My First Opteron :D

24

Comments

  • WuGgaRoOWuGgaRoO Not in the shower Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    i suggest keeping the opteron..and killing ur customers...it just might be worth it for the cause :)
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    Part II:

    I couldn't stand keeping it in the box. So I ripped the box open. Yes, those are my grubby fingers on this Opteron 144:

    opteron144_closeup.jpg

    One thing: The core says "Copyright 2001" on it. I wonder what they're making right this moment, in late 2003.

    Next, I dropped it in the socket:

    sk8n_loaded.jpg

    Two pics of the HSF. Notice the weird lever on the one side:

    retailfan1.jpg
    retailfan2.jpg

    Finally, I cannot for the life of my figure out what this thingy is. I know what everything else is for, but this baffles me. My guess is some sort of power supply cable for SATA drives, but I could be way off base:

    weirdplug.jpg
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited August 2003
    I think it is a SATA power connector.
  • FormFactorFormFactor At the core of forgotten
    edited August 2003
    im jealous.

    i want one.
  • t1rhinot1rhino Toronto
    edited August 2003
    Ewww... Passive nb cooling. You going to change it?
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    /drool
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    No, I'm not gonna mess with the NB cooling. It's not my system, and it will never be overclocked ...

    Can opterons be overclocked?
  • t1rhinot1rhino Toronto
    edited August 2003
    primesuspect said
    Can opterons be overclocked?

    Why don't you find out. ;):D
  • WuGgaRoOWuGgaRoO Not in the shower Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    t1rhino said


    Why don't you find out. ;):D


    im with rhino on this...find out :)
  • Omega65Omega65 Philadelphia, Pa
    edited August 2003
    primesuspect said
    No, I'm not gonna mess with the NB cooling. It's not my system, and it will never be overclocked ...

    Can opterons be overclocked?

    Yes

    AMDZone: Asus SK8N & Opteron 242 & 244 Overclocking

    AMDZone: Overclocking the Opteron 246
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    Memory came in today. Case and rest of components are due Friday. Thrax and I will be starting the build on Monday.

    BTW: This is the first time we'll have met in real life. Any suggestions on how I should treat someone who I know, but have never met ;D ?
  • Omega65Omega65 Philadelphia, Pa
    edited August 2003
    Buy him a beer. He'll remember you always... ;D;D;D
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    I'm sure his parents will remember me always, since I'll be in jail at their behest for supplying a minor with the devil's brew ;D
  • Omega65Omega65 Philadelphia, Pa
    edited August 2003
    ;D;D;D
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    I don't need the beer to remember the man that let me touch an Opteron! ;D;D


    Lemme say that a few more times.


    Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron *breath* Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron Opteron.


    :respect: Advanced Micro Devices and :respect: Prime
  • Al_CapownAl_Capown Indiana
    edited August 2003
    I wonder if you could pay the customer a few $$$ on the side and maybe you could right a review comparing the opteron vs other 32 bit systems. This could bring lots of publicity? no? :D
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    Don't give him any bright ideas! He reads this thread!

    Yes, even Wug's "Kill the customer" post. :)
  • a2jfreaka2jfreak Houston, TX Member
    edited August 2003
    Nah, don't give the customer any $$$. Just plug his business in the article. :)
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    Parts are in.

    Build takes place tomorrow (Friday) 11:30 AM EST. Expect an article. :)

    Actually, not all parts are in - the video card and pro audio card are still absent. But we can do the build and the write up without those.
  • Al_CapownAl_Capown Indiana
    edited August 2003
    Bleh, have Thrax bring in his 9700 pro and do a 3dmark2001 SE benchy. MMM opteron.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    That's a good idea. I've PMed him.
  • WuGgaRoOWuGgaRoO Not in the shower Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    primesuspect said
    Don't give him any bright ideas! He reads this thread!

