Hardware pr0n...w00t! [Archive]

clocker

04-05-2005, 01:52 PM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/HWPorn.jpg
Well, it gets Sprocket all wet anyway....

New parts arrived yesterday, it was like Christmas in April except for the lack of decorations and insipid music.
Pictured above are the motherboard (Gigabyte GA-K8N Ultra-9), 4x512MB Patriot HP RAM(2,3,2,5 @1T), Athlon 64 3500+ CPU (90nm Winnie) and an Arctic Freezer 64 HSF.
Not shown are the XFX 6800GT (PCI-e) or the Plextor PX-17SA Dual layer DVD-RW.

Oh boy.

Tomorrow (Wed.) is my day off so I can begin the transformation.
First I have to strip out the Chaintech 754 setup from the Silverstone case and build it into a new box- my brother has bought Sprocket's guts for his boys new PC.
I hope to have all that up and running by tomorrow night.
Then I can begin to reassemble my baby in her new glory.

The first build will be pretty quick and dirty cause I have some more changes in mind- the new Antec P-180 case looks very interesting and I'm teetering on the edge of watercooling again, so I can't (won't) really tart up the wiring till I decide what to do ( the Antec has a completely different layout than my current TJ-06).
The watercooling is more for noise prevention ( which is the entire point of the Antec case) than performance (see no point in OCing this setup really), so the Freezer 64 is just a (temporary) experiment.

Updates will follow as time allows.

Virtualbody1234

04-05-2005, 04:35 PM

Not naked enough. The RAM still wrapped and CPU are still partially covered.

I know you'll say I've seen those things before but...

GepperRankins

04-05-2005, 04:38 PM

consider the RAM packaging lingerie :ermm:

the cheap RAM i get leaves nothing to the imagination :snooty:

clocker

04-05-2005, 07:58 PM

Not naked enough.
Oh you naughty boy. :w00t:
Sprocket would be happy to treat you to a private "webcam date" (just for you!) and respond to your every desire.

If we could just get the teensy-weenie matter of the credit card settled now....

S!X

04-05-2005, 09:25 PM

Damn, That hawt lol Did you order that stuff from newegg?

accat13

04-05-2005, 09:48 PM

Damn just drooled all over the keyboard :) Looking fwd. to all the post on the build.Just like looking at a new issue of playboy.(only for the articles of coarse)

Virtualbody1234

04-05-2005, 10:08 PM

Oh you naughty boy. :w00t:
Sprocket would be happy to treat you to a private "webcam date" (just for you!) and respond to your every desire.

If we could just get the teensy-weenie matter of the credit card settled now....
Not a chance! I never pay for that stuff.

Spicker

04-05-2005, 11:39 PM

wheres the sexy video card :drool:

nice set up clocker....

why not save up and get a FX? :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty:

Smith

04-05-2005, 11:41 PM

Where do you guys get the money for this shite?

Virtualbody1234

04-05-2005, 11:48 PM

Where do you guys get the money for this shite?
I think it's something called work.

peat moss

04-06-2005, 12:33 AM

I think it's something called work.

That and his kids are grown and left the nest ! :lol: I'm just a little jealous , don't mind me . :)

Spicker

04-06-2005, 12:48 AM

That and his kids are grown and left the nest ! :lol: I'm just a little jealous , don't mind me . :)
glad that im not the only one jealous.... :01: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty:

bigdawgfoxx

04-06-2005, 01:44 AM

CLOCKER that freaking rocks dude! 2gigs thats insane and awesome lol great graphics card and cpu...i cant wait to see how it benches man thats awesome!

ApacNTS

04-06-2005, 01:58 AM

Peerzy

04-06-2005, 02:00 AM

i dont know alot about building computers, but that sure looks tempting to me. i swear, you guys build computers just to say ah it's slow...at 4ghz...if you over clock that what could it run? 5...5 1/2? insanity.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

No

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Nice stup clocker, but one does wonder, will you need all that ram :ermm:

Spicker

04-06-2005, 02:06 AM

lol people getting Horny from e-penises :naughty: :naughty: :naughty:

zapjb

04-06-2005, 03:07 AM

Nice enjoy. I'm just wondering if all 4 sticks of RAM will fit w/heat spreaders installed. Looks like a tight fit. Do let us know.

S!X

04-06-2005, 06:00 AM

lol people getting Horny from e-penises :naughty: :naughty: :naughty:

:offtopic: :swear:

clocker

04-06-2005, 09:07 AM

Nice stup clocker, but one does wonder, will you need all that ram :ermm:
Yes, one does wonder.
Prolly not, but now I don't have to read the manual to figure out which slots are which for dual channel operation...just fill 'em all. :naughty:

@Canuk....I mow lawns and shovel snow for change, which I hoard up, Scrooge-like. Newegg was slightly miffed when I paid with bags of quarters,
but they'll get over it.

why not save up and get a FX?
Cause this gets me up and running ( with a less than $800 chip) while we see what the Venice cores are like and if the Hammers come down in price.

Just for you VB, here are the naked RAM modules and the CPU...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/mini-ramchip.jpg
And the 6800GT vid card (I like the stiffening rail they have on the outside edge...this is a long card!)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/mini-vid.jpg
Finally, the heatsink installed...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/mini-freezer.jpg
Right.
Time to make coffee and get to work.
Back in a few hours....

GepperRankins

04-06-2005, 12:08 PM

hawt and kewl

Virtualbody1234

04-06-2005, 12:26 PM

...Just for you VB, here are the naked RAM modules and the CPU...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/mini-ramchip.jpg
...
:w00t:

zapjb

04-06-2005, 01:12 PM

Man clocker those latest pictures on page 2 are way cool!

clocker

04-06-2005, 04:34 PM

Small update...
My brother's PC (which is actually the "old" Sprocket) is built...in fact, that's how I'm posting right now.

I did install the new Gigabyte board into my case and it POSTed first time up.
All the RAM is recognized and the Winchester is correctly identified (I've read that some boards require a BIOS flash to do this).

The stock fan on the XFX video card is just plain obnoxious...absurdly loud.
I was hoping to hold off until I decided about watercooling, but this noise is unbearable, so I'm off to the store to pick an upgrade.
Not sure which one to get...prolly the Zalman, but we'll see.

Laterz....

Virtualbody1234

04-06-2005, 05:04 PM

What BIOS revision is it? If it's the F2 revision then you should be fine.

Funny thing is that your 3500+ Winchester isn't on the supported CPU list: http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Support/CPUSupportList/CPUSupportList_GA-K8N%20Ultra-9.htm

bigdawgfoxx

04-06-2005, 10:05 PM

Mannn that ram looks awesome lol...:drool:

Spicker

04-06-2005, 11:13 PM

omfg that HS is like a big horny mofo cooler :lol:

and that video card is sexiiiiiii

MagusDraco

04-06-2005, 11:57 PM

-stares at the fan- That's a big fan. -stares at it some more- Damn that old 1ghz t-bird coulda used something like that. Poor guy..umm...didn't get any of that heatsink goup on him ever..I don't believe.

ApacNTS

04-07-2005, 12:48 AM

that heatsink if fucking huge, damn damn dman, i stared at it 3 times in disbelief. with all that ram you could do w/e you want and then some. how nice is must be.

S!X

04-07-2005, 01:36 AM

OMG clocker the ram and vid card are so sexy.

clocker

04-07-2005, 11:12 AM

Well, all of the hardware would be far sexier if I could get Windows to install on it.
I'm baffled ( and tired, which isn't helping).

Trying to install the x64Beta XP (which I've been running for the past few months on the old setup, so I don't believe that's the problem...).
All goes well, Windows can see the HDD(s) and will format and load installation files.
I can F8 to agree to the EULA.
When it gets to the reboot screen for the install to continue....it just starts all over again.
No, I am not hitting "any key to boot from CD".

Like an idiot, I have repeated the process maybe 10 times now, but no joy.

My only idea is to find nVidia 64bit SATA drivers and F6 them in, although we have NEVER had to do this on any of our 32 bit installs ( I've sold 7 of these Gigabyte boards in the past few weeks and the trick is NOT to F6 SATA drivers...somehow the board presents the HDDs to Windows without drivers).
Maybe the Beta 64 is different.

Poop.

I did install the Zalman VGA cooler on the vid card and it is very nice (i.e. silent), but I'm not sure it is seated properly.
The sink seems awfully loose ( I've noticed this with the 7-series CPU sinks also) and I might try to shim the hold down bracket to increase the clamping pressure, but that will have to wait till I can get the system up and running.

Double poop.

One ray of light....BIOS reports my CPU temp as 22-24C so far.
Admittedly, I haven't been able to do anything, so the chip is essentially idling, but even so, this is considerably lower than my previous Clawhammer 754 chip ever ran.
I know that the Winchesters run a lower vCore (1.4v I believe), so that, combined with this HSF, should give pretty respectable temps.
I'm still pondering watercooling again ( in fact, I have a bid in on a DangerDen block for the vid card, but the guy is jerking me around so I prolly will have to buy it new), but I'm waiting to see the new Antec P-180 case first.

Anyway, I don't even know why I'm wasting my time thinking of this...getting the OS loaded should be my only priority right now.

Off to see the Wizard...

GepperRankins

04-07-2005, 11:49 AM

did you do the LBA thing in bios?

i had the same sort of problem copies all the files then when it restarts to do the installation i was getting boot errors, (theres a thread about it somewhere).

i had to go into bios and change some property in your hard-drive settings to LBA, well i think it's LBA

clocker

04-07-2005, 12:10 PM

No, I didn't, but I'm not getting any error messages either.
When Windows takes over the install after formatting/ loading files/ reboot, it is apparently losing the HDD and just starts all over.
Honestly, I would welcome an error message- at least then I'd have some idea what's going on and maybe a way to fix this.

I'll talk to our techs today and see what ideas they come up with...a fresh approach might be all that is needed.

Edit: I slaved my primary drive ( the Raptor I'm trying to load to) to this PC.
It is formatted and the installation folder is there and full of files. All seems normal.
I have already recertified the drive and it passes with flying colors so I am discounting hardware problems...as I said, I'm getting no error messages at all.

GepperRankins

04-07-2005, 12:14 PM

you could at least try

peat moss

04-07-2005, 12:15 PM

Saw this too , quote : do you run your sata i raid . if not, don´t install the driver (F6) when install .
some of the driver are in windows. but you allways have to disabled all ata hd (you can do that i the bios) .
is only the raid driver that don´t work.

Virtualbody1234

04-07-2005, 12:31 PM

Hmmm, strange...

After assembly, did you clear the CMOS?
What is the motherboard firmware revision?

Those temps are what I would expect with that heatsink (overkill for the Winchester core).

Check that graphics card cooler before continuing. No need to damage the card from overheating... is there?

Peerzy

04-07-2005, 01:30 PM

clocker

04-07-2005, 02:21 PM

HA!
I win.

Silly me.
Turns out, in BIOS, SATA must be enabled (which it was), AND RAID must be disabled.
I had assumed that if I did not create an array it didn't matter, but apparently it does. I'm guessing that with RAID turned on (?) when Windows begins to initialize the install it looks for an array, not just the nearest HDD, naturally, I didn't HAVE an array for it to find.*
Ickle, wittle Windows got confused. :unsure:

Anyway, problem solved.
Mostly.
Remember when I said I was tired?
Turns out I have been using the wrong disc, too.
I have the latest (and last) BETA build (v.1433), but was using the previous version disc. I discovered this when it would not accept my newest product key.

*sigh*

Oh well, what's another Windows install?
I'll beat this SOB yet.

*An interesting footnote (to me at least).
When RAID was enabled, my new Plextor SATA DVD-RW showed up in the drop down menu for "Boot order" in BIOS. I mean, it showed up by name- "Plextor DVD", in addition to the generic "CD-ROM" option that you always see.
When RAID is disabled, that option goes away and you must set first boot devive to "cd-rom" instead.

Just thought I'd share.

Peerzy

04-07-2005, 02:28 PM

clocker

04-07-2005, 02:37 PM

Actually P., I've had zero problems with the version I've been running and it's completely legal for one year.
Driver availablity has been the only real stumbling block, and that has been improving quickly.
The plan is to hang in and see what Longhorn turns out to be.
After all, I just squandered a boatload of cash on a vid card- I may as well use it on a 3D eyecandy GUI, eh?

Virtualbody1234

04-07-2005, 05:54 PM

Personally Clocker i wouldnt have gone with 64bit Windows right now, within the next month or the final version will be out (cracked i mean) an ISO to the final is already on the net (which a non working crack included however) so its only a matter of weeks befor eyou could use the final.
Do you know where such "final" ISO can be found and what it's filename is?

@clocker. It's good to see that you solved the "RAID" problem.

What happened with the video card cooler?

