Opteron 170 + Asus A8R-MVP - My first timer overclocking journal

[primesuspect]

Since this will be my first time attempting anything more than a rudimentary overclock, I am going to journal my experiences here. Perhaps this can help other OC newbies like myself.

The first step was obviously deciding what hardware to buy. I am one of those that likes the cutting edge, but with overclocking patience is required and you should let other people's bad experiences pave the way for you ;)

Also, more importantly, I haven't been able to afford a new system for a few years ;D

Anyways, now that the Socket 939 platform is mature and we are starting to see the "future legendary overclockers" stuff come out, it seemed like the right time to jump in.

After looking around and watching (http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42189) other people's (http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42135) threads (http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42135) closely, I decided on the Asus A8R-MVP / Opteron 170 combo.

I ended up getting a Corsair XMS 2gb kit (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145574) for the ram and a Fortron Source FX600-GLN (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145574) for the power supply. A good friend is donating a Radeon X800XL for me :hitit2:

Not sure yet if I can get that card to work in crossfire mode.

I'll update this thread as my experience continues. For now I have all the parts except the video card. :)

[lemonlime]

:woowoo:

Should be a killer rig prime.. :buck:

IIRC, the X800XL pci-e cards are crossfire capable. Just have to get a master card to go along with it. Of course, it usually makes a lot more sense to sell your card and get a single current-gen card :)

You'll enjoy your FX60 immensely.. err.. Opty 170 @ 2.6+GHz :D

[primesuspect]

I wasn't able to find an x800xl crossfire "master" card. Do you need to use a different master for it?

I plan on using the ultimate 754/939 overclocking guide (http://www.short-media.com/review.php?r=300) to pull off some crazy speeds :D

[primesuspect]

Per several suggestions, I have chosen the ThermalTake Big Typhoon HSF for this sucker :)

[GrayFox]

Wootness I can't wait to see what you get it too

[lemonlime]

I wasn't able to find an x800xl crossfire "master" card. Do you need to use a different master for it?

I plan on using the ultimate 754/939 overclocking guide (http://www.short-media.com/review.php?r=300) to pull off some crazy speeds :D

I'm not sure if they ever did get around to releasing other x8xx master cards. I know the x850XT master card is readily avaliable and should work. It will simply reduce it's clock speed to match the x800XL.

What stepping 170 did you get? :D

Per several suggestions, I have chosen the ThermalTake Big Typhoon HSF for this sucker

Good choice. That's the king of air-cooling at the moment :thumbup

[primesuspect]

Stepping; A week 46 CCBWE.

CCBWE 0546XPMW

[Leonardo]

Per several suggestions, I have chosen the ThermalTake Big Typhoon HSF for this sucker If you need tips on installing the Big Typhoon beast, just let me know. It's a pain, but well worth it. Awesome heatsink. What's the depth of your case? The Typhoon is very tall.

[lemonlime]

Stepping; A week 46 CCBWE.

CCBWE 0546XPMW

That is a strong stepping. 2.6GHz should not be a problem (may just need a minor vcore boost) :thumbsup:

[primesuspect]

Well after speaking with my anonymous benefactor, I am gonna go for a crossfire setup :D

One Sapphire X850 Crossfire edition + one Gigabyte X800XL card should get me over 11K in 3DMark05, right?

This should be a very significant leap over my current 2600+ Athlon XP / Radeon 9800Pro setup :eek3:

[Leonardo]

This should be a very significant leap over my current 2600+ Athlon XP / Radeon 9800Pro setup Yeah, no kidding, Buckwheat! :smiles:

Prime, I did some checking up on your motherboard. It appears that it has really mixed user reviews on its stability and OC performance. The good news is that many of the problems people are experiencing appear to be related to lack of user experience in computer tweaking. Good news, in that there may be little gremlins with the board, but problems that you will be able to work through. The good news is that many users are reporting excellent stability and overclocking with the board. Recommend that you do some searches on user experiences. But I'm sure you already have.

[primesuspect]

Well yesterday theSMJ helped me remove the north/southbridge sinks. I cleaned the thermal gunk off and applied Arctic Silver 5 to the passive sinks. I have an extra 45mm fan laying around thats in good shape and I'm wondering if it's worth it to figure out a way to rig up the fan on the northbridge. With the big typhoon and 2xpci-e cards in there, power, space, and noise are going to be considerations.

The big typhoon is very quiet though :eek2:

Do you guys think the passive sinks + arctic silver 5 is enough or should I get some active cooling on the sinks?

[csimon]

The sinks don't get very hot at all really ...you should be ok with passive if you have adequate case ventilation.

[primesuspect]

Yeah my case ventilation is pretty good. We'll see. If my oc is limited I might try active cooling. it's always an option :D

[Leonardo]

I'll take Csimon's comments on the northbridge thermals. I've no experience with that chipset. Don't worry about noise from the Big Typhoon. You won't hear it! They are vewy qwiet, hu hu hu.

When overclocking, if you are still concerned about the northbridge temperature, just reach in and feel it. If it feels hot, time for action; if it feels just warm, you are in good shape. There are always ways to rig fans. If low amperage, splice on a three pin connector. If high amperage, connect to a four pin molex.

Brian, how experienced are you with mounting CPU heatsinks that require through board mounting with a backplate? Although the Big Typhoon has lots of mounting hardware, it's fairly straight forward. Go online though, and study the installation guide before you start to install it. If you aren't careful, the heatsink won't be flush with the CPU's heatspreader. If you are careful, you can lift your motherboard with the sink and move it around. The mounting system is that stable.

[primesuspect]

I mounted the typhoon today. It makes a great handle for the motherboard :D

[csimon]

When are you getting the video card?

[primesuspect]

Friday for the first one (the x850xt) and sometime next week for the second one.

[csimon]

I don't think you need a mastercard for this board.

I've been looking up that stepping and you shouldn't have any problem with 2600. The thing that will probably hold you back for now will be the vcore limit at +-1.5. You will be amazed at how cool this chip runs.

edit:\ Also, here's the latest review of the mobo. It should have been published a lot sooner but as I've learned from reading it they had issues with the crossfire. Seems everything turned out fine though.

Check it out ...http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=OTU1

"I would suggest that some extra northbridge cooling be introduced if you plan on overclocking this motherboard as it gets to be extremely hot. We used a 120mm fan directed at our northbridge heatsink as well as the power components heatsink on the motherboard. A small amount of airflow managed to keep these very cool."

[Leonardo]

I mounted the typhoon today. It makes a great handle for the motherboard You too, I see!

[ryko]

i gotta say it...please don't do crossfire with an x850xt and a x800xl! it is basically pointless. i mean the x850xt will be essentially neutered down to x800xl speeds for compatibility purposes, and then you have spent money on a product that you can't even use at it's default speed. it's required underclocking just to get things working.

what size monitor will you be using? are you getting the x800xl for free? have you bought the x850xt master card already?

i would sell the x800xl and use it towards the purchase of a x1900xt. it will waste the neutered crossfire setup easily.

[primesuspect]

Okay wait. Yes, I'm getting the x800xl for free. Technically, I'm getting both for free.

So you think I should cancel the x850xt order, and sell the x800xl towards an x1900xt?

[TheSmJ]

Is it up and running yet Brian? You could throw a plain PCI video card in there so you can start messing with it before you get the PCIe card later this week.

[csimon]

Okay wait. Yes, I'm getting the x800xl for free. Technically, I'm getting both for free.

