Love your socket 754?

[noobtech]

Epox 8NPA SLi Owners *READ*

I just noticed ePox had the latest bios on thier site... or you can just use the magic flash utility in windows to download it.

Unfortunately it didn't increase the voltage... haha. oh wells.

 

[Xilikon]

Epox 8NPA SLi Owners *READ*

I just noticed ePox had the latest bios on thier site... or you can just use the magic flash utility in windows to download it.

Unfortunately it didn't increase the voltage... haha. oh wells.

Checked the bios and the date is 2006-09-04, which I got on mine 2 days ago upon receiving my own 8npa

 

[unclewebb]

There's a good program called Central Brain Identifier that lets you change memory timings as well as the CPU multiplier on the fly from within Windows. It also correctly reports CPU voltage. You can download it here:

http://cbid.amdclub.ru/files/cbid82b.zip

For the nForce3 crowd the best overclocking utility is the older version of ClockGen. It allows you to play with the multipliers on the fly including the half times multis even if the BIOS for your board doesn't support them.

http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=104

 

[Xilikon]

There's a good program called Central Brain Identifier that lets you change memory timings as well as the CPU multiplier on the fly from within Windows. It also correctly reports CPU voltage. You can download it here:

http://cbid.amdclub.ru/files/cbid82b.zip

I'll check this tonigh when i will fiddle to make it prime-stable

 

[CRXican]

I'm in the process of selling off my 754 setup

I have a 939 CPU, mobo, and PCI-E vid card sitting at home

 

[Gibby82]

Any suggestions for timings/settings for a 3700 Clawhammer-Biostar TForce 6100? I'll be running 1GB of value ram to start, so this will probably limit me, but I may pick up some OCZ if I can find it cheap.

 

[unclewebb]

The Central Brain program also allows you to crank up your HT multiplier on the fly.

Not many AMD boards are running with an HT Link speed over 1400!
Doesn't seem to do much for performance but it looks cool.

 

[Unknown-One]

Epox 8NPA SLi Owners *READ*

I just noticed ePox had the latest bios on thier site... or you can just use the magic flash utility in windows to download it.

Unfortunately it didn't increase the voltage... haha. oh wells.

Here's the change log for the latest bios:
** Add 'Burst Length' and 'DRAM Bank Interleaving' item.
** Fixed copy failure if copy file from PATA HDD to USB2.0 HDD.
** Added 150Mhz and 183Mhz potions for memory clock item.
** Fixed Maxtor diamonMax 10 HD can't detect issue.
** Added 'Drive strength item' and '32 Byte Granularity' item.
** Fixed system hang at S5 when using ATEN(CS-72E)KVM data switch.
** Fixed system hang at post 29h after reset from Windows XP/SP2 if Cool'n'Quiet enabled.
** Fix system hang when used PCI vga card and full screen logo enabled.

 

[Xilikon]

Now, i'm really puzzled

Post Health status at bootup = 1.60v
CPU-z 1.34.1 = 0.944v (seems buggy so discard this)
Lavalys Everest Ultimate VCore = 1.58v
Central Brain Identifier = 1.411v

And to add a wrench in the mix, the max temp on load with prime95 = 42-43C while usually, when running at 1.55v, it's hovering at 54-56C. I primed my Venice on the Neo Platinum and it's 100% stable at 2.6 for sure and this time, with the exact same settings (10x, 260 MHz fsb and DDR133 ram).

All those data tell me the bios may be changing the voltage in the wrong pinout so the core isn't fed with the voltage we wanted. I'll try cold botting in case the bios is fucked up... I'm using the latest 8npa bios so if nothing help, i'll try a previous version to see if it help

 

[Xilikon]

Now, i'm really puzzled

Post Health status at bootup = 1.60v
CPU-z 1.34.1 = 0.944v (seems buggy so discard this)
Lavalys Everest Ultimate VCore = 1.58v
Central Brain Identifier = 1.411v

And to add a wrench in the mix, the max temp on load with prime95 = 42-43C while usually, when running at 1.55v, it's hovering at 54-56C. I primed my Venice on the Neo Platinum and it's 100% stable at 2.6 for sure and this time, with the exact same settings (10x, 260 MHz fsb and DDR133 ram).