I guess you don't want ot tell me the BIOS revison. That's ok. I was just wondering if I bought that same board, if it would have the original or the updated one. No matter. I can always flash it.

clocker

04-07-2005, 08:52 PM

What happened with the video card cooler?

I guess you don't want ot tell me the BIOS revison.
I am at work, so nothing has happened to the HS on the card.

I'd be happy to share my BIOS rev.# with you....assuming I knew what it was.

Which I don't.

I had planned on flashing it anyway...I understand there are few upgrades from the shipping BIOS, but I'm waiting to use the Windows based flash utility.
Tomorrow morning I hope to try.

Snee

04-07-2005, 09:00 PM

I thought win-flash and the like=very, very bad?

Very nice setup btw.

We are most impressed.

clocker

04-07-2005, 09:48 PM

I thought win-flash and the like=very, very bad?

I've never had a problem using it and it saves having to temporarily install a floppy drive.

Boy, I hope it's a nice machine.
I'm actually kinda excited to see how she works.

Snee

04-07-2005, 09:56 PM

Cool, I'd try it if I dared, think I'll stick to using a bootdisc tho', seems the most secure way.

For what it's worth, I'm jealous already.

Virtualbody1234

04-07-2005, 10:20 PM

There are only 2 BIOS revisions for that board: Click -->K8N Ultra 9 BIOS revisons (http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Support/BIOS/BIOS_GA-K8N%20Ultra-9.htm)

First release and 1 update.

The BIOS revison should show at bootup.

ApacNTS

04-07-2005, 10:41 PM

post more pictures, it's just addicting to look at :p. definatly want to see the finished product *drools*

peat moss

04-07-2005, 11:47 PM

post more pictures, it's just addicting to look at :p. definatly want to see the finished product *drools*

Ya I'm getting antsy to upgrade now too . I better get to mowing those neibours lawns ! :P

clocker

04-08-2005, 12:28 AM

Ya I'm getting antsy to upgrade now too . I better get to mowing those neibours lawns ! :P
Lawns?
Plural?

Think big...ONE lawn for $1500.

Try to do a nice job.

clocker

04-08-2005, 01:52 PM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/captured2.jpg
YeHA!
Comcast seems to have um, upgraded my connection a wee bit.

Me likey.

I finally got the proper version of 64bit XP installed this morning.
And it comes right back off tomorrow.
Turns out the new nVidia 64 bit driver pack does not support the 6800 series cards.
I have no idea why, but that is just absurd.

So, in order to see what the card is really like I have to drop back into 32-bit world.

*sigh*

I did remove the Zalman sink before firing her up and the contact patch looked fine.
Heat doesn't seem excessive either, but I can't monitor it yet (no real driver pack/utility installed yet) so I'm using the "finger test".
Crude, but reassuring.

The Windows based BIOS flash utility won't install on XP64 either, so that must also wait.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/captured3.jpg
So far, so good.
I'll install regular XP Pro tomorrow and then we can see what some of the benchmarks have to say.
Anything in particular you want to see?

Snee

04-08-2005, 02:20 PM

can't you do a dual boot?

One 64 bit OS, and one 32 bit?

clocker

04-08-2005, 02:44 PM

can't you do a dual boot?

One 64 bit OS, and one 32 bit?
Yes, I could.
At one point I was triple booting- XP Pro (both 32 and 64bit versions) and Mandrake Linux.
I'm too lazy to fully exploit the option though, and frankly, the extended startup time while the bootloader ran through the options ticked me off.

I am hardly a "power user"...this machine far surpasses my needs/abilities.
Recently my colleagues at work convinced me that I need to start gaming ( the theory being that if I was going to waste my time at least I should waste it looking at something pretty), and think that Civilization would be well suited to my temprament.

We shall see about that.

Anyway, a single OS is all I really need.

Snee

04-08-2005, 02:48 PM

I'm quadruplebooting :01:

I just thought it might let you play around with Windows 64, while being able to use the 6800 like god intended.

But since you've already been there and done that I'll stfu now.

clocker

04-08-2005, 02:58 PM

There really isn't a lot to play around with in the 64bit version.
It's visually and functionally identical to the 32bit flavor.

That similarity, coupled with the driver issue and the fact that I'm software restricted (options for firewalls/AV apps/defrag programs are very limited) is quickly souring me on this adventure.

Snee

04-08-2005, 03:02 PM

How about a 64-bit version of linux :naughty:

Lots of stuff to play around with on there.

You should be able to find 64-bit live-cds, no bootlist to annoy you then.

clocker

04-08-2005, 03:19 PM

How about a 64-bit version of linux :naughty:

Why don't I just shove an icepick in my eye? :pinch:

My Mandrake was sixty four bit.
Even that version, designed for Windows-centric gorms such as I, was too much effort for me to bother.

Anyways, this machine has more than enough ooomph to handle the dreaded "bloat" of Windows (in fact, bring on Longhorn!), and I've never fallen victim to any of the security holes we hear so much about, so Linux is sort of a non-starter.

lynx

04-08-2005, 03:23 PM

I've also come to the conclusion that 64bit XP just isn't quite ready, so many bits of software with a 32bit driver, you just don't realise how many there are until you start to try to use them.

I'll probably be switching back to 32bit this weekend too, but I'm going to run some benchies on 64bit then compare the results with the 32bit version.

Only got Everest loaded atm, here's the memory benchies:
Mobo Abit AV8, CPU XP3000+(Winchester), Memory 2x256MB Nanya 3-3-3-8
System OCed to 9x235MHz, Full load temp 42C, Idle temp 28C, stock cooling.

Memory read: 6228MB/s :w00t:
Memory write: 1901MB/s
Memory latency: 50ns :w00t:

I'm really impressed with this setup, one of the best purchases I ever made.

Let's have some memory benchmarks please clocker.

clocker

04-08-2005, 04:19 PM

Sure...have to wait till I get home tonight though.

clocker

04-09-2005, 12:57 PM

Let's have some memory benchmarks please clocker.
Right.
I am running bone stock @2.2GHz AND I cannot figure out how to get to my memory settings in BIOS. Hitting ctrl+F1 only brings up the help screen.
I'm pretty sure that BIOS default is 2T timing and I need to force 1T.
Everest is showing my RAM as "PC2500" (WTF!!??)*.

Anyways...
Memory read: 4560 MB/s
Memory write: 1417 MB/s
Latency: 59.8

*I am more than a little leery about Everest and 64bit XP....the sensor tab shows my CPU as 159C and +12v as 7.5v
My Gigabyte "EZTune" won't install at all, nor will Aquamark.

3D Mark05 score was 4373, but my card is not covered by the only driver pack available, so I'm running generic MS versions for now.
Tomorrow I'll do the whole install thing with 32bit XP and see if I can't get this beast whipped into shape.

S!X

04-09-2005, 09:09 PM

hmmmm, Clocker do you have any more hawt pics?

lynx

04-10-2005, 09:39 AM

Right.
I am running bone stock @2.2GHz AND I cannot figure out how to get to my memory settings in BIOS. Hitting ctrl+F1 only brings up the help screen.
I'm pretty sure that BIOS default is 2T timing and I need to force 1T.
Everest is showing my RAM as "PC2500" (WTF!!??)*.

Anyways...
Memory read: 4560 MB/s
Memory write: 1417 MB/s
Latency: 59.8

*I am more than a little leery about Everest and 64bit XP....the sensor tab shows my CPU as 159C and +12v as 7.5v
My Gigabyte "EZTune" won't install at all, nor will Aquamark.

3D Mark05 score was 4373, but my card is not covered by the only driver pack available, so I'm running generic MS versions for now.
Tomorrow I'll do the whole install thing with 32bit XP and see if I can't get this beast whipped into shape.
Sounds like your memory is underclocked. Everest shown mine as PC3800, which is about right for the clock speed I'm using. It get's all my sensor readings correct though.

Similar problem with Abit's uGuru not installing properly though, it installs but the driver is blocked from running because it is not a 64-bit version. I think there should be a mass complaint about these people selling 64-bit boards with no 64-bit drivers. I've already complained to Abit about this.

clocker

04-11-2005, 11:19 AM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/blizzard.jpg
Welcome to my world.
Bloody f00kin' blizzard hit Denver yesterday.
One of those spring storms that we seem to get every few years.
Nice, heavy wet snow.

The building that houses my shop was built in 1906 and is in less than tip-top condition.
A snowfall like this could easily collapse the structure, so I struggled down there yesterday and spent the better part of the day shoveling the damn roof.
By the time I finished, I had to start all over...the snow was coming down relentlessly.
I hope it survived the night.

This pic is from my front door at home.
The couryard is a natural snow trap and the drifts are almost chin high.
I'm just gonna let the crap melt...I've done my fair share of shoveling, and this will all be gone by Wednesday anyway.
Denver's high altitude means lots of UV radiation and that, coupled with the dry climate, will evaporate this nightmare away.

That's my theory anyway, and I'm stickin to it.

What does this have to do with Sprocket?
Well, yesterday was supposed to be my day off.
I had big plans, but they fell by the wayside unfortunately.

I managed to reinstall 32-bit XP, but haven't had the chance to do much else.
I finally discovered the secret entrance into the Advanced Settings in BIOS- what a stupid crock that is. Why the hocus-pocus to access basic RAM settings, etc.?
Ooooh, I feel so special cause I can ctrl+F1 and enter the secret overclocker's world....bollocks.

Anyway, things should be looking up soon.
I did run Aquamark 03 and scored just under 60K.
3D Mark 05 was 4926.
The card is running bone stock timing-wise, so I assume there is room for improvement with different drivers and maybe a wee OC.

I am amazed by the temps that both Gigabyte EZTune and Speedfan are reporting.
Running Prime95 I am maxxing out at 33C which seems absurdly low.
I don't see how my CPU could possibly be cooler than my HDDs (they are at 34C right now), but there you have it.
It's concievable that a BIOS flash might correct this (if in fact the temps are wrong) and I keep reading about Beta BIOS's all the way up to F10 (I'm running the latest BIOS from Gigabyte...F2, I believe), but I can't seem to find them anywhere.
Anyway, if the temps are even close to correct ( and I'm really hoping they are...) that would make a passively cooled H2O setup like the Reserator or the Innovatec a very doable project.

So here is what she looks like right now...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/TJ06.jpg
Even with a half-assed wiring job Sprocket still looks almost empty...not having any IDE or floppy cables really makes things easy.
Obviously, I have plenty of room should I decide to install an internal waterloop...an attractive idea just for the simplicity, but we'll see how it goes.

That's all for now, more to come as I find the time and energy.....

GepperRankins

04-11-2005, 11:53 AM

maybe its the weather, mine seems to fluctuate about 10C between cold and warm days.

i wonder if humidity can play a part in heat dissipation too :unsure:

Virtualbody1234

04-11-2005, 12:06 PM

Wow! That's quite the snow dump. All the snow has melted here. I know what you mean about your "fair share of shoveling". I too did my share this winter.
---

There you go, clocker. Now you see what I mean about the 90nm being very cool running. Those temps look about right to me (with that cooler).

I setup another 90nm machine this weekend (with a friend). The quiet&cool, that controls the CPU fan speed, actually stops the fan when below 34°C on his board. It is quite the strange feeling when you see the fan stopped. We turned off the power, as a reaction, the first time we heard the silence of no fan.

clocker

04-11-2005, 12:28 PM

There you go, clocker. Now you see what I mean about the 90nm being very cool running. Those temps look about right to me (with that cooler).

I setup another 90nm machine this weekend (with a friend). The quiet&cool, that controls the CPU fan speed, actually stops the fan when below 34°C on his board. It is quite the strange feeling when you see the fan stopped. We turned off the power, as a reaction, the first time we heard the silence of no fan.
Yup, that C&Q is very weird.
We actually thought the HS fan was dead on our first build, but were pleased to see that it worked fine plugged into a different header.
Then I broke down and read the manual ( a first!) and saw what was going on.
I have disabled that feature and run my fan from a Sunbeam rheobus.
The idea of the HS not running at all was just too strange.
It helps that this AC fan is extremely quiet even at full blast.

Right this minute my room ambient is 21C and the CPU temp is reported to be 23C ( minimal CPU usage).
The case is all buttoned up.
This seems too good to be true, but I'm not complaining. :P

My vid card is running at 56C...gotta work on that, I think....

lynx

04-11-2005, 02:57 PM

Yes, that C&Q is impressive, except when you are running at full load all the time. :rolleyes:

If I turn the "Folding" service off, my CPU temp drops by about 10C within 20 seconds, then by another 4C over the next few minutes (with reduced fan speed). But when I turn the service back on the temp goes back up about 12C within seconds.

Duffman

04-11-2005, 11:36 PM

SS-no? Its almost 70 here!

clocker

04-12-2005, 02:43 PM

Well, well, well.
Slow but sure does win the race sometimes.
I am beginning to get a grip on the BIOS setup for this beast.
Bumbling around (albeit in a fairly organized manner...) has lead me to discover several settings that will cause Sprocket NOT to boot and some that make her better.