So you think I should cancel the x850xt order, and sell the x800xl towards an x1900xt?
"cough* definitely *cough* I didn't know that was an option.

Comb some 3dmark06 benchmarks and see what these guys are getting with these cards brian. Not too impressive even with crossfire.

IMO you could run the free card for now until you've checked out vid cards a little more before you decide.
The x1900xt is teh kickbootie card today! All of the high end cards are too pricey for me. :mullet:

[primesuspect]

dammit crap ****

[csimon]

dammit crap ****
take your time on the card and give it a bit of thought. That's a lot of money to shell out. Use the freebie for now until you've investigated some. That's my $.02.

edit:\ if I were going ati video right now the only card I would consider is the x1900xt but considering the price ...etc. Look around at the 7800gt and up as well. Don't rule them out if you don't want to spend that kind of cash on this system. Pee'er pressure sucks sometimes don't it??? :headbange

[ryko]

Okay wait. Yes, I'm getting the x800xl for free. Technically, I'm getting both for free.

So you think I should cancel the x850xt order, and sell the x800xl towards an x1900xt?

well since you are getting them both at a severe discount (i.e. free!) it is a little different.

but yes the x1900xt will smoke the x800xt(xl) crossfire setup.

i asked about the monitor b/c if you have a 1600x1200+ lcd/crt then you would pretty much have to go with a x1900xt. the 1st gen of crossfire stuff doesn't support super high-res gaming.

[primesuspect]

I have a 1280x1024 DVI monitor so I will be doing all my gaming at that resolution.

I can't cancel the x850xt order, as it already shipped. For once I wanted newegg to be slow, and they weren't. I didn't pay for rush shipping and they still sent the thing out almost immediately ;D

So I'm going to consider this a unique challenge. I'll have a weird setup with mismatched cards and I have to make the best of it :)

The price was definitely right!

[ryko]

yeah, it shold be a fun challenge. when you get it all setup you gotta post some pics and then please post some benchies with...

just x800xl

just x850xt

x850xt(xl) crossfire...

i am very interested in the results. I would think that the crossfire setup is really only going to benefit you when you max the AA/AF. fun, fun!

[deicist]

Prime, if you want some comparison data I just got myself an opty 170 and an x1900xt... when I get a decent PSU sorted out I'm going to start overclocking :)

[Omega65]

Prime - Nix the X850XT/XL Crossfire. (Hard to beat Free though...) Grab either a X1900XT or X1800 variant. Also ATI will be releasing a lower end version of the X1900 soon.

when I get a decent PSU sorted out I'm going to start overclocking :)
SILVERSTONE SST-ST60F ATX 600W Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817163109)

It's a little pricey but it's top notch. I have the "Zeus" version and it's solid. It even has the 8pin connector for your MSI K8N Diamond Plus mobo

[Atticus]

I bought the same PSU for my SLI setup and its rockin'. The only thing i found is that the fan on the Zeus is loud. It was by far the loudest thing in my case, but i replaced the fan and its a good noise level, quieter than my Raptors now.

[lemonlime]

Considering you got the X800XL for free, I think you'll be very happy with the crossfire setup- especially with a 1280x1024 monitor. If your X800XL has the PCI-E power connector on it, there is a good chance you can get the clock speed close to the X850XT default (they both are 16pipers). In any case, it'll be significantly faster than your 9800pro and the price is right :)

When it comes time to sell, that pair will pick up a pretty penny when sold as a combo.

My single X850XT still plays just about every game smoothly at 1280. I'm still looking for an excuse to upgrade :)

[primesuspect]

That's what I'm thinking: 1280x1024 being my chosen res, the dual x8xx crossfire will still kick some serious ass, despite it being "weird" :ninja:

Leo, i wanted you to look at the mounting job I did on the Big Typhoon. It seemed too easy, and you made it sound complicated, and now I want to make sure I did it right :D

Paste job:

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/opt170_1.jpg

Just screw that bar into the backplate, right?

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/opt170_2.jpg

Crossbar seems bent down pretty tight. Good?

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/opt170_3.jpg

Board prepped and waiting for the rest of the stuff:

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/opt170_4.jpg

[Leonardo]

Ah, beautiful, my friend! You avoided the pitfall of not putting enough torque on the crossbar nuts. What was a little complicated with setup was that Socket 775 uses a four post setup for the crossbar. It's very easy to tighten it down, only to observe the heatsink base is canted, with one side of the heatspreader unprotected. The other "complication", rather item of attention to detail - that you got right, is to ensure that crossbar is actually bent down a little on each upright post. That ensures that the bar is springloaded.

Thanks for the pics. I get all misty eyed. Have you tested it yet to see how quiet it is? It's really an impressive beast and even works better than it looks. I can't remember any piece of computer hardware over which I've been this enthusiastic.

[primesuspect]

Whee! Yeah, I fired it up just from a PSU lead, and it is dead silent. The PSU was way louder :D

Thanks for checking it out! Most of the parts should be here tomorrow - enough for me to get this thing going. I can't wait!

[lemonlime]

Wow, that sink really is friggin huge when you see it mounted! :wow2: Nice photos btw.

I hate to break it to you prime, but that's not an X800XL you've got installed there.. ;)

[primesuspect]

Hahah it's a badass TRIDENT card :D

[Omega65]

Hahah it's a badass TRIDENT card :D
I thought those were all recalled by an act of Congress ;D

Whoa - a Trident - That goes way back!

[primesuspect]

Well I got the rest of the parts today, excepting the second video card. I put it all together and assembled it in the case. It fits! That was one of my worries.

The PSU was difficult to squeeze in because the big typhoon doesn't leave much room for play. I thought for a moment that I would have to tear down the whole thing and put the PSU in first and then rebuild it, but I was able to jimmy it in there :D

Pics momentarily...

[Leonardo]

I thought for a moment that I would have to tear down the whole thing and put the PSU in first

Hey, but you did install motherboard stand-offs, right? :D

(of course you did -- just kidding) ;)

[primesuspect]

I'm posting from my new system now :D

[deicist]

you started overclocking yet fella?

[primesuspect]

Not yet - just getting prepped :D

[deicist]

well, mine does 2.6 with everything on stock...don't forget to knock your HTT down a notch once you get to about 2.4 :)

[Buddha16]

Question.....if you were to have a dual processor setup, and want to do the same thing prime is doing (OCing) how would you get proper cooling? Two Typhoon's wouldn't fit, would they???:scratch:

Excuse me if I’m intruding in your journal, prime.

[primesuspect]

No worries buddha16 :D

I'm using a dual core setup, which is one physical processor die, but two processor cores.

If you must use two physical processors, I really doubt you'd be able to find a board and case that could fit two typhoons. You'd definitely need something smaller.

[Buddha16]

Is the reason that the Typhoon is good, because it's big? Like the bigger the better?

[deicist]

I think it's a combination of its size (which allows more heat dissipation) and good design....after all size is nothing without technique :D

[Leonardo]

Not yet - just getting prepped


Attachments: 1. Prime shows a little trepidation as he outfits himself for overclocking his new build. 2. Prime begins overclocking, machine...well, it overclocks. 3. Prime continues to increase voltages.

[primesuspect]

My first issue of the day is an unknown device in my device manager.

Any clues? I installed the ULi drivers, the catalyst drivers, the sound drivers, the network drivers, etc.

Usually this means some obscure motherboard feature, but I'm stumped on this one. Any a8r-mvp owners know what it could be?

[Leonardo]

My first guess, without knowing that motherboard would be that the unknown device is either a RAID controller chip or an less-than-major brand LAN port/chip.

