Love your socket 754?

Wow, got a PM to add someone into the list. Haven't done that since January of 2008! :D That's amazing. But yeah, I'm still around. I can easily add people in. Biggest AMD thread on the [H] still representin'!
 
m13546_Fuck%20yeah%20seaking.jpg
 
Just recently I picked up a pair of S754 3200+ Venice cpu's for cheap just to bench and play around with. I dragged out my old Abit NV8 mobo, Crucial Ballistix DDR400 ram and an X800Pro PCI-e card along with a spare case and my old Enermax 420W psu, slapped it together and got to oc'ing. The first of the little buggers went to 2.8 while the other went on up to 2.85. I set a personal best SuperPi 1M score of 31.54 sec. Not too bad for an old school setup. If I had the room I'd install it in my network but I already have 3 computers in this room and don't have the room for a 4th.
 
Pull out my old 754 built from the closet.

-ASUS K8V-SE Delux (oh hell ya)
-AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (Clawhammer!)
-3x1GB DDR-400 Corsasir XMS
-200GB Seagate SATA150
-MSI 5950FX (yea.. I fail)
 
Just recently inherited a 754 platform from a cousin who I replaced their computer. Pretty sure the board is dead but the cpu is not afaik, so ima try to get that workin :D
 
Decent boards are available on ebay. I got an EPoX 8NPA7I not too long agor for about 30 bucks. NF4 4x chipset/PCI-e ftw!
 
I love this thread. I gave my S754 system to a church, but it is still running. Pretty much been running for like 6 years or so now with the following:

Gigabyte GA-K8NS
Athlon 64 2800+ (OC'ed from 1.8ghz to 2.4ghz)
Antec SmartPower 400W
2 x 512MB DDR400
Mad Dog Geforce 4 ti4200 (also OC'ed)
120GB Maxtor

This was actually a fairly decent gaming system until 2007-ish.

I think that the Socket 754 CPU's were really groundbreaking. They were the first consumer 64-bit CPU's, and the first consumer CPU's with an IMC. Not to mention that they destroyed the P4's. Honestly, I don't feel that my Phenom II is much different from the old 2800 other than the fact that now we have 4 of the cores intead of 1. I occasionally have to use the system above and it has held up really well. I wouldn't know it was that old from using it.
 
Yeah, my old 3400+ Clawhammer went into our youth group's system. It's still getting the job done.
I will say my PII X4 945 is faster in most apps, especially ripping and burning music (like between 2 and 3 times faster) but my old Skt 754 systems still have their uses. I've always had a soft spot for my Venice cpu's and the old systems still are fine for some occaisional HL Deathmatches, among other things.
 
Got to be so careful when buying 5+ year old boards off of Ebay. So many now have bad power caps on them and its hard to tell from the Ebay pics.

I had 5 PCs this summer come into me to fix that I had to put down due to bad caps failing.
 
I got the EPoX new in the box, but yeah, getting used stuff can be iffy. Make sure to get one with a warranty if possible.
 
Ha. I still have a Shuttle SK83G with (I think) a 3000+ and 2 X 512MB of Corsair XMS DDR400 installed. Formerly a gift to my wife, it's currently being used by the 5-year old to play educational games on the TV. In the New Year, I may keep it around next to the router as a poor-man's file server.

Otherwise open to suggestions via PM.
 
U guys are making me want to put my old system back together...

2.0ghz Mobile 754 (o/c 2.5ghz)
2GB DDR400 Gskill
LanParty NF3 250GB
X1950
 
Nuthin' wrong with that - go for it.
And if any of you guys are looking for older video cards check out Retekdirect.com. Lots of good cards there. I got my X800XL for less than $30 some time ago. Running it in my PII X4 945 system and it performs great for what I need. And also, starmicro (www.starmicro.net) has the Mobile 4000 2.6 ghz cpu for $30! If your mobo supports it that is a steal. I put one in my brother's system and took it to 2.8 without even trying hard.
 
My 5yr old currently has a 3200+ Sempron, 512mb ram and a Geforce 5900 Ultra.
Plays his kiddie games fine, but I started loading some more serious games like serious sam, quake 3, and Battlefield Vietnam. Havent tried them yet, just got them a few days ago.
 
BigMacAttack said:
Nuthin' wrong with that - go for it.
And if any of you guys are looking for older video cards check out Retekdirect.com. Lots of good cards there. I got my X800XL for less than $30 some time ago. Running it in my PII X4 945 system and it performs great for what I need. And also, starmicro (www.starmicro.net) has the Mobile 4000 2.6 ghz cpu for $30! If your mobo supports it that is a steal. I put one in my brother's system and took it to 2.8 without even trying hard.
Click to expand...

WOW! Thanks a lot for that. For someone who benches classic hardware on a regular basis (me) that is a gem of a site.