A bit (well, a lot, actually) of tweaking RAM settings has gotten me here...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/memwrite.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/memread.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/latentcy.jpg
Much better.
Although I knew the RAM was not right (Everest was calling it "PC1600"), Lynx showed me what I should be able to achieve. Thanks for the bump, buddy. :P

I wonder if the nForce4 boards respond to the loose tRAS(?) setting (typically in the range of 10) that the 3's and 2's liked?
So, far, my RAM timings have been set to auto ( and, to their credit, the Patriot sticks are running just as advertised- 2,3,2,5), but I suspect that some further gains are hidden in that thicket of jargonese.
I'm willing to spend a bit of time finding out, but sheesh!, how much better do I need?

Next is the CPU speed.
Time to see what sort of (easy) overclock is available.

lynx

04-12-2005, 11:14 PM

I knew your 3500 and 2-3-2-5 memory should easily outperform my 3000/3-3-3-8 setup, it's about time you got your finger out. :P

clocker

04-13-2005, 01:41 PM

Right.
Finger removed.
New finger smudges all over the BIOS.
Not a lot of progress.

Stock settings on this chip are 11x200 (2.2GHz).
Anything over 11x210 and she won't boot.
Even combos using a lower multiplier (like 10x230) are a no-go.
I have toyed (briefly) with the HT setting, but lowering from 5 to 4 and even 3 doesn't seem to help.
I upped the RAM voltage by .1v and relaxed the timings (tried Lynx's 3,3,3,8) to no avail.
I need to find a better tutorial about this...actually, a "Dummy's Guide" would be ideal.
Oh well.
This was more of an intellectual exercise than a necessity anyway.

At 2.3 GHz I am Prime stable (at least for the six hours I ran overnight) and the system feels fluid and fast.

About the cooling....
The 939 socket is solid (unlike the socketA which had the open center) so there is no place for the dreaded "thermistor" temp sensor.
I am assuming then that the temps are being derived from some sort of on-die diode.
In the past this was the preferred sensor, but my temps are ridiculously low and I just cannot believe them.
The high temp in my log from last night was 28C...this is with the sidepanels in place and a room ambient of 20C.

I'd like to think that this is all due to my cooling expertise and cleverness, but even my ego baulks at the results.
At any rate, even adding in a correction factor of 20% means that I'm running cooler than ever before, so now I can concentrate on the video card and HDDs.
My 6800 runs at a pretty constant 53C...this seems high to me, but I have no prior experience with a card like this so I don't know.
My hard drives are averaging in the mid-thirties...I'm rethinking my mounting approach.
Apparently the drives are designed to dissipate heat through the sides of the casting ( this being the only real path for heat to travel when mounted in the standard fashion) and my suspension system, while effective for noise isolation, eliminates the heat path.
Not sure how to combine the two requirements as yet.

Silence, as opposed to max cooling, has become my new quest and thus watercooling is back on the table.
I'd like to use these components...
http://www.frozencpu.com/images/products/detail_hires/ex-blc-123.jpg
http://www.frozencpu.com/images/products/detail_hires/ex-blc-98.jpg
http://www.frozencpu.com/images/products/detail_hires/ex-pmp-25.jpg
All three would be set with 3/8" fittings.

Notice that there is no radiator listed...that's cause I'm torn about what direction to take.
Obviously, an internal rad would be the simplest solution ( and I have lots of room to mount one), but that would entail fans to cool it.
I have a forum buddy from Finland who has done extensive work with the Zalman Reserator and his progress intrigues me no end.
His current setup uses the Reserator* without the internal pump...essentially just a big, passive reservoir and an internal system comparable to the one I've shown.
The Reserator has been enclosed in a Plexi tube with a 120mm fan on the top, so it's basically a chimney drawing air from the base up over the fins and then out the top.
A one fan system that performs very well.
The downside to this goodness is the external reservoir...moving the PC would be quite an effort.
Oh, decisions, decisions.`

* We are both fatally attracted to this monster...
http://www.frozencpu.com/images/products/detail_hires/ex-rad-33.jpg
It has no internal pump so it's just a passive radiator, but reputed to be much more effective than the Zalman design.
I'm hoping he'll take the plunge ( it's very expensive!) and let me know how it compares.

clocker

04-14-2005, 12:38 PM

@ Lynx (or anyone else with an nForce4 board...)
Help!
I can easily run 11x210 ( actually I'm currently at 11x 212), but no combination of settings gets me any higher.
So many folks talk of hitting the wall at 240FSB (10x240 seems to be a common setup), but I can't seem to struggle past 212FSB no matter what.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

GepperRankins

04-14-2005, 02:11 PM

i think mine is nforce4 but it's still at factory settings, sorry.

didn't i read something about RAM and synchronising speeds but upping voltages or something...

sorry i don't have a clue

clocker

04-14-2005, 02:45 PM

Gepper,
You might want to check your "factory settings"...mine were not at all correct.
For instance, my default setting for the RAM bus was "auto", but this gave me 166MHz instead of the 200MHz it should be.

Turns out you are correct about the voltage.
Upping my vCore from a stock 1.4v to 1.5v and adding .2v to the RAM solved my issue.

Sorta.
I also had to drop my HT from 5x to 3x and my RAM to 166MHz.
I was able to boot at 10x245.

Unfortunately my memory benches went all to hell, dropping 10 to15% from my old setup.
I gained sheer speed, but with an absurd tradeoff.
I also picked up a degree or three on the CPU as a result of the higher voltages.
Hardly seems worth it to me.

Back at the old, stable settings...212x10, 5xHT, 200MHZ RAM, 1.4 vcore.

I did leave the RAM overvolted by .1v and picked up over 100 points on the memory read score (2160 now) and dropped the latency to 46.1.

I think I might be facing two intertwined problems now.
Having all four DIMM slots occupied may be stressing out the board and as yet I have been unable to POST when the 1T command is enabled.

Tonight I think I'll pull two of the memory sticks and see if that helps.
My RAM is rated at 1T and that might make all the difference.
If so, I guess I can replace my four 512's with two 1GB sticks and have my cake and eat it too.

I like cake.

GepperRankins

04-14-2005, 03:27 PM

clocker

04-14-2005, 03:50 PM

thanks for that. i just switched it to 200 now.

i checked the box and it turns out mine is an nforce3.

is the "ddr 400" i see on my mobo box and RAM packaging a double positive (yeah i made that up, so what :snooty: ) meaning it should be set to 200 in my bios then?

and i don't know if it's possible (because i didn't want to stick around in the "secret" bios settings...) but would putting your RAM at 212 also make it a lot more efficiant or doesn't it work like that?
Yes, it should be set to 200.

If you can speed up the RAM (say, to 212) AND keep all your timings tight, then yes, it is a good thing.
Unfortunately, increasing the speed usually requires relaxing the timings ( or dividers, even) at the same time.

For me, the additional speed did not overcome the decline in RAM productivity so I've temporarily called a halt to that avenue of tweaking.

GepperRankins

04-14-2005, 04:33 PM

righto. so what do i change to push mine(processor) up a few hertz? just clockspeed?

clocker

04-14-2005, 05:04 PM

Yup.
Try 210 to start.

GepperRankins

04-14-2005, 05:10 PM

w00t! thanks for not getting frustrated and swearing at me. :ermm:

so speedfan says it's up 2 degrees but only 20 mhz :blink:

Peerzy

04-14-2005, 05:38 PM

GepperRankins

04-14-2005, 05:42 PM

i'll keep it as it is until i need to change it. my ram and graphics are my bottle neck i reckon.

i just wanted to fit in :unsure:

clocker

04-14-2005, 06:52 PM

.

i just wanted to fit in :unsure:
OK.
Now you need to load Everest Home Edition (http://www.snapfiles.com/get/everest.html) and run the memory benchmarks.

If you're really into it, you would return to your original settings, bench it, then clock back up and retest.
Then you'd see what, if any, gains that you got.

GepperRankins

04-14-2005, 07:12 PM

clocker

04-14-2005, 08:50 PM

Hmmm.
Not a real kick in the pants is it?
Write is slightly better and latency is worse.

I wonder if it's possible to tighten down the RAM timings and still boot.
Might have to add a tenth or so of voltage to the DIMMS.

lynx

04-14-2005, 11:45 PM

Even pushing it up a few hertz can cause massive ammounts of extra heat, thats how people fry parts, they go up from say 200 to 210 then 220 then 230 and everything is fine so they wack it up to 270 and parts get fried, be carfull, push them up at no more 10 on your clockspeed and use your BIOS to check temps, if they look good turn on Windows and fire up a graphically intense game (HL2 will do) if the game starts to look fucked with wierd shit happening then you have gone to far.Not entirely true.

The heat generated by raising clock speed is roughly proportional the speed increase. But the rate of heat dissipation is proportional to the temp above ambient. The consequence is that a 25% increase in clock speed does NOT result in a 25% increase in temp above ambient for example.

That said, in order to achieve higher clock speeds it is usually necessary to increase the voltage. In this case the increase in heat generated is proportional to the square of the increase in the voltage. Add a clock speed increase too and that's when the damage is done.

@Clocker: Sorry, mine's a Via chipset. It wasn't stable @ 2.2GHz, but I don't know if that was the cpu or the memory running at 245MHz. I haven't seen any way of running the memory at a different speed yet. The temp was creeping higher than I wanted so I didn't bother checking anyway. I'm now back at 9x235 (or maybe 236, can't remember).

@Gepper, I assume you are running on a single memory stick, otherwise those timings suck.

Virtualbody1234

04-15-2005, 12:32 AM

GepperRankins

04-15-2005, 01:49 AM

yes i am

clocker

04-15-2005, 10:53 AM

How you have changed in such a short time... :no:
Forgive me VB, for I have sinned.
Anyway, what's a few hertz among friends?
It's hardly as though I've taken this PC by the neck and strangled every last cycle from it's body now, is it?
All I've really done is tighten her up a bit...a "tune-up" if you will.

A theoretical question...
If stock speed is 2.2GHz, achieved with a 200x11 combination, is 220x10 considered overclocked?

If Sprocket crashes out of Prime and I'm not there to hear it, is there any sound at all?

Why is there air?

Virtualbody1234

04-15-2005, 02:07 PM

A theoretical question...
If stock speed is 2.2GHz, achieved with a 200x11 combination, is 220x10 considered overclocked?

If Sprocket crashes out of Prime and I'm not there to hear it, is there any sound at all?

Why is there air?
Yes. The 220 overclocks some parts of the system.

Yes. It makes a crashing sound.

For air cooling of course.

GepperRankins

04-15-2005, 04:09 PM

i turned my RAM voltage up yesterday and got no improvement, i decided i wouldn't bother changing it until next time i restart.

this morning i got up to find my pc reset itself. i hope it's not dead :fear:

clocker

04-18-2005, 11:32 AM

Minor tweakage update.

_I have yet to discover any set of circumstances that will allow POST using 1T memory command.

_nForce 4 chipsets don't seem to respond to higher tRAS settings as the earlier 2/3 versions did. Changing from 5 incrementally up to 11 gave no significant reproducable gains.

_Upping the RAM voltage by .1v did result in a consistent latency drop ( now under 46ns), but this may only hold true for my combination.

Within the next day or two I'll be able to test 2x1GB sticks in place of my 4x512MB (same Patriot EP modules) just to see what happens. If nothing else, this would free up some breathing room around the DIMMs, possibly resulting in lower RAM temps (although I have no idea what the current temps are and have no way to monitor them).

We have had severe compatability issues with 1GB sticks on nForce 2 & 3 boards so this a more out of curiousity than anything else....I don't expect any significant change in performance.

I have a new build that the customer had specced for 2GB of RAM. I installed 4x512MB of the same Patriot that I just bought.
He was horrified when he saw the machine...
"Now I can't upgrade to four GB if I want to!"
"Why do you need more than 2GB?"
"I don't know, but I want the option".
:frusty:
So I'm bringing in two 1GB sticks, which is OK since I'll get to try them out first.

All of our 939 builds have had a minimum of 1GB RAM and the last three (mine included) have run 2GB.
The 90nm Winchesters installed on a nForce4 board with 1GB+ of RAM is a wonderful combination.
It'll crunch through your email in no time flat..... :P

clocker

04-21-2005, 08:34 PM

Well, I've been a bad, bad boy.
Flogging away at the ole PC...made some progress too, it seems.
Many, if not all, of the preconceptions that I was dragging into this from my socketA days were flat out wrong.
Anyway, here's some results....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/test1.jpg
This is a shot of my entry into the Bit-Tech SuperPi Challenge.
Near as I can see I should be in either 3rd or 4th place overall (1st place for an air cooled rig).
Here are the Everest memory tests...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/memread.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/memwrite.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/latency.jpg

All this (16% increase in clockspeed, 11% decrease in latency, 24.4% increase in write and 20.3% better read) and the temps have hardly budged...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/temppc.jpg
Can't say I trust this monitor too much, but it's consistent with BIOs for whatever that's worth.

