increased mHz, lower performance?

Dfran

Athlon 64 3500, Win
Asus A8N-SLI
Corsair TwinX 1024-3200XL

My first overclock. Stock is 2.2G and DDR400 with 11x cpu multiplier and 2-2-2-5 1T.
After a bunch of testing I changed it to 2628mHz, with 9x cpu multiplier, a 5:6 ram divider, and the ram running at 239mHz with 2.5-3-3-7 1T timings. I ran it through 3D mark 03 and it bombed horribly from the stock set up. Whereas initially I had scored a respectable 7362, I now went down to 4363! What is wrong with this picture? My other plan was to tweak it so I had 2580 with 2-2-2-5 1T timings and the ram at 215. I haven't tried that one yet though.
thanks for any help

dadx2mj · Posted: Mon, 23 Jan 2006 12:22:30 Post Subject:

MY guess is running ram out of sync with the CPU is your issue. I would make ram and cpu run at same speed or a 1:1 ratio then see how many MHz you can squeeze out of the cpu while it is in sync with the ram

**Doctor Feelgood** · Posted: Mon, 23 Jan 2006 12:29:46 Post Subject:

You have a few things working against you... Although that drop does seem extreme!

The RAM timings dropped considerably in your second example, which will have an impact.

Plus, running the memory and CPU at synchronous speeds is always best. With that 5:6 divider, are you sure the DDR is at 239? If the memory is 239, then the system is at 287. Or is the system really at 239, and the DDR is still at 200 (this one is my assumption).

I would try to keep a 1:1 ratio and the timings as tight as possible.... Inch your way up and see where the timings have to change, but keep the 1:1. If necessary, and if it helps, drop the CPU multiplier, and perhaps the HT multiplier (or however you reference that number).

Dfran · Posted: Mon, 23 Jan 2006 13:41:25 Post Subject:

The way it's set up is 2628(9x292) w/ a 5:6 ram divider. So according to my calculations that gives me 239 ram speed. The other scenario that I haven't tried yet but could be accomplished with tighter timings still uses a 5:6 ratio. If I use 1:1 I'll have to keep the timings looser in order to get any extra out of the mhz. I haven't tried more than 2.8v DDR voltage though. With that this memory tops out at 215. So 11x215 = 2365, not far from 2200.