Here's a modest little 3000+ Palermo OC done with 2 sticks of RAM which if you bench 754 you know it is difficult to get high HT's. with 2 DIMMS on a single channel. I just happened to running PCMark and thought I'd see how far she go with 2 DIMMs populated.
http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1444362
 
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LightningCrash said:
Mobile 4000+ is $23.40 here
http://www.ecr-intl.com/products/AMD/USED/AMN4000BKX5BU.html
Click to expand...

Wow - that's a killer price! Great link!
Opty - That's a killer oc! I've never had a problem with 2 sticks on skt 754. All my oc's have been with 2 sticks of Crucial Ballistix DDR400. At the time I got it I actually had some OCZ on order with ZZF. They kept delaying the shipment so I told them they could cancel the order and I got the Ballistix from Newegg. It was probably the best purchase I could have ever made. The Ballistix would clock to just under 280 mhz (DDR560) and my Abit NV8 mobo actually had multipliers above DDR400 (DDR433 and 466). I could set the cpu on 250x11 and run the ram on the DDR433 divider with timings of 2.5-2-2-8 and it would run like a raped ape! All my Venice cpu's ran on the DDR433 divider without a problem. I could even run the DDR466 divider if the cpu was clocked down on the multiplier and timings (2.5-3-3-8) but it was always slower then the DDR433 divider.
 
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BigMacAttack said:
Wow - that's a killer price! Great link!
Opty - That's a killer oc! I've never had a problem with 2 sticks on skt 754. All my oc's have been with 2 sticks of Crucial Ballistix DDR400. At the time I got it I actually had some OCZ on order with ZZF. They kept delaying the shipment so I told them they could cancel the order and I got the Ballistix from Newegg. It was probably the best purchase I could have ever made. The Ballistix would clock to just under 280 mhz (DDR560) and my Abit NV8 mobo actually had multipliers above DDR400 (DDR433 and 466). I could set the cpu on 250x11 and run the ram on the DDR433 divider with timings of 2.5-2-2-8 and it would run like a raped ape! All my Venice cpu's ran on the DDR433 divider without a problem. I could even run the DDR466 divider if the cpu was clocked down on the multiplier and timings (2.5-3-3-8) but it was always slower then the DDR433 divider.
Click to expand...

Try 1 stick. You'll get higher HT's (FSB) I almost guarantee. For SuperPI 1M, PiFast and WP it won't matter if you have say 1 512MB. Since all 754 are single channel populating 2 slots or more stresses the IMC. Too quote a friend of mine:
754 has only 64-bit memory controller. So you put another 512MB module (you'd like to run BH-5 than UCCC, don't you?) and see quite a loss in HT overclockability and CPU frequency. This is all because we have two sticks on a memory channel
Click to expand...
 
Interesting. I have my bench box I just rebuilt with all the old goodies in it so I'll have to give it a try.
 
Still have one Socket 754 system in active service. Still works great, running Windows 7 64bit.

CPU: Athlon 64 3400+ Venice @ 2.8GHz
RAM: 2GB DDR 400
Motherboard: EPoX 8NPA SLI
Video Card: GeForce 7600GT

I actually have a second one of those motherboards from a system I'm nolonger using. I have it listed for sale here on the forums if anyone is interested; it's one of the rare Socket 754 motherboards that will run mobile CPU's and supports SLI.

I'm sorely tempted to get that $23 mobile 4000+ that LightningCrash posted, borrow two GTX260's from another one of my systems, and benchmark the hell of of one of those EPoX 8NPA's. I could probably top the Socket 754 performance charts with that.
 
754 boards that run mobiles are not rare. Sorry but it's true. I can confirm 5 off the top of my head. NF3 250GB, NF4X, Epox 8NPA7I, 8NPAJ, Asrock K8SLI-eSata2. Not knocking what your selling just saying they are not as rare as people think.

You old school guys are going to love me when I get 50 posts b/c I have old school DFI's, Abit, Asus and other wonderful boards for sale all the time.
 
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OptyTrooper said:
754 boards that run mobiles are not rare. Sorry but it's true. I can confirm 5 off the top of my head. NF3 250GB, NF4X, Epox 8NPA7I, 8NPAJ, Asrock K8SLI-eSata2. Not knocking what your selling just saying they are not as rare as people think.
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Unknown-One said:
it's one of the rare Socket 754 motherboards that will run mobile CPU's and supports SLI.
Click to expand...
I know there are a decent number that will run mobiles, but this is the only one I personally know of that can run mobiles AND supports SLI.

For reference, the only other two Socket 754 motherboards that support SLI are the ASrock K8SLI-eSATA2, and the Albatron K8NF4X-754. I haven't heard of anyone getting mobiles to boot in either one, though the Albatron might since it has the same chipset as the EPoX 8NPA SLI.
 
