Got new Conroe system - a few queries :-)

[Englaender31]

Hi Guys,

So I went ahead followed your advice (thanks again for that) and got the following system:

- Intel C2D 6600
- Asus P5B-deluxe
- OCZ 2GB DDR2-800 CL4 4-4-15 (OCZ2P8002GK)
- Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro

I've just installed the 0804 BIOS (American Megatrends Inc.). All is running well so far

I do have a few queries though about the new system I hope you can advise on:

- I believe this ASUS board has the Intel P965 chipset. I've looked on Intel's website, but I'm not clear. How/where do I get the latest drivers for my chipset? I can't see them on the ASUS website either.

- What's the max. recommended temp in celcius for this CPU?

- Core 1 is always showing about 2-3 degrees hotter than Core 0. Is that normal?

- I got a week 29 chip (L629B359, pack date 10/03/06) - does this week have any particular reputation for clocking?

- Core affinity. I've heard some ppl talking about setting apps to use one or both cores. But I can't see any way in XP Home SP2 to do this. Can you set apps to run on one core or the other?

- Previous CPU was a single-core Athlon64 3800+ at 2.4 Ghz. Each core of my C2D runs at 2.4 Ghz as well. Does this mean I can assume just *one* core of the dual core chip will perform equivalent to my old Athlon CPU?

- My RAM is advertised as CL4 4-4-15 stock. But the BIOS and Cpu-Z program are both rating it CL5-5-5-15. Anyone know why?

- I can't see any way of changing the command rate of this RAM from 2T > 1T. Is this not relevant for DDR2 RAM?

Thanks alot guys for your input on these

Cheers! Englaender31

 

[Theli]

- What's the max. recommended temp in celcius for this CPU?

Asus Probe tends to complain once the temperature reaches 60 degrees Celsius, what temperature is recommended is in dispute. P5B deluxe tends to be slightly hotter than other boards, but that may be faulty measurements.

- Core 1 is always showing about 2-3 degrees hotter than Core 0. Is that normal?

Yes, when Windows is running there are always a few processes running on Core 1, as this means the core is not completely idle, the temperatures will increase somewhat.

- I got a week 29 chip (L629B359, pack date 10/03/06) - does this week have any particular reputation for clocking?

I'm not sure about it's reputation, but my processor is an E6400 week 29 and I am running on a P5B deluxe motherboard. I have clocked it up to 3600MHz and I could probably go higher. Right now I am running at 3200MHz, which seems to be an average overclock for this processor. You will probably be able to clock yours higher.

- Core affinity. I've heard some ppl talking about setting apps to use one or both cores.

Some applications are multi threaded, which means they will be utilizing both cores.

- Previous CPU was a single-core Athlon64 3800+ at 2.4 Ghz. Each core of my C2D runs at 2.4 Ghz as well. Does this mean I can assume just *one* core of the dual core chip will perform equivalent to my old Athlon CPU?

No, each one of the core on your E6400 will be faster than your old Athlon.

 

[onick]

To the OP, ur processor is a 29 week B chip, which is known to have a good over clock with lower voltage.

 

[Orayn]

No, each one of the core on your E6400 will be faster than your old Athlon.

True. Core 2 Duo is a far more efficient architecure, yielding higher performance from the same clock speed.

 

[Scali2]

You can just get the standard Intel INF Update package for the chipset (it is indeed the P965, I have the same setup myself, P5B-Deluxe and E6600, a popular combo): http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df-external/Product_Filter.aspx?ProductID=2529&lang=eng

 

[SLee]

- What's the max. recommended temp in celcius for this CPU?

Generally a C2D does not begin to throttle until it reaches 85C as measured by Core Temp or Intel TAT.

- I can't see any way of changing the command rate of this RAM from 2T > 1T. Is this not relevant for DDR2 RAM?

The option isn't available on Intel chipsets.

- Previous CPU was a single-core Athlon64 3800+ at 2.4 Ghz. Each core of my C2D runs at 2.4 Ghz as well. Does this mean I can assume just *one* core of the dual core chip will perform equivalent to my old Athlon CPU?

Generally over a wide range of applications, a E6600 at stock would be the match of a theoretical FX-64.

