Opteron 165 Overclocking

[samir_nayanajaad]

Hey Luminaris I got a question for you or anyone that has used that DFI mobo you used. I have been asked by a friend to build him an awesome gaming rig, I am certain about everything, except the mobo. I am torn between the DFI board that you used and the ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce SPP. I have been leaning for the DFI but I have read in some forums that sometimes these mobos get crazy bios issues once you flash them, like reboots, off the wall errors that nobody has gotten before, and stuff like that. I was wondering if you flashed your bios and got any of these problems? Or is this problem I keep hearing about just idiots that don’t know what they are doingtalking about?

BTW sticky but don’t you think this should be in overclocking?

 

[luminaris]

I've never flashed the BIOS on my board. Its a good stable board and I would 'nt give it up for anything. I would highly recommend it. The only thing is, if your friend is not going to OC, get the ASUS board. The DFI is a great board but it can be picky about the hardware you use with it.

I did post this in the overclocking section. I posted it here as it relates to a specific CPU.

 

[suras]

Ive just got going.

2520 seems to work fine on my opty 165 on stock hsf.
tried a little bit on higher speeds aswell but it seems to me as my 0 core is holding me back. can prime core 1 for 6h at 2.8 on stock hsf. core 0 gives up after less than a minute.

Temps: priming @ 42-46
idle at 32
this is with qfan disabled.
havent started with memory yet. its on 266 at the moment.
/suras

 

[luminaris]

well, that's still a good clock man. If I go any higher, one of my cores give me a problem in prime as well so, I've pretty much stopped for now. Its so fast now, it's crazy.

Now for the memory, what I did was take mine to a 1/1 divider and I actually had to relax the timings just a bit more to make it work. You shouldn't have any problems though.

 

[ak47is1337]

well, that's still a good clock man. If I go any higher, one of my cores give me a problem in prime as well so, I've pretty much stopped for now. Its so fast now, it's crazy.

Now for the memory, what I did was take mine to a 1/1 divider and I actually had to relax the timings just a bit more to make it work. You shouldn't have any problems though.

My friend's 0551VMPW I think the stepping was would run 2.7 stable. (300x9) 1.6v, XP90 w/ Vantec Tornado cooling. I have to say-the performance difference between that and my 2.8ghz Venice was disappointing, I lost hope in dual core for the time being. Most games actually lost FSP...and I don't multitask. Mushkin Redline PC4000 ram 5/6 ratio used. BTW, what memory did you use in your AMD build Luminaris?

 

[luminaris]

I use Crucial Ballistix 2X512

 

[ak47is1337]

what's it rated for? what timings/voltage?

 

[luminaris]

Specs: DDR PC4000 • 2.5-4-4-8 • UNBUFFERED • NON-ECC • DDR500 • 2.8V

 

[jokersgrin]

I'm useing the OCZ pc4000 Gold 2 gb kit w/3-4-4-8
Found its limit on a 1/1 =270FSB. Drop the divider a little and after some long days I'm @ 2.6, ram @ 260mhz stable. This weekend I'd be pushing toward 2.7 hopefuly 2.8 but I doubt it ( opty 165 ) without some serious cooling.. ( old lady's computer) If i burn the chip old lady will kill me... 8O :twisted:

Now my rig, opty 170 on liquid cooling, I'm also at 2.6 useing the same brand of ram 1/1. I got a goal of 2.9 or better and I'll be pushing it this weekend too....

Hey Luminaris whats your goal on your Opty bro?

 

[luminaris]

Well, I've already had it up to 2.7 which was my goal. The problem is, one of the cores wouldn't pass prime so I had to drop it back to 2.5 for stability.

I'm going to try one of these days to at least get it up to FX60 speeds (2.6) which I'm hoping it will run very stable.

