- Joined
- Aug 3, 2003
It's all over. It's really finished.
Nearly 4 years since i set out to build my dream rig, and i've finally finished. Sad, i know.
It all started with my first few paychecks from my first job in highschool. I had a few hundred bucks to burn, and i wanted to upgrade my computer. After getting a new video card, i decided a new motherboard was in store. Without doing much of any research (or even having knowlege of this board's existance), i purchased a Tyan Tiger MPX. When it arrived, one of the sockets was dead, so i returned it.
I then decided i better read around before getting a new one. So i come across this board, and decided to go with the MSI K7D Master. I opted for the non-L version b/c i had a few ethernet cards on hand, and wanted to save that extra 20 bucks.
The processor i was using at the time was a Duron 1.3ghz (not sure of the core). I read that those procs supported mps, so i bought another offline. After tinkering for many hours, i finally got the mobo to detect 2 cpus. However, windows wouldnt boot, so damn - no dice.
I then proceeded to buy 2 XP-2500 Barton core, right after they came out. Long story short, i tried to use a brush to paint on the conductive gunk i was using (defogger repair kit) and the paint got all over the place.
Note well, that i somehow managed to do this not once - but twice. Yes, after having them for only weeks, i had managed to ruin 2 perfectly good unlocked Bartons. Brilliant. However, they still worked in single mode, but their destiny was for duallage. I later attempted to scrape the paint off of everything and actually broke them this time. I didnt care about single processors... i wanted 2 procs at 2ghz each... that's 4ghz man!! (I know now how it works, please save your flamethrowers).
So, a year later or so, i'm in college and i decided to tackle the dually again. I order a newly released XP-M 2200 (i chose this model for its low operating voltage) with the understanding that they were out-of-the-box ready for smp. So i buy a pair, naturally. Turns out, they're very unstable in dual mode. So, until a fix was found, i just ran it nice and overclocked at like 2.4ghz at 1.7vcore. That is, until..
disaster
My idiot roommate destroyed one of my processors, and a waterblock (heat caused it to warp and leak). It's a miracle he didnt destroy the motherboard, although there is a nice big black mark in one of the sockets.
So, i give up hope, give my remaining good XP-M to my girlfriend as an upgrade to her computer, and fall back on my trusty duron for daily computing.
Now, 2 years later, i've aquired an unlocked barton and a regular locked one, they have been MP modded, and they are up and running. I couldn't be happier. Well, i suppose if they were magically 64bit opterons i'd be happier, but for the time being - i'm quite satisfied.
Here's a few stats:
K7D Master v1
XP Barton 2500+ unlocked @ 12.5x140
XP Barton 2400+ locked @ 12.5x140
(sorry, forgot to write down steppings)
GeForce MX440 64mb
2 80gb 7200rpm seagates
1gb crucial pc2100 registered
12v pump
tc-4 v1 wb
tc-4 v2 wb
pimp *** acrylic res
~120mm x ~240mm radiator + pimp *** shroud (from classifieds)
2 120mm panflows at lowest speed (silent)
10/90 antifreeze/h2o
idle temps:
abmient: 29C
underdesk:~32C
case: 36C
cpu0:45C
cpu1: 46C
load:
case: 36C
cpu0: 46C
cpu1:48C
I was especially pleased with the closeness of cpu temps. I expected more like a 3-4 C difference. The next step would be some pin modding for higher multis, and possible some faster memory.. maybe that samsung pc2700 i've read so much about.
Props if you read it all,
David
Nearly 4 years since i set out to build my dream rig, and i've finally finished. Sad, i know.
It all started with my first few paychecks from my first job in highschool. I had a few hundred bucks to burn, and i wanted to upgrade my computer. After getting a new video card, i decided a new motherboard was in store. Without doing much of any research (or even having knowlege of this board's existance), i purchased a Tyan Tiger MPX. When it arrived, one of the sockets was dead, so i returned it.
I then decided i better read around before getting a new one. So i come across this board, and decided to go with the MSI K7D Master. I opted for the non-L version b/c i had a few ethernet cards on hand, and wanted to save that extra 20 bucks.
The processor i was using at the time was a Duron 1.3ghz (not sure of the core). I read that those procs supported mps, so i bought another offline. After tinkering for many hours, i finally got the mobo to detect 2 cpus. However, windows wouldnt boot, so damn - no dice.
I then proceeded to buy 2 XP-2500 Barton core, right after they came out. Long story short, i tried to use a brush to paint on the conductive gunk i was using (defogger repair kit) and the paint got all over the place.
Note well, that i somehow managed to do this not once - but twice. Yes, after having them for only weeks, i had managed to ruin 2 perfectly good unlocked Bartons. Brilliant. However, they still worked in single mode, but their destiny was for duallage. I later attempted to scrape the paint off of everything and actually broke them this time. I didnt care about single processors... i wanted 2 procs at 2ghz each... that's 4ghz man!! (I know now how it works, please save your flamethrowers).
So, a year later or so, i'm in college and i decided to tackle the dually again. I order a newly released XP-M 2200 (i chose this model for its low operating voltage) with the understanding that they were out-of-the-box ready for smp. So i buy a pair, naturally. Turns out, they're very unstable in dual mode. So, until a fix was found, i just ran it nice and overclocked at like 2.4ghz at 1.7vcore. That is, until..
disaster
My idiot roommate destroyed one of my processors, and a waterblock (heat caused it to warp and leak). It's a miracle he didnt destroy the motherboard, although there is a nice big black mark in one of the sockets.
So, i give up hope, give my remaining good XP-M to my girlfriend as an upgrade to her computer, and fall back on my trusty duron for daily computing.
Now, 2 years later, i've aquired an unlocked barton and a regular locked one, they have been MP modded, and they are up and running. I couldn't be happier. Well, i suppose if they were magically 64bit opterons i'd be happier, but for the time being - i'm quite satisfied.
Here's a few stats:
K7D Master v1
XP Barton 2500+ unlocked @ 12.5x140
XP Barton 2400+ locked @ 12.5x140
(sorry, forgot to write down steppings)
GeForce MX440 64mb
2 80gb 7200rpm seagates
1gb crucial pc2100 registered
12v pump
tc-4 v1 wb
tc-4 v2 wb
pimp *** acrylic res
~120mm x ~240mm radiator + pimp *** shroud (from classifieds)
2 120mm panflows at lowest speed (silent)
10/90 antifreeze/h2o
idle temps:
abmient: 29C
underdesk:~32C
case: 36C
cpu0:45C
cpu1: 46C
load:
case: 36C
cpu0: 46C
cpu1:48C
I was especially pleased with the closeness of cpu temps. I expected more like a 3-4 C difference. The next step would be some pin modding for higher multis, and possible some faster memory.. maybe that samsung pc2700 i've read so much about.
Props if you read it all,
David
Last edited: