Opteron 165, back to overclocking help

[nobody_here]

Have been out of the enthusiast overclocking thing for quite a while now guys, but i just threw together a system i used to have running consisting of:

EVGA NF41 mainboard (this board actually always did better than my DFI Lanparty)
AMD Opteron 165 socket 939 dual core cpu (this exact cpu CCB1E was running 3Ghz before)
2gigs ddr400 memory 2x1Gb (this is not the same memory i was using before and i know i will probably have to use a fixed memory speed)
Antec Earthwatts 550W PSU, should be fine

was wondering what is the latest and best software to use for temperature monitoring for this setup, surely there are still several socket 939 overclockers lurking about, i forget what i was using back then.....and i am running Windows 7 build 7100 now

so for Win 7(or Vista) what program would you use to monitor temps, and if someone could be so kind as to remind me about things like max safe cpu voltage on these (they run 1.35v stock) and max safe temp at full load, and what program you would use in my situation to stress test?

not going for any records, just wanting to maybe get it to 2.5'ish Ghz stable....up from 1.8Ghz that should be a noticeable difference and be well within the limitations of this cpu

thoughts, suggestions (other than upgrading) welcome, thanks

UPDATE: currently running 230x9 at 1:1 cpu/htt, havent touched memory timings or any voltages as of yet, using core temp for monitoring temps

 

[nobody_here]

another thing guys...how do i stop windows 7 from using what appears to be the same as "cool n quiet" even though i have that disabled in the BIOS? i am watching my cpu multi go from 9 to 5 back and forth in CPU-Z and Core Temp even though C&Q support is disabled int he bios.!!!

**edit, nevermind, i figured this out**

 

[obiwansotti]

I have a very similiar setup.

Overclocking and age to get to chips, my 165 used to be ROCK solid at 2.66ghz, now it's 2.45ghz.

voltage, 1.55v is a very agressive voltage, 1.6v is maybe too much without water.


make sure you have your memory at or below spec, make sure you have HT link at or below spec.
crank the clock up to 280+

 

[d50man]

go into power settings and lockcpu multi to max speed

 

[Tbird87]

Hmm, I have a 170 with a NF41.

I think since you have a x9 multiplier your goal will be around 280.

Could try
- 280x9

- Change divider to a speed your ram will run stable at. (I never seen much of an advantage running 1:1 on this platform, I rather get the most out of the clock speed)

- Default ram voltage setting on the mobo is like 2.65, could bump to 2.75-2.85 and loosen the timings and see if the ram will run stable above spec. My ram's default voltages are 2.8V I believe. This was the first thing I had to change to get my overclock stable.

- Put HTT to like 800, I think 1000 is default. The OC will raise it, just have to check CPUZ on where its at, want to stay around 1000-1100.

- Set ram timings manually. If its quality pc3200 ram might be able to run up to 240mhz with looser timings like 3-4-4-8 - (2T if its not stable with 1) and ram voltage at 2.85.

- Lock max multi

- Could try 1.4-1.45v CPU or higher if you have the cooling for it.

I'm not close to being an expert or anything on overclocking. Those are just the settings I messed with on my machine. I'm just lucky enough to have gotten a nice opty 170 when I purchased it years ago. I've got it stable at 3ghz with a bump to the voltage, but it ran way too hot for my liking. As for programs, I've always used Everest, Coretemp, Speedfan, any of them worked fine enough for me. As far as safe temps, last time I checked the general rule is to not go much over 65 with these.