Just for grins, here's the Systems Comparison from PCpitstop.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/pcps.jpg
They are having a TopDog Competition in which 1st place wins a big Raptor.
Me wants it, but I have a ways to go to be in the hunt.
Then again, I haven't even begun on the video card...there is a lot of room to bump that score.

Virtualbody1234

04-21-2005, 10:15 PM

Clocker, I keep hearing you post that you don't believe the low temps.

Do a simple test... Feel the heatpipes at the base of your CPU cooler with your finger.

Tell us what you notice. :)

clocker

04-21-2005, 11:43 PM

Erm....nothing.
My RAM feels hotter.

lynx

04-22-2005, 12:21 AM

So what have you changed to achieve this big jump in cpu speed?

clocker

04-22-2005, 01:58 AM

Let's see if I can remember....
RAM:CAS: 2.5,3,3,8
1x HT
2T enabled
Clock max 200MHz

CPU:stock voltage
+.1v RAM
10x257

Doesn't really seem like much, but it's taken forever to get here.
Although this setup will run SuperPi no prob, I suspect that it wouldn't Prime worth a damn.
Let's find out....

lynx

04-22-2005, 11:13 AM

clocker

04-22-2005, 12:28 PM

Isn't 1xHT rather slow? I thought the default was 5x (@200MHz=1000MHz) so wouldn't the nearest equivalent be 4x (@257MHz=1028MHz).

Or is it the ratio of HT speed to clock speed, with the 5x multiplier still in there effectively giving you 1285MHz?
You got me there, Lynx.
All I know is that lowering that setting made it possible to start upping the FSB.
I ran the Everest memory benchmark every step of the way, not being willing to sacrifice RAM performance for sheer clock speed, and the results just kept improving till I got to the point I showed you.

My limit seems to be 260 FSB now.
I have tinkered a bit with various combos of multiplier/FSB but 2.6GHz is the wall so far.
My board does not offer the myriad voltage settings found on the DFI LanParty series and that could be the problem, but I'd prefer not to crank up the heat anyway so the point is moot.

My available voltage settings are suspect anyway (just like my temps!)...changing the vCore from 1.3v to 1.5v doesn't alter the reported voltage in either Speedfan or Everest- it is steady at 1.39v.
Could this be a faux setting, merely eye candy or a function of the chip itself?

My highly sensitive finger ( recommended by VB) seems to corroborate the temps I'm reading, but I don't see how a jump from 2.2 to 2.57GHz wouldn't result in a bigger jump than 2C, but as I said, my preconceptions are all wrong apparently.

As I suspected, Prime95 crashed out within 3 minutes at my highest clockspeed...I was stable enough to run SuperPi, but that's about all.
I've ratcheted down to 2.4 GHz and have been stable for over an hour so that might be the final resting place.

We'll see.

Edit: I'm not sure what difference (if any) it makes, but I have also cut my running services down to the bone for the benchmark testing. I'm working on a gutted XP install disk using nLite just to see if that helps too.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/taskmanager.jpg

clocker

04-26-2005, 03:43 PM

Just ordered nearly $400 worth of watercooling gear.
WTF am I thinking?

My CPU really doesn't need it and I expect little drop in running temps.
My GPU on the other hand, should benefit mightily from a drop in temps.
It currently runs in the mid-50's, peaking at 59c after a round of benchmarks (Aquamark 01 & 03 and 3D mark 05). This is with the Zalman copper flower installed.
I'm reading of max temps dropping into the 30's using my chosen DD GPU block.
We'll see.

I'll be using a BIX radiator which may run passively depending on how the results go.

I'll keep ya'll posted.

Finally broke 76K in Aquamark03 this morning....w00t!
Hope to hit 80K on water, but that may be a pipedream.

GepperRankins

04-26-2005, 03:46 PM

was the pun intended :ermm:

well it'll look uber cool and it'll be quieter because you can slow/disconnect some fans. i think :unsure:

Virtualbody1234

04-26-2005, 04:32 PM

... WTF am I thinking? ...
I don't know. Maybe you could inform us?

clocker

04-26-2005, 06:01 PM

I don't know. Maybe you could inform us?
When I figure it out I'll let you know. :blink:

Virtualbody1234

04-26-2005, 06:05 PM

When I figure it out I'll let you know. :blink:
:lol:

clocker

04-26-2005, 07:36 PM

I am fascinated by hardware and pictures don't satisfy the craving...so I am compelled to actually buy this crap.

This thread isn't named "Hardware pr0n" for nothing, you know.
It's a sickness.

That's why I stand on streetcorners holding a sign that says:
"Will Work For Raptors". :P

GepperRankins

04-28-2005, 01:20 PM

read

CPU Motherboard Chipset Memory Read Speed
This Computer Gigabyte GA-K8NS nForce3-250 PC3300 DDR SDRAM 3090 MB/s

CPU Motherboard Chipset Memory Read Speed
This Computer Gigabyte GA-K8NS nForce3-250 PC3400 DDR SDRAM 3138 MB/s

write

CPU Motherboard Chipset Memory Write Speed
This Computer Gigabyte GA-K8NS nForce3-250 PC3300 DDR SDRAM 1217 MB/s

CPU Motherboard Chipset Memory Write Speed
This Computer Gigabyte GA-K8NS nForce3-250 PC3400 DDR SDRAM 1218 MB/s

latency

CPU Motherboard Chipset Memory CL-RCD-RP-RAS Latency
This Computer Gigabyte GA-K8NS nForce3-250 PC3300 DDR SDRAM 3-4-3-8 54.7 ns

CPU Motherboard Chipset Memory CL-RCD-RP-RAS Latency
This Computer Gigabyte GA-K8NS nForce3-250 PC3400 DDR SDRAM 3-4-3-8 58.4 ns

befores and afters respectively :unsure:

ive got a stick of that £25 ram and now:

read - 3005mbps
write - 1185mbps
latency -60ns

it wouldn't work in the second slot strangely, my pc kept resetting when booting to windows.

so now i have
512mb pc3200 400mhz ddr
empty
512mb pc3200 400mhz ddr

does anyone know if i can get better performance or is it just one of those things?

clocker

04-28-2005, 01:36 PM

What program is generating those results?

GepperRankins

04-28-2005, 01:44 PM

everest home edition :unsure:

clocker

04-28-2005, 03:37 PM

Good.
The PC I just built for my brother is also a nForce3-250.
Tonight when I get home I'll install Everest on it and see what kind of results it gets.

lynx

04-28-2005, 05:15 PM

kabar

04-28-2005, 08:32 PM

Boy o boy, nice kit, that will shift a bit :cool2: :yikes:

kabar

GepperRankins

04-29-2005, 12:44 AM

Dave, what's your clock speed now? Has it reverted back to 200MHz?

I hadn't realised that the K8NS was a S754 board, when I looked it up I got the impression it was S939, but I realise now that I was looking at the K8NS-939 (damn stupid way to number boards :frusty: ) so you aren't going to get the high dual-channel speeds.

I think if you check back I said that the cheap mem was ok if you didn't plan on OCing, but you should still get an advantage if you ditch the page file.
it's at 205mhz

i haven't noticed any downside at all, i just want it all :lookaround:

in fact it's fantastical. now games don't jerk when theres a new sound effect or owt and quitting them gets me straight to desktop or IE without me having to spin the hard-drive :01:

clocker

04-29-2005, 04:32 AM

OK Gep...
With a 3000+ Clawhammer running on a Chaintech ZNF3-250 ( stock settings):
read:3062
write:1225
latency:51.6
Ram is Mushkin Blue Line PC3200 (1GB, located in slots 1 & 3).

Not really that much different than your results, so I guess we are both in the ballpark.

BTW...
Started getting the H2O stuff in today.
From FrozenCPU I got the 3/8"id Tygon tubing and clamps.
Unfortunately, the PolarFlo CPU block and pump ship direct from PolarFlo and I have no tracking # so no idea when they might show up.
The GPU block from DangerDen also arrived, and I must say it's a very impressive bit 'o kit.

Now for a wee hypothetical question...
By far the hottest part of the PC is the video card.
By comparison, the CPU is absurdly cool.
I'm wondering if it might not be feasible to run the loop thusly- pump>radiator>vid card>CPU>pump.
This would (presumably) allow for maximum temp reduction of the GPU ( which I'd like) and maybe give up a degree or two on the CPU (which I can afford).
Then again, maybe not.
I know the only way to really find out is to try both ways, but setting up a water loop and then breaking it down is quite the PITA and sheer inertia means that the first arrangement is prolly the one I'll stay with, so I'd like to get it right the first time if possible.

The floor is open...

lynx

04-29-2005, 09:34 AM

With a couple of Y connectors you could possibly cool both in parallel. :shifty:

Virtualbody1234

04-29-2005, 10:25 AM

You could also leave out the CPU from the loop.

clocker

04-29-2005, 12:33 PM

With a couple of Y connectors you could possibly cool both in parallel. :shifty:
Yes, but at the cost of more complicated tube routing.
One of the big advantages of the components I chose is the barb arrangement and the resulting short hose runs.

You could also leave out the CPU from the loop.
I thought of that option too, but would like to see if I can eliminate as many fans as possible.

clocker

05-03-2005, 12:49 PM

Parts is parts is parts, etc.....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/gear.jpg
Finally have all the goodies in my possession, ah! I love the smell of new hardware in the morning!
The basic layout will be easy, but there are a number of custom fittings that I'll have to machine so it might take a day or two to get to the test phase.
The NV-68 video block is absolutely massive and will require some sort of support bracket for the card...I have a plan, we'll see how it works.

I want the tube runs to be as short and elegant as possible (hence the choice of 3/8" tubing ) and the only real unknown at this point is the fill/bleed port.
I have two options available and I won't be able to decide till I start to mock the components in place (the first config would be ubercool, but may prove awkward to use. The second would be more traditional, but probably more practical.)

After all the necessary drilling/fitting is done the whole case must be stripped for powdercoating.
This is actually more involved than it seems since at the same time I'll be replacing the drive bay cage with a different arrangement (I absolutely HATE "tool free" mounting....).

Lastly will be the wiring. I've decided to commit these components to each other and the case for good, so I can go ahead and cut/refit the wiring harness to exact lengths.

This will be fun. :D

clocker

05-05-2005, 06:47 PM

All major components mounted, but I can't bleed the system properly.
I hate this crap.

Got parts this AM to cobble up an air trap.

I can already tell that the DD GPU block is going to be a bear to bleed...there is a real air trap around the processor finning and my most extreme contortions only managed to partially dislodge the bubbles.
With luck the trap will solve this problem.

Later.

Darth Sushi

05-06-2005, 01:02 AM

interesting

Monkeee

05-06-2005, 02:15 AM

holy crap clocker.... i have the exact same speakers...

lynx

05-06-2005, 08:05 AM

holy crap clocker.... i have the exact same speakers...You wanted better cooling for your vga card, why not follow clocker's example on that too.

Monkeee see, Monkeee do. :blink:

clocker

05-06-2005, 11:21 AM

holy crap clocker.... i have the exact same speakers...
Ah, but mine are watercooled.
I can play Bohemian Rhapsody at full volume with no artifacts.

Duffman

05-06-2005, 11:50 AM

Ah, but mine are watercooled.
I can play Bohemian Rhapsody at full volume with no artifacts.

At full volume. I'm sorry I just don't belive it.

clocker

05-06-2005, 12:03 PM

Don't force me to post screenshots.
Did I mention that the vSpeaker voltage has been raised also?

clocker

05-12-2005, 01:43 PM

Teaser shot...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/teaser.jpg
It is absolutely amazing how tedious and time consuming this project has become.
What started as a conversion to watercooling has basically become a total system overhaul.

The loop shown is the 10th version I've assembled.
Literally.
The design criteria included-
-good cooling performance (obviously)
-ease of maintenance ( a relative term when talking about watercooling)
-aesthetics.

It is simple to lay the various components in place and think you've got it right, but finalizing the installation is a whole 'nother matter.
The problem is the tubing.
1/2" ID x /3/4" OD Clearflex tubing is great stuff, but it reqiures a pretty good distance to make a bend without kinking or torqueing the waterblocks.

My first few attempts looked cleaner than the final (Please Jeebus! Let this be the final version...), but I couldn't connect the tubing- there simply wasn't enough space to work with.
I finally realized that two things had to happen.
Firstly, I found some thin wall black PVC tube.
This was far more forgiving as long as the tube run was fairly straight...it will kink very easily.
Secondly, I moved the radiator to the roof.

