Is my 3DMark2001 score a bit low?

[quarryman]

Well I successfully managed to overclock the Shuttle. I underclocked the RAM to 266MHz and then upped the FSB from 200MHz to 250MHz.

Results:
P4 2.6 @ 3.25GHz

OCZ 3200 RAM @ 160 (i think, which means 320 DDR)

9600Pro @ 500MHz clock and 600Mhz memory.


I updated all the drivers and installed Speedfan. I went to run 3Dmark2001 again but it told me i needed Dierctx 8.1?! I thought it would run on a dx9.0 system?

Anyways I'm pretty happy despite a slight scare when i threw the FSB up to 258. It didn't boot and there was nothing on the monitor. Not nice. A quick scan of the mobo manual showed the jumper for resetting the bios and a minute or two later she was back to life.

Now i'm off to get my hands on 3Dmark2003.

A quick question about temps and speedfan. I ran Neverwinter nights for a while and let speedfan run in the backround. The chip temps got above 62C quite easily. I guess this isn't too bad but if I'm playing for extended periods this can't be good? Speedfan kicks in above this and the fans whir away.

Its actually quite annoying as the temps get up very quick and speedfan is switching the fan on and off at regular intervals to keep it down. I think i might pick a new 80mm fan unless anyone can suggest anything else?

TIA

[Austin]

So you set the RAM ratio from 1:1 (200mhz FSB and 200mhz RAM excluding DDR/QDR) to 3:2 (250mhz FSB and 166mhz RAM). If possible set it to use 5:4 (250mhz FSB and 200mhz RAM) as that will allow your RAM to run as DDR400-PC3200 while allowing you to use 250x4=1000FSB ... yummy!

3Dmark2001 needs the latest build (and or patch) to overcome the problem you seem to have. Older versions of 3Dmark2001 simply looked for DX8/8.1 instead of DX8.0 or higher as it should have. You may need to simply reinstall 3Dmark2001 as it can be quirky even with the latest build/patches.

So long as you're stable don't worry too much about reported temps which are only a rough guide anyway. If the inbuilt monitor keeps continuously adjusting the fan you should find a setting in the BIOS or even Windows which allows you to override it either setting it always on a higher speed or reacting to a different temp. Otherwise you may have to increase airflow/ventilation or simply clock your PC lower.

[quarryman]

If possible set it to use 5:4 (250mhz FSB and 200mhz RAM) as that will allow your RAM to run as DDR400-PC3200 while allowing you to use 250x4=1000FSB ... yummy!

ok i may be slightly confused with what i set it to. In the Bios it allowed me to set the RAM to 266MHz (down from 400). After i overclocked i checked CPUID it showed it running at 160MHz which i figure corresponds to 320? So I am still running within the RAM 400 bounds. Does that mean i should be seting the RAM to 333MHz (i think that's the next option). So that when i run 250 FSB it should be........207 or thereabouts? 414DDR?

Am i right in understanding that the lock up after 250 is due to the chip since the RAM is only running at 320?

So long as you're stable don't worry too much about reported temps which are only a rough guide anyway. If the inbuilt monitor keeps continuously adjusting the fan you should find a setting in the BIOS or even Windows which allows you to override it either setting it always on a higher speed or reacting to a different temp. Otherwise you may have to increase airflow/ventilation or simply clock your PC lower.

I should point out that these temps are when the system is not overclocked. 63+ seems a bit high.

[Austin]

63'C certainly seems a bit high, where are you reading that from? The BIOS is most accurate with Windows apps specific to your mobo being a close second. 3rd party 'Jack of all trades' type apps tend to misreport temps and as said even in the BIOS they are a rough indication only in the first place. The most important thing is stability, if you can get an o/c from 800FSB to 1000FSB you are certainly not running too hot when stock!

Some BIOS have different ways of setting async operation of RAM (to FSB). Most common are 1:1, 4:3 and 5:4. At a std FSB of 200mhz (4x200=1000FSB) that translates to RAM speeds of 1:1 / 200mhz (2x=DDR400-PC3200) ... 4:3 / 150mhz (2x=DDR300-PC2400) ... 5:4 / 160mhz (2x=DDR320-PC2600). At an o/c'ed FSB of 250mhz (4x250=1000FSB) they translate to 1:1 / 250mhz (2x=DDR500-PC4000) ... 4:3 / 188mhz (2x=DDR375-PC3000) ... 5:4 / 200mhz (2x=DDR400-PC3200). Those were common ratios for 533FSB mobos, maybe 800FSB mobos do it differently ...

Okay what you shoud find easiest is if you look at the options you have when stock and calculate the increase relative to the o/c'ed FSB. For example 200mhz FSB (800FSB effective) may allow you to select for the RAM: 200mhz DDR400-PC3200 (1:1), 166mhz DDR333-PC2700 (6:5) or 133mhz DDR266-PC2100 (3:2). Since you're adding 25% to the FSB by going from 200/800 to 250/1000 you could just multiply the RAM mhz or PC number by 1.25. That would mean at 250mhz FSB your RAM when set to PC3200 would be PC4000 (200mhz DDR400), PC2700 would be PC3375 (208mhz DDR416) and PC2100 would be PC2700 (166mhz DDR333). So to get the most out of your PC3200 RAM at 250/1000FSB you would want to set it to 6:5, '333mhz' or 'PC2700' (the speeds that ratio derives at stock 200/800FSB) although you will be slightly o/c'ing it (slower timings or more voltage may be required). You should find a program like SiSoft Sandra can report your RAM speed. Hope this is some help, sorry about the length!