All those data tell me the bios may be changing the voltage in the wrong pinout so the core isn't fed with the voltage we wanted. I'll try cold botting in case the bios is fucked up... I'm using the latest 8npa bios so if nothing help, i'll try a previous version to see if it help

Getting the older version of the bios (the one before newest) and kicking/shaking CBId a bit around got me to 1.601v finally and i'm now priming at 2.55 (to be sure it works fine then work toward 2.6).

 

[noobtech]

Getting the older version of the bios (the one before newest) and kicking/shaking CBId a bit around got me to 1.601v finally and i'm now priming at 2.55 (to be sure it works fine then work toward 2.6).

I don't understand how you're getting 1.6v... I can only get mine to 1.55.

 

[Xilikon]

I don't understand how you're getting 1.6v... I can only get mine to 1.55.

Honestly, me neither. The BIOS only show up to 0.15+ which should have gotten me to 1.55 like you said but the various probes tell it's around 1.58 - 1.6 but I won't complaint

 

[unclewebb]

CB ID = 1.712 volts
CPU-z v1.34.1 = 1.712 volts
SpeedFan = 1.71 volts
Everest = 1.71 volts

CPU-z and Everest update quicker in real time than Central Brain does. On my board when you apply a load like Prime the voltage jumps by 0.05 volts.

If CPU-z looks out to lunch then I would trust Everest, for core voltage at least.

I set my CPU to 2603 MHz. With my processor "only" overclocked by 30% it almost felt like I was doing an underclocking experiment!

I set it to 1.584 volts with Prime running. I'm using an AMD heatpipe cooler as well and I set the fan speed to about 2900 rpm.

Room temperature was 19C and the idle temp was 35C After 15 minutes of Prime the core temp was fairly stable at about 48C but Prime reported an error soon after. My Athlon 3000 needs at least 1.60 volts to be Prime stable at this speed. My Sempron64 2600 also needed pretty much the exact same voltage to be stable at 2600 MHz.

When SpeedFan is properly set up it works great but the million and one options can be a little confusing at first. Try the CoreTemp program if you want to get a CPU temperature reading without having to think too much.

http://www.thecoolest.zerobrains.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=137

 

[Xilikon]

Yeah, after getting a older bios, the temps is now all close excepted CPU-z which is whacked out . I got CoreTemp already and it display 43-45C so I may have installed the heatsink correctly this time, compared to last time (mine is also a AMD stock heatpipe, 70mm version with the fan yanked out and using a Panaflo M1A with zipties)... Seeing the temps gave me the urge to want to get 1.7v so i'm starting to look at voltmods...

BTW, there should be a special top 10 of club s754 members who are more dedicated like you and me

EDIT : There is a pinmod I could try at http://www.ocinside.de/go_e.html?ht...op/s939pinmod/amd_socket939_pinmod_guide.html so basically, i should raise mine to 1.5 VID then use 0.15+ option to get 1.65 - 1.7v...

 

[Unknown-One]

Seeing the temps gave me the urge to want to get 1.7v so i'm starting to look at voltmods...

BTW, there should be a special top 10 of club s754 members who are more dedicated like you and me

EDIT : There is a pinmod I could try at http://www.ocinside.de/go_e.html?http://www.ocinside.de/html/workshop/s939pinmod/amd_socket939_pinmod_guide.html so basically, i should raise mine to 1.5 VID then use 0.15+ option to get 1.65 - 1.7v...

I could kick myself right now; I've been looking for a voltage mod for this motherboard when I should have been looking for one for the processor itself.

I'm going to give this a shot the next time I have my heatsink off for sure...a stock voltage of 1.5v sounds good, then I can add another 0.15v through the bios to get a total of 1.65v (and that will end up being more like 1.7v with the 0.06v tolorance on this boards vreg)

Its official, this EPoX board is the best s754 motherboard in existance!

 

[noobtech]

I could kick myself right now; I've been looking for a voltage mod for this motherboard when I should have been looking for one for the processor itself.

I'm going to give this a shot the next time I have my heatsink off for sure...a stock voltage of 1.5v sounds good, then I can add another 0.15v through the bios to get a total of 1.65v

Its official, this EPoX board is the best s754 motherboard in existance!