 

[nobody_here]

the HTT is 200Mhz by default (seen as 800Mhz because of being quad-pumped), 200Mhz base clock speed for cpu:fsb:ram, running at 230Mhz on everything right now, 230 on cpu, 230 on memory at like 2.5-3-3-8 2T and 920Mhz HTT

the goal is to keep the HTT from going much beyond 1000Mhz so its fine at stock setting up until 250Mhz

havent had to increase any voltages yet

cpu cores idle around 40*c

 

[shadow_419]

You have to drop your HT multi down to x3. With an x3 HT multi you're good up until 340 base clock/fsb/htt. I'm still running an opty 165 at 315 x 9 since 2006 on a Dfi Ultra-D

 

[nobody_here]

yeah, after 250Mhz you have to drop the HTT, i know how to overclock this system, i just have forgotten what programs to use and what are considered safe voltages and temps

in the EVGA NF41 BIOS there is not a multi listed as 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x....it's 200Mhz, 400, 600 and 800 and Auto which is the same as 1x, 2x, 3x and 4x

back when i had this system running strong before i was running 330Mhz * 9 stable on water cooling on a 3x HTT multi, it would run 340+ but got unstable above 330Mhz

it's a CCB1E stepping core, one of the first, i actually drove to Monarch Computers when I lived in Atlanta in order to pick out a CCB1E core and paid $330 for it.....LOL

great little CPU!!

 

[Tbird87]

Ah, I wanted to cheat and jump over 250 already, Everest is the fanciest, Speedfan is my favorite, Coretemp/Realtemp the most simple.

 

[shadow_419]

I use Everest or HWmonitor for temps and I don't remember having to go over 1.425v. I've always kept load temps below 60C(55C preferably).

 

[nobody_here]

so now i am wondering if i should continue to use the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro HSF or try to get the large zalman 7700 mounted....not sure which is better...

my new case will be the Thermaltake Strike MX which has the big 240mm fan in the side panel, which makes me think the zalman HSF may be better since the large fan would be blowing cool air right into the intake side of the zalman, where the arctic freezer pro 64 blows sideways.....but it has heatpipes and the zalman does not...

 

[shadow_419]

AC Freezer is most likely better. Honestly though you could take an amd heatpipe cooler and zip tie a 120mm fan to it and still get great temps. I have it running like this at my girlfriends house at 2.8ghz and load temps stay right around 50C plus it cools the mobo. It's using only 1.375v.

 

[Tbird87]

ACFreezer Pro should get the job done. I'm using one and rarely go over 55C playing games. I was hitting the 60s stress testing when I had my AC off and it was 85degrees in the apartment. Right now I have my apartment at 73 degrees, and it hovers around 50 if I play L4D or CSS for a while. Stays around 32-39 chatting and browsing web. Kinda curious what the temps would be if I strapped one of my yateloon 120s on to it.

 

[cyclone3d]

I still don;t get why everybody seems to think that you have to keep the HT speed as close to 1000 without going much over on the S939 systems. My old Opty 170 handled a little over 1200 fine. Dropping the HT multi to 3x didn't do anything for letting me overclock more and it just hurt throughput of the system.

Still running the same cooler on my current setup although it is modded more than when I had it on my Opty 170.

 

[nobody_here]

because most people's experiences is that running a HTT bus speed over 1000Mhz will cause instability and there has been lots of testing to show that running it at a very low HTT speed, even 600Mhz, actually does not affect system throughput unless you set it really really low

 

[d50man]

165 do not like to run above 300fsb at all

 

[shadow_419]

I hope you're joking about the 300 fsb. Most motherboards couldn't hit over 300 fsb, but the cpu's themselves were usually good to the 310-320 range unless you had a really bad stepping/batch.

 

[nobody_here]

165 do not like to run above 300fsb at all

depends on what stepping you have and what motherboard and power supply you are using, the CCB1E i have is one of the first and one of the best if not the best, 300+ fsb was something it ran all the time for a little while when i had it rocking before

 

[obiwansotti]

my 165 will do 315-320 no problem, unfortunelty it's not stable above 2.5ghz these days

so you go mem @ 266(133 non DDR, 2/3rd divider)
HT mulitplier at 600mhz (3x multiplier)
voltage at 1.5v
CPU multi locked at 9
then crank the HTT as high as you can go, (I'd start at 280 and then move up or down in 5mhz increments till you find stable).