    Yes, even Wug's "Kill the customer" post. :)

    mwahahha...where would this forum be without me :)
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    Build is happening as I type this :D expect benches soon...
  • t1rhinot1rhino Toronto
    edited August 2003
    Can't wait! Get some screenies of it folding!
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited August 2003
    t1rhino said
    Can't wait! Get some screenies of it folding!
    Yeah - I'll bet that progress indicator will look like the sweep second hand on a Swiss watch!
    *only slightly carried away...:)
  • BlackHawkBlackHawk Bible music connoisseur There's no place like 127.0.0.1 Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    primesuspect said
    Build is happening as I type this :D expect benches soon...
    :kneel:
  • TemplarTemplar You first.
    edited August 2003
    Op..ter..on.. gurrr.. :hair:
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    Alright, the build is complete. It would have taken less time, but ahem... mr. thrax made a few Faux Pas (or as a good friend of mine calls them, Foopas)

    First, the finished build:

    finished_box.jpg

    Please ignore the ghetto style Radeon 9700 pro - that's not mine! Thrax somehow misplaced his stock fan and put on 50cfm fan on top of the HS. So, anyways, it works. :)

    The case is an Antec Piano Sonata, which has several unique features - the most prevalent which is the drive cages - they require you to install the rails incorrectly twice before you can install them properly. At least, that's what Thrax did to get them installed... :rolleyes:

    Next, the chip, one last time:
    opteron.jpg

    We have this as a full sized pic if someone wants it for a background or something.

    940 Pins?
    940pins.jpg

    Now for the good bit... The BIOS:

    First of all, the BIOS is colorful. Funky animated ANSI gradients along the top. Makes me feel like its 1989 again! W00t!

    engsample.jpg

    Engineering Sample? Wow.

    ht_tristate.jpg

    Okay, now wtf does this mean? Me and thrax and his friend Mike all scratched our heads. We feel like we are starting the learning process all over again. Everything is so new and different.

    :scratch:

    CPU_Overclock.jpg

    Yes, you can overclock. We shall see.

    Expect screens of benches and bench results next.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    AHAAH!

    I ARRIVE QUICKLY HOME!

    1. Opteron is sweet. I feel like I'm learning computers all over again when I step into the BIOS and see submenus that don't (And have never) existed on any other board. There are almost as many unknown submenus as there are normal known options in an Athlon/P4 BIOS. Tristate? WTF? There are SO many options to plow through in the BIOS, so many new ways to plug things in, test and install, etc.

    2. The Asus SK8N has a 24 bit color (800x600 ??) boot screen! Can't wait to hack it!

    3. The Asus SK8N also has probably 16bit color scrolling gradients at the top of the screen, sort of like Windows 2000 gradient under the logo at boot. Cheesy, but cool.

    4. Hitting delete makes the BIOS come up AFTER the RAID array scan. Hitting delete doesn't make the BIOS come up before it scans drives/ram/proc.

    5. The opteron is HEAVY. They went back to a ceramic packaging for it, and it weighs a ton. The packaging is impressive though.

    6. I hate drive rails.

    7. I pwned them eventually.

    8. The arithmetic scores on our first run of Sandra seemed really low (Lower than a 2.8 P4B). We're trying to figure out why...We assume it's the BIOS, but we're not sure. Time will tell when my friend and I go back monday.


    The build would've taken less time, but Prime spent 20 minutes trying to half-ass the front panel USB/Firewire before spending another 15 minutes with the manual. ;D

    Testing Opteron Folding:
    Prime: "Let's see how fast it folds." *Launches the 3.25 client and begins entering 'Primesuspect' into the user name field*
    Thrax: "Set it under its own name so we can see how many points it does in 3 days."
    Prime: "..." *laughing* "Nah. We'll see how many points it does for me in 3 days"
    primesuspect
  • FAH_WWFAH_WW Training in Indianapolis, IN
    edited August 2003
    I bought an MSI board a long time ago, with two 240s. I was not too impressed with the speed of it, but then running at 1.4G each I suppose I shouldnt have.

    I found the Opteron very stable BUT FAH has issues GRR The same issues as with the later AMD CPUs.... Just wish they'd fix that.

    Looks like a superb system :D - Unfortunately I'm totally skint at the moment, my bank is causing me too much grief to be able to upgrade my CPUs or try the new Asus board.

    Did you notice how cool these Opterons run btw? Massive storage :D woot :D

    I've only got a meagre RAID5 with 3 * 120WD JBs - still, not bad :D:D
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