help with new Opteron165 & A8N-SLI-P

T

t5brick

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so, i just recieved my new setup on monday and i've been playing around with it. so far i've overclocked it to 9 x 267MHz(2.4GHz) with 1.385v. i'm still stability testing but it appears to be fine. my goal for this chip was 2.4GHz, but i'd like to push for more.

on with the questions.

1. using the AMD HSF, the heatpipes can point "up" like the letter "u" or "down" like the letter "n". which would be optimal, or does it even matter?

2. i'm hitting around 47c running 2 instances of F@H. i remember my AXP getting pretty hot but the A64 3000+ didn't get this warm. i guess maybe the OEM HSF can't handle the load?

3. i need better RAM. the 2 x 1GB PC3200 sticks i've got are giving me issues at 266MHz(PC2100!!!). it's pretty inexpensive stuff, but it's got Micron chips and i'm running it at the spec'd SPD timings. any suggestions on whats going on here or better RAM i should buy?

forgive the noobishness of my questions, but i've been working with Apple stuff for the past 2 years and it has taken it's toll.
 
i got the same kit as you....

mine is in the shape of an "n" .......and has been since i got it (5 months ago).

your temps are fine btw......Opterons run hotter than A64's.....the 165 has a TDP of 110W i believe...

did you have to sorta "position" the heatsink so that the bottom makes contact with all of the CPU and is centered?

Im asking cuz i had trouble installing the Opteron heatpipe heatsink and getting it so that it sits in the right place....its sorta hard to explain, but unlike stock A64 coolers, u cant just pop it on and pull the lever down and be guaranteed that its in the right position...i think its cuz the base of the heatsink is about 1-2cm narrower than the width of the retention module...
 
that ram is definatly holding you back and have you tried lowering the voltage with that overclock as I havn't heard of a 165 that couldn't do 2.4 on stock voltage?
 
thanks for the replies!

arman01,

i'll have to doublecheck that i've got the heatsink positioned correctly. it's definatly clipped onto the correct clips if that is what you're saying.

when i open up my case and put my finger on the heatpipe, it doesn't feel very hot, just a bit warm. to me that means it's not getting good contact, but i could be wrong because this heatpipe thing is new to me. the heatpipe from the motherboard chipset to the heatsink near the back of the board is definatly warmer though.

toddm27,

i was running dual prime on this yesterday while i was at work and it locked up with 1.375v at some point. it primed for 8+ hours with 1.385v. so unless the RAM is somehow related, i probably got a bum chip.

in the end, i wanted a 2.4GHz chip and i got one. i'd be happier with a 2.8GHz chip though. ;)
 
felix88 said:
thanks for the replies!
i was running dual prime on this yesterday while i was at work and it locked up with 1.375v at some point. it primed for 8+ hours with 1.385v. so unless the RAM is somehow related, i probably got a bum chip.

in the end, i wanted a 2.4GHz chip and i got one. i'd be happier with a 2.8GHz chip though. ;)
Click to expand...
what stepping chip is it? and have you tried different dividers(1/2 or 100 it may be labeled) on the memory as it very well could be holding you back, if that lets your processor go then its defiantly ram, good luck
 
i have the RAM on the 100 divider, i actually think it's called 200 in my BIOS.

it's listed as CPU/18 in CPUID, and the RAM is running at 133MHz. it's PC3200, but i can't get it to run at that speed. it actually won't boot with the vdimm set above 2.6v.
 
should i need to mess with HT voltages if i'm currently running 3 x 267HT?

this AMI bios is quite a bit different than the Award one on my Gigabyte A64 board i had about a year ago.
 
ok, so the computer locked up while running dual prime, dual F@H during the day. i left the room closed so i imagine it got pretty warm in here. stress testing is what i'd like to call it.

i'm messing around with the RAM speed and i can't set it to the 266 divider without locking at the POST screen. i've raised the voltage to 2.7V and it's not going any higher. i've got the timings at 3-3-3-8 2T right now, which really sucks.

i think i just need to point at the RAM and blame my overclocking problems on it.

here are my full system specs in case there are any other potential problems.

Opteron 165 w/ stock HSF
Asus A8N-SLI Premium
2 x 1GB PC3200 no name sticks of RAM
EVGA 7600GT
LSi U160 SCSI Card
D-Link DWL-G520
Hitachi 500GB 7200RPM HD
Seagate 15k.3 36GB HD
Pioneer DVR-110
Antec Sonota II case w/ stock 450W PSU

i will say that my 5v rail is lower than i'd like it to be (4.87v), but otherwise i don't see any problems with this setup.
 
well, it didn't lock today after i upped the voltage on the RAM to 2.7v. i've got some PC4000 stuff on the way, so it doesn't really matter. just so long as i know i've got a decent CPU and it's the RAM messing up my overclock.
 
I have an almost identical setup minus your storage...

A8N-SLI-Premium
Opteron 165 (CCBBE)
2x1gb G.Skillz HZ
Antec Sonata II w/ stock 450w SmartPower2.0

I've noticed that my ram, even though it is rated at ddr500, gets mad whenever I go over 248fsb @ 1T. Stuck after initial boot screen right before the windows loading screen every time. Upping voltage doesn't help. Maybe this is an A8N related issue?
 
see, i'm not even running 1t. i'm not sure which core my 165 has either...
 
What is your HTT set to? I find that setting it to 3x or Auto gives me best results in not getting a lock at POST.
 
You may want to see if the ram is compatible with your motherboard. The A8N-SLI boards are very picky when it comes to ram. I use OCZ Premeir sticks myself and they run great on that board. The board is a Rev 1.02 board. Earlier boards below 1.02 had even worse problems with ram.

The board "should" go to about 230 using 1T settings. Anything above that and you'll need to switch to 2T. Here's the sticks I purchased...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227069

They can run upto 250mhz at 2T using a 1:1 divider :) and stock voltage.
 
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