Unknown-One said:
I'm sorely tempted to get that $23 mobile 4000+ that LightningCrash posted, borrow two GTX260's from another one of my systems, and benchmark the hell of of one of those EPoX 8NPA's. I could probably top the Socket 754 performance charts with that.
Click to expand...

That would be awesome, let us know the results if you do.

I have near the same setup, 754's are great and are really solid processors+platform.
 
OptyTrooper said:
754 boards that run mobiles are not rare. Sorry but it's true. I can confirm 5 off the top of my head. NF3 250GB, NF4X, Epox 8NPA7I, 8NPAJ, Asrock K8SLI-eSata2. Not knocking what your selling just saying they are not as rare as people think.

You old school guys are going to love me when I get 50 posts b/c I have old school DFI's, Abit, Asus and other wonderful boards for sale all the time.
Click to expand...

While my Abit NV8 with the NF4 4X chiposet will run Turions somewhat acceptably it won't accept the Mobile 4000+. It won't properly recognize the Turion or the Mobile 4000 - it calls them Opterons. And yeah, I have the latest bios update flashed in. Now my brother's MSI with NF4 4X chipset does recognize the Mobile 4000+ for what it is and oc's it nicely.
Also, I have a DFI Lanparty NF 3 250 mobo that won't take the mobiles, either, which really disappointed me. I expected really great things from this board but it won't even oc my 3400+ Venice very well. Its the most finicky board I've ever seen so I quickly dismantled the computer and put the NV8 in it.
 
Have you tried the CPU swap trick to get the 4000+ working?

1. Install a known-working CPU.
2. Boot into the BIOS.
3. Disable Cool n Quiet.
4. Set the CPU multiplier to 4x.
5. Shutdown and swap in the 4000+

This will, in many cases, get the system to boot (at 800MHz) with a 4000+ installed. After that you can tweak the Voltage and Multiplier in the BIOS to bring it up to stock speed.
 
Unknown-One said:
Have you tried the CPU swap trick to get the 4000+ working?

1. Install a known-working CPU.
2. Boot into the BIOS.
3. Disable Cool n Quiet.
4. Set the CPU multiplier to 4x.
5. Shutdown and swap in the 4000+

This will, in many cases, get the system to boot (at 800MHz) with a 4000+ installed. After that you can tweak the Voltage and Multiplier in the BIOS to bring it up to stock speed.
Click to expand...

Very nice, I didn't know about this trick, thanks for sharing. :cool:
 
BigMacAttack said:
While my Abit NV8 with the NF4 4X chiposet will run Turions somewhat acceptably it won't accept the Mobile 4000+. It won't properly recognize the Turion or the Mobile 4000 - it calls them Opterons. And yeah, I have the latest bios update flashed in. Now my brother's MSI with NF4 4X chipset does recognize the Mobile 4000+ for what it is and oc's it nicely.
Also, I have a DFI Lanparty NF 3 250 mobo that won't take the mobiles, either, which really disappointed me. I expected really great things from this board but it won't even oc my 3400+ Venice very well. Its the most finicky board I've ever seen so I quickly dismantled the computer and put the NV8 in it.
Click to expand...

My DFI NF3 250Gb is a fickle bitch too but it recognizes both Turions and Mobile Athlon/Semprons just fine as does my DFI NF4X.

Can't speak for the Abit and my feelings on MSI boards borders on pure hatred.

Unknown-One said:
I know there are a decent number that will run mobiles, but this is the only one I personally know of that can run mobiles AND supports SLI.

For reference, the only other two Socket 754 motherboards that support SLI are the ASrock K8SLI-eSATA2, and the Albatron K8NF4X-754. I haven't heard of anyone getting mobiles to boot in either one, though the Albatron might since it has the same chipset as the EPoX 8NPA SLI.
Click to expand...

My bad apparently I can't read.. My K8SLI-eSATA2 will boot Mobiles I'm fairly certain but I could be mistaken and I borked the BIOS awhile back and I still need to hot flash it. I'll have to dig through my HWBOT submissions to maybe confirm this.
 
Unknown-One said:
Have you tried the CPU swap trick to get the 4000+ working?

1. Install a known-working CPU.
2. Boot into the BIOS.
3. Disable Cool n Quiet.
4. Set the CPU multiplier to 4x.
5. Shutdown and swap in the 4000+

This will, in many cases, get the system to boot (at 800MHz) with a 4000+ installed. After that you can tweak the Voltage and Multiplier in the BIOS to bring it up to stock speed.
Click to expand...

