Overclocking E2160, Not Much Idea What Im Doing

[westy159]

I want to overclock this CPU I just got, but I dont have much idea on what im doing.
I was recommended this guide a while back for when the time comes but it doesnt help much on what to do exactly once you've reached the BIOS.

I came to the part where you change the frequency then set it at 245 for 2.2Ghz (9x multiplier)
Then what am i supposed to do?

I just tried saving and exiting. The PC shut off. I started it again and was greeted by a couple of beeps indicating a CMOS error. I changed the frequencies back to default.

What should I have done? Why was there a CMOS error?

Mobo: Gigabyte P35 DS3L

Thanks.

[Vaanish]

Maybe needs more voltage? If so, thats an extremely poor-clocking chip.

[westy159]

After playing with the BIOS im not completely in the blue now. But things arent quite right.

Firstly, how do i stop the CPU switching to 6x multiplier when idle? Just for now at least i want to keep it on 9x to see how the CPU handles that.

At the moment im doing a 245 clock (from 200) totalling 2.2Ghz (if the multiplier were on 9 that is) 1 core is 47C and the other is 50C.

I seem to be getting these beeps at the start that indicate a BIOS problem, the PC goes ahead and runs normally anyway.

Again, how do i keep the multiplier at 9x?

Thanks.

[westy159]

I tried playing Crysis with the frequency at 245, 2.2Ghz overall. It was going great for a while, then as things in game got a little intense it froze.

I think it was overheating from the CPU. Thats quite pathetic really.

So is it because I have the L2 version of the E2160? Is it older and not overclock well? Or must I have place the CPU heatsink incorrectly (i dont see how I could have gotten that wrong)?

Annoying this is.

[Vaanish]

Originally Posted by westy159

Firstly, how do i stop the CPU switching to 6x multiplier when idle? Just for now at least i want to keep it on 9x to see how the CPU handles that.

At the moment im doing a 245 clock (from 200) totalling 2.2Ghz (if the multiplier were on 9 that is) 1 core is 47C and the other is 50C.

I seem to be getting these beeps at the start that indicate a BIOS problem, the PC goes ahead and runs normally anyway.

Again, how do i keep the multiplier at 9x?

Thanks.

To keep it at 9, switch off EIST in the BIOS.

Those temps are quite horrible for such a modest overclock.

Those beeps may be the normal POST codes to show everything is fine.

[veedubfreak]

If you are getting freezes or crashes while gaming, you probably need to put a little more voltage into the cpu.

[Merkwürdigeliebe]

My E2160 reached 334 x 9 at 1.5V on the DS3L (3.0GHz). You gotta disable EIST in the Advanced Options in BIOS.

Also, upon accessing the BIOS, press Cntrl-F1 to change your RAM timings and get the extra voltage options. What type of RAM do you have?

I've hit 400x9 with 1.6V (3.6GHz) on the cpu, but that was a suicide run, unbelievably unstable. Played Crysis demo for a bit before it crashed on me, plus it became incredibly hot. 3.0GHz is very achievable on this processor. Overclocks amazingly, an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro with this thing and I'm sure you can hit 3.4 - 3.5GHz.

The DS3L is an awesome mobo by the way.

[westy159]

I pretty sure I disabled EIST but according to Cpu-z its on 6x right now.

I increased voltage. Requency's at 245 and temps are hovering around 50C

RAM is 2GB Corsair XMS2 800Mhz. In BIOS/CMOS the timings were at 5-5-5-18 although the RAM came is supposed to be 4-4-4-12 and according to cpu-z its 5-7-7-23

The ratio thing is 1:2 so RAM is clocked at 490 right now.
>__>

[Merkwürdigeliebe]

If your multiplier is decreasing like that, then you still have some of those advanced options on.

Have you upped your RAM voltage? Default on the DS3L is 1.8V, if you're running that RAM at 490 (it's running at 980MHz right now) it's gonna need a lot more juice. Don't go past 2.2V, start with +0.2V and see how that goes. As for the timings, it's meant to be 4-4-4-12 with a frequency of 400MHz, you have it set to 490MHz, that's 980MHz effective. Overclocking RAM is a balancing act between the frequency and the timings. The higher the frequency, the looser your timings become (numbers are larger, but remember smaller digit timings are better 4-4-4-12 > 5-5-5-15, for example) The lower your frequency is, the tighter your timings can become.

I forget what options are available in the BIOS because I sold my system, but if you post some pictures (camera?) and have them uploaded onto imageshack.us, I can tell you exactly what settings you need. If you can get some pics of the Advanced options and the "S.M.A.R.T blah blah blah" section, that'd be great)

[westy159]

Cheers peeps, heres some phone camera pics, ive just set settings to default for now.

The 'Motherboard Intelligent Tweaker' as they call it.


Bottom half


Advanced BIOS features - EIST is disabled but CPU is on 6x...