The radiator placement seems counterintuitive, there is more tubing to deal with and it is running further, but this change made completion possible.
I hope it performs well, at this point leak testing has been finished (no drips!), but I'm forcing myself to finish the endless list of tiny projects before I fire her up.
Knowing myself, if I just slammed it together now to turn Sprocket on, I'd wait months to finish up (or I'd change my mind altogether and go off on some new tangent).

There really isn't much left to do, a bit of cable sheathing ( which I hate to do) and a plenum to direct intake air to the radiator.
All of the major hacking, painting and fiddlefucking is done, so I should be finished in the next few days.

After she's complete I'll take some better pics.

lynx

05-12-2005, 06:49 PM

You have my sympathy regarding the tubing, it can be very awkward sometimes.

I found that the tubing I had was also very difficult to bend but bring narrower it did not kink. I found that soaking the tubing in near boiling water softened it enough to bend quite easily and after a quick dip into cold water it kept it's new shape.

The problem was that once heated the tubing had a tendency to kink, and I couldn't keep it's shape accurately enough between heating and cooling.

I solved that with 3 wire coathangers. I straightened them, fed them up inside the tubing, then taped the ends together. Now I could bend things to the desired shape (with a little warming now and again) until everything was where I wanted it to be, then I immersed the whole piece of tubing in a large pan of water and allowed it to boil for several minutes.

I then poured the hot water away and poured in a panful of chilled water. Now all I had to do was remove the coat hangers and the tubing kept it's shape almost as required.

I know it's probably a little late for this project, but you may want to consider it for any future attempts.

clocker

05-12-2005, 08:27 PM

I can see how that technique would be effective, thanks.

What drove me nuts during this whole process was the realization that what I wanted was possible...I just didn't have access to the proper technology.
Apple (http://www.apple.com/powermac/design.html) , for instance, makes a very nicely packaged H2O system, made possible in part by the ability to precisely form thin wall metal tubing.
I would gladly give up a small percentage of flow efficiency for the option of losing all the vulnerable tubes draped all over the case.
If watercooling is ever to gain a mass market niche it will need to become more modular and less hardware store cludge-fest.

clocker

05-14-2005, 02:56 AM

Jeez, has this place died or what?
Where has everyone gone and why was I not informed?
Oh well, on with the show.
Here is the Mk.25 version of the waterloop.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/sprocketv.jpg
The black thinwall tube had to go...it had a terrible habit of collapsing on itself.
So back to the thicker Clearflex for me.
Some suble changes made the entire loop work out fine once I decided to bite the bullet and allow for one 90 degree fitting.
I'm sorry if it hurts the flow a little bit, but it had to be done.

I can still hear the water flowing so there must be some bubbles left to bleed out, but all is well so far.
I have been Priming for over an hour and temps have stabilized at 34c (CPU} and 49C (video).
This is without any fans running at all, totally passive.
I'm curious how 3D Mark will affect things, we'll find out later.

Is there anybody out there?

lynx

05-14-2005, 09:16 AM

http://img172.exs.cx/img172/1650/solocomolauna0uo.gif

Samurai

05-14-2005, 10:19 AM

I'm reading :wave: :pizza: Get back to work :D

Virtualbody1234

05-14-2005, 11:23 AM

I haven't missed a thing... :)

clocker

05-14-2005, 02:06 PM

OK then.
As long as there's an audience I'm happy to perform.

Time for Phase Two.
The loop currently feeds from the radiator to the CPU block and then to the vid card.
I'm going to split the feed so that the CPU and GPU are both getting water directly from the radiator.
Unfortunately this will result in a real clusterfuck of hoses, so I'm working on a design for the air trap that will accomodate all the extra outflow hoses without using y-splitters.
I think that I can also incorporate a system drain into this also.
Should be interesting.

I will also be mounting the new Polarflo CPU block to see how it compares to the DangerDen shown in the pic.

ooo

05-18-2005, 09:48 PM

thats a hot computer =) im scared to do water cooling seems dangerous what if one of the tubes pop their goes ur computer

clocker

05-19-2005, 02:06 AM

Well yeah, there is that, but I think it's a very rare occurance really.

My loop has been temporarily removed.
DangerDen has kindly consented to modify my NV-68 block to SLI-spec.
Basically this entails adding two drilled/tapped holes to the upper Plexi cover.

I'll be able to leave the intake barb as is, but replace the outflow straight up, which should make bleeding much easier.
The entire layout will change as a result.
The radiator will be moved to the lower front, the pump moves to the lower back and the reservoir (under construction) will occupy the space where the harddrives were.
The drives have moved to the front 5.25" bays.

I'll have everything in place by the time the block comes back from Oregon (hopefully within a week or so).

Then we can continue.

clocker

05-26-2005, 12:34 PM

http://www.uvm.edu/~dpelkey/crazy.jpg
I'm baaaack!
Got my waterblock back.
Kudos to DangerDen for superior customer service (thank you Kathi!).
They modified my NV-68 with upper and lower outlets...I got a whole new topplate, fittings (including mounting screws) and even shipping for only $15...quite a bargain in my opinion.
I assembled and leaktested it so that is ready to go.
The Typhoon reservoir came in after I left work so tonight I can begin.

The entire layout of the loop will change (hopefully for the better) and now that I have my camera back, pics will follow.
I have painted ( well, cut, actually) myself into a corner re:HDD mounting, but I'll figure that out later.

Stay tuned.

S!X

05-26-2005, 06:24 PM

We need some more hardware pr0n pics!!!

clocker

05-27-2005, 12:32 PM

Here are a few (typically crappy) shots of the new (ish) parts...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/mini-pump.jpg
The pump, mounted onto a 120mm fan grill and ready to bolt in.
As much as possible I'm trying to use already existing holes/cutouts.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/mini-nv-68.jpg
The DD NV-68 block with the modified topplate installed.
As you can see, I now have options for intake/outlet that should help a lot.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/mini-block.jpg
I've got the Polarflo set up with one 1/2" inlet and two 3/8" outlets...hopefully this will balance the flow through the block.

This time round the flow from the radiator will be split and both blocks will recieve water direct from the radiator rather than being daisychained.
Each block will also have a seperate output direct to the reservoir ( no pics of that yet...it's still covered in it's protective wrapper and will stay that way till it's installed).
Although this approach requires more tubing, I hope that the improvement in flowrate will compensate and be worth it.

I have to strip the case naked to install all this stuff and I'd like to solve my HDD mounting dilemma at the same time (just in case there is drilling/cutting involved) so I won't start till Sat night/Sun morning.
Hopefully, I'll have something in mind by then...

S!X

05-30-2005, 07:35 AM

Hey clocker how does that cpu freezer work? It looks offley big, but like they say bigger is better....

EDIT: Since you got this water cooling setup, What did you do with that freezer? :blink:

clocker

05-30-2005, 12:10 PM

I would recommend the AC Freezer64 over any HSF...including the much hyped Thermalright units.

Mine is now sitting on the shelf along with it's brothers (Zalman 7700 &7000, Aerocool DP-102, TR XP-90, TT Silent Tower (sorry VB...never did get around to shipping that up, did I?), and several OEMs).

God, I love the smell of hardware in the morning....

clocker

05-30-2005, 01:53 PM

Speaking of smelly hardware....

Sprocket is up and running on her new waterloop.
With one major (and one minor) exception, things have never been better.

The minor exception is my experimental radiator fan assembly.
Works great, but makes a moaning noise that is just not gonna cut it.
Oh well, easy to fix.
I have lots of fans.

The real problem is the new reservoir.
I had problems with the fittings leaking, but Goop solved those...the real issue is the noise.
There is a gurgling sound, not unlike a small fountain, that makes me want to pee all the time.
THIS is a big problem, one I cannot see a fix for.
I've tried varying the waterlevel and that helps a bit, but room for air/water expansion must be left and that's where the gurgle comes from.

For the past two hours Sprocket has been running Prime95 ( max. heat and power consumption) with no fan, totally passive.
Temps seem to have stabilized at @ 14C over ambient, which is not bad.
After I refit the radiator fan I hope to drop to 10C over ambient.

When I do that I'll take some pics.

Edit:
Replaced fan with stock Silverstone case fan (it is dead silent) and added a bit more water to the rez.
The added water submerged the inlet port completely which has almost completely eliminated the water noise.
Almost, but not quite.
Unfortunately, adding more water is not a viable option as the level would then be higher than the fill port.
Although I could tilt the case to add/remove coolant, I don't trust the rubber seals and would prefer not to do this.
http://www.frozencpu.com/images/products/detail_hires/ex-res-54.jpg
This is the reservoir I am currently using.
It is cheap and easily mounted, but the included fittings are total junk.
They use flat rubber washers as sealing and, unlike round o-rings, the flat washers are prone to twisting and deforming when tightened.
I may go searching for a suitably sized o-ring for the fill port, but the situation is much improved already and I may just learn to cope.
Or I might just replace the rez altogether.
These guys (http://wetandchillychips.co.uk/catalog/index.php?cPath=21&osCsid=550d9e87c70ef2d0cc246085e3722c60) look very interesting, with any luck I can find an American importer.

Edit:edit....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/sprockstats1.jpg
Semi-boring, but it does prove a point.
Note the CPU temp of 30C.
Prime has been running almost three hours at this point.
Pics tonight, I have a lot of grilling to do first. :P

clocker

05-30-2005, 09:43 PM

Screw it...I may not be in any shape to take pics later, so here is a quick and dirty shot.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/newloop.jpg
Current loop:
Pump (lower right)>radiator (lower left)>CPU>vid card>rez (upper left, hanging off the backplane)>pump.

I really wanted to split the flow from the radiator and feed the CPU and GPU seperately.
I also wanted to use my three barb Polarflo CPU block, but all those hoses were just too much, I didn't have the room to route them.

I think that when my new case comes ( did I mention that? Lian-li v2000 in black, on the way) I may be able to squeeze all that in.
Even better, I might just ditch this whole setup and go with Aqua-computer small bore stuff.
It's very tempting, but also very expensive.

OK.
Enough.
There is a filet and sweet corn with my name on it...

S!X

05-30-2005, 10:12 PM

Thats pretty fuckin sweet! Is it hard to install water cooling?

Nobody1234

05-30-2005, 11:18 PM

Thats pretty fuckin sweet! Is it hard to install water cooling?
If you need to ask that question then watercooling isn't for you.

Looking good, clocker!!!

Have any extra of that filet and sweet corn?

S!X

05-30-2005, 11:38 PM

clocker

05-31-2005, 12:04 AM

Have any extra of that filet and sweet corn?
Ummm...no.
In an hour or so there will be homemade ice cream.
Want in on that?

Is it hard to install water cooling?
Yes and no.
Just like building a PC, picking the parts is half the battle.
Then, putting them in and arranging them so the tubing routes nicely can be trying, but not really difficult.
It's easy to see when someone has done a really nice job...Modsquad, for instance. (http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=62286&page=1&pp=20)
Not only is the water loop detailed to the max, but his laser etched hologram window is amazing.

S!X

05-31-2005, 12:14 AM

Ummm...no.
In an hour or so there will be homemade ice cream.
Want in on that?

Is it hard to install water cooling?
Yes and no.
Just like building a PC, picking the parts is half the battle.
Then, putting them in and arranging them so the tubing routes nicely can be trying, but not really difficult.
It's easy to see when someone has done a really nice job...Modsquad, for instance. (http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=62286&page=1&pp=20)
Not only is the water loop detailed to the max, but his laser etched hologram window is amazing.

I see, You said you bought like 400$ worth of water cooling stuff...Is that like top of the line stuff? Are watercooling kits that expensive?! :ermm:

clocker

05-31-2005, 12:28 AM

Kits can be had for a lot less than what I paid.
Yes, my stuff would be considered "very good" to "excellent", but not absolute top of the line.
Like anything else, if you have the bucks there is always something better to move up to.

I should think that it's obvious by now that I am a total hardware junkie and do this cause I enjoy it, not because it's necessary.
I'm also fortunate in that my job makes it easy to dispose of my "used" hardware if I want at no loss ( I get to buy at wholesale/dealer cost and sell at a profit), so "moving up" is not the financial burden it might be for someone else.

I can justify this mania as job research ( which is ludicrous as we hardly sell any of the stuff I'm interested in), but in reality I'm just playing around.

S!X

05-31-2005, 12:55 AM

Kits can be had for a lot less than what I paid.
I should think that it's obvious by now that I am a total hardware junkie and do this cause I enjoy it, not because it's necessary.
I'm also fortunate in that my job makes it easy to dispose of my "used" hardware if I want at no loss ( I get to buy at wholesale/dealer cost and sell at a profit), so "moving up" is not the financial burden it might be for someone else.

