BP6 newbie needs help!

The Doctor · Post by **The Doctor** » Fri May 23, 2003 6:47 pm

Yes, I'm afraid you read right - I'm new to using the BP6, and although it's not my first dual system, I am having some problems I'd like some help with.

My BP6 is running a couple of Celeron 366s, that I'd like to overclock to 550. Only problem is that I can't get this to work - I've read the BP6 FAQ, and tried overvolting them (2.05V, 2.10V, 2.20V and 2.30V), but this doesn't seem to help. If the system survives post (2.1V and above) it doesn't normally boot, and if it does, it bluescreens halfway through with a "BAD_POOL_DATA" message. I've updated to a recent BIOS (BP6 Modified RU - Roby 2), but still no joy.

I don't think there's a problem with cooling - I'm using a pair of Antec JetCool HSFs that keep it below 50 degrees according to the BIOS, regardless of speed. I've also put a 4cm fan on the northbridge. Still, I'm new to both the BP6 and overclocking - can anyone help me?

Thanks

Doc

EDIT: I should add that I'm running Windows XP Professional.

Post by **Derek** » Fri May 23, 2003 7:00 pm

Are you using the HPT366 controller?

The Doctor · Post by **The Doctor** » Fri May 23, 2003 7:03 pm

No, and TBH I wasn't planning to - I hear they can be tricky beasts, and I have a Promise FastTrak 66 controller not doing anything I can drop in instead. However, the HPT366 controller is still active (well, its BIOS screen pops up every time it posts, even though there's no drives running through it) - do I need to disable it somehow?

hyperspace · Post by **hyperspace** » Sat May 24, 2003 6:39 am

Will it boot up and run normally if you don't overclock the BP6? Or, running at 75-78 Mhz FSB?

The Doctor · Post by **The Doctor** » Sat May 24, 2003 7:14 am

It does run flawlessly when not OC'd... it's now running okay when overclocked, it's just that my Celeron 366s won't run at 550 as it turns out, but they're happy at 500 (92MHz FSB) or 525 (95MHz FSB), as long as my core voltage is 2.20V. I left it for several hours running SiSoft SANDRA burn-in CPU tests, and it got up to 450+ passes without incident... looks like I was just unlucky with my CPUs... oh well, time to start browsing eBay again...

hyperspace · Post by **hyperspace** » Sat May 24, 2003 7:22 am

Maybe one or both of the 366's will not OC to 550. Have you tried one CPU at a time?

The Doctor · Post by **The Doctor** » Sat May 24, 2003 7:36 am

Not yet, although I intend to, to see if I need just one or both replacing. I'll let you know what happens.

kuun · Post by **kuun** » Sat May 24, 2003 10:21 am

btw you do know you have to step the processors?

and they have to have the same stepping (a 5 digit alphanumeric code on the underside of the CPU)

but you have to overclock them a little at a time

for the longest i couldn't ov to 563, i had to go to 550, then goto 563 (i'm using 500mhz cpu's)

and eventually i might be able to run 600mhz solid for a time

Wolfram · Post by **Wolfram** » Sat May 24, 2003 10:50 am

kuun wrote:btw you do know you have to step the processors?

and they have to have the same stepping (a 5 digit alphanumeric code on the underside of the CPU)

The FAQ at www.2cpu.com claims this is a common myth and that even Intel states you can use CPUs not only with different steppings, but also with different clock speeds/multilpliers (then both cpus are clocked to the slower speed). For a short time, I have had a 366/433 Mhz Celeron combination and it _did_ work, could even overclock them to 525 IIRC.

The Doctor · Post by **The Doctor** » Sat May 24, 2003 11:04 am

As it happens, my Celerons do have the same stepping; their serial numbers are L9310957-0871 and L9310957-0873. However, most dual systems I know stepping doesn't matter. It didn't with my dual Athlon which originally I set up using Thunderbirds purchased over 18 months apart, and it hasn't with the three dual-PIIIs I've used.

I've also posted at 2cpu.com, and people there say that despite a lot of press to the contrary, only about 50% of Celeron 366s run stably at 550MHz in a BP6 - most, though, do 500 or 525, which mine are doing quite happily and have been now for 24 hours with SANDRA burn-in CPU tests or 3DMark running pretty much constantly throughout that time. I'm going to test each Celeron individually to see if it's just one or both that won't get to 550, and try and source another 366 from somewhere. I know someone who's got a couple of Celeron 366s that DO overclock to 550... I just wonder if I can persuade him to part with them...

hyperspace · Post by **hyperspace** » Sat May 24, 2003 1:55 pm

Then I am very, very lucky to get 605 Mhz (110 MHz FSB) with my system! Oh, don't get me wrong it will lock up randomly. But, I only have a 300 Watt PSU and EC10 is 100uF. So, I think upping the PSU to 400 or more Watts and correcting EC10 could eliminate the lockups. And, I have seen at least one slightly bulging capacitor. Eek! May have to do the capacitor replacement fix.

Wolfram · Post by **Wolfram** » Sat May 24, 2003 2:15 pm

The Doctor wrote:I've also posted at 2cpu.com, and people there say that despite a lot of press to the contrary, only about 50% of Celeron 366s run stably at 550MHz in a BP6 - most, though, do 500 or 525

I´ve had three sets of 366s. None of them got beyond 523 and was stable. I had thought my current 366s would do 550, in fact I could run the system for two weeks at 100% CPU load without crashes, but there were occasional CRC-error when I extracted large .zip files. And they never occured at 523. So I chose WinZip as my favorite utility for stability checks. It showed errors while two copies of prime95 running the torture test for days didn´t indicate any trouble.

The Doctor · Post by **The Doctor** » Tue May 27, 2003 1:25 pm

I wonder... does anyone have much success in getting Celeron 400s up to 600? Or, for that matter, getting any other Celerons up to 600 and beyond? I think I'm getting greedy following my success with the system... I want the BP6 to go as fast as it can without having to get out the soldering iron...

kuun · Post by **kuun** » Tue May 27, 2003 5:36 pm

i have dual 500's now running at a steady 2 days at 600mhz

in the past they ran great for a week under full load by seti (3 instances) and then finally decided not to work at 600mhz

well i got 600mhz with a 80mhz FSB and 2.1Vcore
and now they are at 42C both and the sys is 38C

thought i'd share