Did you install everything from the installation CD? If not a retail board (no CD), did you go the support manufacturer's site and install everything for the board?

Hey Prime, even if you've done all the above, sometimes it takes three or more system restarts for Windows to 'see' all the hardware correctly.

[primesuspect]

I got everything from Asus' website. I've rebooted at least five times since the last driver install. I'll give the CD a shot.

[primesuspect]

found it:

ATK0110 ACPI UTILITY

Weird. :ninja:

[csimon]

found it:

ATK0110 ACPI UTILITY

Weird. :ninja:
Oh yeah that's for the Cool n'quiet driver.

Remember this ...don't forget that when you start bumping up your frequency to only do about 10mhz at a time til you hit 250. You won't get quite as far if you do 15mhz but of course you'll get to the top quicker. Once you hit 250 then switch to 1mhz if you're on the x10 multi or 5mhz when on the x9.
Everyone gets into trouble around 260 or 270. Just be patient.

[primesuspect]

Okay, everything stock, I ran 3dmark05 as a reference benchmark: 6131

The games shall begin the next two days. My dryer died at home, so it needs a new belt, and a friend wants to take me to his brother's new restaurant tonight, so I might not be able to screw around with the OCing tonight.... But I am really anxious to :eek3:

[csimon]

I'll post this link now for future reference. Most find they need it (mtgoat included I think) and others don't. I used it and you may too.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=81429

There is a link there to dload a hotfix which points to the A64 X2 I believe. Once you get there you can backtrack your way to the Opteron fix. They may or may not be the same idunno.

Okay, everything stock, I ran 3dmark05 as a reference benchmark: 6131

Nice score so far Brian ...notice any difference yet over your old setup? :bigggrin:

[Leonardo]

ATK0110 ACPI UTILITY Cool and Quiet. You might wish to install it so Device Manager looks normal, but i certainly wouldn't run it. In fact, you should turn off all temperature/frequency monitoring software. Such stuff is good if you don't know how to overclock or if your system has substandard cooling equipment.

EDIT: (where is my head today?) I did not mean to turn off monitoring software. I meant to turn off all the garbage that automatically controls fan speeds and CPU frequency. That stuff is huge piles of bovine waste - any motherboard brand. If you wish to control noise via software, get the freeware SpeedFan. If you want to control it via hardware, get variable speed fans with a switch or a case-mounted controller for multiple fans.

[csimon]

Cool and Quiet. You might wish to install it so Device Manager looks normal, but i certainly wouldn't run it. In fact, you should turn off all temperature/frequency monitoring software. Such stuff is good if you don't know how to overclock or if your system has substandard cooling equipment.
Exactly what I did good advice. An leave the Qfan stuff off as well.

Brian if you happen upon marvell yukon update drivers over at windows update then untick it and hide it and do not install it. You will only end up in a continuous loop situation that is a biotch to get out of.

[primesuspect]

That's weird - I already downloaded the marvell yukon drivers from windows update and had no problems at all :confused:

And no worries - i never run the extraneous crap. :D

Yes, this system is MUCH faster than my old :ninja:

[Omega65]

Yes, this system is MUCH faster than my old :ninja:
Told Ya :clap:

[Leonardo]

Congratulations. I hope you really enjoy your snappy computer.

[primesuspect]

Okay, here's a unique challenge. My house is very dusty. My new computer is nice and shiny and dust free. Here's a pic of what my old system looked like two days ago, before I pulled the guts, cleaned the case, and installed the new stuff. Any tips on how to keep my new system less dusty than this? :wtf:

[primesuspect]

Okay, so time to journal the build.

Every geek understands the excitement when the UPS guy comes with some of those magical boxes :D

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/opt170_9.jpg

Got the FSP power supply and Radeon x850xt card yesterday:

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/opt170_10.jpg

Gutted my old case. I'm using an OpusTek MT200, which honestly is one of the best cases I've ever used. Unfortunately, the company doesn't exist anymore, and they never even sold them in the US as far as I know. It was a review sample, but they never actually made it on sale. It is an awesome case. I guess that makes my system somewhat unique :D

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/opt170_6.jpg

[primesuspect]

Building my system out of the case. This was before I got the new PSU and video card:

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/opt170_8.jpg

Let me tell you: I had to do this THREE TIMES on the phone. It was a living hell.

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/opt170_reg.jpg

Mounting the system in the Opustek case. There was BARELY enough room, but it fits :D

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/opt170_12.jpg

[primesuspect]

A very tight fit:

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/opt170_16.jpg

A fair warning to anyone who gets a setup with a big typhoon: Make sure you have enough room!

The PSU had these two 4 pin connectors - one blue, one green. I wasn't sure which one to use for the four pin connector on the motherboard, so I took a wild guess. In hindsight, they are probably both the same.

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/opt170_17.jpg

[Leonardo]

Okay, here's a unique challenge. My house is very dusty. My new computer is nice and shiny and dust free. Here's a pic of what my old system looked like two days ago, before I pulled the guts, cleaned the case, and installed the new stuff. Any tips on how to keep my new system less dusty than this?Yes. Intake filters for the fans. There are many types of low cost or no cost materials you can use. Some people use nylons. I've never tried that. Seems like they would clog very fast, especially if your house is dusty as you say it is. Next time you are at Lowe's or some other hardware store, look for air conditioner filter media. It's the type that's designed to work with a window-installed air conditioner. It traps most of the dust but still allows plenty of air flow. I've tried some other filtration media that either let too much dust through to the case interior or was too restrictive to air flow.

I've modifed two of my computer cases so that I can pull back the panel section directly over the intake fans without having to remove the bezel. Just once a month to vacuum off the filters.

[ryko]

try this stuff you can find at Jo Ann Fabrics or the like. i am pretty sure it is gardener's foam for artificial plants but i am not sure. it is real cheap and the exact same stuff as the filters used in high-end cases except that it is green.

I've modifed two of my computer cases so that I can pull back the panel section directly over the intake fans without having to remove the bezel. Just once a month to vacuum off the filters.

wow that sounds cool....got any pics?

[csimon]

I love the mesh that lian li uses ...very little restriction. I wish I knew what it is called.

[Leonardo]

I love the mesh that lian li uses ...very little restriction. I wish I knew what it is called.
:scratch:

mesh :buck:

[csimon]

:scratch:

mesh :buck:
Now ...why didn't I think of that??? ;D

[TheSmJ]

I never liked using intake filters. They constrict too much air flow on their own.

It's better to just clean out the computer once a month.

[V|P]

Prime, I really wanna say u got a nice system there. Okay, so you got the same card as me. That Big Typhoon :eek2: :eek2: is huge:eek2: !!:eek2: !!!:eek2: !! Can you please post more pictures of it comparing the size to other parts? It gives me joy looking at it. haha. Anyway guys is there any SOFTWARE that can control fan speed? I have a fanmate for my Zalman AlCu, but it's very quiet and i havent needed to lower the spped on it yet, but i also have a 120 mm Masscool case fan which is loud as hell. When i take the masscool off, my system is virtually quiet, but with that thing on, it sound like someone dropped some change in the washer. If there is such a program, what is it called and possibly link ot it? Thank you. PRIME my system bows to yours :respect: :respect: :respect: :respect: .

[Leonardo]

Actually, of all the different temperature and voltage monitoring softwares I've tried, I believe Asus Probe to be the most accurate. You might want to go to the Asus site, download the newest version of Probe, uninstall the old, and reinstall with the new version. 22*C idle? That would be correct if your room is average temperature and your computer is turned off, and has been off for an hour or two. Idle temperature should be 3X*C.

