Prometeia + DTR chips

[Aphex_Tom_9]

so, i did it. i bought a 3400+ DTR (s754 ClawHammer, 2.2ghz, 1mb L2 cache, 1.5v default voltage :)) + mobo for christmas, it should do well under my prometeia...but there's a problem, the a64 mounting kit is designed for use with chips with Heatspreadders...now i have a problem because DTR's have no IHS. i can either keep my socket A kit and mod it to work (the preferable option) or get an a64 kit and mod that to work...but how?

[man_utd]

You could try a cold plate, if you can find a smaller one, it will probably work to decrease the mounting distance. I don't know how the mouting system works for a prometia, so it is hard for me to say what it should look like.

[Aphex_Tom_9]

yeah, i was thinking of trying to either buy a used IHS or get a thin piece of copper...but the thermal resistance might be bad, plus the metal expanding and contracting inbetween might be bad...

[man_utd]

The metal contracting and expanding is negligable, you will notice it no more than with what the evaporator always does. The thermal resistence will be added, but not that much is added.

[Aphex_Tom_9]

hmm, sounds like a viable option then...

[gundamit]

It took me a couple weeks of staring at the mounting adapter for the CPU
before I decided how I was going to mod it. The "cold plate" would lose some of the thermal transfer, but modding the adapter meant I might not be able to use it on another A64 with a heat spreader. Also $65 for another adapter if I "screwed the pooch" doing the mod.

Finally on Sunday, I reached for the belt sander and it worked out great. Did one test and got a good pattern of thermal goo on the core after I cranked down the screws until they were flush.

Primed at 2.65ghz before I moved on to some games.

[Aphex_Tom_9]

hmm, thanks for the pic, gundamit. ill test the coldplate option first, then if it fails, i know i have a viable backup plan.

[Aphex_Tom_9]

I started modding the kit today, i sanded down the nubs a little, then did the cut-up credit card spacer thing to lower the metal bracket a little (thanks to rhino for that idea). i started hitting components on the board pretty fast :( tomorrow ill take out the dremel and make a few spaces on the bottom for components, then do my first mounting test.
i also noticed it's really hard to get the metal bracket into the big plastic one...

[gundamit]

The metal bracket flexes just enough to get it mounted on the interior of the plastic bracket. I was worried about the amount of pressure needed to flex the metal, might suddenly give it a "L" shape, but if you use your thumbs to spread out the flex and pressure on the metal, it'll give you enough clearance to slide the metal bracket into place.

I'm glad the my LanpartyUT didn't have any components on the mobo that required carving out spaces on the plastic bracket. I think I might have had one or two resistors that didn't stop the plastic bracket from sitting flush once the seal string was in place.

[rhino56]

the cutting up the credit card was one of the best things ive ever done. lol

[Aphex_Tom_9]

im getting very close now. with some arctic alumina on the cpu, i can get a light impression of it on the evap head, so a little more sanding should do it. i had to dremel it down in a few spots already, but it shouldnt be too hard to finish. i may be running in a day or so.

[rhino56]

im getting very close now. with some arctic alumina on the cpu, i can get a light impression of it on the evap head, so a little more sanding should do it. i had to dremel it down in a few spots already, but it shouldnt be too hard to finish. i may be running in a day or so.
sweet, i would go a little beyond what you need to just to make sure you get a pressure and can then decide how much pressure with the springs.

[Aphex_Tom_9]

yay! i finally got a good contact impression after much dremeling, sanding and testing. ill post a pic of the modded bracket later if i get a chance. i cant wait to start using this stuff :)

[Gautam]

Damn, can't wait to see this one!! :drool:

[Aphex_Tom_9]

Damn, can't wait to see this one!! :drool:
mmm, yes, i cant wait to start playing with it either.
Im not sure what to expect out of this chip though, it's an 0347 C0 revision, so it's a little old, and this MB only reaches about 1.7vore. But i should see something nice when i put it under the cold :) plus i can probably get away with a vcore and vdimm mod later :D

On a side note, I'm writing from my other (family) comp, which i built a few months ago. it's a 2.8E on a SOYO board i got for free on newegg w/512 mushkin 3200. just yesterday i decided to update the BIOS, and naturally i started playing with it a little and...ended up OCing it to 14x215 (3010mhz) just for the hell of it :D stock volts, stock cooler.

