Opteron 165 CCBWE 0550 UPMW - Ongoing Results.

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Lukano

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 11, 2003
Messages
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So after having the new Opteron 165 and my new ram (also listed in sig) for just about two weeks now, and having run them at stock (with a few quick checks at 250 HTT and 275 HTT just for kicks) I figured it was time to start throwing curve-balls at the hardware.

The CPU and ram were both bought from NCIX.com, and apparently I've gotten a lucky break as both seem pretty damned flexible. This week/stepping of the 165 has been good to me, and feedback from a handful of others confirms the same.

I had originally decided I was going to wait for my Antec P180 case to show up - which is replacing a Lian Li PC-61 that's just a wee bit on the noisy side. The case is now two weeks in transit, and I'm bored - so let's just get to it.

As mentioned I had already tested the machine at 250 HTT with the ram running 1:1. I did this only to ensure I had a base-point for stable, and sure enough it was. Stock on everything it ran 1:1 like a champ. A few things (PWM IC and Chipset to be precise) got a little warmer than I'd like, but I can console myself with the fact that I'll have a new case and better airflow for the components very shortly.

So this morning I set my alarm a little early (6:30am) and made myself a pot of coffee. Restarted my machine and made changes to four - and only four things. HTT pushed up to 300, RAM multiplier set to 9:10 instead of 1:1 (therefore 270mhz on the ram), and bumped both the dram and vcore voltages up a single notch (CPU to 1.375, DRAM to 2.7) just to give them a bit of overhead.

Now it's pertinent to mention here that I totally forgot to set my HTT multiplier down - and it's currently set to auto. I'm not sure if my board will use the 'auto' setting to keep it within spec, or if it's currently running at x5 (which would have been stock if I was still at 200 HTT). If the former, this may be a sign that HTT multi is not quite as important as people make it out to be - if the latter, good to know, makes my job easier.

So just about a half hour later, two instances of Prime95 running stable (one on each core). I noticed CPU1 chews through the prime work much quicker than CPU0 - and I've noticed this each and every time I've ran this test, but I can't explain it.

PWM IC's a little toasty at 66C - but I've had a couple of people reassure me that the PWM's are capable of much more than that, so not to worry.

Chipset's back within reasonable levels (46C) now that I started up SmartGuardian and it ramped up the fan-speed.

CPU's at 47-48C load - which is REALLY impressing me.

Here's a screenshot.

I'm going to leave this benchmarking for a while, but may stop it when I go to work (so as not to crash the machine and prevent myself from VNC'ing in today). Once I get the new case I'll try pushing it even further - and between now and then go for a 12hr prime stable proof.

Here's a screenshot - click for larger.

 
CPU 0 is probably doing most of the work running your system and CPU 1 is probably just doing prime so that'd be why CPU 1 is doing a lot faster on prime.

What kind of cooling do you have? Good case airflow? Your CPU temps and PWM IC temps seem pretty high. I've got 1.45 volts going through my CPU and it tops out at about 42c.... was under 40c before I had to up the voltage to get it stable.
 
AssMan said:
CPU 0 is probably doing most of the work running your system and CPU 1 is probably just doing prime so that'd be why CPU 1 is doing a lot faster on prime.

What kind of cooling do you have? Good case airflow? Your CPU temps and PWM IC temps seem pretty high. I've got 1.45 volts going through my CPU and it tops out at about 42c.... was under 40c before I had to up the voltage to get it stable.
Click to expand...

I've only got an original series Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 on there for cooling right now, with poor case-airflow. Lian Li PC61 with two 80mm intake, 1 80mm exhaust + 120mm PS exhaust.

Overall I know that a lot of the temperature stuff is case and CPU cooler related, which is why I was delaying this until my new case arrived - but got impatient.

I have a Scythe Ninja sitting in a box next to me ready to go on as soon as the new case arrives and I move everything over. I also ordered 2x120mm Nexus quiet fans, and 2x120mm Antec Tricools - so I can a couple of different things to try on the Scythe Ninja for cooling purposes.

edit - also the new case will give better airflow to cool the PWM IC - has the side-mount internal fan that I can position to blow across or close-to the PWM IC - and I was thinking about slapping a cut up heatsink on the PWM IC itself to aid in cooling.
 
