EP35-DS3R Won't Hold 400 FSB

[Toadeater]

I am having the infamous "OC lost after cold boot" problem with my board. During resets it will hold, but if I power off it will disable CPU clock control and revert to stock speed. It only does this at an FSB of ~375 or higher, no matter what voltages or RAM timings I use.

When I can get it to boot at 400x9.5, it is 100% stable in Windows. I can run Prime95, Orthos, and ATITool simultaneously while multitasking and I get zero errors, and low temps. I get no crashes in Crysis, CoD4, GRAW2, STALKER, and other intensive 3D games. If that isn't stable, what is?

This is after it finally boots:

CPU-Z Validator 2.1

I have done everything including cleared the CMOS, removed all USB devices, flashed to the latest BIOS I could find (which wouldn't let me change vCore afterwards, so I flashed back), disabled/enabled CIE and EIST, disabled/enabled legacy USB support, keyboard, mouse, etc., etc. Nothing has made a difference. It just won't maintain the OC past 375FSB if I power off. What is the difference between powering off and resets to this board?

If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

E7200 Core 2 Duo - reaches 3.8GHz @ 1.296v
EP35-DS3R - tried BIOS F2 and F3e
2x1GB G.Skill F2-6400CL5D RAM
MSI 8800 GT
550W Rosewill RP550v2-S-SL PSU

These are the settings I tried:

Robust Graphics Booster___________ [tried all three]
CPU Clock Ratio ____________ [8.5-9.5]
CPU Host Frequency (MHz)__________ [266-400]
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz)_______ [100-102]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD)____ [2.00-2.50]
DRAM Timing Selectable_______ SPD __ [Manual & Auto]
Performance Enhance = [Standard]

CAS Latency Time________________ 5
Dram RAS# to CAS# Delay_________ 5
Dram RAS# Precharge Delay_______5
Precharge Delay (tRAS)__________ 13-15
ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)_________ 3-4
Rank Write to READ Delay________ 3-11
Write to Precharge Delay_________ 4-5
Refresh to ACT Delay______________ 3
Read to Precharge Delay__________ 4-5
Static tRead Value_______________ 12
Static tRead Phase Adjust________ Auto

System Voltage Control____ [Manual and Auto]
DDR2 OverVoltage Control__ [+0-0.2V]
PCI-E OverVoltage Control_ [+0-0.1V]
FSB OverVoltage Control___ [+0.0-0.2V]
(G)MCH OverVoltage Control [+0-0.2V]
CPU Voltage Control_______ [1.1-1.375V]

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP35-DS3R Won't Hold 400 FSB

here is the issue
Refresh to ACT Delay______________ 3

Use 38-42 then you can lower later, to possibly 32 or so, but 3 is NO WAY going to work

If you did not make a error in posting that, that is the issue for sure

[Toadeater]

Re: EP35-DS3R Won't Hold 400 FSB

That was the wrong reading from Everest, sorry. That was the tRRD. tRFC is 48 right now for 9.5x364. If I use 400 FSB with Auto timings, it goes up to 52. The SPD says it should be 51 at 400 FSB.

Anything else I can check?

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP35-DS3R Won't Hold 400 FSB

Well I would also suggest you not use 400 exactly, try using 405 or so

Aside from that, everything you have tried looks proper. Do you have and use the 8pin PSU CPU power plug? Just wondering, some boards have it and some do not, it will have a black cover over the other 4 pins right next to the normal 4pin spot

[Toadeater]

Re: EP35-DS3R Won't Hold 400 FSB

The motherboard has a 4-pin connector.

I did try 401 and 399 FSB. I guess 405 is worth a shot.

Is it possible that this could be caused by using all 5 of the motherboard fan headers? It seems like it has to be a cold boot voltage issue of some kind, because I've tried all the BIOS settings I could find and none of them made a difference for more than one cold boot. It's like if the BIOS waited a few milliseconds more before doing the checksums it would be stable. I guess there's no way to force it to do that?

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP35-DS3R Won't Hold 400 FSB

You could try unpluggin some of those fans and see, but I doubt that would cause any issues. But ya never know

[Toadeater]

Re: EP35-DS3R Won't Hold 400 FSB

OK, I tried 405x9.5. It works if I reset after default or 364x9.5, but not after a cold boot. Basically the same as 400x9.5. Could it be the BIOS is becoming corrupted? I guess not, not if 364x9.5 works every time?