[csimon]

Actually, of all the different temperature and voltage monitoring softwares I've tried, I believe Asus Probe to be the most accurate. You might want to go to the Asus site, download the newest version of Probe, uninstall the old, and reinstall with the new version. 22*C idle? That would be correct if your room is average temperature and your computer is turned off, and has been off for an hour or two. Idle temperature should be 3X*C.
22 is probably right on. I was just observing temps on my system while I was disconnected and not able to receive any wus. At idle my cpu temp dropped down to 27c ...and that's with vcore at 1.5v and oc'ed to 2650 and the latest probeII.

[Leonardo]

22 is probably right on I could be wrong. But that's nearly room temperature. How can a CPU be operating at all and be room temperature? I guess I'm so obsessed with tweaking that I've never paused to observe what the temp measurements are on a processor at default speed with no load. (OOH, sounds like another mini-project to do!)

[primesuspect]

I'm at 32 under full load for several hours now. Idle I'm getting like 23-25

[Leonardo]

Alright, I stand corrected. :hiding:

[Mt_Goat]

Brian
It looks really sweet!
Yes, the temps on these Opty's is fantastic, especially after going from the (cough cough) old XP rigs.
......and I thought my rigs got dirty. :hair:

I'll post this link now for future reference. Most find they need it (mtgoat included I think) and others don't. I used it and you may too.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=81429

There is a link there to dload a hotfix which points to the A64 X2 I believe. Once you get there you can backtrack your way to the Opteron fix. They may or may not be the same idunno.



Nice score so far Brian ...notice any difference yet over your old setup? :bigggrin:
I am not sure if it was my upgraded BIOS or going from the X2 3800 to the 170 that fixed it for me. But since I got my 170 and am running the latest BIOS I have not had that problem anymore. Both cores fold within 2-3 seconds of each other on the same project.

[lemonlime]

I never liked using intake filters. They constrict too much air flow on their own.

It's better to just clean out the computer once a month.

I totally agree.. I yanked them out of my lian-li as well and I just do some regular maintenance. Once every couple months is fine, although you should see how much dust the vapo takes in, I'm cleaning the heat exchanger every couple of weeks :)

[csimon]

These opti's are incredible. I could even get post at .175v (didn't try winders) at up to stock clocks. Must have something to do with the power saving features.

Leo if you're looking into one seriously I posted coupons for monarch in the deals thread. Also I'm sure ebay has sweet deals as well.

[V|P]

Actually, of all the different temperature and voltage monitoring softwares I've tried, I believe Asus Probe to be the most accurate. You might want to go to the Asus site, download the newest version of Probe, uninstall the old, and reinstall with the new version. 22*C idle? That would be correct if your room is average temperature and your computer is turned off, and has been off for an hour or two. Idle temperature should be 3X*C.

Leo, I have the latest Probe, but my question wasn't on monitoring software. I love my asus probe, but i was wondering if there is any software out there that can actually work as, say a fanmate, and control fan speeds. Like I said, I have a masscool fan that is very loud, and i dont want to take it off, but my other 6 fans are totally silent, including the ones in the PSU and my Zalman may as well be a waterblock!!

[csimon]

Leo, I have the latest Probe, but my question wasn't on monitoring software. I love my asus probe, but i was wondering if there is any software out there that can actually work as, say a fanmate, and control fan speeds. Like I said, I have a masscool fan that is very loud, and i dont want to take it off, but my other 6 fans are totally silent, including the ones in the PSU and my Zalman may as well be a waterblock!!

You mean speedfan. They just released their latest version last week.

"SpeedFan 4.28
Copyright 2000-2006 by Alfredo Milani-Comparetti (alfredo@almico.com)

You can find SpeedFan at:

http://www.almico.com

What it does:
SpeedFan is a freeware program that monitors fan speeds and temperatures in computers with
a known monitoring chip. Its main feature is that it can control the speed of the fans
according to the temperatures inside your pc, thus reducing noise and power consumption.
SpeedFan can also access S.M.A.R.T. HD data and temperatures (if available)."

[primesuspect]

It's weird. The system is perfectly stable at 260x10 - prime95 for 25+ minutes, folding 100% on both cores, temps around 34-35, but every time I run 3DMark05, it hard freezes on the second test (the firefly forest) :(

Any suggestions?

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/cpuz260x10.png

[csimon]

It's weird. The system is perfectly stable at 260x10 - prime95 for 25+ minutes, folding 100% on both cores, temps around 34-35, but every time I run 3DMark05, it hard freezes on the second test (the firefly forest) :(

Any suggestions?
sure - fill in the blanks!

memclock mode [limit]
memclock value [200 mhz]
mct timing mode [manual]
cas latency (cl) [3.0] (auto)
tras [8 clk] (auto)
trp [2 clk] (auto)
trcd [3clk] (auto)
trrd [2 clk] (auto)
trc [11clk] (auto)
trfc [17clk] (auto)
trwt [4 clk] (auto)
user config mode [manual]
read preamble [5.5 ns] (auto)
async latency [7.0 ns] (auto)
cmd-addr timing mode [1t] (auto)
bank interleaving [auto]
burst length [4 beats]
hardware memory hole [disabled]

ai overclocking [manual]
cpu frequency [242]
pcie frequency [100]
fid/vid change [manual]
processor frequency multiplier [x11]
processor voltage [1.400v]
ddr voltage [2.60v] (auto)
pci-express voltage [+1.20v]
vcore over voltage [enable]
southbridge over-voltage [enable]
peg link mode [faster]
peg buffer length [short]

gart error reporting [disabled]
mtrr mapping [continuous]
cool n'quiet [disabled]
ht link speed [400 mhz]

[gibbonsl]

That's what I'm thinking: 1280x1024 being my chosen res, the dual x8xx crossfire will still kick some serious ass, despite it being "weird" :ninja:

Leo, i wanted you to look at the mounting job I did on the Big Typhoon. It seemed too easy, and you made it sound complicated, and now I want to make sure I did it right :D

Paste job:

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/opt170_1.jpg

Just screw that bar into the backplate, right?

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/opt170_2.jpg

Crossbar seems bent down pretty tight. Good?

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/opt170_3.jpg

Board prepped and waiting for the rest of the stuff:

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/opt170_4.jpg



MY GOD THAT TING IS HUGE!!!!!!!!!!

pretty tho:)

[TheSmJ]

Do a memtest(86+) for a good 12+ hours at your overclocked settings and see how things fair. Also, you'll need to run two instances of Prime95 (each on it's own core) for longer than 25 minutes before you consider it stable. Try 10 hours at least.

Whats your NB to SB HTT speed? CPU to NB?

EDIT: Also try bringing up your vCore to 1.5V and see if the problem goes away. If so, you can start bringing it down until the problem shows up again.

[primesuspect]

memclock mode [limit]
memclock value [166 mhz]
mct timing mode [manual]
cas latency (cl) [3.0] (auto)
tras [8 clk] (auto)
trp [3 clk] (auto)
trcd [3clk] (auto)
trrd [2 clk] (auto)
trc [11clk] (auto)
trfc [17clk] (auto)
trwt [4 clk] (auto)
user config mode [manual]
read preamble [5.5 ns] (auto)
async latency [7.0 ns] (auto)
cmd-addr timing mode [2t] (auto)
bank interleaving [auto]
burst length [4 beats]
hardware memory hole [disabled]

ai overclocking [manual]
cpu frequency [260]
pcie frequency [100]
fid/vid change [manual]
processor frequency multiplier [x10]
processor voltage [1.375v]
ddr voltage [] (auto)
pci-express voltage [+1.20v]
vcore over voltage [enable]
southbridge over-voltage [enable]
peg link mode [faster]
peg buffer length [Auto]

gart error reporting [disabled]
mtrr mapping [continuous]
cool n'quiet [disabled]
ht link speed [800 mhz]

I've highlighted the places where it is different from your settings, csimon.

