much if any gaming.

I'm hesitant to update the BIOS since I think Abit is no longer there for motherboards, even though im out of warranty, i just dont think is much if any support left for this board.

 

[vj8usa]

Originally posted by: WEW
When I have the voltage at 1.485, anything over 333 FSB causes reboot.

My limit is 3ghz at 9 X 333 with 1.485 vcore. The CPU idle temperature is 40C.

I placed it at 2.8ghz at 1.365 (i think that is the right number) and the CPU idle temperature is at 36C.

Yeah I think I have a bad chip in the sense it doesnt provide me any more range. I might just stick with it at 2.8ghz since mostly what im doing is media related, not much if any gaming.

I'm hesitant to update the BIOS since I think Abit is no longer there for motherboards, even though im out of warranty, i just dont think is much if any support left for this board.

What voltage is the chip actually getting when you set the BIOS to 1.485? I had strange vdroop issues until I ugdated my BIOS, where the actual vcore would start decreasing when I increased the BIOS voltage past a certain amount. Check your voltage under load with something like CPU-Z or Everest to see how much you're drooping.

From my own thread from a few months ago:

Originally posted by: vj8usa
When I increase vcore past 1.47/1.49 or so in BIOS, it actually decreases in CPU-Z. For instance, 1.49 droops to around 1.46 in CPU-Z, while 1.55 was drooping all the way to 1.43.

BIOS 18 completely fixed that for me.
There's no real harm in updating your BIOS as long as you're sure you won't lose power or your connection to the storage device you're flashing from.

 

[WEW]

Actually CPU-Z would show the voltage lower than what i had in in the BIOS plus it would fluctuate, which I guess is what you referring to dropping. When I set it 1.485, it would be at like 1.41 in CPU-Z.

I'll try updating the BIOS using the USB today.

Thanks

 

[VirtualLarry]

Make sure that you reset back to CMOS defaults before you flash. Don't flash overclocked. But flashing to newest BIOS (18) is a good idea, it reduced the vdroop on IP35-E with my friend's E5200.

 

[WEW]

In order to reset back to CMOS defaults, just go in the BIOS and set the settings back to default -- or just go in the BIOS and reset all defaults would be a better idea?

Thanks

 

[WEW]

I updated the Bios - the CPU-Z vcore still fluctuates.

Not sure which setting to use the low vcore or go higher back to 1.485

I guess my chip isnt that good compared to others.

 

[WEW]

Alright the only time I can have a stable 3.0ghz system with E2160 on my Abit IP35-E board is when I increase the voltage to 1.485. I get full load during prime small FF tested temperate of 66-67C using stock cooler. At Idle I'm seeing 33C for the CPU.

I think that will do - since i think these 65nm cores can take 1.5v safely from what i read on Intel.

Next step is to install Windows 7 and upgrade from XP

 

[soccerballtux]

Wow that's a lot of voltage... That's what I needed for 3.4Ghz on my e2180....bummer.

Make sure your ram actually needs 2.0v.

 

[Soulkeeper]

that cpu is an allendale like two e4300's I own
both my chips topped out at about 3GHz regardless of voltage or motherboard (including the ip35-e)
your settings in the original post look fine, I wouldn't bother pushing the vcore higher than 1.5 unless you want to shorten the lifespan of the chip
imo that's about the best it'll get

 

[WEW]

Thanks for the input, I put the DDR Voltage from 1.8 to 2.0 based on a post recommendation elsewhere, but now when I go back to 1.8v, it won't let me boot and makes beeping sounds.

Thus am leaving the settings I had in my original post.

 

[soccerballtux]

You know my IP35-E was always finnicky whenever I wanted to change anything. Try hard resetting the BIOS and setting voltage to 1.8 from there. That's usually what I had to do.
Or if your ram is rated for 2.0v don't worry about it.

 

[ExcaliburMM]

E2140 on DFI LP DK P35 T2RS, 3.2GHz @ 1.38vcore, sorry to hear yours needs more vcore for 3.0Ghz mate. :C To be fair, mine topped out at 3.2GHz, but I run it at 3.122GHz because its a bit more stable, rather than 1 crash a month I get no crash at all. No amount of vcore or tweaks got it any higher either.

Oh well, temps are always below 70C on load and I'm below 1.4v on a 65nm. I should really start appreciating this little ah heck.

 

[nOOky]

My 2160 has been running at 3.2 since I got it, I don't remember the settings but I'll look tomorrow as I just saw this thread. I have the same mobo, but your chip may not be a good one or your cpu cooler might not be up to the task.