Oh man... someone needs to try this out!! haha.

 

[Unknown-One]

Oh man... someone needs to try this out!! haha.

I will if I can figure out why my BigTyphoon isn't cooling very well.

Coretemp says I'm idle at 42c @ 1.6v

 

[GreenMonkey]

For you guys stuck at 1.55v, I got my 3400 Venice running at 2.682ghz @ 1.55v - 223x12. I have to run at 1.5x HTT multiplier, though, but that doesn't matter as HTT doesn't impact performance really at all.

I don't like pushing it past 1.55v, my next option is 1.65v, which is too high for my comfort. Plus my board seems to run a bit high on the vcore under load.

It still seems to stay pretty cool at 1.65v (about ~40C idle, 54C tops under load), but I don't like the idea of running the chip with that much extra power.

 

[Unknown-One]

I just figured out why my BigTyphoon stopped working so well, it was totally clogged with dust.

I figured I’d be smart about it and clean it fast by sticking a spare 120mm (loud-as-hell) Panflow fan on it in reverse (sucking through the heatsink). I set it outside attached to a spare power supply and flipped the switch…

It sat there for a moment, not able to get any suction through the dust, then it all went at once. It went something like this:

*VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*

That’s odd...it sounds like my vacuum cleaner when it sucks up the curtains in my living room 0_o

*VPWOOOOOOFFFFFFFF*
*cough-hack-cough-cough*
*shakes dust from hair*

It’s clean now, idle temps are back down to 32c

 

[BigMacAttack]

For you guys stuck at 1.55v, I got my 3400 Venice running at 2.682ghz @ 1.55v - 223x12. I have to run at 1.5x HTT multiplier, though, but that doesn't matter as HTT doesn't impact performance really at all.

I don't like pushing it past 1.55v, my next option is 1.65v, which is too high for my comfort. Plus my board seems to run a bit high on the vcore under load.

It still seems to stay pretty cool at 1.65v (about ~40C idle, 54C tops under load), but I don't like the idea of running the chip with that much extra power.

It really won't hurt it. I run 1.62v (bios) 1.64+ CPU-z with nary a problem. If your temps stay low you have little to fear. I don't run mine 24/7 though so if you do that may well be a factor. But if temps stay low you are golden.

 

[GreenMonkey]

It really won't hurt it. I run 1.62v (bios) 1.64+ CPU-z with nary a problem. If your temps stay low you have little to fear. I don't run mine 24/7 though so if you do that may well be a factor. But if temps stay low you are golden.

Eh

I'm worried about long term lifespan as this chip will go to my wife in the next year or two. The few extra mhz has to be worth the extra voltage. If I could get 300mhz out of the extra .1v (like I did with the first 0.1-1.5v bump) I'd be interested. \

But I don't think I'm going to be seeing 2.8-2.9ghz At least, not with the stock cooler.

 

[BigMacAttack]

True - you'll need a better hsf to be sure.

 

[Gibby82]

Any suggestions for timings/settings for a 3700 Clawhammer-Biostar TForce 6100? I'll be running 1GB of value ram to start, so this will probably limit me, but I may pick up some OCZ if I can find it cheap.

Anyone? Anyone?

 

[BigMacAttack]

Not sure about the TForce boards. The best I can get from my 3700+ Claw is 213x12 on a crappy old Asus K8V mobo. You should be able to do better than that I would hope. Run your ram at either 1:1 (DDR400) or DDR333 divider with timings of 2.5-3-3-8 2T to start with, then fine tune from there. Grab Prime95 and Memtest86 to see how far you can go (if you don't already have them that is).
Leave your HTT bus at 4x (800 mhz) for now. If you start having stability problems put it at 3x (600 mhz)Run your ram at .2v max over stock. .3v may be ok but I fried a stick of value ram going .3v over stock once. Better ram will allow for more voltage. Crucial Ballistix DDR400 is quite affordable at Newegg ($114 for 2x512 last time I looked) and it runs very fast (see my sig).
Since 1.5v is stock try starting out at 1.6v if possible and go on up from there. Clawhammers are hot beasties, especially at 1.6v and beyond so get a good hsf if you are going to be giving it any serious volts.

