First Build Suggestions (1 Viewer)

[bobbyg2]

I just forgot about them, and by the time I remembered it was already too late... :frowning:

EDIT:

How do these fans look?

1 x 120mm exhaust: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835110014
1 x 120mm intake: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835110014
1 x 80mm intake: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811999602

I'll order them next Friday. Along with (hopefully) another gig of RAM.

 

[bobbyg2]

Looking back at this build, I really wish I got a full-tower... Mid size is pretty big, but would get nowhere near as much airflow as a full-sized case. I don't have much options for case fans now. I can only fit 1 rear 120mm fan, 1 front 80mm fan, and 1 front 140mm fan... I really wish I got that full sized case... :frowning:

I probably can't return it now anyway, I have modified it for better airflow already.

 

[bobbyg2]

I ordered that PSU, along with two-day shipping.

Thanks guy's!

 

[Neal_C]

Which PSU did you end up getting?

 

[bobbyg2]

The 700W that you linked to.

I should have plenty of headroom for when I decide to upgrade.

 

[bobbyg2]

I have the computer all put together and running great! I have the processor overclocked to 1.95GHz and the memory overclocked to 820MHz. (from 1.86GHz, and 800MHz)

 

[Neal_C]

Push that thing to 3+ ghz

 

[bobbyg2]

What about the RAM?

EDIT:
I just got the RAM to overclock to 900MHz, and the CPU to overclock to 2.1GHz. I shoulg have this thing overclocked to 3GHz by Sunday.

 

[Neal_C]

Personally, I wouldn't push them both at once. If you do and you get a BSOD or system lockup, it will be harder to pinpoint the problem. So OC your RAM first and see where you can take it without errors or leave it at stock and play with your cpu.

 

[bobbyg2]

I have the CPU at 2.1 and the RAM at 950 right now. Should I just play with the RAM for now?

EDIT:
The RAM wont go above 950 without beeping. I have the RAM at 950 right now and the CPU at 2.158.

Is 950MHz the highest physical limits of my RAM, or will a burn-in period allow me to go higher?

 

[Neal_C]

You can't really determine a solid OC number without stress testing. Use Orthos or Memtest to test the RAM and different OC's and find your highest stable speed. Just because you can boot at 950mhz doesn't mean it is stable.

What do you plan to do with the computer that you want to drive the RAM above 900 or so?

 

[bobbyg2]

The faster the memory runs, the faster my computer runs.

Here's what I got after 30 minutes of Orthos:

Type: Blend - stress CPU and RAM Min: 8 Max: 4096 InPlace: No Mem: 766 Time: 15
CPU: 2150MHz FSB: 306MHz [307MHz x 7.0 est.]
CPU: 2150MHz FSB: 306MHz [307MHz x 7.0 est.]
5/25/2007 12:34 AM
Launching 2 threads...
Using CPU #0
Beginning a continuous self-test to check your computer.
Press Stop to end this test.
Test 1, 4000 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M19922945 using 1024K FFT length.
Test 2, 4000 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M19922943 using 1024K FFT length.
Test 3, 4000 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M19374367 using 1024K FFT length.
Test 4, 4000 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M19174369 using 1024K FFT length.
Test 5, 4000 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M18874369 using 1024K FFT length.
Self-test 1024K passed!
Test 1, 800000 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M172031 using 8K FFT length.
Test 2, 800000 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M163839 using 8K FFT length.
Test 3, 800000 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M159745 using 8K FFT length.
Test 4, 800000 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M157695 using 8K FFT length.
Test 5, 800000 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M155649 using 8K FFT length.
Test 6, 800000 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M153599 using 8K FFT length.
Test 7, 800000 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M147455 using 8K FFT length.
Torture Test ran 30 minutes 5 seconds - 0 errors, 0 warnings.
Execution halted.

 

[Neal_C]

Well yes, the faster it will run. But are marginal increases worth the risk of damaging components? That is where stress testing comes in along with monitoring temps.

I would recommend also running Memtest and give it more than just 30 minutes just to make sure.

Also, be sure to put your finger on the heat spreader while the RAM is under load and measure the temp that way. If you can leave your finger on there for 10 seconds without burning, its fine. If you only make it 5 seconds, its pretty warm. If you only make it 3 seconds, its way to hot. This testing method is pretty full proof and can also be used to test the heatsink on the NB which heats up pretty fast when you start to overclock.

The important thing here is to keep your computer alive. I'm all for it being fast but you also want to be safe with the money you just spent.

Also, what are your RAM timings at that speed? For me, I prefer a slower clock speed while maintaining tighter timings. I currently run my RAM (2GB OCZ Platinum Rev. 2) at 840mhz with 4-4-4-15 timings. If I get up in the 900mhz range, I have to loosen the timings to something like 5-6-6-17 to make the system stable.

 

[bobbyg2]

I can keep it there for a long time, not too hot... Although, it's definitely warm.

What should I change the timings to? And, how do I find out what my timings are?

I tried memtest, but I need a floppy disk and a floppy drive. Neither of which I own.

The hottest things in my computer are the North bridge, South bridge, and GPU. All around the same temperature. My CPU is fine, and runs very cool. I'm sure I can overclock that thing a lot farther.

 

[Tekara]

You can use a knoppix CD for memtest, plus it's a great disc to keep around for troubleshooting.

http://www.knoppix.org/

When you get to the boot screen enter in "memtest" and it'll load up memtest86.

 

[Neal_C]

I would set the timings as tight as they can handle and still run stable. Did you get the RAM that is in your Newegg wishlist? Newegg probably has the specs on the RAM and the manufacturers web page should as well.

Edit: If you got the Patriot RAM, it is rated at 4-4-4-12. I would set it at that and then determine your OC for your RAM. Like I said, I prefer the tighter timings and less OC rather than looser timings and higher OC. But, some of that depends on your applications as well.

Download CPU-Z and when you run it there is a tab for memory and it will tell you what your timings are. You "should" have a setting for them in the BIOS but I'm not familiar with that mobo.

Your NB will probably get to hot long before your CPU gets past its thermal threshold. The C2D's are excellent OC'ers but the FSB limit of the mobo and many other factors will come into play as well to determine how high it can go.

And as Tekara said, just download and burn a knoppix cd (or any of several other Linux distros) and they will include memtest right on the cd.

 

[bobbyg2]

That knoppix thing... What the heck do I click on? It's all in... What, German?

EDIT:
CPU-Z:

[url=https://static.hometheaterforum.com/imgrepo/e/ef/htf_imgcache_8394.bmp] [/url]
[url=https://static.hometheaterforum.com/imgrepo/4/44/htf_imgcache_8395.bmp] [/url]
[url=https://static.hometheaterforum.com/imgrepo/7/79/htf_imgcache_8396.bmp] [/url]

 

[Neal_C]

Click on the American flag to convert it to English.

 

[bobbyg2]

Wow, slow download... Ahh, whatever. I'll just wait.

 

[bobbyg2]

Alright, is this a Linux Only program? If not, what the heck do I do now that I have this downloaded? (and extracted)

EDIT:
Also, would I be able to get the CAS Latency down? Or, is that unchangeable? (I tried it, and had to reset everything)