Maximum PC

I've got an Athlon II X4 630 (Propus) on a Biostar TA790GXBE with 2 sticks of Corsair Dominator DDR2 1066Mhz RAM and a HD6950, which works fine at 1066Mhz with 5-5-5-15 timings or 800Mhz and 4-4-4-12 timings (both at the board's default 1.95v).

I can successfully overclock the FSB from 200 to 240-250 and have no problems booting or passing any tests, but when I try and resume from standby, after briefly seeing the desktop the PC resets and I get a POST error message which says "Too many cold reset due BIOS POST. System might be incorrectly overclocked". This happens even if I only try setting the FSB to 205. I've checked and it happens with both XP and Win7. I've just installed a TRUE Rev.C heatsink, so the CPU temperatures are nice and low.

When overclocking, I set the RAM to 667Mhz and the HT-Link to 1.6Ghz to prevent those being overclocked. Spread Spectrum is disabled and PCI-E clock and SB Reference Clock are set to 100 Mhz. Onboard IGP is disabled.

I've tried upping the CPU-NB VID one notch from 1.1775v to 1.1875v, which with the CPU-NB Over Voltage +0.05v setting brings it to 1.2375v. The BIOS reports it as 1.26v and there's nothing in Windows that will show this value (AMD OD/HWiNFO only shows 1.1875v, not the true value). At the setting of 1.1775v (+0.05v) the BIOS reports about 1.249v

After that didn't work, I also tried upping the Memory Over Voltage (the only RAM voltage setting) from 1.95v to 2.05v, but that didn't help either, so I've bumped those back down again for now.

My other settings are:

CPU Vcore +0.05v (also tried leaving it on Auto)
CPU-NB Over Voltage +0.05v (also tried leaving it on Auto)
Custom P-States: (also tried leaving it on Disabled)
Core FID x14 2800 Mhz
Core VID 1.4v
Core DID Divided by 1
NB VID 1.2v
NB FID 2000Mhz
NB DID Divided by 1
SVID Override Disabled

Memory Over Voltage 1.95v (this seems to be the only RAM voltage setting)
Chipset Over Voltage 1.25v
HT Over Voltage 1.2v

BIOS info screen shows (at FSB240*14):
CPU Speed 3360Mhz, NB Clock 2000Mhz, ncHT Speed 1600Mhz, Width 16/16bit
CPU Vcore 1.456v, Chip Voltage 1.232v, DDR Voltage 1.952v, HT Voltage 1.232v

I've uploaded the BIOS manual to http://kvisit.com/Spdm3AQ. Hopefully someone can help me sort this, as it's driving me mad not being able to overclock

You sound like you're on top of the overclocking. If it's a problem with resume it would most likely be addressed by a BIOS revision. I would research whether or not that's a common issue with that particular board.

Until then change your power states in the BIOS to prevent standby, and adjust your Windows power settings as well. Or you could experiment and see which of the 3 power states is causing the issue.

I'm using the latest BIOS, but I'll contact Biostar and see if they've got any ideas. I believe this board is meant to be quite good for overclocking, so I'd be surprised if the BIOS is the problem though. I tried setting the "Reset Video on POST" to on, but that didn't help. I might remove my 6950 and test with the IGP to see if that makes any difference.

BIOS is set to S3, which is the only standby mode worth using I think (as it's powers down the fans, etc). I don't think there's anything set in the BIOS to make it go into standby however, that's all controlled by Windows power settings.

EDIT: I think I've narrowed the problem below down to my NB. At default settings, FSB250 made it run at 2500Mhz, but if I bump it down to 2000Mhz (ie 1.6Ghz in BIOS, same as HT-Link), I can pass stability testing. However, I get a rather large hit to my RAM write speed, and a smaller but still significant one to my RAM copy speed, so I'll have to see if I can get the NB back up again. Do I need to boost the voltage and if so, could you advise which setting in the BIOS to use, as I'm having trouble working that out!