:dry: Hardware give you a high like no other? :lookaroun

clocker

05-31-2005, 01:13 AM

Ummm...not really.
However, in combination with other ah, activities, I do manage to keep myself amused.

S!X

05-31-2005, 01:15 AM

Ummm...not really.
However, in combination with other ah, activities, I do manage to keep myself amused.

Anything about comps gives me a high like no other, but mainly hardware pr0n :naughty: :ermm: :ph34r: :pinch:

clocker

05-31-2005, 01:39 AM

Anything about comps gives me a high like no other
You need to get out more.

Spicker

05-31-2005, 02:13 AM

Anything about comps gives me a high like no other
You need to get out more.
:lol: :lol: Your one to say :naughty:

j/k

clocker

06-06-2005, 12:49 PM

Did you think this thread was dead?
Silly people...not a chance.

Lian-li case has arrived....jiminey, this thing is huge!
Bigger than the Stacker even, and that was a big case.
I can already tell the build quality is superb, not that it will stop me from hacking it to bits though.

Unfortunately....
I also have 2x512MB of the new Mushkin RedLine series RAM....PC4000 @2,2,2,5,1T.
The problem is the voltage necessary to run it...my Gigabyte board will not supply the extra needed.
In fact, the ONLY board certified for the Redline is the DFI LanParty series.
AND, I have to provide active cooling for the RAM sticks.

So, I need a new motherboard too.
While I'm at it I may as well drop in a San Diego core and go for broke.
Basically I need to build a whole 'nother PC.

This puts a strain on the budget (to say the least).

So the V-2000 goes back into the box and will sit for a while.
Like maybe two months or so.

Meanwhile, Sprocket's current home, the Silverstone TJ-06, continues to get upgraded.
I just ordered a new radiator/shroud assembly for the waterloop.
It's a custom heatercore made by a guy in Arkansas ( who'd a thunk?) and it should finally get my temps down to where I think they should be.
Mounting it will require some extensive surgery to the front chassis panel so, once installed, it will be fairly permanent.

Looks like I'll be trying something new this time then.
Instead of just selling off the case I'll be selling off the entire PC, waterloop and all, since everything will have been modded specifically to fit this particular configuration.
I don't know how well this will work- I've had an easy time moving out my cases, but this will be a whole different magnitude of sale and might take more effort/time.
We'll see.

Meanwhile, I'll keep you posted as the new waterloop gets assembled.
Delivery on the rad should be ten days or so....keep watching this channel for further updates.

Now I'll just continue spamming Hardware World till I have something more productive to do. :P

clocker

06-23-2005, 02:08 PM

Look at what Mr. Postman just delivered (OK it really came yesterday afternoon, but you know).....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/mini-weapon.jpg
I am totally impressed.
This unit might just be the bargain of the century in watercooling components.
Custom made in Arkansas, it is a '77 Bonneville heatercore with silver soldered 1/2" barbs installed, a flawless matte black coating, laser cut fan shroud and two 120mm fans.
He even sleeves the fan tails.

The rad is 310mm tall, 150mm wide and, with the shroud and fans installed, 140mm deep.

All this for $112 including shipping.
In comparison, my Black Ice Extreme (single 120mm size) cost $119 for just the bare radiator.

The assembly will fit in my casefront below the optical drive bay...just barely, but it fits.
I'll start the build Sat. night after work and should have the install done by Sunday night, but I've also ordered some Tygon 3603 tubing which may not arrive till early next week so performance figures won't be available till then.

I was originally thinking of this loop configuration-

pump> heatercore> CPU> BIX> GPU> rez> pump

but now that I've seen this monster I think the second rad would be useless overkill.

My current setup averages a deltaT of 2C for the CPU and 15-18C on the GPU and rises about 5C under stress (Prime95 and Aquamark) which is pretty respectable.
It will be interesting to see what (if any) improvement the new loop affords.

GepperRankins

06-23-2005, 02:16 PM

i just realised; you have a backwards case, you freak :sick:

clocker

06-23-2005, 02:33 PM

Yup.
Both the Silverstone and the Lian-li are pseudo-BTX (or, to use your parlance, "backwards") and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I think it makes much more sense layout-wise.

clocker

06-27-2005, 12:32 PM

Well, Clocker did manage to get off his ass and do some work this weekend.
Yes, it surprised me, too.

The first order of business was to strip Sprocket naked in order to install the new radiator.
I knew it would be a tight fit, but I was pretty sure it would and, eureka!, it does.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/weapon1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/weapon.jpg
The lower chamber of the case is completely stuffed now...the fans on the shroud come within a few inches of the end of the video card and nearly overlap the edge of the motherboard.

Naturally, there were also numerous other details to attend to...a new pump mounting bracket, a new, truncated 5 1/4" bay enclosure, work on the front bezel and little fiddly things here and there.
Inevitably, I ran out of paint last night so I'll have to get some this AM before work.

With any luck, my new Tygon tubing will arrive on Wed. and final assembly can commence.

Spicker

06-27-2005, 12:55 PM

Nice

very sexy p0rn! :01: !

Virtualbody1234

06-27-2005, 04:38 PM

You're going to have a chemistry lab in there with that Tygon® tubing. :lookaroun

clocker

06-27-2005, 06:34 PM

Well, supposedly the Tygon has an excellent bend radius capability and is resistent to staining, also.

We shall see whether the benefits justify the cost.

S!X

06-27-2005, 06:35 PM

Clocker, What kind of case is that? Name brand or some kind of custom? Looks offley big..

clocker

06-27-2005, 06:48 PM

Silverstone TJ-06.

Somewhat gutted.

OK.
Extensively gutted.

clocker

06-28-2005, 02:23 PM

Bit more detail work done...

One thing that has always bothered me is the crummy heatsink used on the chipset.
Overhung by the video card there is a severe height restriction, so Gigabyte's solution was a fairly large but thin aluminum sink.

Meh.

I had a Zalman chipset sink laying about and, with a bit of trimming, got her to work.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/NFB2.jpg
The first three rows of fins had to take one for the team so the video card would fit, but even so, I think the cooling potential is much greater.
I drilled and tapped the end of the block for a 6-32 screw and used that and a spacer to mount the fan.
Hopefully, the fan will draw air over the RAM and help cool the chipset.

This shot shows the Gigabyte sink laying next to the new arrangement.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/SBS.jpg

We shall see.
With this change accomplished, the motherboard can be installed (maybe tonight?) and assembly can commence.

Virtualbody1234

06-28-2005, 03:06 PM

Nice mod but isn't there a way to include the northbridge into you water cooling loop?

clocker

06-28-2005, 03:27 PM

Not easily.

Outside of the fact that it would be tough to find a block that would physically fit, I don't think the added restriction in the loop would be good.

S!X

06-29-2005, 02:17 AM

Ha, I knew that that crappy Northbridge heatsink was gonna come back to haunt you.

clocker

06-29-2005, 02:47 AM

You did?
Why was I not informed?

I can't say I ever experienced a problem I could pin on high chipset temps...my major objections were mostly aesthetic and theoretical.
It always seemed to me that the board's designers had taken the easy way out and I could do better.

Then again, I tend to think that about a lot of things.

lynx

06-29-2005, 06:28 AM

I remember LP mentioning that several times.

No, wait, I don't remember any such thing. Spooky, huh?

Then again, I tend to think that about a lot of things. You probably just think too much.

I wonder if board clutter is Abit's reason for using heatpipe cooling on some of their new boards.

clocker

06-29-2005, 11:59 AM

I wonder if board clutter is Abit's reason for using heatpipe cooling on some of their new boards.
Could very well be.
I was semi impressed by those solutions till I realized that they would be less than useless in a pseudo-BTX case like (both) mine are.

I had spent some time going through our pile of laptop carcases looking for a suitable setup...some actually came pretty close and I wouldn't be surprised to see a variation of the typical laptop integrated base/heatpipe/fan/radiator show up on full sized boards.

Anyway, layout should improve with the removal of IDE ports- they consume a lot of valuable real estate.

clocker

06-29-2005, 11:56 PM

Tubing finally arrived and assembly is nearly finished.

If ever I had doubts about the value of Tygon 3603 tubing, they have been dispelled now.
It is the gold standard by which I shall judge all others in the future.
Remarkably soft, almost sticky Tygon will bend to incredible radii without kinking.
If you are considering watercooling, this stuff is highly recommended.

Pics later.

clocker

06-30-2005, 03:00 AM

Better late than never.

Although, given my craptacular photography skills, that is debatable too.

Anyway...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/back.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/bezel.jpg
Pretty standard stuff.
On the backplane there is now a 120mm fan at the bottom, pulling air past the newly mounted pump.
The front bezel is still a work in progress..not much to say about it right now.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/loop.jpg
Here is the whole enchilada.
Many changes in the upper bay area, mostly aimed at lowering HDD temps.
The radiator is obviously the biggest change of all, I'm very curious to see how it compares to the BIX I had mounted previously.

It just struck me that even though Sprocket is watercooled, she still sports six 120mm fans.
Wonder how quiet she'll be.

clocker

07-02-2005, 04:41 AM

More changes coming,
New motherboard (DFI LanParty SLI),which I was saving for the Lian-li but decided to try now and the waterloop is being rearranged (decided to add the BIX to the loop...practicality be damned).

I'm not sure what will happen to the Lian-li project, so far, the Venice/San Diego releases don't seem like they are a quantum leap over my Winchester and the x2's are too expensive to contemplate.
I wanted to bump the performance AND the visuals on the next build, but the current version of Sprocket seems pretty acceptable, so maybe I just sit out for a while and wait to pick up a used 6800GT vid card and play with SLI for a while.

Oh boy.

S!X

07-02-2005, 05:07 AM

Omg... Shoulda got a SLI in the first place.

clocker

07-02-2005, 12:03 PM

We shall see aboot that, my half Canadian buddy.

I've been sitting on this board for a few weeks, now I wish I had looked it over more thoroughly before deciding to switch.
There are many changes that must be made.

The DFI requires two more power connections be made on the board- one Molex and one floppy connector.
Naturally, my harness does not have them, so I'll have to temporarily cobble them on.
Why temporarily?
Cause I have a new PSU on the way also...all the way from Merry Olde England.
Getting this bad boy...
http://www.frozencpu.com/images/products/detail_hires/psu-163.jpg
FrozenCPU is taking their sweet time stocking this item, so we ordered three from a retailer in Britian.
ETA is two weeks.

Getting back to the DFI...this damn thing is going to require a floppy drive to flash BIOS ( the sheer magnitude of BIOS versions available, many from Oskar Wu, the board's designer, was a big attraction to me), and I have left no easy way to mount one.

There is also a front breakout box that I was completely unaware of...again, I have no place to fit it.

As far as SLI goes...yes, the price of my XFX 6800 GT has started to fall, but the DangerDen NV-68 waterblock that I'd also need has not.
The block is an extra $125 on top of the card's price, so my entry fee into the wonderful world of bleeding edge graphics will be another $450 or so.
This will bring my total investment in video cards to nearly a grand, almost double what most of my customers complete systems are worth.

Pong had better look pretty bloody SUPERIOR to justify this outlay....

Sigh.
Back to the drawing board.

bigdawgfoxx

07-02-2005, 12:57 PM

That is a beautiful PSU

clocker

07-04-2005, 10:24 AM

Damn.

Thought I had come up with a really cool way to have two radiators in the loop.
Even went so far as to mock everything into place to confirm the tubing runs.
Would have worked great except for DFI's use of the add-on sound module in the I/O panel area.
It's height makes adding the BIX back into the system impossible without more extensive casehacking than I'm willing to undertake right now.

Double damn.

On the plus side, Sprocket's bling factor has risen exponentially.
Internally at least.

Those with elephantine memories might recall that I purchased a sheet of polished aluminum diamond plate a few months ago.
The more I thought about it, the less suitable it seemed for use in the Lian-li and the more perfect it looked in the all black Silverstone.
Much of the interior is now clad in shiny plate and the effect is quite stunning.
Somewhat humorous because it is invisible till the sidepanel is removed.
It's very much like old pocketwatches...the movements were typically highly decorated even though no one saw them except the repairman.
Sprocket's dead black exterior gives no hint of the flashdance taking place inside.

It'll just be our little secret.

Ssssshhhhhh.....

Duffman

07-04-2005, 10:41 AM

Clocker, wtf, how you gonna sit there and tell us how cool this shit is, I know you have a camera, take some pictures!

Virtualbody1234

07-04-2005, 01:00 PM

It'll just be our little secret.

Ssssshhhhhh.....
Right. I guess that's why you advertise this thread as "Hardware pr0n".

That'll keep em away! :dry:

clocker

07-05-2005, 02:11 AM

It'll just be our little secret.

Ssssshhhhhh.....
Right. I guess that's why you advertise this thread as "Hardware pr0n".