 

[M1ster_R0gers]

my tforce 6100 is limited by my new patriot ram. the 2GB kit does not pack the same punch the 1GB kit did. The best this ram can do is about 235, and thats with the 3.3v ram jumper enabled.

I have the 3400 venice running at a summer-solid 2.7.

 

[Unknown-One]

I'm about to pull apart my system to do the voltage mod on my processor, and I was wondering how dangerious it would be to remove my IHS. It will be under a BigTyphoon and I'm worried that it might crush the core.

And just to confirm, the stock voltage on these Venice 3400+ chis is 1.4v, right?

 

[noobtech]

I'm about to pull apart my system to do the voltage mod on my processor, and I was wondering how dangerious it would be to remove my IHS. It will be under a BigTyphoon and I'm worried that it might crush the core.

And just to confirm, the stock voltage on these Venice 3400+ chis is 1.4v, right?

Yeah, 1.4 is stock on these. Why do you want to remove the IHS? Mine is with the AMD copper heatpipe that came with my old opeteron 165.. it keeps it at 25c idle in 67f room.

 

[Unknown-One]

Well, the voltage mod is a pain in the ass to do. I don't think it’s humanly possible to get a single strand of copper wire wrapped around two of those tiny pins. If anyone else with voltage limitations on their motherboard wants to give it a try, be my guest:

I’ll have to try again some other time *sigh*

In other news, I tried the "rice grain" method of applying AS5 instead of spreading it with a razor blade as I usually do. My idle temps are about 2c lower (have yet to test load temps), so I guess that’s something.

 

[nigerian_businessman]

Well, the voltage mod is a pain in the ass to do. I don't think it’s humanly possible to get a single strand of copper wire wrapped around two of those tiny pins. If anyone else with voltage limitations on their motherboard wants to give it a try, be my guest:

I’ll have to try again some other time *sigh*

In other news, I tried the "rice grain" method of applying AS5 instead of spreading it with a razor blade as I usually do. My idle temps are about 2c lower (have yet to test load temps), so I guess that’s something.

You don't put a single wire around the strands. You take a tiny single wire, bend it into a U shape and stick it in the correct socket holes.

 

[unclewebb]

I'm worried about long term lifespan.

Why? How many people have a CPU that's been damaged by overclocking. Considering the crazy shit that goes on, day in, day out, you would think there would be a lot of stories about CPUs that look like they came out of Chernobyl but there isn't.

In the Athlon XP days, people used to bust the edges off the cores but with the AMD64 heat spreader, people don't even do that anymore.

My neice is still using my original overclocking experiment. Many years ago I took a Pentium III and gave it a good boost from 450 MHz to 600 MHz. The thing is still running just fine today.

For those that missed my recent Athlon64 torture test, check out this post:
http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1029988301&postcount=8

CPUs are far more durable than people give them credit for.

 

[Gibby82]

Not sure about the TForce boards. The best I can get from my 3700+ Claw is 213x12 on a crappy old Asus K8V mobo. You should be able to do better than that I would hope. Run your ram at either 1:1 (DDR400) or DDR333 divider with timings of 2.5-3-3-8 2T to start with, then fine tune from there. Grab Prime95 and Memtest86 to see how far you can go (if you don't already have them that is).
Leave your HTT bus at 4x (800 mhz) for now. If you start having stability problems put it at 3x (600 mhz)Run your ram at .2v max over stock. .3v may be ok but I fried a stick of value ram going .3v over stock once. Better ram will allow for more voltage. Crucial Ballistix DDR400 is quite affordable at Newegg ($114 for 2x512 last time I looked) and it runs very fast (see my sig).
Since 1.5v is stock try starting out at 1.6v if possible and go on up from there. Clawhammers are hot beasties, especially at 1.6v and beyond so get a good hsf if you are going to be giving it any serious volts.

First, thanks for the input. It is greatly appreciated! I'll be trying what you've suggest in the next few days to see what I get. I did recently do a Blended Prime95 test to see if the RAM I had would run at 2.5-3-3-6 at 200MHz, and it ran smooth for 13 hours. I have this HSF installed: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835106055

 

[BigMacAttack]

Good news on your ram - and that looks like a good hsf. Let us know how it goes. If you get stuck I'm sure we'll all have a little something else for you to try. Good luck!