[primesuspect]

I bumped the voltage to 1.4 just now.

I'll report back in a minute

[csimon]

try setting peg buffer length to short ...if you leave it at auto it's liable to set it to some unstable setting.
Also ...bring down the ht link to at least 600 ...if that doesn't work try 400. Later you can bench the two to see the difference ...on my machine at 260 - 400 runs faster and more stable than 600.
Try ram at 1t. <----nah scratch that.
If all else fails up the core.

If you do something major like change the vdimm or vcore you should start at the bottom frequency (200) and work your way up again.
I'd go in 10mhz increments til you hit 250 ...then 2mhz till you hit 260.
If you're going through all of that trouble you can also try 183 memclock.

[primesuspect]

Okay, I'm going out for an hour, so I set the memory to 1t, voltage to 1.4, peg link buffer to short, and HTT to 600mhz

I'm gonna run memtest for an hour while I'm gone. I'll report back when I'm done :)

Thanks!

[csimon]

Okay, I'm going out for an hour, so I set the memory to 1t, voltage to 1.4, peg link buffer to short, and HTT to 600mhz

I'm gonna run memtest for an hour while I'm gone. I'll report back when I'm done :)

Thanks!
okie doke good luck!:thumbsup:

edit:\ you may also want to set your vdimm to 2.75v or 2.8v manually ...since it's rated for 2.75v according to the link you posted in the front.

[lemonlime]

2.6 looking pretty sweet so far. Have you found your maximum CPU clock yet prime? I wouldn't settle for 2.6 quite yet :)

I'd set the 2/3 (133MHz) divider, and keep pushing onwards. Once you find a good clock (within a reasonable vcore range), then start worrying about the dram configuration.

At a 260MHz reference clock, I would not decrease your HTT below the 4x LDT multi (800MHz as per MSI). Once you get close to 280MHz or so, then drop it to 3x (600MHz as per MSI)

[primesuspect]

Okay I'm back - two full passes of memtest, no errors.

I'm gonna try 3dmark again.

Be back in a minute. :D

[primesuspect]

Ha! Okay now I got some info:

3Dmark crashed again, but this time the VPU recover kicked in. Geez I hope I don't have a defective graphics card :-/

Could this be bus related or do you think my video card might be bad?

[csimon]

OK ...here's what I found. Apparantly when I was trying to stretch 260/260my machine reconfigured the peg buffer length to [longest]. You may want to try that.

So look at these options:

peg buffer length: [longest]
dual-slot configuration: [single video card]
rd480 ht pll control: [fast]
ecc enable: [disable]

if you still get the video issue set rd480 control back to default (disabled or auto).

Well there's the quirk to this board. If you read the anadtech review that wes published on the a8r32-mvp he explains that at 260 the board reset itself to 2t to make itself stable. My guess is that you just found the quirky point and from here on out you'll need 2t at anything above where you are now. The upside is that this is when the board really starts to shine. The 2t rate becomes as fast as 1t and in some instances 2t is even faster. You'll notice that especially when/if you switch to x9.
The other quirky point is at 270 ...but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
In all indications ...when you hit 260x10 stable you should be able to start over with the 183 limit and then maybe even the 200 limit ...in moderation of course. It doesn't make any sense but this is just what I've been experiencing with this board.

[primesuspect]

The machine is stable right now, but the video card isn't.... That scares me :eek3:

[csimon]

try peg buffer length: [longest]

did you run 3dmark 2 or 3 times back to back? Man that's a lot of heat and stress to put that thing under right out of the box!:rarr:

I didn't mention it but when I had all the sinks off I also applied AS5 to the gpu and ram.

So what are your temps looking like?

[primesuspect]

Temps are great. The highest I've seen was 39

Yeah, technically I've run 3Dmark 4-5 times in a row - but only for a minute before the GPU crashes.

I've set the HTT down to 400mhz, and set the card control back to auto, but if I set the VDIMM to 2.8v instead of auto, the system won't post :-/

[primesuspect]

and purely unscientific - the northbridge, southbridge, GPU, and mosfet sinks all feel cool to the touch.

[primesuspect]

Now 3dmark won't even go past a minute or two into the first test (battle of proxycon).

Okay: as soon as it crashed, I ran it again, and it seems to be working :confused:

Now, I'm watching it and it gets to the third test.... wtf is going on?

[csimon]

and purely unscientific - the northbridge, southbridge, GPU, and mosfet sinks all feel cool to the touch.

LOL ...there is hardly a thing scientific about this board ...it just rocks once you learn to get beyond the quirks.

As for the video ...it's highly likely that the board is causing the issue and not the video. It takes a lot of trial and error to get used to and so many variables can mess up the sweet spot.

As for me ...I going to lengthen the peg buffer, normal on the rd480 control, and 2t cmd rate. At 2t you'll get the same bandwidth but lose a little frequency (maybe) ...but you'll free up some headroom on the cpu (controller).

One second thought ...that makes too much sense to work!;D

[primesuspect]

okay this time it made it all the way through 3dmark. wtf.

6222 3d marks :o

The only thing I can think of, honestly, is that when I was touching the gpu heatsink to feel it, perhaps I tightened the connection between the card and the motherboard. Perhaps the card was a bit loose :-/

[Leonardo]

Not scientific, but as long as the heatsinks are correctly installed with good thermal interface material, cool or warm to the touch is a valid measurement.

[csimon]

Well ...I made it through 3dmark06 without a freeze with the above changes to settings. Windows all around feels more stable now and zippier but the true test will come when I try to play tce:test. It's a fun game based on the quake 3 engine ...takes enemy territory to the next level in graphics for sure. Best of all it's free!
I'll update my thread in case you need it for reference.

[QCH]

Nice team work!!!

[Mt_Goat]

Not scientific, but as long as the heatsinks are correctly installed with good thermal interface material, cool or warm to the touch is a valid measurement.
I personally use the 3 second method. If I can keep my finger on it for 3 seconds without burning or feeling uncomfortable it is OK.

[TheSmJ]

you could always put it back to stock settings and try 3dmark again. if it's totally stable 5 times through then you KNOW it's not the video card.

[primesuspect]

Okay, I'm stable at 280x9.5 = 2660mhz

What should I try next? :D

[primesuspect]

Alright, PEG link = fastest results in an inability to make it through 3dmark.

PEG Link = faster (one step down) = make it through 3dmark.

Latest bench: 6562 / 280x9.5

[QCH]

From my calculations....

Original = 6131
Overclocked = 6562
Performance Increase = 7.03%


Not bad....

[csimon]

Alright, PEG link = fastest results in an inability to make it through 3dmark.

PEG Link = faster (one step down) = make it through 3dmark.

Latest bench: 6562 / 280x9.5

How about let's do a recap of the bios just to make sure what page we're on.