Yeah - Ive done that. I can't get a decent oc like this because the bios won't allow an overvolt beyond 1.3v. Anything over 1.3v and it fails to boot. It's very annoying.
Opty - I feel that way towards Gigabyte's NF4 boards. I originally had an Asus K8N4E Deluxe NF4 board but it the bios would not allow any overvolting beyond 1.55v no matter where you set it - even with the latest, greatest bios so I bought a Gigabyte NF4 board. It would not go beyond 216 fsb at all. If I set it to 217 it would fail to boot so I sent it back and narrowed my choices down to either the DFI NF4 or the Abit NV8 NF4 board. I was a little intimidated by the DFI so I went with the Abit. It has been a great board.
I also recently picked up an EPoX 8NPA7I which, according to your list, does support the 4000+. I'd get another 4000+ but since my brother has my 4000+ and the Thermaltake fan which was specifically designed to fit lidless mobile cpu's in desktop motherboard applications I don't think I will. Those fans are impossible to find anymore.
 
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Except that guide only goes up too 1.55 which ain't near enough juice for benching. I'm working on a vcore mod for the Epox. I have the PWM pin out already and it looks to be fairly easy.
 
OptyTrooper said:
Except that guide only goes up too 1.55 which ain't near enough juice for benching. I'm working on a vcore mod for the Epox. I have the PWM pin out already and it looks to be fairly easy.
Click to expand...

I'll be interested in seeing your mod. The Abit NV8 allows voltages up to 1.7v. Next after that is 1.85v and while I am crazy, I'm not stupid... :)
You are absolutely correct, 1.55v is useless for benching - especially for Palermo Semprons and Venice A64's. I have to use 1.7v to get max oc's but it's all good since I have good air cooling.
 
I actually did ok with my 3400+ Venice, even with the slightly limited voltage options on the EPoX. If I remember correctly, it did 2.8GHz before the pinmod, and 2.9GHz after the pinmod.

Surely the 4000+, being a Newark core, doesn't need as much voltage as Venice to get off the ground?
 
Unknown-One said:
I actually did ok with my 3400+ Venice, even with the slightly limited voltage options on the EPoX. If I remember correctly, it did 2.8GHz before the pinmod, and 2.9GHz after the pinmod.

Surely the 4000+, being a Newark core, doesn't need as much voltage as Venice to get off the ground?
Click to expand...

Just because it's a certain core like Venice for example doesn't mean it will overclock to X on Y amount of voltage.

Don't forget that K8 CPU overclockablity can be largely effected by stepping/date.
 
The Newark in my brother's machine is running at 2.8 with just a modest voltage bump. He needs that machine to be reliable so keeping it stable is the main goal. I've heard a few people say they've gotten 3.0 ghz or better out of the 4000+ Newarks but as always, "you're mileage may vary."
 
OptyTrooper said:
Just because it's a certain core like Venice for example doesn't mean it will overclock to X on Y amount of voltage.

Don't forget that K8 CPU overclockablity can be largely effected by stepping/date.
Click to expand...

Uh, yeah, we all know nothing about overclocking is certain. That said, their are certain trends within lines of chips.

The 3400+ Venice is a desktop chip, the 4000+ Newark is a mobile chip. Mobile chips are binned more harshly (binned for lower voltage and cooler operation), which means they tend to overclock better than their desktop counterparts at a given voltage.

So, as I said before, "Surely the 4000+, being a Newark core, doesn't need as much voltage as Venice to get off the ground?"

BigMacAttack said:
I've heard a few people say they've gotten 3.0 ghz or better out of the 4000+ Newarks
Click to expand...
Didn't someone in this very thread get their Newark up that high? I also seem to remember someone removing the heat-spreader from an Athlon 64 and lapping the actual top of the die for better heatsink contact (crazy stuff).
 
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Unknown-One said:
Uh, yeah, we all know nothing about overclocking is certain. That said, their are certain trends within lines of chips.

The 3400+ Venice is a desktop chip, the 4000+ Newark is a mobile chip. Mobile chips are binned more harshly (binned for lower voltage and cooler operation), which means they tend to overclock better than their desktop counterparts at a given voltage.

So, as I said before, "Surely the 4000+, being a Newark core, doesn't need as much voltage as Venice to get off the ground?"


Didn't someone in this very thread get their Newark up that high? I also seem to remember someone removing the heat-spreader from an Athlon 64 and lapping the actual top of the die for better heatsink contact (crazy stuff).
Click to expand...

Yes Mobile chips tend to overclock higher on less voltage. That being said I have an Albany that needs unseemly amounts of juice, I am well versed in overclocking both Mobile and desktop CPU's on a variety of platforms so I really don't need the lesson.

Your seem a bit smug sir. Perhaps you mistake my status here for reality. Your probably right though my 172 Gold cups @ the BOT were probably a fluke. I bow too your Supreme Hardness sir.
 
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