Maximus II Formula w/ E8400 BIOS Settings

[cyntho]

Hey all,

I just recently got an ASUS Maximus II Formula with an E8400 CPU, and I have been attempting to reach a stable 4GHZ OC like most of the people who have an E8400.

My computer specs are as follows:

Motherboard: ASUS Maximus II Formula
CPU: Intel E8400
RAM: G. Skill PC2-8000 2x2GB (4GB) (Capable of 2.1v)

I have the ZALMAN 9700 Cooler cooling the CPU, and I've been able to achieve a simple 3.6GHz on it with 400x9 settings in the BIOS w/ minimal voltage changes.

However, whenever i try going to 445x9 or even 500x8, with some voltage increases in the ranges of 1.34-1.38, one of the cores manages to continously fail in Prime95 running on Blend after about 30 minutes.

I guess the major question is, there are a whole lot of other voltage options to tweak on this motherboard, and I am unsure as to whether or not these other voltages need to be tweaked. Some examples of this are as follows:

CPU PLL Voltage
SB 1.5V
SB 1.1V
CPU GTL
etc.

There are quite a few more, but I am not home this minute to record all of them down.

If none of these really need to be modified, should I just keep upping the VCORE to 1.4v and keep praying for a stable Prime95?

Any assistance on this would be appreciated.

I would really like to hear from others that have reached a 4GHz OC with an E8400 on a MAXIMUS II FORMULA or similar board, even a P35 would be fine .

[Bman212121]

What kind of temps are you seeing? That would be the first thing I would be looking at.

[bacon12]

What stepping is that e8400?

[Muppet]

I have the same motherboard in a second PC I use. I found this thread very useful for starters.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=190812

[cyntho]

I will check the stepping when I get home tonight.

I'm sorry for the delay, but I appreciate the responses.

Gaming
45-50 Celsius

Stress Testing
50-55 Celsius

I will also check out that thread you sent.

Thanks!!!

P.S.

Muppet,

Is it possible you can specify your motherboard settings?

I've been reading that thread and checking out what users are saying on it, but I'd like to see a template of things people are actually modifying so that I can narrow my research down to more specific things that need to be modified .

Thanks again!

[cyntho]

Yeah the stepping is E0.

[walrus85]

I got the same MB & CPU. So far I've been able to run fully stable through 6 hrs of prime95 in blend @ 4005MHz (445x9) with the temps at 36-37°C idle and 55-57°C full load. I can't find yet an acceptable temp with a higher clock, I think i'll go liquid to shoot for 4.2Ghz. Anyway heres the settings I used (as shown in the BIOS):
Ratio CMOS Setting = 9.0
FSB Frequency = 445
CPU Voltage = 1.3125
CPU PLL Voltage = 1.5
FSB Termination Voltage = 1.32525
North Bridge Voltage = 1.1265
...
I forgot to write down the SB voltages, but i think they go like this:
sb1.1 = 1.79
sb1.5 = 1.50

Hope this helps you out and good luck.