[primesuspect]

Here's where I'm at right now:

memclock mode [limit]
memclock value [166 mhz]
mct timing mode [manual]
cas latency (cl) [3.0] (auto)
tras [8 clk] (auto)
trp [2 clk] (auto)
trcd [3clk] (auto)
trrd [2 clk] (auto)
trc [11clk] (auto)
trfc [17clk] (auto)
trwt [4 clk] (auto)
user config mode [manual]
read preamble [5.5 ns] (auto)
async latency [7.0 ns] (auto)
cmd-addr timing mode [1t] (auto)
bank interleaving [auto]
burst length [4 beats]
hardware memory hole [disabled]

ai overclocking [manual]
cpu frequency [280]
pcie frequency [100]
fid/vid change [manual]
processor frequency multiplier [x9.5]
processor voltage [1.400v]
ddr voltage [2.60v] (auto)
pci-express voltage [+1.20v]
vcore over voltage [enable]
southbridge over-voltage [enable]
peg link mode [fast]
peg buffer length [longest]

gart error reporting [disabled]
mtrr mapping [continuous]
cool n'quiet [disabled]
ht link speed [400 mhz]

[lemonlime]

Looking good so far prime! Stay away from those half CPU multipliers though, stick with 9x, 10x etc. http://www.short-media.com/review.php?r=300&p=9 ;)

[primesuspect]

Should I try for 10x280? Or go down to 9x and try bumping the clock even more?

[csimon]

go down to 9 ...see how much htt you can get.

please tell me what bios you are using so I can try and duplicate it. If you tell me 0402 I'll scream.

[TheSmJ]

Don't forget to up the DDR voltage as well. I'll be very suprised if you can't get your HTT to at LEAST 300.

[primesuspect]

csimon: 0402

So, is 1.4v the maximum for vcore on this board?

[primesuspect]

Okay next round. Changes are bold.

memclock mode [limit]
memclock value [166 mhz]
mct timing mode [manual]
cas latency (cl) [3.0] (auto)
tras [8 clk] (auto)
trp [2 clk] (auto)
trcd [3clk] (auto)
trrd [2 clk] (auto)
trc [11clk] (auto)
trfc [17clk] (auto)
trwt [4 clk] (auto)
user config mode [manual]
read preamble [5.5 ns] (auto)
async latency [7.0 ns] (auto)
cmd-addr timing mode [1t] (auto)
bank interleaving [auto]
burst length [4 beats]
hardware memory hole [disabled]

ai overclocking [manual]
cpu frequency [285]
pcie frequency [100]
fid/vid change [manual]
processor frequency multiplier [x9]
processor voltage [1.400v]
ddr voltage [2.80v]
pci-express voltage [+1.20v]
vcore over voltage [enable]
southbridge over-voltage [enable]
peg link mode [normal]
peg buffer length [longest]

gart error reporting [disabled]
mtrr mapping [continuous]
cool n'quiet [disabled]
ht link speed [400 mhz]

[csimon]

csimon: 0402

So, is 1.4v the maximum for vcore on this board?

For that chip it is.
Technically you get 1.5v whenever you enable overvolting.
Everyone with this board has been anxiously awaiting some kind of magical bios that will solve this issue.
The A8R32-MVP has +.1v and +.2v overvolting options ...that is their solution.
According to Wes we should be able to do all we need with what we have (in so many words). Also, he claims that the a8r has reached 325 in his lab while the a8r32 has only gotten up to 322.

Dude I think I'll reformat and start over because I can't duplicate your speed anymore ...I've gotten as high as 292 (about a month or so ago) and benched it but I can't do it anymore. I'm thinking it may be a "fix" or driver or something that has me harnessed to no higher than 266.

Did you have any problems along the way?

[TheSmJ]

Is 1.40V the highest you can see available? If so, then you may need to mod the board to get a higher vC available for your CPU.

[csimon]

you're at 1t?

[primesuspect]

most of the problems could be considered "general instability". For example, I just rebooted it and almost immediately I got a fatal exception in explorer.exe. Dr Watson hung, but when I went into the task manager to end the drwtsn32 processes, everything seems to be fine now. Prime95 runs fine.

Earlier, it just hard froze. It's definitely not stable, despite the ability to run prime95 and 3dmark.

I'm currently at 285x9

[csimon]

Is 1.40V the highest you can see available? If so, then you may need to mod the board to get a higher vC available for your CPU.
Yes ...I failed to mention that. There is a vdimm mod that a very few have done. I'll see if I can link to it.

edit:\ i did post at 2750 earlier but it bsod'ed as soon as I got to windows.

[csimon]

See if this helps.

As you go up in htt ...when you enter XP generally and you get that instability feeling try a restart. Sometimes that helps.

[TheSmJ]

Yes ...I failed to mention that. There is a vdimm mod that a very few have done. I'll see if I can link to it.


You mean vcore? :)

My mobo (without mods) can only allow a vcore .05V higher than whatever the stock vcore happens to be. Is this the case with the A8R-MVP as well?

The fix for my board was simple. There's a voltage regulator chip which reads the stock vcore through a 5-bit binary code. Since there is a "break out" set of contacts on the board which are easily modifiable (ala the T-Bird/Duron unlocking days) you can unlock the maximum possible vcore with a dab of rear-window defroster repair paint.

I couldn't get my HTT as high as I did without bringing my core to as high as 1.525V (the max allowed with the mod is 1.55). I'm surprised these higher cost boards can't go any higher w/o modification.

EDIT: Here's what you guys need. (http://www.vr-zone.com.sg/?i=3135) Its not quite as easy but it gets the job done.

[csimon]

And yeah I meant vcore mod.

My mobo (without mods) can only allow a vcore .05V higher than whatever the stock vcore happens to be. Is this the case with the A8R-MVP as well?
You got it man!

I'm surprised these higher cost boards can't go any higher w/o modification.
higher cost? LOL ...this is a $99 board.
Apparantly all of the asustek and assrock boards are going to this for some reason. It's not making many ppl happy.

Yeah that's the link I was looking for.

dab of rear-window defroster repair paint
care to illistrate?:respect:

[primesuspect]

Changes:

htt to 290

command rate to 1t

keep moving forward!

[primesuspect]

Just for giggles, i'm going to use aquamark3 for stability testing this round.

[csimon]

Changes:

htt to 290

command rate to 1t

keep moving forward!

basterd! ;D

[primesuspect]

i'm not rubbing it in yet... AquaMark3 just crashed with an exception, although the system is still running. In fact, I'm writing this post from my system just seconds after the crash.... I'm going to try 3dmark again.

[csimon]

I can't believe you're doing this at 1t ...that's crazy.

Wes even updated his review as sort of an apology saying everything he achieved after 260-265 was at 2t because of an inadvertant reset.

Which drivers do you have loaded (besides the video)? I'd like to duplicate what you have when I do my format.

[TheSmJ]

care to illistrate?:respect:

http://www.ocworkbench.com/2005/asrock/reviews/939dual-sata2/vcoremodguide-4.jpg

That's it. Neat huh? :P

BTW Prime, set things back to the stock HTT and see if that "general instability" goes away. I'd say you're running unstable if you're getting crashes like that, even if they're not crashing the kernel.

[csimon]

LOL ..damn how did you find that? Did you use a vu meter and what did you look for?

Doesn't look much like the mvp board layout does it?

[primesuspect]

3dmark passed again. 6453 and 6409 cpu score. Trying for 295 next....

[primesuspect]

Changes this round - i'm going for video stability at this point:

dual slot config to single instead of auto
rd480 ht pll control to normal

htt to 295 :eek2:

pci-e voltage to +1.30v
PEG Link Mode to normal
PEG Buffer Length to Longer

wish me luck
:grr:

[primesuspect]

hahaha that was a no go.