Interesting little note - I was running CPU specific Prime tests and it was all fine and dandy. RAM specific tests fail on CPU1 (but keep chugging away on CPU0) within 30 seconds.

I'll toy with that later and get back with some details.
 
My Antec P180 finally showed up yesterday, so I was able to put together my new parts and give them a real push.

Scythe Ninja w/ 120mm Antec TriCool on medium settings. 32c stock idle, 38c stock load.

Antec P180 with 3 stock 120mm TriCools, plus a fourth placed on the front intake. All on lowest setting.

Also jurry rigged an 80mm ultra-quiet panaflo to give some airflow on the PWM IC area - as the temperatures were getting pretty high. Still not great (breaking 65C - but never over 70C) but better than they were.

End result was 8hrs prime stable at 290x9 at LOWER THAN STOCK voltages. At least I think it's lower than stock - as I'm operating under the assumption that 'stock' is 1.35 - and I was running this at 1.30 give or take 4%. I was going to push for 24hrs but I don't have the time right now, and wanted to see if I could squeeze 300 HTT out of it.

So bumped the vcore to 3.6, dram ratio to 9:10 and dram voltage to 2.7v for a bit of extra leeway on the ram.

This thing overclocks like a dream. I'm sure with better cooling I could push 2.8-2.9 - 3.0 if I was really lucky. In all honestly I'm happy as a pig in you-know-what with 2.6-2.7 - as that's as good as an FX-60. Plus I'd prefer lower temps in exchange for a bit of clockspeed.

Here's the 290x9 undervolted.


Here's the 300x9 at slightly-higher-than-stock-voltage (but not much more).


Not too shabby on quiet-air.
 
DangerIsGo said:
I thought the opty 165's had a Denmark core, not a Toledo?
Click to expand...

As far as I'm aware, the Denmark cores ARE Toledo's - just Opteron dual-core specific revisions.
 
What would be the best stepping to get of a opty 165? Like the one to look for or hope and wish and pray that you get when you order one w/out knowing the stepping? Kinda like the 144/46/48's and the CABNE
 
DangerIsGo said:
What would be the best stepping to get of a opty 165? Like the one to look for or hope and wish and pray that you get when you order one w/out knowing the stepping? Kinda like the 144/46/48's and the CABNE
Click to expand...

I've seen no firm consensus on the Opteron 165/170 steppings. I was originally told my 0550 UPMW was not so hot, and then was told it was one of the best of the current revision steps. Overall I'm quite pleased with what I'm getting (290x9 undervolted) even though others have pushed 2.7-2.8 on different steps.
 
Final results;

289x9 12hrs Prime Stable. I'll do individual 24hr prime stable with screenshots for CPU and RAM intensive prime tests over the next couple of days.

1.312vcore according to windows. 1.325 in the bios.

CPU - 43C idle, 48-49C load.
PWM IC - 52C idle, 59-61C load.
Chipset - 52C idle, 54C load (fan is also going on the chipset, needs to be replaced).

pluggin away like a champ. Overall I'm not disappointed - as I know this board seems to have issues over the 295 HTT threshold - so I may end up getting a DFI SLI Expert down the road to replace it. In the meantime 800mhz + gain off of a 1800mhz starting point is nothing to sneeze at.
 
hey dude, got my opty 165, ocz gold ddr500, and dfi lan party sli-dr expert in this morning. the opty is a CCBWE. thats good right?

what do i do to start ocing this bad boy?
 
sam_fisher said:
hey dude, got my opty 165, ocz gold ddr500, and dfi lan party sli-dr expert in this morning. the opty is a CCBWE. thats good right?

what do i do to start ocing this bad boy?
Click to expand...

What's the rest after CCBWE?

To start OC'ing you need to find the max speeds for your CPU and your RAM (and while in the process of doing that, you should get an idea of what the max HTT for your motherboard is too). Sticky threads in AMD and Overclocking forums should be more than enough to get you started.
 
3dmark06 was about 4171 with the GPU at stock clocks (haven't even started OC'ing that yet).

