I need help getting my e8400 to 4.0 Ghz

[dopedave]

Ok so I'l start off and list my gear....
Asus P5K motherboard
Nvidia 8800 GT OC
Intel e8400 core dual 3.0 Ghz
Asus Lionsquare (aftermarket heat sink)
Antec Sonata 3 500 ( I have both the rear exhaust fan and the optional front fan going.)
4 gigs of Corsair Dominator DDR2 Twin2X4096-8500C5DF PC2 - 8500
Saegate 500GB Sata2
WD 74GB 10KRPM Raptor S-ATA16 MB Cache

Ok so now I'll list my bios settings that have gotten me stable at 3.91Ghz
Under my CPU settings:
CPU Ratio Setting [Auto]
C1E Support [Disabled]
CPU Tm Function [Disabled]
Vanderpool Technology [Disabled]
Execute Disable Bit [Disabled]
Max CPUID Value Limit [Disabled]
Intel SpeedStep Tech. [Disabled]

Ok now under my JumperFree Config:
Ai Overclock Tuner [Manual]
CPU Ratio [Auto] (It wont go higher then 9 and my cpu is 9 already)
FSB Frequency [433]
PCIE Frequency [100]
DRAM Frequency [DDR2-867MHz]
Transction Booster [Disabled]
Relax Level [0]
CPU Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
PCIE Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
(Everything that's not listed is just set to Auto at the moment)
All my voltages are set to auto. When I tryied to overclock to 4GHz I only upped my vcore to 1.4 all other voltages we're set to auto. I will point out that my ram is able to go up to 1066 but as you can see I lowered it a great deal. It wont go any lower.

When I was tryin to get my cpu to 4GHz I had to up the Voltage to 1.5 but with the Vdroop on my board it was at 1.4. Still nothing. Just wondering if there's someone out there who can help me squeeze just a little more outta it. The other thing I've noticed with my CPU is when I monitor the heat it sometimes goes into the 70's but if I touch my heatsink and around that area it's cool. What's the deal with that. I've tried several temp programs and they all seem to give very similar readings. Any suggestions would be help full. I'm using Prime95 to test my stability.

[enaberif]

Don't worry about vdroop.

What you need to worry about is what happens when you run p95 when its at 4ghz @ 1.4v? Does it fail?

[Synth]

Northbridge voltage ?

[dopedave]

When I was running it so after the vdroop the vcore was at 1.4 in the bios then I ran Prime95 it fails after 11min... I've left the nb at auto...
Anyone know why my cpu core temp would be so high (60-70) but if I touch the thing it's cool? My video card is much warmer and it's core temp's at 56-58.... Is the cpu just giving incorrect temp readings? Oh yeah and with all my voltage settings set to auto my comp runs stable at 3.91GHz. If I look at what my voltage is at using Asus Probe is says my Vcore is at 1.21v. It seems kinda crazy that I have to take my chip from 1.21 to 1.4 or more just for 10 more MHz. Or maybe I just need to adjust something other then my vcore? Ideas?

[Synth]

Originally Posted by dopedave

When I was running it so after the vdroop the vcore was at 1.4 in the bios then I ran Prime95 it fails after 11min... I've left the nb at auto...
Anyone know why my cpu core temp would be so high (60-70) but if I touch the thing it's cool? My video card is much warmer and it's core temp's at 56-58.... Is the cpu just giving incorrect temp readings? Oh yeah and with all my voltage settings set to auto my comp runs stable at 3.91GHz. If I look at what my voltage is at using Asus Probe is says my Vcore is at 1.21v. It seems kinda crazy that I have to take my chip from 1.21 to 1.4 or more just for 10 more MHz. Or maybe I just need to adjust something other then my vcore? Ideas?

1. Wolfdale chips can report false temps. No worries there.

2. I've found Asus Probe to be unreliable in the past, especially if you are running another temp monitoring tool at the same time (ie. Coretemp).

3. Bump in Northbridge voltage OR lower ram speed to eliminate another possible culprit.

[MpG]

Have you tried remounting the cooler? If the processor is hot, and the cooler isn't, then the heat might not be transferring into the heatsink properly. From what I've been able to find, the Lionsquare isn't a bad cooler, and should be up to the task of handling your overclocking goals.

Might be helpful to know what your other voltages are (NB, RAM, etc).

[dopedave]

I'll give it a try with the NB bumped up a bit. AS for my Voltage settings, for the other person who asked. they we're all set to auto. I tried to up the vcore to 1.4 and that didn't work. I think it's just reporting the temps wrong since I know 100% that my heat sink is mounted on properly.

[dopedave]

With my FSB set to 443x9 = 4GHzs and my Vcore set to 1.4 and NB set to 1.55 Prime95 failed on my second core within 2 min. Any other ideas? I'm gonna try upping my NB a little more and see what happens.

[dopedave]

Ok so I upped the NB to 1.70 with the vcore at 1.4 and it wont boot. If I restart my comp says Overclocking Failed! Please enter Setup to re-configure your system? Any other tips or tricks or should I just assume I cant get it higher then 3.91Ghz

One more thing, I'm wondering if I'm testing the right way with Prime95. Out of the four options:
Small FTTs
Large FTTs
Blend
Custom
I'm always running the blend one? Is that the wrong way to go about this?

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by dopedave

Ok so I upped the NB to 1.70 with the vcore at 1.4 and it wont boot. If I restart my comp says Overclocking Failed! Please enter Setup to re-configure your system? Any other tips or tricks or should I just assume I cant get it higher then 3.91Ghz

One more thing, I'm wondering if I'm testing the right way with Prime95. Out of the four options:
Small FTTs
Large FTTs
Blend
Custom
I'm always running the blend one? Is that the wrong way to go about this?

It may not be your cpu thats failing but your memory.

Just cause P95 fails doesn't mean its cpu.