Forgetting the standby issue for now, I'm having problems getting FSB250 to work. FSB240 is fine, but FSB250 causes BSOD when I test with IntelBurnTest. I'm not sure if I need to boost the CPU-VID (currently on 1.4 +0.50v, for 1.456v) or the CPU-NB VID (currently on 1.175 + 0.05v which the BIOS reports as 1.24v and isn't checkable in Windows). I have tried setting the CPU-VID to 1.375v + 0.1v for 1.475v and the CPU-NB VID to 1.185 + 0.05v and also leaving the VIDs on default and setting the Overvolt for both to Auto, but neither helped. I also tried boosting the DDR2 Voltage to 2.05v.

I'd like to get to FSB250, as then my HT-Link will be at the default 2000Mhz (and I'll also get my CPU to 3.5Ghz and my DDR2 to 1000Mhz).

"Too many cold reset due BIOS POST. System might be incorrectly overclocked"

If you do a little research on your error, you'll come across many other with the same problem. Always seem to be AMD systems with AMI BIOS. Not too many solutions. Some folks got the message from a cold boot with no overclock at all. Sounds more and more like a BIOS issue to me.

Hmm, well that's a bit disappointing to say the least. Biostar have a reputation for making good overclocking boards, but I guess that isn't deserved. Seems impossible these days to get what you think you're paying for

On the bright side, I've got my Phenom II X3 720 overclocked on a Gigabyte MA780G-UD3H quite nicely, and that doesn't have any resume from standby problem. I've actually ended up overclocking the FSB (240 at the moment, I'll try for 250 later), as I get better Write speeds from the RAM that way, so it was a bit of a waste of money buying a BE I guess.

Failing to resume isn't just a Biostar issue, but in my research I came across more systems using their boards than most others. The common theme seemed to AMD based systems. Seeing as how it's an issue across multiple platforms it's very likely an AMI BIOS issue. Problem with confirming that is a number of people don't report their BIOS or revision for troubleshooting.

Memory controllers are embedded on die with the CPU(s), cache, and also IGP in an increasing number of cases, so adding voltage to the NB doesn't always help stability in the same manner that it used to.

Gigabyte makes a decent board, although I have had some issues with their SFF mini-itx boards. Generally I stick with Asus (and subsidiary) ASrock if I can. Over the years I've encountered less problems with Asus branded boards than any other mfg. and I do repair quite a few desktops and laptops each year. If current trends continue, I suppose I'll be forced to learn a little bit about tablets too.

I guess I'll have to make do using Hibernate for now, which obviously works as the PC's POSTing anyway. It should be OK for scheduled TV recordings, but not much use for quickly resuming the PC to watch TV, check the programme guide, etc.

If I ever replace the motherboard, I know what to avoid now anyway!

As for my overclock, it's fine now with the NB at 2250Mhz and 1.2v (Overvoltage on Auto) and the RAM at 1000MHZ@5-5-5-15. The RAM speeds aren't as good as at 2500Mhz so I'll have to see if I can get the NB up with some extra voltage, but it's a reasonable compromise and the Write speeds are significantly better than at 2000Mhz.

Just thought I'd pass on the reply I've received from Biostar:

"Dear Sir

when system resume, it will check many places include voltage and clock
also bios have problem to program the OC frequency and voltage after resume
please don't use standby while OC it might cause problem"

Here's something you can send back....

Dear China,

I'm well aware that you care little for the quality of
your products, especially those exported to the States.
Please be aware though that in the 21st century
overclocking is not only a popular practice, but in
some circles it is quite commonplace. This would be the
proper time to release a BIOS revision to address
these issues, or we will be forced to never buy your
garbage again. If a BIOS supports overclocking, then it
should support all aspects without reserve or excuse.

LOL, I like it. I already sent a reply though, saying much the same but a bit less sarcastically.

I basically asked if they were planning to fix this problem or if I should just avoid their products in future

I think what they should have said is "please don't use BIOSTAR while OC it might cause problem"