Failsafe Watchdog -- D975XBX2
Failsafe Watchdog -- D975XBX2
What does the "failsafe watchdog" setting in the BIOS do? Should it be enabled or not?
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seanriddle
- Legit Aficionado
- Posts: 68
- Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2007 12:58 am
Yes, that's what it does from my observations. I can run 10x300 under 2333, but under 2507 I get the watchdog message, so I disabled it and the computer seems to be running fine. There are some settings that I could POST with 2333 that I can't with 2507, even with the watchdog off.
10x300 overclocks the CPU, FSB and RAM by 12 1/2%. So 3GHz CPU, 1200 MHz FSB and DDR2-900 RAM. I'm also pushing my RAM from 5-5-5-12 to 4-4-4-12 with no problems.
I've created a spreadsheet with tabs for different Processor Multiplier and Host Clock Frequency inputs. Each tab shows the 16 different combos of Reference Frequency and Memory Frequency, and the resulting CPU speed, FSB speed, ratio, and memory speed. Then I'm attempting to boot using 2333 and 2507, and measuring the memory speed.
BTW- this is all at stock voltages so far. I've got a QX6700.
It's kind of slow going, but I've found a few things. Setting Reference Frequency to 333 results in the same ratios as 266, resulting in the same memory speeds showing in MemTest86+ v.170 and CPUZ 1.38, but the actual MB/s are slower.
Using 10x266, the fastest setting for me is actually Reference Frequency 200, Memory Frequency 667. This overclocks the NB from 800 to 1066, and runs the RAM at DDR2-887. The actual RAM throughput is about 7 1/2 % better than the default RFreq of 266 and MFreq of 800. If you have faster RAM, you might be able to POST at RFreq 200, MFreq 800, which is DDR2-1066.
A few times when I was changing settings, the PC would give 3 long beeps, which indicates RAM error. I was unable to get to the maintenance BIOS settings when this happened, but I found if I held the power button in until it turned off, then pulled the power plug and pushed the power button to drain the remaining power, that I could then get into maintenance mode.
If your keyboard seems to lock up in the BIOS, try pressing and releasing the 2 ALT and 2 CTRL keys one at a time. It looks like sometimes a flag gets set, and the BIOS won't respond to ALT-arrow or CTRL-arrow. Pressing and releasing the keys resets the flag.
I also found that the System Memory Speed on the first BIOS screen shows the current speed. If you make changes, it isn't updated until you reboot. The System Bus Speed, which I assume is the NB strap, always displays 1066, regardless of the RFreq setting. The Overridden Processor Speed and System Bus Frequency Override (FSB speed) are updated immediately when you change the performance settings, although sometimes I notice they are not updated when I load custom defaults.
Sean
10x300 overclocks the CPU, FSB and RAM by 12 1/2%. So 3GHz CPU, 1200 MHz FSB and DDR2-900 RAM. I'm also pushing my RAM from 5-5-5-12 to 4-4-4-12 with no problems.
I've created a spreadsheet with tabs for different Processor Multiplier and Host Clock Frequency inputs. Each tab shows the 16 different combos of Reference Frequency and Memory Frequency, and the resulting CPU speed, FSB speed, ratio, and memory speed. Then I'm attempting to boot using 2333 and 2507, and measuring the memory speed.
BTW- this is all at stock voltages so far. I've got a QX6700.
It's kind of slow going, but I've found a few things. Setting Reference Frequency to 333 results in the same ratios as 266, resulting in the same memory speeds showing in MemTest86+ v.170 and CPUZ 1.38, but the actual MB/s are slower.
Using 10x266, the fastest setting for me is actually Reference Frequency 200, Memory Frequency 667. This overclocks the NB from 800 to 1066, and runs the RAM at DDR2-887. The actual RAM throughput is about 7 1/2 % better than the default RFreq of 266 and MFreq of 800. If you have faster RAM, you might be able to POST at RFreq 200, MFreq 800, which is DDR2-1066.
A few times when I was changing settings, the PC would give 3 long beeps, which indicates RAM error. I was unable to get to the maintenance BIOS settings when this happened, but I found if I held the power button in until it turned off, then pulled the power plug and pushed the power button to drain the remaining power, that I could then get into maintenance mode.
If your keyboard seems to lock up in the BIOS, try pressing and releasing the 2 ALT and 2 CTRL keys one at a time. It looks like sometimes a flag gets set, and the BIOS won't respond to ALT-arrow or CTRL-arrow. Pressing and releasing the keys resets the flag.
I also found that the System Memory Speed on the first BIOS screen shows the current speed. If you make changes, it isn't updated until you reboot. The System Bus Speed, which I assume is the NB strap, always displays 1066, regardless of the RFreq setting. The Overridden Processor Speed and System Bus Frequency Override (FSB speed) are updated immediately when you change the performance settings, although sometimes I notice they are not updated when I load custom defaults.
Sean