Haven't done pi or aqua yet - as I'm pushing for 24hr prime stable on the chip at the lowest voltage it'll take (down to 2.96v vcore at 289x9 - 3hrs in on prime). Once I get the lowest vcore, which will ease my mind as far as temperatures go - then I'll finish benching.
 
i should theoretically be able to hit 2.6ghz (FX-60) with the Ccbwe 0551wpmw shouldn't i?
man i can't wait to get home. :D
 
sam_fisher said:
i should theoretically be able to hit 2.6ghz (FX-60) with the Ccbwe 0551wpmw shouldn't i?
man i can't wait to get home. :D
Click to expand...

I would almost bet money on it. There's very very few 165's that have not hit 2600mhz (assuming there's no roadblock in other hardware preventing it from getting there). 2700-2800mhz is just icing on the cake insofar as I'm concerned.

I would say 290HTTx9 on a board that supports it (DFI NF4 of any breed as an example) will be a cakewalk.
 
will the sata or pcie be a stumbling block? i know sata has been in the past..
i just wonder if my new board will support the opty out of the box without a bios update..
 
sam_fisher said:
will the sata or pcie be a stumbling block? i know sata has been in the past..
i just wonder if my new board will support the opty out of the box without a bios update..
Click to expand...

What board are you getting again?

My DFI Ultra-D has had no issues with PCIE or SATA locks - so I've never had to cross that bridge. That may be what's holding me back from breaking 295-300 HTT - but other than that, zero issues.
 
my new board is the DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR Expert

the parts are here and i'm gonna have some fun tonight, and yes i'm a geek.
 
sam_fisher said:
my new board is the DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR Expert

the parts are here and i'm gonna have some fun tonight, and yes i'm a geek.
Click to expand...

As are the rest of us! :) I was ecstatic when my Antec P180 finally showed up on Monday and I was able to put all my stuff into the new case, with the new heatsink! :) the mail man was giving me funny looks because I was grinning like an idiot.
 
i have that case too. actually the p180w. let me tell you, that case is very nice, very roomy, and cools very well. not to mention, it looks great too.
 
got my stuff all put together.
DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR Expert
2gb 2x1gb OCZ Gold series ddr500
opty 165
two 74gb raptors no raid
single 7800gtx atm.. will put other one in later after ocing.

i put my XP-120 on the opty at stock speed, with antec 120mm fan at lowest speed before completely stopping it, and the opty idles at 25-26'C. i'd say i have a good bit of room to play with here on heat while ocing. though i dont want too much..

tomorrow night it's time to start ocing this bad boy.
 
sam_fisher said:
and the opty idles at 25-26'C
Click to expand...

That sounds about right. I was sitting around 26-28C at stock with the Scythe Ninja and Antec TriCool at low speed.
 
hey man, ive got the same mobo and cpu. I know my cpu will do 290 htt but im currently running it slighly overclocked by 300 mhz due to real crappy valueram from kingston. yes i know about the ram divider but this ram really sucks, doesnt even like running on a divider, go figure. anyway, im getting new ram soon, was thinking about the mushkin or g.skill ddr500 2gb sets, but i see that you have the ocz gold. how do u like those? and in the bios setting for the ram, have u been tweaking those settings at all or pretty much leaving them at stock?
 
AlmostEvil said:
hey man, ive got the same mobo and cpu. I know my cpu will do 290 htt but im currently running it slighly overclocked by 300 mhz due to real crappy valueram from kingston. yes i know about the ram divider but this ram really sucks, doesnt even like running on a divider, go figure. anyway, im getting new ram soon, was thinking about the mushkin or g.skill ddr500 2gb sets, but i see that you have the ocz gold. how do u like those? and in the bios setting for the ram, have u been tweaking those settings at all or pretty much leaving them at stock?
Click to expand...

I'm VERY happy with the OCZ Gold. I haven't really stressed it to see how far I can push it (although I tried 290 with both 1:1 and 9:10 dividers - even up to 2.9v which the ram is warrantied to, and couldn't get it stable). I ended up being more than happy with a 260mhz on the ram with a 5:6 divider (at least I think it's 5:6 - might be 9:10 at 289 HTT).

Also as a semi-off-topic note - I managed to get 289x9 stable at 1.325vcore - but not at 1.300 (respectively 1.296 and 1.260 according to windows measure of vcore). I came close with a 7hr prime stable on 1.300 but then it errored out.

