I had a similar setup back a few weeks ago and just tried it again:

3DMark froze on it.
I then tried this:

This put 3DMark just over 17000:

Well apparently that was an anomaly as Windows crashed shortly after and I had to back it way down to get 3DMark to run again. Freezes at the CPU test. I suspect heat as at the higher specs I was getting 50C idle.

O well enough for one day.

Maybe I will try the Freezone.



...

50C at idle.. would be around 63C under full load. Which in all honesty shouldn't make it freeze or crash.
You have benchmarks on the net with the same board, more voltage, higher temps (67C full load) and they still run fine at 3700 clock rates.

I'm thinking its either drastic NB heat or the voltage needs to be raised.

What CPU volts did you set in the BIOS?

Be sure to try many different combinations and in small increments. They differ believe me. Most systems may not POST at say for instance 385FSB but then will run perfect at 389FSB with the same volts


Good going!

Well this appears to be the happy spot:



Here I can run Super Pi and Prime 95 and 3DMark without issue. 3DMark at this spec is @ 16310.

Any thing above this FSB starts crashing the above trio of tools. However I have no problem running Windows or games or any of the 3DMark Demos or their game. It is only the CPU test that fails.

The only Windows BSOD's were at 1400FSB.

I have the voltage set to auto. I tried manually to go to 1.5V but it really spikes the heat and the above three test fail. As seen in CPU_Z the auto setting in happy mode is 1.28 V. At 1.5V running Super Pi Core Temp was running between 61C-->69C and actually ran for nearly 15 minutes before failing. However Prime 95 failed right away.

It was running at 1.4V (auto) and 1390FSB when I got that 17000 3DMark but I cannot get close to that today.

So I suppose we're at lowering the FSB and playing with the multiplier or trying Freezone or just leaving all as is. As is there is no issue or problem. It is at this point a simple pre-occupation with numbers.

Thanks again and as always for your time and sharing!

Here is current spec which is SLI RAM enabled @ CPUOCMAX x11



The curiosity here is Prime 95 runs without error for hours on end. Core Temp holds all cores in the 50'sC. Just an occasional 61/62C max.

Yet the CPU test of 3DMark continues to freeze. No other issues with games or 3DMark graphics.

----------------------------------
Also now using the Affinity function in the Task Manager to limit the cores on older software is having a noticeable effect on performance with certain programs. However this has no improvement with 3DMark. I also notice the Event Viewer full of errors from 3DMark which I see from Googling are a result of running on a 64bit system but others claim this should not affect performance.

---------------------------------

Tonight at the same spec after running Half Life 2 for a few hours I ran 3DMark which passed and posted a 16300 score.


/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\......

The above still holds as a stable spec. I have been running from zombies for so long I haven't had time to experiment further.



...

Nice.

Check your GPU and Northbridge temperatures if its freezing as such. Prime95 roasts the CPU wayyyyy more than 3DMark, which shows its something other helping it freeze up

You're very welcome anytime! Always a pleasure.. I learn too

Howdy Jephree!

Any updates on how all is going?


Oh, just recalled, did you manage to get any power readings?

Good to see you Kazna3!

I have not changed from the last spec which is stable and runs the games I have just fine. 3DMark06 also runs consistently @ 16000+

I have not gotten a wattage meter yet. I did just use this link posted by Digerati and got a read that I should have 1225 Watt PSU!

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

But the machine is running fine and is fun to play on. I am just enjoying it as is for the moment.

Hope all is well with you!

Hey jephree!

Any new BIOS releases that make a difference yet?
Have you updated to ForeceWare 158.18, 158.22 or 158.42 BETA drivers for the G80?

The BETA is stable and it'll get officially released later this week as it's better than any previous ones.

Drivers enhance the performance alot!! Upto 200% at max.
BTW post #39, that fella in there is k|ngp|n aka Vince. An Overclocker, usually known for overclocking well nVidia products, like the 8800 Ultra.


Oh and which games do you mostly play if you don't mind me asking, and at what res?

Also what performance do you get in those games, since IIRC you have Vista right?


Vista has so many issues, bugs and malfunctions, especially in SLI mode and on Vista x64. I had to change setups so much, from Vista to XP. Like in SLI, AA doesn't work, many resolution modes were not available and putting 4xAA cranks it up to actually 16xAA by default, hence frame rates become mega low!

Hey K3

The games were/are the Half Life series from Valve/Steam

Half Life 2 and HL2 Episode 1 plus some mods are what I've been playing. Episode 2 is supposed to be out in the fall and am looking forward to it. I have in that package Counter Strike and all those Source war games but they are mostly multi-player and I am a single player myself.

If you are referring to screen resolution mine is 1920 x 1200 and that is what HL2 plays at. HL2 is also the only game that I've played that distinctly points out that it is running in 64 bit mode.

I do not have Vista. I have on that machine XP 64 bit.

I have not followed up yet on any BIOS or drivers updates.

I have started building a new cottage for a neighbor and have been hand digging trenches and mixing/pouring concrete by hand as the site is not accessible via vehicle.

Hence at the end of the day... ...won't go there.

Zombies and Headcrabs.