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trouble shooting my OC attempt

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  • trouble shooting my OC attempt

    First off, my system:

    AMD XP 2200+ (1.8 ghz)
    Epox MB (can't remember the exact model and I'm at work right now)
    1GB RAM (1x512, 2x256)
    WD 40GB hard drive
    Toshiba dvd rom
    Memorex dvd-+rw DL (brand spankin new)
    power supply is 400w
    gforce 4 mx 440 (or 420... can't remember... it's the AGP one) (edit: my radeon 9800 pro is being fixed... RMA'd it)
    and a PCI 10/100 NIC. (dunno the brand, it's hand-me-down)
    also have a couple case fans w/airflow going from lower front intake to rear exhaust right below the psu fan. case temps are pretty solid around 28-29 all the time.

    at first the system was fine with the FSB @ 133 (normal) and the multiplier up from 13.5 to 15, pushing the cpu to a 2400+ (2.0 ghz).
    then i brought the multi back down so i could play with the FSB settings. upping the fsb crashed the system. i've pretty much come to the conclusion that my RAM is making the system too unstable... the 512 is PC3200, one 256 is PC2700, and the other PC2100. They are all running at 133. however, i didn't try upping the voltages either. the system runs very stable with the current settings, just not as fast as i know it's capable of.

    My question is this, am i better off
    1)running the system as is
    2)taking the 2x256 sticks out and pressing on with the 512.
    3)continue on as before and adjust the voltage.

    thoughts? let me know what you think i should do folks, as i'm still very new to OC'ing in general.

    BTW, i am planning on buying some new RAM anyway, but can't now ($$ already spent on the burner this month) so that's not a current solution, but could be in the near future.
    Last edited by JoeHeff; 01-10-2005, 02:20 PM. Reason: vid card

  • #2
    Re: trouble shooting my OC attempt

    Odds are good that if the motherboard is reasonably current, it may very well support dual channel memory. To find out, figure out the model and see if it is running the nForce2, nForce2 Ultra or nForce2 400 chipset. If so then you can get a bit more performance (and better overclockability in general) by using two sticks of the same size and speed memory. If you do have the nForce variety motherboard, keep the 512MB and use it for the time being and then get another 512MB stick (same brand and speed are usually best) to take full advantage of the added performance.

    If you're running some other chipset (VIA "KT" series), you will be hit and miss as far as overclocking goes depending on exactly which one you have in your mainboard.

    btw... if you're using a good quality memory, you will have no problems running it at 2.7v full time.
    Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill
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    • #3
      Re: trouble shooting my OC attempt

      thanks for the reply d.

      here's my mobo
      http://www.epox.com/USA/product.asp?id=EP-8RDA

      it's an epox EP-8RDA, which has the nforce2 chipset.

      so you think that i should go with the single 512 (ditch the 2x256?) i have until i can get another and then go dual channel?

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      • #4
        Re: trouble shooting my OC attempt

        Would you recommend this? Mushkin DDR400? I don't know what brand my ram is, (When I built my computer, i got it from a friend that ordered 4 sticks instead of 2 on accident and could he could only use 3 so i got the leftover) so i'm wondering if i should buy this dual channel so i know for sure that i have 2 identical sticks. do you think this is worth paying for?

        or

        would i be fine with on stick of corsair DDR400 and running it dual channel with what i've got (which is PC3200 512 for sure)?

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