 

[cyclone3d]

because most people's experiences is that running a HTT bus speed over 1000Mhz will cause instability and there has been lots of testing to show that running it at a very low HTT speed, even 600Mhz, actually does not affect system throughput unless you set it really really low

The programs I used to test the HTT speed differences showed otherwise.

Maybe for everyday Joe Six-Pack programs the difference may not be noticeable, but for some programs it is noticeable.

 

[nobody_here]

running strong at 230*9 still with no necessary voltage increases and no memory tweaking at all....got it all put in a Thermaltake Strike MX case today, runs much cooler than in the cardboard box it was in

one thing though, i had an old 80mm Thermaltake Smart Fan, dont have the jumper or variable speed control to hook to it anymore, and at full speed this thing is a jet engine!!

does anyone know what can i substitute on the two 2-pin headers on this fan to slow it down a bit? something like resistors? i have a few 1/4 watt 330ohm resistors here but hooking them up did nothing.....??

 

[Spazilton]

The first ever CCBBE revision is still running strong at 328x9 1.475v SLI-DR Expert.

 

[obiwansotti]

running strong at 230*9 still with no necessary voltage increases and no memory tweaking at all....got it all put in a Thermaltake Strike MX case today, runs much cooler than in the cardboard box it was in

one thing though, i had an old 80mm Thermaltake Smart Fan, dont have the jumper or variable speed control to hook to it anymore, and at full speed this thing is a jet engine!!

does anyone know what can i substitute on the two 2-pin headers on this fan to slow it down a bit? something like resistors? i have a few 1/4 watt 330ohm resistors here but hooking them up did nothing.....??

If you're happy overclocking from 1.8 to 2ghz that's fine, but you're probably leaving ALOT on the table with that OC.

At least 3 people have told you how to get close to 2.5 if not alot more, but if you dont' want that, then whatever.

 

[nobody_here]

If you're happy overclocking from 1.8 to 2ghz that's fine, but you're probably leaving ALOT on the table with that OC.

At least 3 people have told you how to get close to 2.5 if not alot more, but if you dont' want that, then whatever.

i think you misread my post, i did not ask how to get past 230*9, i was simply posting where i was so far, i just havent tried to go any farther yet, baby steps...of course i am leaving a lot on the table as of this moment, if you read my posts above i have already had this exact CPU running 330*9....

what i did ask was how to get that thermaltake smartfan to run slower, any ideas?

 

[obiwansotti]

i think you misread my post, i did not ask how to get past 230*9, i was simply posting where i was so far, i just havent tried to go any farther yet, baby steps...of course i am leaving a lot on the table as of this moment, if you read my posts above i have already had this exact CPU running 330*9....

what i did ask was how to get that thermaltake smartfan to run slower, any ideas?

smart fans auto adjust,
If you want a slower fan, just buy one.

No reason to do baby steps when o/c'n, just go for it, then back down till your stable.

 

[nobody_here]

smart fans auto adjust,
If you want a slower fan, just buy one.

No reason to do baby steps when o/c'n, just go for it, then back down till your stable.

the thermaltake smart fan has two 2-pin headers coming out of it that you were supposed to put jumpers and or rheostats on to either provide automatic control or manual control, this is the only way the fan "auto adjusts", i do not have these parts, only the fan, as stated in my previous post, surely someone has figured up a way to rig these fans to run slower without those other pieces....because they have been lost before i am sure....

and thanks for the ingenious suggestion of "just buying another one", i would have never thought of that

i would prefer to work my way up slowly when overclocking thanks, been doing this a long time now, i am not new to it

 

[Zenshi]

My wife's Opty 165 still running strong at 2.7GHz @ 1.325V for about 2.5 years now. She used to have a Noctua U9 and now has a Zalman CNPS 9500 on it. Just switched the cooler for cosmetic purposes. Either kept the thing cool. I also had one of the CCBBE steppings. Her mobo is just a vanilla A8N5X.

