BALISTX Intel E2180 Overclock

[BALISTX]

BALISTX'S Intel E2180 Overclock

Intro

When I originally got my system I tested outside the case and was able to get a 2.8GHz overclock from the stock 2.0GHz at stock voltage. Once I discovered my PSU was bad when I put it inside the case I decided when I got the PSU back last week from RMA I would run it at stock for a while. So today I got the urge to OC it again. I tried putting it to 2.8GHz but it crashed on loading windows. So I decided to start off at 2.6 and here is the story.

Setup:
MB: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L (Rev.1)
CPU: Intel Pentium Dual Core E2180 @ 2.75GHz (M0 Stepping)
CPU Cooling: Stock Intel HSF
RAM: Mushkin HP-6400 PC2-6400 DDR2-800MHz @ 825MHz 4-4-4-12 2T
GPU: XFX GeForce 7900 GS Extreme Edition GDDR3 256MB 256-bit (G71 GS) @ Core - 480MHz / Memory - 1400MHz
NB Cooling: Stock
SB Cooling: Stock
PSU: Corsair VX550W 550 Watt
HD: Seagate 250GB 7200rpm 16MB SATAII
OS: Windows XP Pro SP2

Ambient Temperature: 19-20°C
CPU Temperature: Core 0 27°C / Core 1 28°C @ idle
Core 0 36°C / Core 1 40°C @ load

Overclocked to 2.6GHz


It was stable running Super PI

Overclocked to 2.7GHz


Again running Super PI it's stable.

Overclocked to 2.8GHz

It crashed loading windows at stock volts.

Overclocked to 2.75GHz


Ran Super PI it was stable.


3DMark 06 Test



I was surprised my score wasn't higher I do not know what is bottlenecking me.

Benchmark Settings
Resolution: 1024x768
Anti-Aliasing: None
Texture Filtering: Bilinear
VS Profile: 3.0
PS Profile: 3.0

Selected Tests
SM2.0 Graphics Tests
- GT1 - Return to Proxycon
- GT2 - Firefly Forest

CPU Tests
- CPU1 - Red Valley
- CPU2 - Red Valley

HDR/SM3.0 Graphics Test
- HDR1 - Canyon Flight
- HDR2 - Deep Freeze

Conclusion

I am currently at stock voltage of 1.2 vcore and I since I only have the stock Intel HSF I do not want to up the voltage until I get a better cooler. For right now 2.75GHZ from 2.0GHz is a decent OC for me. I have not ran Orthos yet but I will tonight when I am at the hockey game and see if it is truely stable at 2.75GHz.

[Lithotech]

I'm pretty sure it's the power saving features still being turned on in the BIOS. The cpu vcore shouldn't be that low unless you do. You are showing 1.13 with an overclock setting, my 2160 would auto that low with 1.17, but all my overclocks have it showing at 1.296V which is probably 1.3v in the BIOS. The chips max voltage is 1.35v I think, and many motherboards would auto it that high.

So go ahead and set the vcore to 1.25 or 1.275 or 1.3V, even with the stock HSF you will be fine. If those temps you posted are overclocked (even with the power savings feature on), you'll still be just fine. Hold it back at 50C load is all.

$20 will get you an AC Freezer Pro when they are on sale, and the Scythe Katana II was $21. Both these will get you several degrees improvement from the stock one, and not make any noise doing it. Well worth the $20 even for a temporary solution while you shop or save up for higher end.

Even with those coolers, and still limited to 1.3v Vcore, your overclock will probably be limited by heat and not lack of voltage or motherboard capability. They get fricken hot when they run fast no matter how little voltage you give 'em, and I've found they throttle back on you with temps that report way less than Intel says the throttle should kick in.

This can kind of relate to your score maybe. If the cpu gets really hot it'll throttle back it's speed for a period of time, then lets loose again until it throttles back again. I caught this cycle with an app called WebTemp. You can use it with SpeedFan or Everest to record sensor data over time in nice little graphs.

The system was running folding at home, or orthos... can't remember which. Vcore was 1.4v and cpu temps spiked at 58C. This with a Scythe Ninja Plus Rev B on it, and massive case cooling.





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[magictorch]

Thats a decent OC for a stock cooler.
Youll have to work out what to do with that extra cpu power! Bioshock maybe?

[3.0charlie]

Yup, follow Lithotech's comments and you're good to go. Don't forget to disable Speedstep (E1ST). My E2140 did 3.0 easily with the Arctic Cooling 7Pro. Yours can do better, for sure.

John

[BALISTX]

I went into the BIOS, and turned off all the power management and that seemed to make things run more stable. The vcore in CPUZ went to 1.16v which in the BIOS it's showing as 1.2v Temps are running good at 29, 30 at idle.

Here is a screen shot I took during a Super PI test. You can see the load temps.

[3.0charlie]

That's pretty good, considering the very low voltage! Slap on an after-market HSF, and that chip will show its true potential.

[Prof. Dr. Silver]

Try pushing that memory of yours also....! It will probably go up a lot higher! And just for your info....SuperPi does NOT put your CPU under heavy load! Use Prime95 for that or something.

[BALISTX]

When I was running Sandra SiSoft it got the temps up to 46C, 47C I'm going to run an instance of Orthos, but I don't want to push it too much right now with inadequate cooling. I only have two case fans a 120mm exhaust and an 80mm on the side blowing air in over top the processor and ram. My 120mm intake was killed by my defective PSU.

[BALISTX]

I ran a mini stress test of an hour with Orthos SFF CPU test and the temps never rose past 55°C for both cores in Core Temp and 53°C for both cores in Intel TAT.

[omgwtf]

Hey guys, check this out: CPU-Z Validator Database
Respect for the little guy...