[Aphex_Tom_9]

and...it lives! im setting everything up now, have to get used to the a64 BIOS options and stuff...will show pics later

[Aphex_Tom_9]

Pics!-
1- modded bracket. used sandpaper, dremel, and cut-up credit card
2- chip in all its glory. dielectric grease on it and bits of cut-up plastic spacer from an old cpu kit (it turns out a64 cores are the same height as XP cores)
3- intermediate build shot
4- lapped the evap head a little to make it shiny :D
5- another intermediate shot

[Aphex_Tom_9]

more!-
1- core contact impression. sucess!
2- it lives!
3- initial BIOS readings, -22c :)

[rhino56]

sweet!! she's alive :attn:

how many watts does that thing put out? seems like a mach 2 should be a bit colder.

[Aphex_Tom_9]

sweet!! she's alive :attn:

how many watts does that thing put out? seems like a mach 2 should be a bit colder.
i dont know, i think stock is around 89 watts or so. i dont really trust any temp sensors though. long as it's cold and the evap temps dont get too high.

[DamienKC]

In my own experience, the VNF3 overreads more than any motherboard i've seen, at least 13c. So it could actually be close to -35c on initial temp

[man_utd]

Looking good, lets see some OCs. Jealous of your setup. Fairly neat for all you have. My setup is a big jumble of wires. Almost enough to go back to air...

[Aphex_Tom_9]

well right now im running it at 10x268= 2680mhz, htt at 3x268, ram at 2x179. 1.7vcore. 2.9vdimm
36sec SP 1M.
i can do faster, but it's not stable, even this is only about an hour p95 stable. i need to do a vcore mod to this board. i have some Pomona Grabbers (i dont feel like soldering this) but need a 50K VR.

I'll soon be getting some new RAM too...just need to scare up a few more bucks.

so far i'm very happy with how much faster it feels, i think the 1M L2 cache helps some too. videos render faster, windows is snappier...

[DamienKC]

How much difference do you think i'd see between an intel 3.2 prescott running @ 3.7ghz and a amd64 3200+ @ 3ghz? I'll also have 512mb more ram (getting 1GB over current 512mb) and a far better video card (6600GT was before, i'm almost positive i'm getting a x800pro and modding it to xt-pe)

[Aphex_Tom_9]

a 3ghz a64 with more ram and a better vid card? you'll see a big improvement.
oh yea, im now almost 100% sure im gonna take that A-Data off your hands.

[DamienKC]

Alright, finally a buyer! good luck finding another 512mb stick, i've looked for months.

I'm still debating whether to go with a 3200+ or a 3000+...s754. I really want to hit 3ghz, and I think i'll have better luck doing so with the 3200, but man the 3000+ is like $70 cheaper (OEM wise). Think putting out the extra $70ish is worth the 200mhz? Who knows, I may get lucky with a 3000+ and hit 3ghz...300FSB? mmmm.

edit : i bet with 1.7v into the 3000+ i could hit 3ghz...then again, trying to predict an overclock is stupid, but I bet I could...whatcha think? ;D

edit2: n/m, the 3200+ is only $35 more, i'm going with that.

[Aphex_Tom_9]

Alright, finally a buyer! good luck finding another 512mb stick, i've looked for months.

I'm still debating whether to go with a 3200+ or a 3000+...s754. I really want to hit 3ghz, and I think i'll have better luck doing so with the 3200, but man the 3000+ is like $70 cheaper (OEM wise). Think putting out the extra $70ish is worth the 200mhz? Who knows, I may get lucky with a 3000+ and hit 3ghz...300FSB? mmmm.
dude, get a s939 winchester, they clock very nicely.
i just realized your point about the ram, where am i gonna get another 512 stick that does that speed!? hmm...
i dream of 10x290 in 1:1, though...that's just so awesome. i think i'll be able to live with 512MB of ram for a little while.

[DamienKC]

I would, but it's a known fact that winchesters hate sub-zero temps...most won't even boot. =\

Yeah 512mb is livable, i've never had a gig so i can't say it's slow.

[Aphex_Tom_9]

I would, but it's a known fact that winchesters hate sub-zero temps...most won't even boot. =\

Yeah 512mb is livable, i've never had a gig so i can't say it's slow.
D'oh! i forgot about that, hell it's the reason i went S754 before S939, ive told people about it too.
Im used to a gig, it helps in photoshop and multi-tasking, as well as games like HL2. i'll just have to look around for ram that does DDR580 i guess. or settle for something halfway.

[man_utd]

It's a known fact that turned out to be a bios issue almost exclusively...

[DamienKC]

Any idea if there's a motherboard with "good" bios that will let it work then?