I can't stress the benefit of buying DDR500 ram if you can catch it on sale, or you can afford it. It'll save a lot of extra work trying to shoehorn PC3200 to ~240-260mhz speeds.

edit - also I know what you mean about valueram being a limiting factor, even when using a divider. My original PC3200 Corsair ValeuSelect stuff would NOT run stable no matter what it was clocked at after using a divider, if my HTT was anything over 220. I can't explain it. Changed up the ram and the problem went away - yet the ram tested fine in every memtest test I could throw at it when HTT was less than 220.
 
i've got everything set up and running at 2.340ghz.
under genie i have
FSB Bus Frequency = 260
LTD/FSB = X3
LTD Bus Transfer Width = 16 up and down
CPU/FSB Frequency Ratio = x 9
PCIE Freq = 100
C&Q = disabled
haven't touched voltages yet.

my ram speed is topping out at 250mhz in shown by cpu-z. in the bios under genie/dram configuration i have it set to "By DRAM SPD Value". and the rest of those i just put my timings(3-4-3-8) in and changed write cas latency to 1, CPC to enable, and thats all i've touched
 
sam_fisher said:
i've got everything set up and running at 2.340ghz.
under genie i have
FSB Bus Frequency = 260
LTD/FSB = X3
LTD Bus Transfer Width = 16 up and down
CPU/FSB Frequency Ratio = x 9
PCIE Freq = 100
C&Q = disabled
haven't touched voltages yet.

my ram speed is topping out at 250mhz in shown by cpu-z. in the bios under genie/dram configuration i have it set to "By DRAM SPD Value". and the rest of those i just put my timings(3-4-3-8) in and changed write cas latency to 1, CPC to enable, and thats all i've touched
Click to expand...

Assuming we really do have identical ram, you may want to set the ram to it's actual timings and not what is being (mis)detected by SPD. I've got CPC disabled for 2T timing (remember, A64's are not latency sensitive like previous Athlons or P4's) and 3-4-4-8.

Looks like I also had to bump my voltage back up to 1.350 as 1.300 and 1.325 give prime errors shortly after 6-8hrs.
 
sam_fisher said:
i have that case too. actually the p180w. let me tell you, that case is very nice, very roomy, and cools very well. not to mention, it looks great too.
Click to expand...


P180W???? Whats that?? :eek:
 
my bad. antec p160w is the case i have. still an awesome case
 
sam_fisher said:
yeah. sorry about that lol :D

Lukano,
here's my ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227219

OCZ site
http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz_el_ddr_pc_4000_1024mb_gold_edition_dual_channel-2gb_
Click to expand...

Yeah that's the same ram as what I'm using. I'm starting to doubt my statement that I've got it running at 260mhz 2.8v simply because I'm getting Prime errors on Large FTT's but not on Small FTT's (I'm not 100% sure on this yet - need 12hrs of priming on Small FTT's to prove my theory). If that's the case the ram (or at least the pair I got) might not do so hot over 250mhz which is it's stock speed anyways. Not that it's a huge deal if it doesn't, as 250mhz is nothing to sneeze at.

I'll update tomorrow morning once I've gotten a 12hr prime stable period to prove/disprove this little theory.
 
so what do i need to change to get mine from 2.34ghz to 2.6?
 
sam_fisher said:
so what do i need to change to get mine from 2.34ghz to 2.6?
Click to expand...

If you haven't already - give it more juice.

The 'default' or 'auto' setting on the chip for vcore will vary between 1.300v and 1.350v depending on the motherboard. I would start by forcing 1.350 at 290x9 with your ram on a divider to keep it at or below 250mhz (I think the 5:6 divider gave me ~245mhz at 290 HTT).

If it's stable there, then force (both startup and VID control should be set to the same - at least for testing purposes) it down to 1.325 and try again. Keep going until it stops being stable.

And if you can't get it stable with forced 1.350 - it could be your chip just needs more juice than mine. Try 1.375. 1.400, even as high as 1.425 or 1.450. Anything more than that might get things too warm (I've seen that the general consensus for Opteron 165/170's is <=1.500-1.550 unless you have REALLLLY good cooling).

Just take it slow and focus on the CPU only for now. Keep the ram at 250mhz or less (And if you have to, try forcing the dram voltage to 2.6, 2.7 or 2.8v just to ensure it's getting enough power. The SPD's may misreport the required voltage thereby having the board auto-detect and provide less than optimal voltage).
 
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