 

[jokersgrin]

Well from what I hear 2.7 is the limit which is rare, stable anyways!
I would have love to go 1/1 on the 165 but being that 270 fsb is its limit on the ram, which ain't bad for ddr500. I just dropped the divider to 180mhz on the ram and went from there.
If I get to 2.7 on the 165 I'll post the prime, memtest and the cpuz details for ya. Same for the 170 if I get to 2.9 or better!

On another note: I'm waiting on the AM2 to come out, Hopefully it will drop the price on the FX-60 under a grand, then I'll grab one along with some ddr600 and a phase changeing system to really push the limit.
Planning to liquid cool the ram, video cards and chipset along with the phase changer. Thinking about putting the res in a mini-frige to keep eveything cool.
If I get that I'll push to 3.6 hopefully!.... :twisted:

 

[ak47is1337]

Well from what I hear 2.7 is the limit which is rare, stable anyways!
I would have love to go 1/1 on the 165 but being that 270 fsb is its limit on the ram, which ain't bad for ddr500. I just dropped the divider to 180mhz on the ram and went from there.
If I get to 2.7 on the 165 I'll post the prime, memtest and the cpuz details for ya. Same for the 170 if I get to 2.9 or better!

On another note: I'm waiting on the AM2 to come out, Hopefully it will drop the price on the FX-60 under a grand, then I'll grab one along with some ddr600 and a phase changeing system to really push the limit.
Planning to liquid cool the ram, video cards and chipset along with the phase changer. Thinking about putting the res in a mini-frige to keep eveything cool.
If I get that I'll push to 3.6 hopefully!.... :twisted:

Mind if I comment? For one, what phase changer you planning on getting? OCZ has a phase changing kit coming out soon that is supposed to retail for $299! But, if you the -100degree type of guy, it would probably be best to just build your own. Also, for the RAM, some lower-frequency lower-latency BH5/CH5/UTT chips would most likely be better than TCCD IMO. A64 loves low latency ram...
Also, what do you mean by putting the rest in a minifrige? That would be pretty difficult to do, especially with condensation =/
What are your plans for the water? Pre-built kit or going with some dangerden high-flow?
Good luck with that stuff.

 

[jokersgrin]

OK then let me clarify a little bit!

I'm going to use this

http://www.frozencpu.com/cas-194.html

just for the cpu. I will also use a "second" cooling solution for everything else.
I will be liquid cooling the ram, chipset, and video cards with mostly Danger Den parts and a koolance solution for the ram! Now I was thinking about putting the res and pump and radaitor inside the mini fridge just to keep the liquid cool, not at 32F or below roughy about 38F.
Please keep in mind That I have not done all my research yet, but I have most of the componets the exception being the Phase changer, koolance ram solution, and possibley another pump! I'm just in research mode with "thoughts" has to its conception at this time.
If I do get around to building this best, I will of course will post pics and data to prove results!

Thank you for asking. I am open to your questions and thoughts, as I always enjoy input from others ( as long as its polite! )

 

[ak47is1337]

OK then let me clarify a little bit!

I'm going to use this

http://www.frozencpu.com/cas-194.html

just for the cpu. I will also use a "second" cooling solution for everything else.
I will be liquid cooling the ram, chipset, and video cards with mostly Danger Den parts and a koolance solution for the ram! Now I was thinking about putting the res and pump and radaitor inside the mini fridge just to keep the liquid cool, not at 32F or below roughy about 38F.
Please keep in mind That I have not done all my research yet, but I have most of the componets the exception being the Phase changer, koolance ram solution, and possibley another pump! I'm just in research mode with "thoughts" has to its conception at this time.
If I do get around to building this best, I will of course will post pics and data to prove results!