 

[Nathonius]

Hi Guys,
- My RAM is advertised as CL4 4-4-15 stock. But the BIOS and Cpu-Z program are both rating it CL5-5-5-15. Anyone know why?
Cheers! Englaender31

For reasons of compatibility many RAM sticks will default to slower timings (5-5-5-15) and lower voltages (1.8V). You'll have to enter the timings (4-4-4-15) and voltage (probably 2.10v) into the bios manually.

The timings can be entered in Advanced -> Chipset -> Northbridge.
The memory voltage can be entered in Jumperfree Config -> Memory Voltage.

 

[Englaender31]

Brilliant, thanks alot guys. That answers almost all my questions

Just one last one:

Nathonius, you mentioned upping the RAM voltage (I already manually set the timings to 4-4-4-15), but when I try upping the figures manually in the BIOS, when the intended voltage reaches 1.90 or 1.95 and above (can't remember which), the figures turn from white to red, indicating I assume a risk factor. How safe is it to ignore this warning and put the RAM to 2.10v? Could I smoke my RAM?

Btw, I also noticed that this DDR2-800 memory gives somewhat worse scores in Sandra for latency and memory bandwidth compared to my old DDR-400 RAM with the command rate set to 1T.
Is this to be expected?

Thanks

 

[Nathonius]

You RAM should be good to 2.1v according to OCZ's website:
http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz_ddr2_pc2_6400_platinum_dual_channel
Of course make sure that this is indeed what you have.

As for Sandra, DDR2 has higher latency than DDR and the bandwidth should be much greater than your old DDR. I wonder if you installed your ram in single channel mode by mistake?

If these are your ram slots:

A1 ================ (yellow)
A2================ (black)

B1================ (yellow)
B2================ (black)

Then you should have one RAM stick in A1 and one in B1 (or A2 and B2), i.e put the RAM in the yellow slots (or the black slots).

 

[Englaender31]

You RAM should be good to 2.1v according to OCZ's website:
http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz_ddr2_pc2_6400_platinum_dual_channel
Of course make sure that this is indeed what you have.

As for Sandra, DDR2 has higher latency than DDR and the bandwidth should be much greater than your old DDR. I wonder if you installed your ram in single channel mode by mistake?

If these are your ram slots:

A1 ================ (yellow)
A2================ (black)

B1================ (yellow)
B2================ (black)

Then you should have one RAM stick in A1 and one in B1 (or A2 and B2), i.e put the RAM in the yellow slots (or the black slots).

Hi Nathonius,

thanks for this. I've set my RAM to 2.0v to be on the safe side

I doubled checked my RAM - it is indeed running dual channel. I even shifted to the two black slots from the two yellow ones to see if it made any difference, but my figures in Sandra are virtually identical. Sandra and CPU-z also both say it's running dual chan.

My old RAM was this:
OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC3200 (DDR 400) Dual Channel Platinum Series EL-DDR (OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K) (CL 2-3-2-5)
(running with an Athlon64 3800+ single core and an ASUS A8N-E mobo). The only setting I had changed was to put the command rate down to 1T.

At the moment, my old RAM is getting about 300 points higher in Sandra's memory bandwidth test than my new DDR2 RAM.

Do you have any further ideas why the new stuff seems to be underperforming on the bandwidth?

Perhaps someone out there has the same CPU and mobo as me, and also has 2GB DDR2-800 dual chan at 4-4-4-15, and can tell me what mem bandwidth they are getting in Sandra?

Thanks!

Cheers, Englaender31

 

[Nathonius]

I forgot that the socket 939's are dual channel. I was thinking they were single channel, which is why I was going on about how you should check to make sure your RAM wasn't in single channel mode. I'm not sure how I forgot that since I have an Opteron 170 system sitting here on my desk as well. Chances are everything is Ok with your new system. See what happens when you listen to a noobie

With Sisoft Sandra 2007 lite I get:
7225 MB/s int and 7220 float with the ram at 800MHz (system at 3.2GHz)
7425 MB/s int and 7440 float with the ram at 900MHz (system at 3.6GHz)

I benched my Opty, but I ended up with really low numbers. So I'm gonna have to take a look and see whats wrong.