The only thing I recall about the processor is that ours had a slightly concave IHS. I lapped the IHS and this reduced the temp at load (Orthos after 8 hours) by 8 degrees.

Edit: Oh yeah, oc log given in my old worklog for her case (log at bottom of thread)

http://www.xoxideforums.com/worklog-section/72021-cm-centurion-5-case-3.html

 

[nobody_here]

i just did the 7v mod to that thermaltake smartfan and now it isnt worth having!! i cant figure that fan out man, at 12v its like a howling banshee and blows air you can feel feet away, at 7v its silent and weak as all heck...???

 

[obiwansotti]

i just did the 7v mod to that thermaltake smartfan and now it isnt worth having!! i cant figure that fan out man, at 12v its like a howling banshee and blows air you can feel feet away, at 7v its silent and weak as all heck...???

um maybe you should save your self the time pain agravatation and go spend $8.

 

[nobody_here]

um maybe you should save your self the time pain agravatation and go spend $8.

thanks, go ahead and save yourself the time and aggravation of having to post here with zero input and spend $8 for me, or eh...lets call it $16 for two since i need two fans, 120mm....oh, and then shipping...another $8 probably....so lets see, you have about $25 you would like to spend on me!!! how nice of you!!

listen...im on a budget, i spent $50 out of this last paycheck on a decent case, i have rent, light bill, gas bill, two cars with insurance, two kids, a wife, oh yeah gas is cheap too right? all on one income...and i get paid every two weeks, i dont have an "unnecessary pc budget" allotment in each paycheck like some people who still live alone or at home

if i could get the fans i have to do what i need them to do why buy more fans?

i was just actually shopping for a decent pair of 120mm fans, something at or under 30db with good airflow, but your post makes me want to make these fans work even more!! thanks for your enthusiasm, you saved me from wasting another $25 on some silly case fans when i could just make these work for the time being!!

 

[obiwansotti]

thanks, go ahead and save yourself the time and aggravation of having to post here with zero input and spend $8 for me, or eh...lets call it $16 for two since i need two fans, 120mm....oh, and then shipping...another $8 probably....so lets see, you have about $25 you would like to spend on me!!! how nice of you!!

listen...im on a budget, i spent $50 out of this last paycheck on a decent case, i have rent, light bill, gas bill, two cars with insurance, two kids, a wife, oh yeah gas is cheap too right? all on one income...and i get paid every two weeks, i dont have an "unnecessary pc budget" allotment in each paycheck like some people who still live alone or at home

if i could get the fans i have to do what i need them to do why buy more fans?

i was just actually shopping for a decent pair of 120mm fans, something at or under 30db with good airflow, but your post makes me want to make these fans work even more!! thanks for your enthusiasm, you saved me from wasting another $25 on some silly case fans when i could just make these work for the time being!!

Maybe you need a second job.
I've got all those things, and if I couldn't afford new case fans I think I'd be looking for a new job.

 

[nobody_here]

Maybe you need a second job.
I've got all those things, and if I couldn't afford new case fans I think I'd be looking for a new job.

no, im good, i can get my fans next paycheck, sure i could buy them today, but the pc budget got spent on the case, i thought i explained it well enough, no need for a second job, im not broke, just following a budget

 

[nobody_here]

got a couple delta 120mm fans mounted, lots of cooling now, got it running 300*9 (2.7Ghz) stable so far....i know it has more but this was always the point where it got difficult to keep the memory working well because of not being able to lock the memory speed independent of cpu fsb...

 

[Justintoxicated]

MBM5 still work? It works on my Ultra-D, and its fine for Opty 165 Thats what my dad inherited. Don't burn it out and it will last a very long time.

 

[nobody_here]

if i remember correctly it might, or maybe this was the mainboard that MBM5 didn't like.....thanks for reminding me of that old program though