Motherboard: A7V8X
CPU: AMD 2200+ XP
RAM: PC2100 DDR266 SDRAM - 2 512MB chips

When I set the BIOS to 1800Mhz (13.5 X 133) the system
will run for a while, but on memory and CPU intensive
tasks (such as rendering 3D art - the primary function of
this machine as I am an amatuer digital artist) the CPU will
hang / freeze and I have to power off, wait, and reboot.

When I set it to 1300MHZ (13.5 x 100) it runs stable.

Does anyone know enough about the various items in my
configuration to be able to tell if I have defective
hardware, need to mess with some configuration, or
simply should not be using 1.8ghz given what I have?

"When I set it to 1300MHZ (13.5 x 100) it runs stable."

Perhaps you have answered your own question.

AMD64Bit 3800+ Socket 939
WinXP Pro.
Nvidia:6800GT
Dane Electronic Pro. Dual 1024MB 400MHz RAM
Tagan 480Watt PSU: 28Amps on +12volt rail.
Asus A8V Deluxe "WiFi" M/Board - Coolmaster A

Will it run OK at 133MHz (266FSB) without a heavy load put on it? Could be an overheating problem, bad RAM, or a weak PSU.

1. What's your CPU temp?

2. Have you tested your RAM with memtest86?

3. What make PSU & how many watts? How many amps on the +12v rail?

Asus A7N8X-X
1800+ @ 8 x 210MHz
512MB PC3200
Asus Ti4800SE 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro

hey just a quick

hey just a quick line to quicksilver.
Thought I recognised your name and specs, why don't you help the guy out?
or are you still on your anti O/C kick.
I know for a fact that you are still in contact with some of the best O/Cers in the biz. S**t with over 25 years in the biz you must have written the book, go on help the guy.

Cheers from chris, ( long time no hear )

Pandora

THANKS A MILLION

MAIL ME

AMD64Bit 3800+ Socket 939
WinXP Pro.
Nvidia:6800GT
Dane Electronic Pro. Dual 1024MB 400MHz RAM
Tagan 480Watt PSU: 28Amps on +12volt rail.
Asus A8V Deluxe "WiFi" M/Board
AquaGate

I have an asus board (p4p800 deluxe) which I've been trying to overclock and stabilize. I could overclock it well, and it would run programs, but if I used any benchmarking programs to benchmark the cpu or memory, it'd crash or BSOD.

After alot of research, I've found out the culprit was the northbridge. When you overclock, the northbridge runs hotter than the passive heatsink will allow (since it uses your fsb to communicate). It handles communication between your cpu, memory, and agp. Thus, when it overheats (during your cpu or memory intensive stuff), you'll crash. The northbridge is passively cooled because you can get away with it at lower fsb's...but needs active cooling once you start overclocking.

Get a case fan, and direct it at your northbridge heatsink (it's between your cpu and graphics card)...and try to see if it stops your crashes.

Could be other things too...I've found articles on asus (don't know if it's true with your board, but I know it's true on mine):

1. They overvolt (add .1V to whatever you specify in bios)
2. Some of the BIOS voltage settings don't do squat (IE: a vcore of 1.62V might only give 1.5V...while 1.60 and 1.65 work). One person even found a certain voltage would crash his system.

Or it could be your PSU...I've found out many have a droop effect. Under full load, the voltages drop a little. If your vcore or other voltages drop too low, then that's a problem. People increase voltages to stabilize overclocks, and if the voltage drops too low, the system moves into an unstable state, and since it's already doing intensive stuff, it'll crash.

I don't want to tell you what settings to try, etc...since I don't know much about AMD (and what frequency it should be running at).

Basically try to rule out the cpu first (if you can, use the 3:2 fsb:ram divider, and find the highest fsb you can use (if you can control it in steps). Once you know your cpu can handle it, look into your memory (run memtest), and maybe put a heatspreader on it or case fan. If your memory is fine, then check your PSU (use asus probe to record your temps and voltage, and then run your intensive stuff). Lastly, check the northbridge.