That'll keep em away! :dry:
That was the idea, yes.
I didn't realize pr0n was so popular...somebody should look into maybe offering it over the Interweb, perhaps a few dollars to be made catering to the prurient desires of the masses.

Nah.
It would never catch on.

@dawg,
Pics will follow when the rest of the tubing arrives...hopefully tomorrow.
Everything else is done.

Virtualbody1234

07-05-2005, 04:29 PM

http://www.thestylemachine.com/smileys/galletos.gif

Will this PC ever run?

clocker

07-05-2005, 04:41 PM

To paraphrase Billy Crystal....

"It's more important to look good than to run well."

But yes, it will be up and running soon.
Fortunately, I have access to several PCs so I can try to get all the details right before Sprocket is needed again.

How's that?

lynx

07-05-2005, 07:22 PM

At this rate, Sprocket's teeth will have worn away or dropped out.

Still, we can always call her "Gummy". :blink:

clocker

07-05-2005, 09:19 PM

Oh ye of little faith.

peat moss

07-05-2005, 11:56 PM

Oh ye of little faith.

Hey its a hobby ! The wifey is probably thinking thank god , as she leaves for bingo . :lol:

clocker

07-06-2005, 12:11 AM

Oh ye of little faith.

Hey its a hobby ! The wifey is probably thinking thank god , as she leaves for bingo . :lol:
Hmmm.
Actually the wifey was thinking "Thank God" as she left me for a coworker.

20 years ago.

No telling what she's thinking today.

peat moss

07-06-2005, 12:20 AM

Sorry bad joke , but was it at least a female coworker ? :naughty:

clocker

07-06-2005, 05:12 AM

No, but he was rich.
I'll bet that Sprocket could kick his PC's ass.

Just rolled home from work BTW, and the new roll of Tygon has arrived.
I had basically butchered the first 5" piece trying to improve my original layout.
I was able to achieve several different arrangements, but in the end, my first setup was the best.

Now I can go ahead and finish up.

Pics soon.

S!X

07-06-2005, 05:49 AM

FrozenCPU is taking their sweet time stocking this item

Speaking of taking there sweet time, they still havent got the Freezer64 in yet :angry: I havent ordered the stuff for my comp yet eaither, Dont even know if im still gonna get it, cuz my uncles in a jam now with the home reservations and stuff... :angry: :frusty: :dry:

Virtualbody1234

07-06-2005, 01:26 PM

Now I can go ahead and finish up.
Finish up?

Highly unlikely. :P

Adster

07-06-2005, 01:37 PM

that boards the same as mine

clocker

07-06-2005, 07:24 PM

Now I can go ahead and finish up.
Finish up?

Highly unlikely. :P

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/TDX.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/quarterview.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/loop1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/bezel1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/qv2.jpg

Snee

07-06-2005, 07:44 PM

That is a very nice psu indeed.

The plugs look a bit like the ones that bloke used on Orac 3.

What model and make is it again?

clocker

07-06-2005, 07:59 PM

It is a Hiper 600w.
Apparently well regarded in Europe, now coming to America.

Snee

07-06-2005, 08:27 PM

Well, it looks very, very nice. Like I said, the plugs remind me of Orac3, which is only positive in my book. I wish I had wiring like that in my box.

Can you loosen any cables you don't need on that? It looks like it.

Btw- The old Hipers had problems with the cabling, according to a review I read when I was looking for a psu for my brother, apparently it'd get hot when you put strain on the psu. (one such review) (http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?head=64&page=2296)

That was their first range an earlier range of psus though, and apart from that they were very good performers from what I've heard, and they have to have sorted out any child diseases by now :)

It looks like the cables are connected differently on this one, at least on the outside, if I remember the pics of the old ones correctly.

lynx

07-06-2005, 11:42 PM

I was very tempted to get the Hiper myself, but finally decided on the Akasa PaxPower Ultra Quiet, which I believe is a rebadged SeaSonic S12. It really is virtually silent.

Clocker is right however, Hiper do seem to have a good reputation now.

clocker

07-08-2005, 12:23 PM

Finally got Windows installed (my hardware has changed so drastically that I've had to activate over the phone lately...imagine that :P ) and got the chance to tweak my settings some.
Flashed to a newer BIOS ( they seem to come out almost weekly) and used settings from a thread at OCForums (which was quite helpful as I haven't a clue what half these options are).

Holy crap!
This board is a monster.

Within 30 minutes I had reached my previous best numbers from the Gigabyte board and I'm still running the RAM 1:1 (PC 3700 so far, @2.5,3.3.10) and 1T.

Was able to break the 32 sec. barrier in SuperPi...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/superpi.jpg

Now for 2.7GHz...

clocker

07-08-2005, 01:11 PM

Oh, it's almost too easy...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/superpi3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/write.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/read1.jpg

Hmmm, how about WinRAR?

Snee

07-08-2005, 01:47 PM

I like your cpu temp.

That baby is going to last forever.

clocker

07-08-2005, 03:16 PM

I like your cpu temp.
So do I.
Oh yes, very much.
Sprocket will be Priming all day as I work to support her.
Temps had skyrocketed all the way up to 28C after about 1/2 hour (BTW, all temps seen are with the PC buttoned up, I'm prolly going to remove the Silverstone mesh in the front bezel to improve airflow).

I'm pretty sure that the new radiator is more than capable of handling anything I can throw at it, so now I'm thinking of rerouting the loop a bit.
The vid card is still nearly as hot as it was before (with the BIX), so maybe if I run the output from the rad to the GPU first I can drop a few more degrees.
CPU temp should rise by a bit, but I feel I can afford it, especially as my next step is to begin ratcheting down the CPU vCore.

I did try to break 2.8GHz already, but my RAM settings are going to need relaxing to make it.
I can POST just fine, but Windows loses the "ntoskrnl.dll" and won't play nice.
So far, this has been my first/only blue screen.

This board seems like it will live up to it's reputation if my beginning results are any indication.
It's also worth remembering that I am running a Winchester and thus, do not benefit from the new, improved memory controllers found in the Venice/San Diego/Toledo chips.
The Winnie is proving quite competitive against the Venice/San Diegos- I certainly see no reason to upgrade to either of them...we'll see what the x2's can bring to the table.

Snee

07-08-2005, 03:54 PM

28 degrees :ohmy:

What kind of ambient are we talking about here, btw?

Seeing as it's summer the surrounding temps can't be much lower, can they?

That water-cooling thing is brilliant :ohtheenvy:

Do you reckon it'd be possible to add some low-powered (and thus not too noisy) refrigeration to the loop as well? just hypothetically, like, 'cos you certainly don't seem to need it.

clocker

07-08-2005, 04:17 PM

Room ambient (measured with a somewhat suspect thermometer) is @ 24-25C.
This makes my motherboard sensors also suspect, too.
It's hard to do any comparisons with my old setup due to the number of changes I've made, but the new database is starting.

Low-powered refridgeration (such as watercooler chillers) are really not capable of doing much for a waterloop.
Maybe a degree or two at most.
Basically, not worth the added complexity/cost.

Snee

07-08-2005, 04:40 PM

Thanks for answering that, I've been wondering why no one added refrigeration to the loops I've seen, but if it doesn't work better than that, that explains it.

Maybe the mobo sensors and the thermometer are good, which would make the heat transferring capabilities of your loop brilliant (and maybe it isn't too incredible a difference in temps anyway :blink: I dunno'), btw :unsure: Be positive :D

clocker

07-08-2005, 04:51 PM

Maybe the mobo sensors and the thermometer are good, which would make the heat transferring capabilities of your loop brilliant (and maybe it isn't too incredible a difference in temps anyway :blink: I dunno'), btw :unsure: Be positive :D
That would make my loop more than brilliant, it would be miraculous.
The absolute best a waterloop can ever be would be room ambient and that assumes 100% transfer between the CPU and the block, the block and the water, then the water and the radiator.
Obviously, this cannot happen.

It's moot however.
Whatever the temp really is, it's pretty bloody low. :P

Snee

07-08-2005, 05:08 PM

clocker

07-08-2005, 05:43 PM

Sorry, I missed something there, I thought you said your current room temp was 24-25 and the current cpu temp 28? :lol:

Anyway, it's impressive and I wish I could afford something like it.

But at least I know what kind of stuff I'll be getting next time I've got a lot of money to spend. Wahey.
That was 28C whilst running at 100% CPU load.
At idle, she's around 22C which would be below my room ambient (i.e., not possible).

Still, I'm a happy boy.

Snee

07-08-2005, 06:08 PM

D'oh

And I'm slow :lol:

clocker

07-09-2005, 02:20 PM

Right, then.

I've been making attempts to discover the upper limits of my OC.
Amazingly (amazing because I have no idea about the mechanics of the BIOS), I have actually hit the desktop at 2.9GHz.

For about 3 seconds.

Then Windows decides to crap it's pants and disappears.

My luck at 2.8GHz hasn't been much better...I can stay in Windows, but any sort of benchmark crashes me out.

2.7GHz seems to be fine, I was Prime stable (for 10 hours) yesterday and temps never broke 30C.

Obviously, this all just for bragging rights really, I'll prolly clock back to 2.4GHz for regular use because I can run that at the tight RAM timings (all of my benches have been run at CAS 2.5, but the RAM is rated for CAS2) AND undervolt the CPU.

I must say that the DFI board is really as good as they say (now I'm one of "they"!) as it has easily surpassed the best settings that the Gigabyte could achieve.
Not to denigrate the Gigabyte...it is a very good board, very fully featured AND it's cheaper, but for sheer performance the DFI is king.

Tomorrow I plan on rerouting the waterloop so the GPU is first in line...hopefully this will drop the vid card temps some.

All in all, both Sprocket and I are quite pleased.

Snee

07-09-2005, 02:30 PM

Sooo, how long 'til you buy a dual core then?

Bet it's tempting.

clocker

07-09-2005, 03:18 PM

Well yeah, of course it's tempting.

I have been trying to keep up on the reviews, but so far I haven't really seen any convincing proof that the x2's are a "gotta have" item.

It doesn't help that AMD, following their usual assbackwards marketing plan, is releasing the high-end chips first, the more reaonably priced units dribbling behind.

Also keep in mind that sometime after the release of Longhorn (whenever that might be) AMD is planning on jumping platforms...different sockets and probably DDR3 RAM.
Such a move will render my current, (nearly) state-of-the-art setup as technically obsolete as socketA is today and none of my core components will be carried forward.

Besides, I think I finally lucked into a "good'un"...one of those fabled individual chips that surpasses it's brethren.
As far as I can tell, Sprocket's Winchester is one of the best around and easily the equal of many Venice/San Diego's whose results I've seen.

And really, let's be honest...a Duron would handle my needs.
I just do this for fun.
Anyway, my next purchases are going to be the Swiftech Storm G4 waterblock and the Gigabyte RAM drive PCI card with 4GB of RAM.
Then I need the second 6800 GT vid card so I can enable SLI.*

*BTW, I did run Aquamark03 a few times at 2.7GHz.
With the card clocked to 415/1.15 (the numbers that "detect optimal settings" gives me) my best score was 79,488.
I'm hoping to crack 80k if my rerouted waterloop decreases temps enough.

zapjb

07-09-2005, 05:42 PM

And really, let's be honest...a Duron would handle my needs. :lol:
Thanks we enjoy it too.

Monkeee

07-09-2005, 09:03 PM

did you try any performance testing? Aquamark? 3Dmark?

Virtualbody1234

07-09-2005, 10:11 PM

did you try any performance testing? Aquamark? 3Dmark?

*BTW, I did run Aquamark03 a few times at 2.7GHz.
:frusty:

Snee

07-09-2005, 10:44 PM

:lol:

(don't mind me, I'm just jinxing a bit.)

@clocker, I wonder if you could get a bit extra if you sold that 3500, what with you having proven it to be a good one :unsure:

How long have you planned on keeping this rig, btw?

clocker

07-09-2005, 10:55 PM

Maybe if I sold her now on a forum classified I could get a reasonable price, but as the new chips come out and prices fall, any percieved extra value evaporates.

I never plan anything.
Sprocket has evolved organically, many revisions directly attributable to a stroke of good luck in sales/deals.

It's easier and more fun that way.

clocker

07-10-2005, 01:36 PM

Right then class, pencils at the ready.

I've been doing a bit more tinkering with my setup and have made a few improvements along with some surprising steps backwards.

With the Gigabyte board I had struggled mightily to break into the 2500's at PC Pitstop (yeah I know it's crap, but they keep having prizes for high scores and I really wanted another Raptor).
Not a prob anymore...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/pcpitstop1.jpg
My best Everest memory read test...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/memread5.jpg
Finally, a sooooooo close try at sub-30 seconds at SuperPI...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/superpi5.jpg

WinRAR compression test doesn't seem to respond to anything, I can equal, but not best, my previous score of 38.
Aquamark3 still refuses to yeild a score over 80k.