 

[Unknown-One]

You don't put a single wire around the strands. You take a tiny single wire, bend it into a U shape and stick it in the correct socket holes.

aww crap, why didn't I think of that? XD

 

[Xilikon]

aww crap, why didn't I think of that? XD

+1...

I will pull this probably this week. Mine is now prime stable at only 2565 MHz (1.61v) To hit 2.6 stable, i would need to hit 1.65 at least so the mod will do. 1 strand of wire + 1 tweezer = s754 heaven

I got 43-43C with CoreTemp as well under load so you're not the only one puzzled with the low temps, Unknown-One

 

[(cf)Eclipse]

If anyone else with voltage limitations on their motherboard wants to give it a try, be my guest:

those with any soldering skills can just try to do a vmod on the mobo

 

[Unknown-One]

those with any soldering skills can just try to do a vmod on the mobo

If you know what points need to be soldered.

Every time I see the subject of volt modding the EPoX 8NPA-SLI come up, on any forum, it gets shot down as "unvoltmodable."

 

[Gibby82]

Good news on your ram - and that looks like a good hsf. Let us know how it goes. If you get stuck I'm sure we'll all have a little something else for you to try. Good luck!

I'm stuck at the moment. At the settings you gave me, it won't prime past a few minutes with the memory at 208. It was stable for 3 hours at 205, and I hadn't even upped the memory voltage all of the way, and had the HT at 4x. One of the sticks is PQI (picked it up in a trade) and is only rated for 3-3-3-8. I'll have to either loosen timings, or get better RAM. I'll keep you all updated.

 

[GreenMonkey]

Why? How many people have a CPU that's been damaged by overclocking. Considering the crazy shit that goes on, day in, day out, you would think there would be a lot of stories about CPUs that look like they came out of Chernobyl but there isn't.

In the Athlon XP days, people used to bust the edges off the cores but with the AMD64 heat spreader, people don't even do that anymore.

My neice is still using my original overclocking experiment. Many years ago I took a Pentium III and gave it a good boost from 450 MHz to 600 MHz. The thing is still running just fine today.

For those that missed my recent Athlon64 torture test, check out this post:
http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1029988301&postcount=8

CPUs are far more durable than people give them credit for.

I'll be passing the CPU down to the wife, probably in the next 1-1.5 years (depending on gaming need). She's got my old 1800+ from about 3-4 years ago. She ends up with my hardware long past when I'd be using it.

Good point though about the P3-450. How much extra voltage is it running? I never did run an Intel chip.

It's just not worth investing in a new heatsink/fan just for a few extra mhz. 100-150mhz (what, 5% gain?) isn't worth $20. I never did really get it stable at over ~2.7ghz even at 1.65v.

 

[BigMacAttack]

I'm stuck at the moment. At the settings you gave me, it won't prime past a few minutes with the memory at 208. It was stable for 3 hours at 205, and I hadn't even upped the memory voltage all of the way, and had the HT at 4x. One of the sticks is PQI (picked it up in a trade) and is only rated for 3-3-3-8. I'll have to either loosen timings, or get better RAM. I'll keep you all updated.

Hmmm...if your ram is mismatched (timings, brand) that will more than likely cause you some problems. Getting a matched pair would be the best course of action if your budget permits. Or at the very least get another stick of the better of the two that you have. In your present situation I don't think increasing voltage is going to help and 3-3-3-8 is already as loose as I'd want to go, even at a command rate of 1T.

 

[Gibby82]

Hmmm...if your ram is mismatched (timings, brand) that will more than likely cause you some problems. Getting a matched pair would be the best course of action if your budget permits. Or at the very least get another stick of the better of the two that you have. In your present situation I don't think increasing voltage is going to help and 3-3-3-8 is already as loose as I'd want to go, even at a command rate of 1T.

Yeah, at the moment I'm just using what's available to fill the slots. I had originally planned on getting 2GB of XMS, but I had to push funds elsewhere and didn't sell the parts I needed for additional funding. I looked at prices today and decided I'd wait until after Christmas, I'd like to see if they go down at all. The same pair of XMS that was $100 a few months back is now $30 more. I looked at everything else as well, with the same results. I'm going to look around on the F/S threads to see if I can find something. Thanks for your help.