Windows barely booted. Then NT AUTHORITY initiated a shutdown ;D

backing down to 293 :D

[primesuspect]

Maybe I spoke too soon. I rebooted, making no changes, and now it seems much better. I was able to open CPU-Z, take a couple screenshots, open photoshop, crop and save, open CuteFTP, upload pic, and post this at this moment at 295x9

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/20062002bench1.png.

About to run a graphics test...

[primesuspect]

okay I spoke too soon that time.

i got a spontaneous bluescreen, but it indicated my wireless NIC driver (Netgear Wg311T pci). Perhaps my PCI card is limiting me (or the driver) instead of a bus/cpu problem :eek3:

[primesuspect]

okay, disabling my NIC and, keeping current settings (295x9) trying 3dmark again.

[primesuspect]

no go - still got a bluescreen. Backing down to 293


Any hints on the PCI Latency settings? I'm using one PCI card - my wireless NIC. It's currently set at 64. Should I change this?

[csimon]

believe it or not ...I could never get my mem frequency stable beyond 237/238 until I uninstalled the soundmax drivers. Afterwards I let windows install it's own hd drivers and now I'm able to take it to 242 stable ...which is about where you'd be at 295/296 so I that is my suggestion.

idunno anything about the pci latency timing to be honest.

if that seems better but not quite stable enough you could back down some more off the peg ...maybe even disable it til you get a happy stable htt.

[primesuspect]

okay, i uninstalled the soundmax drivers. Currently I'm at 288x9 = 2592mhz

more to follow. :D

[TheSmJ]

You shouldn't have any reason to touch your PCI latency speed at all if you're running your PCIE/PCI bus async from your primary HTT. Your PCI speed is always 33 Mhz (and your PCIe @ 100) no matter what speed HTT is.s

[csimon]

I'll follow up from work in the morning ...off to bed good luck! :thumbsup:

[primesuspect]

So far, 12 hours of prime95 stable. I'm at work now so I'll check it again in five hours or so.

[csimon]

at 288x9?

have you ever tried the stess prime sp2004 test? It makes things so much nicer and easier with the gui ...all you do is run 2 instances like you do cpu which can run off of a single installation. You check off which core you want to test and select the appropriate affinity setting. The best part is you can even test each core indepently.

"Stress Prime 2004 is a better, I hope, GUI interface to Prime95's Torture Test. Thanks go to the Prime95 people for providing the Prime95 source code (version 23.8.1)."

[Omega65]

Stress Prime 2004 (http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?p=360352#post360352) Prime95 with a GUI Interface

an old screenie...
http://www.short-media.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=19225&stc=1&d=1140548495

[csimon]

It's such a handy tool. I always let it go at least 35 mins now because I've have most failures at around 33 mins. Sometimes a restart will cure it though. The board gets hiccups sometimes.

Thanks Omega!

[primesuspect]

Yep, I'm at 20 hours prime95 stable @ 288x9

Whee! What's next? :D

[csimon]

289?

[primesuspect]

stuff doesn't feel right. I can't put my finger on it. There are weirdnesses.

I am going back to 270x10 for now. It seems much more stable at a lower HTT. I'm still at 1T though. Sorry chris! :D

[TheSmJ]

Forget using 1T and try 2T instead. The only places you can "see" an increase in performance with 1T is in memory benchmarks; not even 3DMark shows an improvment between it and 2T.

On the other hand there's a very good chance your system will be more stable when running with 2T, and theres a far better chance you'll get a higher stable HTT rate.

[primesuspect]

Wow, folding stats show some marked improvement :D

[GHoosdum]

Nice work, Brian!

[csimon]

I feel your wierdness.

Thing I've found out over months is that once you muck with it like we're doing it seems that even what was once stable will be unstable.
What I've learned is to go back to square one ...a good safe stable setting a just fold for awhile ...like a day or two. Then gradually creep up the ht a mhz or two.

You were at 266 before ...maybe try 264 for a few days and lets see how stable we can get it.

edit:\I'm having a tough time going right back to my 242 ...I had to back down to 240.

[primesuspect]

Okay, I've gone to 275x10 and it is pretty damned stable. I played far cry at max settings for about two hours. Been photoshopping, etc. Temps are good at 41c under load.

http://www.short-media.com/images/prime/opt170/275x10.png

[primesuspect]

Current 3dMark05:

6564

CPU Score: 6168

[primesuspect]

i tried 280x10 but 3dmark crashed.

Backed down to 277x10 and got 6564 again, but with a CPU score of 6233 this time. How is the total score the same even though the CPU score is higher? :wtf:

[Thrax]

275x10 eh? Looks like my decision has been made.

[Omega65]

275x10 eh? Looks like my decision has been made.
:celebrate :celebrate :celebrate

[csimon]

i tried 280x10 but 3dmark crashed.

Backed down to 277x10 and got 6564 again, but with a CPU score of 6233 this time. How is the total score the same even though the CPU score is higher? :wtf:

graphics score is starting to suffer.
At this point I would recommend trying the following until we get a highest stable cpu.

set peg mode to disabled
set peg length to longest
set ht pll control to normal.

At this point we don't want video instabilities getting in the way and your video score will probably rise a little from what it is currently. I'm confident your ram isn't in the way either but you can work on those later. Since your ram frequency is still below 260 I think you're ok with 1t.

[primesuspect]

See my post in your A8R-MVP thread... Totally stable except for prime95. I'm willing to continue using my system at 275x10 because I can do everything that I normally do, but I'm really curious as to why Prime95 crashes. I guess I cannot consider this 100% stable.

[csimon]

Idunno that's a great oc if you ask me. I wish I could get mine to 2.7!

[primesuspect]

okay, back down to 270x10 and prime95 errored out after 58 minutes instead of 15 seconds :shakehead

[Omega65]

I may have missed this.....But we are running TWO instances of P95 right?

[primesuspect]

yeah, i'm using stressprime 2004.

[csimon]

are you unchecking each no affinity box or leaving it checked?

[primesuspect]

no affinity remains checked.

[csimon]

I was under the impression that when you torture 2 cores you should run 1 instace per core with both unchecked. That way you're testing cpu0 and cpu1 independently. Run 1 instance with no affinity checked to test mem. That's how I've been doing it.

[Omega65]

If Prime fails it's not 100% stable. P95 is just checking the results generated against a list of correct results....

drop the FSB (HTT) or up the vCore a tad

[GHoosdum]

If Prime fails it's not 100% stable.

prime won't fail, he'll just tweak his BIOS and try again.

Oh, you meant the other "Prime". ;)

[lemonlime]

prime won't fail, he'll just tweak his BIOS and try again.

Oh, you meant the other "Prime". ;)

;D lol

[primesuspect]

Trouble in paradise :(

I was having some hard lockup issues, so I took everything back to stock. My computer hard froze after a day and a half :(

sigh.

[TheSmJ]

Hard froze before or after bringing it back to stock?

[csimon]

that's strange. I did a reformat with only minimal drivers this weekend (by the damndest) and I am at 260x10 @ 183 mhz 1.35v + ov and it seems quite stable ...800mhz ht to boot. I haven't seen this before.

Had you installed the amd hotfix? I haven't done mine on the reformat yet.

[csimon]

Brian ...next time perhaps try 2T when you take it past 260. It's documented everywhere that once you get to that high it's still fast and no real different between 1T and 2T.

[csimon]

Something I really curious about.