[quarryman]

63'C certainly seems a bit high, where are you reading that from? The BIOS is most accurate with Windows apps specific to your mobo being a close second. 3rd party 'Jack of all trades' type apps tend to misreport temps and as said even in the BIOS they are a rough indication only in the first place.

why didn't i think of that? of course. I'm using speedfan. there is no reason why that wouldn't be lying to me. I was starting to wonder since every time i rebooted quickly after running NWN and seeing the temp at 63 i'd restart enter the bios and see at 34. that is way to fast to get that cool.

ok can you recommend any other prog with good fan/temp control? dammit, i really like speedfan. I guess i could get an accurate reading and allow for the offset but this could be a bit risky.

thanks

[Enverex]

Motherboard Monitor -
http://atomnet.co.uk/?p=programs&search=motherboard

NS

[Austin]

Any sw specific to your Shuttle SB61G2 is best, so long as you check it's close to what the BIOS reports it should be fine.

[chrisf6969]

set your ram ratio to 333, and see if you're stable there.

400 @ 800FSB setting = 1:1 ratio = @ 250:250 = DDR500
333 @ 800FSB setting = 5:4 ratio = @ 250:200 = DDR400
266 @ 800FSB setting = 3:2 ratio = @ 250:166 = DDR333

[quarryman]

ok problem solved.


333 @ 800FSB setting = 5:4 ratio = @ 249:198 = DDR400

result: 3.25GHz


After that it blue screens and I guess that's the limit. Am i being restricted by the RAM or the P4.

Also I solved the problem with the temps. Since speedfan doesn't automatically label the temperature readings and fans that control them I misread my highest temp reading as my CPU. After checking the BIOS it seems it is more likely the PWM. What is the PWM exactly? I was varying fan 1 to see which temp it affected the most and assumed that would be the CPU. Wrongly I guess.

I tried MBM5 as well. It reported the same temps so the readings are ok. It doesn't let me control the fan speeds so i'm going to stick with speedfan.

[gamezfreak]

I've got speedfan and i'm not sure which one is which for temps :\

It says

Temp one: 49
Temp two: 37

Then when I minimise it - the icon next to the clock displays a "37" which i'm guessing is the CPU temp.

I think the other temp is the actual "core die" of the CPU.

[quarryman]

I've got speedfan and i'm not sure which one is which for temps :\

It says

Temp one: 49
Temp two: 37

Then when I minimise it - the icon next to the clock displays a "37" which i'm guessing is the CPU temp.

I think the other temp is the actual "core die" of the CPU.

this is the problem. You have to configure the temps yourself. I not going to risk guessing which temp is the CPU there. But when you minimise and there's a temperature reading in the taskbar this does not mean its the CPU. There is an option that allows you to show each one in the taskbar somewhere in the program.

Have you anymore info on your system that you can figure out which is which. What you should try doing is write down the temperatures and reboot and quickly go into the BIOS and goto the "Health" section (if you have one) and get a reading for the the temps it reports. Since they are labelled in the BIOS, just match em up.

[gamezfreak]

I've got this thing that came with my motherboard called "CoreCentre" and that display's different temps. That one says

Core: 51
System: 41

Speedfan stays at 48/37

[quarryman]

Well if those temps were to correspond to each other then 48 would be your core temp (CPU?) and 37 is the System temp.

Did you try check the BIOS? Does speedfan only give you these temps? Mine gives 4 separate temperatures and took me a while to figure out which was which. You should have CPU, system, PWM and HD0.

As a rule its best to stick with the software suplied by the manufacturer. Do a serach for it or check for a help file on "corecentre".

[chrisf6969]

Originally posted by quarryman
Just received and assembled my Shuttle and ran 3Dmark2001 and got the following:

Shuttle SB61G2 20th Anniversary Ed.
P4 2.6GHz 800 FSB
2x256MB OCZ 3200
TYAN 9600 Pro
80 GB Seagate 'cuda IV


My 3Dmark score: 11043

Ok so whats your new score???

Also, what are your memory timings.

If you have it set by SPD the BIOS might be applying the DDR333 SPD timings since it thinks the memory is at DDR333 which may be too aggressive at the DDR400 speeds. You may need to manual set dram timings to get to the nice round 250/200 number.

[bouncin]

regarding pc temps u should always accept the highest as it is much easier to lose a couple of degrees in transition and gaining on ur actual temp is highly unlikely

[quarryman]

Ok so whats your new score???

I've no way of finding out. When I installed all the drivers and Dx9.0 it gave me an error when i tried to run 3DMark2001 saying it needed Dx8.1 installed. Maybe I have to get an updated version of 3DMark2001 otherwise I'll just use 3DMark2003. This is a bit annoying as I wanted to see the improvement with Dx9.0 and the new Cat drivers. I tried reinstalling 3DMark but no joy.

Also, what are your memory timings.

I haven't tried changing my memory timings yet but from the Bios they are 2.5, 3, 3, 7. I'm pretty sure that's the order (this is from memory).

What should I try to change first? How do these affect my overclocking limit? Am I not being restricted by the chip?

Thanks,
q