Overclocking potential? Plus other queries...

[Dogpitt]

I am comfortably running the system in my signature, but I would like to know where to go next in terms of further overclocking.
I managed to achieve 3.0GHz on the CPU with 333MHZ x 9 under stock voltage. I then tried going a little higher, but the system freezes at windows. I even tried upping the voltage from the stock 1.3/1.325V up to 1.4V, but to no avail.
*The zalman heatsink tends to keep the temp at around 30-36 idle - slightly more under load*

I don't have much idea when it comes to Overcloking the ram; any pointers?
*Firstly let me point out that I overclocked the CPU independantly (unlinked)*
My RAM states "2.1v" on side, but the auto BIOS setting is 1.85v.
The default latency is 5-5-5-15, although it it is sold as "4-4-4-14." So, I OC'd it to these settings and at first I got a corrupt file message. Raised voltage to 2.0/2.1v and everything went smoothly. Other than that the settings are unchanged...


Other questions:

1. Only 3328mb of my RAM is showing in XP. I'm aware of the apparent reason for this, although is there a way around it?
2. Furthermore, not sure what setting to apply to Windows for virtual memory, so let system manage it - good idea?
3. Currently LDT frequency is x5 by default; I can't find what this means - any ideas?
4. Any other suggestions as performance tweaks?

[gvblake22]

First off, the BIOS defaults of 1.85V and 5-5-5-15 timings for your RAM is totally normal. That is the default SPD settings so it is guaranteed to boot up in any system. You should be able to change the settings to 4-4-4 and 2.1V to get it running at its rated speed. Test the changes with Memtest86+ and make everything is playing nice though. Sometimes the motherboard has a voltage droop on the memory and setting it to 2.1V in the BIOS might only yield 2.0V or less causing possible instability. If you set the voltage, save and restart, then go back into the BIOS and check under PC Health Status it will usually show you the voltage reading on the memory. Compare the value shown in the BIOS PC Health Status with the value you set and see if the board undervolts, overvolts, or (if you are lucky) is spot on with voltage.

Originally Posted by Dogpitt

Other questions:

1. Only 3328mb of my RAM is showing in XP. I'm aware of the apparent reason for this, although is there a way around it?
2. Furthermore, not sure what setting to apply to Windows for virtual memory, so let system manage it - good idea?
3. Currently LDT frequency is x5 by default; I can't find what this means - any ideas?
4. Any other suggestions as performance tweaks?

1. I'm pretty sure that is because Windows measures one Gigabyte as 1,000MB instead of 1,024MB. But if you're running the 32-bit version of windows, it will not be able to recognize 4GB of memory, only 64-bit operating system can...
2. With so much RAM, Windows probably won't use much virtual memory (pagefile) anyway. You can read this for some extra information...
3. It seems you are running an Intel processor, so I'm not sure where you are finding an LDT multiplier because that is usually a setting unique to AMD Athlon64 based processors...
4. Since you've got a great processor overclock, try getting a little overclock going on your memory. Not sure how well your motherboard will play with four DIMM's, but it's worth a shot.

[Dogpitt]

Thanks for the info blake.

ANother thing I wanted to ask: what does the CPU VTT voltage mean?
When people turn up the voltage for their processor, do they leave this one alone and simply crank up the CPU Core's juice?