I'm thinking that my CPU memory controller might now be the bottleneck.
The Patriot RAM has performed fine with the original tight timings ( I only dropped the CAS to 2.5), but relaxing further doesn't help. I can't even POST at cas3.
Maybe there are a whole different set of timings I could adopt to try and break 280 FSB...I'm going to research that.
Right now I've settled back to 2.4GHz and am playing with voltages...specifically- undervolting.
Vcore is down from a high of 1.525 (stock is 1.4) to 1.325v and RAM is at 2.7v.

CPU/GPU temps have budged hardly at all through this trip through GHzland.
I have yet to break 30c on the CPU.

I think that Sprocket has turned out quite healthy for a general-purpose PC.
Compared to hardcore sportclockers she falls short, but she's not as single purpose, stripped down as they, either.
The real players are on machines with SCSI RAID, pared-to-the-bone Win2K and phase-change cooling.
SuperPI scores are nearing 25 seconds at that rarified level.
Of course, after the benchmark they can't browse the forums or burn a DVD like I can, either.

Later today I plan on rerouting the waterloop (which might involve a new reservoir also) and tweaking the cosmetics a bit more...I still haven't decided on what to do with the front bezel.
I can also tell that soon I'll have to deal with the northbridge HSF on this board...it is one whiny little bastard. So far, every socket939 board with PCIe that I've seen has suffered from horrible placement of this chip...effective cooling is an impossibility.
I can imagine some solutions, but none that will allow for the second vidcard should I go SLI. Replacing this unit requires removing the motherboard (which is quite involved for me) so I'd prefer to do it but once.

OK LP, bring it on.....

Spicker

07-10-2005, 02:00 PM

I think that Sprocket has turned out quite healthy for a general-purpose PC.

:blink: I hate you. :dry:

Snee

07-10-2005, 02:05 PM

Are you getting another raptor then?

Spicker

07-10-2005, 02:11 PM

Are you getting another raptor then?
http://www.thomasmodels.com/gallery/raptor.jpg
i dont think it will fit? :wacko: :lol:

clocker

07-10-2005, 02:16 PM

Are you getting another raptor then?
Not in a contest, no.
Hitting 2600 on this test (which two months ago would have struck me as miraculous) doesn't even ante onto the table anymore.
The big dogs have broken 3000...

I hate you.
That shall be my cross to bear.

clocker

07-10-2005, 11:33 PM

In hopes of intensifying Spicker's hatred, here are some more shots.

First, the rerouted loop.
Looks very much like the original, doesn't it?
Yeah, I thought so too.
Trust me though, it's been redone.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/gpufirst.jpg

And a bit of performance data.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/prime2.jpg

Sprocket had been Priming for maybe 4 hours in this shot.
Oddly, I also had the nvidia temp monitor app open for this shot, but it disappeared during capture.
Dunno why.
It was reading 31C at the time in a room temp of 23-24C.

Soooo.
Rerouting the loop has had zeroapparent effect on the temps.
Neither the GPU nor the CPU went up or down as a result.

Interesting.

clocker

07-12-2005, 12:21 PM

Are you getting another raptor then?
As it turns out, yes, I am.
I didn't think I had snagged it, but it showed up yesterday ($85 off the OCForums classified).

RAID 0, here I come.

After I figure out how to mount more drives in Sprocket.
I have a Seagate 120 SATA that would be nice to install also (for no particular reason other than I have it...) so I need to provide space (and cooling) for two more drives.
Just eyeballing the available space, it looks possible to use the rod/suspension method and squeeze all three drives where previously there was one, but airflow (and thus temps) might be an issue.

Tomorrow is my day off so I'll attack this then.

Ultimately I hope to also incorporate the 4GB RAM drive for the bare OS.
Then the 72GB RAID array would hold the page file and programs and the solo 120 SATA disc would be straight data storage.
This would be about the fastest storage array possible, I think.

So much for the lean, mean, stripped-down Sprocket I originally intended, but as I mentioned previously, serendipity plays a big role in my modding adventures.

BTW, I just heard from FrozenCPU and the Hiper PSU pictured in a previous post should be available in 2-3 weeks.
Right after my next paycheck.
Oh oh.

Afronaut

07-13-2005, 08:14 AM

Sorry to interrupt but there's a hawt topic on /. (http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/13/0251205&tid=198&tid=222&tid=137) and I thought maybe you guys like to take a peek also.
(I know you peps like this stuff)

For hardcore serverpr0n, check the:
Homebuilt 19" Mini-ITX Server Rack.
:D

clocker

07-13-2005, 11:21 AM

Oh, that's cruel...link is down.

Snee

07-13-2005, 11:47 AM

Afronaut

07-13-2005, 05:36 PM

Somehow I did manage to feck teh link.

here it is:
http://home19.inet.tele.dk/jys0500/rack/

the slashdot link is in my earlier post as ---> /. but here is that too:

http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/13/0251205&tid=198&tid=222&tid=137

Come to think of it, I dont think it has the latest hardware but me been a
some sorta musician I get woody just seeing the rack, hehe...

:D

clocker

07-14-2005, 10:00 PM

Sprocket is now RAIDed.
It was a stone bitch to achieve...DFI provides zero documentation and the required settings are spread out all over the BIOS.

Literally just finished the install as I flew out the door for work this AM so there is no performance data as yet.
Shall spend some time doing the normal XP tweaking and loading and see whether this nightmare was worth it.

clocker

07-15-2005, 02:00 PM

Hmmm.
Well, is RAID worth the hassle to set up?
You decide.

Here is a shot from a few months ago.
This is a single Raptor...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/raptor2.jpg

Now the Raptor is joined by it's twin in RAID0...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/raidtach.jpg
Rather dramatic difference I would say.

Virtualbody1234

07-15-2005, 02:15 PM

Is the drive access speed noticeable when using the PC?

clocker

07-15-2005, 03:58 PM

Can't really say yet, VB.
Haven't really had a chance to do anything, still installing and tweaking XP so regular use hasn't happened.
It seems likely that there should be a noticable difference, but I'll let you know.

Snee

07-15-2005, 04:03 PM

They don't support NCQ too, do they? :unsure:

clocker

07-15-2005, 04:19 PM

No.
Raptor's make up with sheer speed their lack of new tech.

New record for SuperPi...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/superpi4.jpg
I shall break into the 29's with this rig.
FYI, the lowest score I've ever seen is 26.2 seconds.

Don't think I can get there, but it's fun to try.

Snee

07-15-2005, 04:37 PM

I thought as much, I wonder how fast a raptor with ncq would go.

(congratz on the speeds, btw)

lynx

07-15-2005, 05:09 PM

You've certainly achieved some impressive gains in both sequential read speed and burst transfer speed. Unfortunately, since we rarely have control of how our data is written to the disk large scale sequential reading is so rare that it is unlikely to be a factor in day to day performance. Sadly most tests seem to want to show raw power rather than usability.

A better test would have been a few minutes of totally random access, but unless you are going to de-raid for comparison it is rather meaningless. And of course since you have 2 disks it would be meaningful to do a similar test with both the drives being accessed randomly in non-raid mode too.

The latest 74GB Raptors certainly support NCQ, but I don't know about the ones you've got (though documantation would suggest not). I wonder how much difference that would make, especially in non-raid mode.

clocker

07-15-2005, 06:07 PM

You certainly make valid points...clearly, all this benchmarking is just for bragging rights, not for day-to-day usability.

clocker

07-18-2005, 04:02 AM

And speaking of bragging....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/winRAR40.jpg
If I can break past 41 I'll hit the top three in the competition.

Anyone know what winRAR is most dependent on?

lynx

07-18-2005, 06:40 AM

Have you read the help file?

Apparently it doesn't start showing meaningful data until at least 10MB of data has been processed. In theory that means that the amount of data processed in 60 seconds is not actually significant, it is the resulting speed which is important. Having said that, multiplying your resulting speed by 60 does actually give 40MB (allowing for rounding).

Apparently the program generates random data, then compresses it and decompresses it simultaneously. As far as I can tell there is no actual disk access involved. By way of confirmation of that, a virus scan running at the same time hardly seemed to affect the performance.

There seem to be three processes involved:
Generation of random data.
Compression of that data.
Decompression of the compressed data.

There is also comparison of the original and resulting data streams, but I don't think that would have much bearing on the result.

Obviously, since data is constantly passing from the processor to memory, the memory management system must be highly involved.

I can see little advantage (and many disadvantages) in the software using floating point arithmetic for the compression and decompression but I suppose that depends on whether the software designers were smart enough to realise that. I would guess they were.

All other filters and algorithms are disabled, so the only other factor is pure processor power.

All in all I would say that the benchmark tests a mixture of memory access speed and processor performance. The one thing I can't tell from your images is the speed the memory is running at, so I suppose it is 260MHz.

Just found out that revision E chips (Venice, San Diego and x2) have hidden memory speed settings as long as the bios supports it, namely 433, 466 and 500. That'll upset all those people who think AMD are stuck at DDR400. Of course if, as is likely, those speeds are achieved by a multiplier of the base frequency then 500 would become 650 with your 260MHz base. Bet you wish you'd held out for the Venice core now. :P

clocker

07-18-2005, 10:53 AM

The last couple of Oskar Wu beta BIOS releases have had the memory dividers in place as you describe.
I had never seen a "plus side" divider before (i.e., over 1:1 favoring the RAM) and naturally, HAD to see what happened.

Well, long story short, you gotta have an E-revision chip to make that work.
It wasn't pretty.
Women ran screaming and strong men lay twitching on the floor.
Sprocket was bleeding from her IDE ports.

I've reflashed to the June official BIOS release and may even go further back.
The last several betas have all addressed issues involving the x2s and the e's in general...much of which might actually be detrimental to Winnie performance.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/winRAR41.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/281.jpg
Two firsts in a row.
Although I've booted at 2.8GHz before it was never stable enough to even get a screenie.
I could do some stuff this time although SuperPi crapped out before completing one iteration.

Back to work.

clocker

07-18-2005, 01:40 PM

My, but Sprocket has been feeling frisky this morning.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/winrar44.jpg

And...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/sub30pi.jpg

I think a polite "w00t!" is in order.

Afronaut

07-18-2005, 02:55 PM

Polite w00t!

:D

lynx

07-18-2005, 03:09 PM

Polite w00t!

:D
I think you mean w00t!

Virtualbody1234

07-18-2005, 03:50 PM

:D Another W00t! from me.

clocker

07-18-2005, 06:38 PM

Aw shucks.
Sprocket is blushing...
http://www.movie-winners.com/posters/pix/gonewithwind.jpg

Spicker

07-18-2005, 06:55 PM

Aw shucks.
Sprocket is blushing...
http://www.movie-winners.com/posters/pix/gonewithwind.jpg
:dry: I hate u :dry:

clocker

07-18-2005, 07:08 PM

:dry: I hate u :dry:
As well you should.

My e-dick is swangin low today.

Spicker

07-18-2005, 09:29 PM

:dry: I hate u :dry:
As well you should.

My e-dick is swangin low today.
u mean e-penis :lol:
RoFL LM@O!!!!1111eleven n00b!!11111

i dont really hate u, i just envy u :ermm:

clocker

07-18-2005, 09:54 PM

i dont really hate u, i just envy u :ermm:
Figures.
You don't know me well enough to hate me.

That's what my friends are for.

clocker

07-19-2005, 12:27 PM

Okay.
Now we are ready for Stage Two.

Sprocket's clock speed has been ratcheted back from the bleeding edge, down to 2.68GHz.
All of the voltages have also been lowered.

I'm going to try Sen's Burn-in Technique (http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=382751) * and see if I can crack the 2.8 (stable) barrier.

Random observations...
-Patriot EP RAM is amazing stuff, it's performance is way better than it's price would suggest.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/latent5.jpg
Note the tight timings it is able to hold at this speed...the RAM is running 1:1 at 1T and 5x in this shot.
I can't claim Prime stability (yet), but I haven't been concerned with that ...so far, I've just been seeing how far I could push things.

-The DFI LanParty series motherboards are the Ferraris of the field.
No other board even approaches the performance/BIOS options that it offers.
Can't speak to it's longevity/stability, but if you want to tweak your setup, this is the board to get.

-Watercooling is a real PITA.
There is the undeniable bling factor, but working in the case becomes difficult and frankly, the performance is not all that much improved over good aircooling. I am especially disappointed in the GPU block.
I don't know if there are better options than the DD NV-68 (one would hope...) but I only dropped about 5c from the aircooled results.
For $125 I expected better.
May start with aircooling in the next case and see what happens.
Whatever happened to that cool Asetek HSF that was supposed to be coming out?
The new Zalman "turbine" HS looks promising also.

*You must ignore his lousy spelling/grammar.
His results have been rather amazing though, so it looks worth a shot to me.