I noticed when I had the board set for 1.4v + ov it only registered as 1.40v in cpuz. Perhaps a problem with cpuz program.
Now I have it set at 1.35v + ov and cpuz shows 1.45v fluctuating.

I'm thinking that since the chipset is so new some of these programs will have issues with measurements at times.

[primesuspect]

No, it hard froze after resetting everything to stock.

It had been running stock @ 2T for over a day, doing nothing but folding, and it hard froze last night. :(

[csimon]

hrm ...sounds like maybe bios clearing time.

But first ...are you using any usb devices? Try disabling v2.0

[primesuspect]

Almost every peripheral I have is USB - Scanner, camera, printer, mouse, keyboard. You mean disable USB v2 in the bios?

[csimon]

yes ...I read about it at the asus forum last week. I'm looking for it now.

[csimon]

ok ...here's the thread I was talking about. It involves installing the Uli drivers from the uli site. During the install it promts to update the usb drivers as well ...optimuz recommends setting usb from 2 to 1.

http://vip.asus.com/forum/bbs.aspx?board_id=1&SLanguage=en-us

Perhaps you can reinstall the sound drivers after this.

edit:\ here's the uli driver page in tw. http://www.uli.com.tw/eng/support/drivers.php

[primesuspect]

Does that mean my scanner and printer will work at USB 1 speeds? Cause that really sucks :(

[csimon]

Honestly I have no clue. But I didn't read where he even tried USB 2 ...try it. With the Uli usb drivers of course.

[csimon]

I installed the Usb drivers and everything feels fine ...I've also installed the Ms usb 2.0 and I have usb 1.1&2.0 at stock settings in bios and everything is ok. Also have the latest adi soundmax installed. Will test this tomorrow with tce:test.

[muddocktor]

This thread has some real good info in it.:cool:

Prime, you get "da Sticky Treatment" man! :thumbsup:

[primesuspect]

:D thanks, mudd!

[primesuspect]

Seems more stable lately. Perhaps this board needs a "burn in" or something :wtf:

I've been stable at 280x9 for 2 days now. TheSMJ came over and set it to this and it's been stable since then.

Just an update :)

[TheSmJ]

Usually helps when you know what you're doing. :D

EDIT: With a vcore mod I'm sure you could get HTT above 300 Mhz. 280 was about where my Opti 165 was stuck with 1.4V

[csimon]

Hmmm ...I'm afraid to ask what settings? LOL

[csimon]

Brian what's your status on this thing?

[Hawk]

Been following this thread since the begining and I can't wait to set up an Opti/DFI rig. Seems to be a good OC'er. Nice job Prime.
Right now I'm working on getting my AN7/XP 3200+ setup.
Probably going to get the Opti/DFI rig in a mnth or so.

[primesuspect]

Stable so far, haven't had to time to push it any further. I'm experiencing power issues at my house lately, I think the circuit that my computer is on is overloaded, and I've been experiencing sags that shut my computer down spontaneously. Some mornings I'll wake up and the computer will just be turned off.

I had a UPS hooked inline and it was flaking out too, so I think I'm having some issues. Time to run a dedicated 20amp circuit for my computer only to that massive 200amp panel that QCH helped me set up :D

[Hawk]

Sounds like you've got plenty of room for another breaker then.
Hopefully that will cure the problem. Good luck.
Don't forget to wear your rubber gloves for the live test on the new line.
http://pdhomes.net/music/isleofjersey/graphics/eyebrows.gif

[QCH]

Room for additional breaker, yes... Getting the line to the wall.... that's a different story. If I remember correctly, Prime's PC is in the living area... on a slab... getting power to the wall will entail running power to the attic and then down the wall cavity... not as easy as it could be...

[Hawk]

Room for additional breaker, yes... Getting the line to the wall.... that's a different story. If I remember correctly, Prime's PC is in the living area... on a slab... getting power to the wall will entail running power to the attic and then down the wall cavity... not as easy as it could be...

Been there- Done that. Had to run seperate cat5 lines through the attic to my pc areas. We have about 24" verticle space to crawl & work in.
Drill the top plates/pull the wires down, fish them out of the wall, etc.
Best to do that stuff when it's cool.

[profdlp]

...Best to do that stuff when it's cool.
At prime's house, it's always cool. :cool:

;D

[parera10]

Sorry primesuspect, but what is your finally stable settings? I have an opteron 165 and I want to try your settings in my system.

[psupef2k]

I have an ASUS A8R32-MVP & Opteron 170, Stepping CCBWE 0551UPMW.

I am hoping I can get my machine to 2.6ghz stable. Any pointers?

[TheLostSwede]

Prime, Some good news!
You better sell those videocards asap while they are worth something and get a couple of 7900 GT's instead...SLI now works on your board with a special driver. You might win one of the cards at the lan :)

[primesuspect]

:eek2: link?

[TheLostSwede]

Not yet as i'm not allowed to leak it for another 24 hours, but i'm sure it will turn up pretty soon. Do you have a couple of cards for testing?

[primesuspect]

no :(

[csimon]

will 7800gt's work sli? I only have one though.

[TheSmJ]

Has SLi offically been deemed better than Crossfire now?

[primesuspect]

Yes, the King of Prussia officially deemed it better just two days ago.

[profdlp]

Yes, the King of Prussia officially deemed it better just two days ago.
I did not! :rarr:

[johansson]

Don´t know if this will help someone, anyway I did try the ASUS A8R-MVP Mobo some months ago, since it had good specifications and had some good reviews as well, but returned it because of general power instability ( vcore fluctation ) and lack of 1T performance at that time, along with some strange PCI/IDE recognition issues at boot and ASUS not able to present a good stable bios
I spent some time on the ASUS forum at that time and saw more people with simular problems, but the basic problems are mentioned on several differant forums;
http://www.ocworkbench.com/ocwbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=44;t=000091;p=0
http://www.xbitlabs.com/discussion/2706.html
I did however, succed with some decent OC with a X2 3800+, but it wasn´t stable and trustful in the long run.

Seems like the MoBo 3-phase design/powermanagement can´t handle too much OC stress or Crossfire settings at the same time.
ASUS also limited bios vcore setting from 1.6v at pre-release / review samples to 1.40-1.45 at max at launch.
Some believe it´s because the MoBo was is not fit to handle Crossfire 2 x graphiccards from start and should be fixed with the later A8R32-MVP version.

Ofcourse, It also could be that my experience was based on a bad MoBo sample.
Please, you guys that has already got it, I´m just sharing some experience and not say it´s a bad mobo for everyone.
However, personally I would not waste a lot of time on the A8R-MVP, if I was going to build an OC friendly 2xCrossfire system, then I would have replaced it with the later A8R32-MVP version if I wanted to stay with ASUS.

[TheLostSwede]

All SLI capable cards works so far for both Intel and Amd-based crossfire boards. We all knew it was a registry hack from the beginning, but until recently, no one have found it.

[csimon]

Has SLi offically been deemed better than Crossfire now?If you already own an nvidia card it would be surely more economical.

[MarkyMarc43]

Hi there,

Did you ever determine stable OC settings on your A8R-MVP?
I have the same Mobo and the AMD Athlon X2 3800+
I was wondering what your final settings were and if you had upgraded that BIOS to 0602.

Thanks in advance.

Marc

[csimon]

I found some stable settings but I was using 402. The last bios I used was 503 and never saw 0602 come out. I gave the board to dad but I will update the bios if it's worth it. What changes did they make?
Here is the link to my A8R-MVP thread if it helps. http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42135