Thank you for asking. I am open to your questions and thoughts, as I always enjoy input from others ( as long as its polite! )

Are you put phase-changing on the FX60 or the 165? Some 90nm SOI AMD processors (all but FX series use 90nm SOI) have the "cold bug", where it won't post at ~ -10c.
Just giving you hindsight before you buy anything and realize it won't do any good lol.
I'm really surprised you aren't going for an Intel platform since you're getting a phase changer! I know you probably love AMD, but Intel scales very well with super cooling. 6/7 ghz could be a very good reality with any of the Cedar Mills/Presslers. If you love efficiency per clock, P'M is just impossible to beat.
Why do you need to cool the ram? Got Winbond chips?
Food for thought.

 

[ak47is1337]

BTW link me to the Koolance ram cooler; I could use that if I get water (unlikely since my hard drive just died) =(

 

[jokersgrin]

Thanks for the info AK!

link to the koolance ram cooler

http://www.koolance.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=251

I perfer AMD to intel but it does not mean I won't go out and build a rig with one. I've been thinking about it, and I think I'll invest in the Conroe after 3rd party independent testing of course! still I want that FX-60<<<<drool>>> still I'll try the FX on the phase changer, but I might have the Conroe system built by then. If I can't play with FX then the Conroe will be on the hit list.

 

[ak47is1337]

Thanks for the info AK!

link to the koolance ram cooler

http://www.koolance.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=251

I perfer AMD to intel but it does not mean I won't go out and build a rig with one. I've been thinking about it, and I think I'll invest in the Conroe after 3rd party independent testing of course! still I want that FX-60<<<<drool>>> still I'll try the FX on the phase changer, but I might have the Conroe system built by then. If I can't play with FX then the Conroe will be on the hit list.

Personally, I'm going to get a Cedar Mill soon my DFI crapped out on me again. Aiming for ~5ghz...
I still can't decide between the ASUS 975X or Gigabyte 975X =/

 

[luminaris]

I have mine running at 272 on 2.8 volts.

http://photobucket.com/albums/f16/Luminaris/Opteron%20Screens/?action=view&current=OpteronCurrentMemSpecs.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/f16/Luminaris/Opteron%20Screens/?action=view&current=OpteronMemBand.jpg

 

[luminaris]

The Gigabyte board is rated higher. I have one here but it's not in use right now in fact, it's still in the box. I don't have a processor for it yet.

I good friend of mine has the ASUS board and it is a nice board. He has the Presler EE on it and it's a hell of a machine.

 

[ak47is1337]

The Gigabyte board is rated higher. I have one here but it's not in use right now in fact, it's still in the box. I don't have a processor for it yet.

I good friend of mine has the ASUS board and it is a nice board. He has the Presler EE on it and it's a hell of a machine.

Bah, ratings on newegg are worthless. I wish I could find a cheaper one...
People are hitting 5.0ghz+ on air with the 631..

 

[luminaris]

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2605&p=1

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2671

 

[ak47is1337]

Hm, the ASUS got like 200 more mhz than the Gigabyte using the same 840EE proc. I think I've made up my mind. Also, considering the bad experiences I've had with DFI, the uber reliability of ASUS is worth noting.

 

[ak47is1337]

the uber reliability of ASUS is worth noting.

Except the following board written in my signature.
Such a massive failure it was.
Why? What's so bad about it ?
Also, Luminaris and a few others here seem to like them. My friend's got an Intel ASUS board. You sure you weren't unlucky?

 

[luminaris]

Yeah, I've heard of people having problems with certain ASUS boards but then again, I think there are quite a few people who have had problems with all boards at some point.

I use DFI and have never had a single problem with them at all. Call it luck if you want. I know and talk to people all the time that have had all sorts of problems with them.

As far as I'm concerned, its a gamble and that's why there are warranties.

 

[ak47is1337]

Yeah, I've heard of people having problems with certain ASUS boards but then again, I think there are quite a few people who have had problems with all boards at some point.

I use DFI and have never had a single problem with them at all. Call it luck if you want. I know and talk to people all the time that have had all sorts of problems with them.

As far as I'm concerned, its a gamble and that's why there are warranties.

Name a problem you can have with a motherboard.
-DFI gave it to me by now.