Another thing is, I tried the RAM at 5:6 with the same settings, and it still booted and had no errors in Windows, so it seems to be related to the FSB. Something over 364 FSB triggers it, because 365 intermittently fails to boot, and anything higher boots only after resets.

405x9.5

Ok, thanks for your help, I guess I'll have to keep looking. Maybe I'll contact Gigabyte, but I get the feeling they'll just give me the run around.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP35-DS3R Won't Hold 400 FSB

It could be a BIOS issue, I would reflash to see. Be sure to load and save/apply optimized defaults after the reflash, then reboot and come in and make your changes after saving optimized and rebooting

[Toadeater]

Re: EP35-DS3R Won't Hold 400 FSB

It could be a BIOS issue, I would reflash to see. Be sure to load and save/apply optimized defaults after the reflash, then reboot and come in and make your changes after saving optimized and rebooting

I had already flashed to F3e and back to F2, loading optimized defaults each time, so I find this unlikely. I may try it later again anyway, or just wait until F4 is officially released.

For the record, today I tried setting performance enhance to Extreme at 364 FSB to see the effect on the RAM and try to further narrow down the cause of the cold boot error. The result is Performance Level 7 vs. 12 and tRAS 14 vs. 15, and the board is still 100% stable. Results like this make me think it has to be a bug in the BIOS.

[DarkHelmet]

Re: EP35-DS3R Won't Hold 400 FSB

I am having similar issues. i note you are only using the f2/3 bios version. Looking at the table for supported cpu's it says F4 should be used for the e7200. That is what firmware I am using.

I to can not get the settings to stick. But i am very new to this. This is my first build where I have messed with the bios to over clock..

Have you made any progress?

--

[Toadeater]

Re: EP35-DS3R Won't Hold 400 FSB

I am having similar issues. i note you are only using the f2/3 bios version. Looking at the table for supported cpu's it says F4 should be used for the e7200. That is what firmware I am using.

I to can not get the settings to stick. But i am very new to this. This is my first build where I have messed with the bios to over clock..

Have you made any progress?

--

Where did you find an F4 BIOS for the EP35-DS3R? The latest I've seen is an F3n beta released for the DPC latency bug.

For your settings, can you get them to stick at all, or is it only after cold boots that they're reset? Having them reset is normal if an OC fails, the problem with my board is that my OC fails only during cold boots and over 364 FSB. If your board doesn't maintain any OC at all then it means either you should clear the CMOS and start over, or you're not using the right settings.

Start another thread and list your settings so we can help you.

[DarkHelmet]

Re: EP35-DS3R Won't Hold 400 FSB

Sorry my bad. I was thinking your board was GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L.

[Toadeater]

Re: EP35-DS3R Won't Hold 400 FSB

Update: I noticed that if I Load Optimized Defaults, then load any saved setting (F12) the board will boot ok.

[Toadeater]

Re: EP35-DS3R Won't Hold 400 FSB

OK, after another week of tests (waiting overnight to see if the OC sticks the next day), I think I've pinned the problem down to CPU voltages. The board needs more voltage to cold boot and for S3 than it does while running or after resets. It is 100% stable in Windows at 1.2v, it boots sometimes at 1.268v, but to get it to cold boot reliably I had to set it to 1.312v. I've told Gigabyte about this, but so far they've only said they don't guarantee overclocks. Their BIOS engineers need to know about this.

I've found this problem even cropped up in a X48T-DQ6 review:

"We have found the board can run a CAS latency of 6 or 7 between 1600-1800MHz. However, the BIOS can be prone to resetting itself between reboots. ... We fully expect these FSB limits to improve with newer BIOS releases."

AnandTech: The Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 - Redefining the High End?

Right now my board is booting at 389x9.5, PCIe 102MHz, extreme performance, tRD 7, +.1v MCH, FSB. I'm going to try for 400 FSB again tomorrow.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP35-DS3R Won't Hold 400 FSB

You will have much better luck with Extreme Performance OFF