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Biostar TForce 550

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Funny.. thanks alot.. Ill look at the two routines you linked for making bootable usb drive. Maybe it will turn out easier than making bootable CD... Man have times changed.. And here I was, thinking I could just key in: sys d: to make cd bootable.. what a laugh. And since xp isnt dos based, looks like every routine I saw wants to put the gui onto the boot disk. Looks like the days of just moving the booststrap area to the cd are over.

Funny, I was looking at the Bios screen shots Polygon posted at: http://www.rebelshavenforum.com/sisubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=53;t=000254
Have you seen those? If you look at those, and can bless them yourself, that might be the best way for me to proceed. Since theyre viewable online, we can all refer to them as we fine tune the procedure. One thing I noticed that has me puzzled.. again... On Cyclone_KYs pics, the NPT FIT control areas is followed by:
"K8<->NB HT Speed". But on the corelating screenshot from Polygon, it shows as: "K8<->SB HT Speed". Why is one NB and the other SB?? Significance? Ok.. Im going to look at the usb boot routines.. later.
 
That's easy.... he's using the "SB" aka Short Bus, I'm using the "NB" aka Normal Bus.

I think he's using a different BIOS version. That post was made in June '06 and our BIOS wasn't released until Feb this year...
 
Polygon did not post those screenshots as a tweaking guide for people to copy those settings and enter them. That probably wouldn't work well at all.

They are an extremely valuable resource to see what options there are in the bios, and in fact I have used them many times in this thread to go back and see what an option was named when I couldn't remember. That is a great reference that allows you to view bios options without having to reboot.

As you could see I referred to that setting earlier at K8-SB HT speed, seems like a change that was made in some bios version, but there is no difference, it changes the same setting which is the HT multiplier.
 
So I'm into Windows right now with a 305 HTT, memory divider is at 400 with the same loose timings (5-5-5-15-20).

Cpu Frequency is 305
Npt Fid is at x4
K8<->NB HT Speed is 3x

CPU-Z shows Core speed of 1223mhz, mult. of 4.0, Bus Speed of 305.9mhz, and HT Link of 917.8mhz.

Ram is running much lower than rating, at 244.7mhz. So I know RAM is not playing a factor.

I'll try again for 315... once I get this, should I set the Npt Fid to Auto and see if it POSTS? (leaving RAM alone for now).

This is with 1.4v to CPU (1.472 in CPU-Z). Temps running Orthos are around30C load (peaked at 32 after 8 minutes, fluctuates a few degrees from there).
 
I'm in at 315, Orthos is running and the temps seem about the same, it peaked at 33C.

CPU-Z shows core speed of 1263mhz, mult. x4, bus speed of 315.7, and an HT link of 947.2mhz. Memory is at 252.6mhz.

Going to try for 330 once I let Orthos run for a bit.
 
Well you are likely going to need a bit of a voltage hike before the CPU will post at 315 with 9.5 multi.

I would have suggested setting that to Auto to begin with and seeing how high you could get on stock CPU voltage first. Then slowly work your way up and increase CPU volts as needed.

How high you can get with the 4x CPU multiplier tells you nothing but how high the board/chipset is willing to go. I could get mine to 320HTT in the bios, and Clockgen allowed me to take it past 350HTT.

Also remember that ram divider is based on CPU speed, not HTT speed. So when you change the multiplier to auto your ram will be running at CPU Speed/10.
 
Ok, yeah, I'll try setting it to Auto back at 305 and see what happens.

Should I leave the RAM at 400 for now? I suspect I need to see what my cpu can do before I include the RAM.
 
I try to POST with the Auto setting using 305 and it gives me a long beep, followed by another long beep, and then resets the CPU back to 201 and POSTs.

I assume it's not going to run at this voltage. I'm going to take it back to stock and see how far I can get.

I should leave the RAM alone for now, with the 400 divider and loose timings, right?
 
Yea that completely eliminates the ram as a culprit. You would probably be fine with the 533 divider as well, but for now you might as well leave it as 400.
 
I'm curious... the stock voltage is 1.3... theoretically, if we can keep the temps down, we could overclock on upwards of 1.6?

Just curious, I can't seem to get mine stable at 290 using the 1.4v. Either Orthos throws an error or freezes.
 
Yes you could, I wouldn't feel too comfortable using more than 1.5-1.55 myself, but people have done it without adverse effects.
 
well

i bit the bullet
ordered up me a combo too
+ a few other toys

iam also coming from a mobil barton and nf7
and i agree
theres more to deal with in the bios
and it is a bit more confusing

thanx for this thread
its answering alot of the questions i had as well


iam one of those guys that likes fancy coolers
and picked up a scythe ninja
damn this thing is huge
kinda not sure which side the fan is gonna end up at this point
might have to set it up to suck
rather than blow
guess ill figure that out
once iam done bench testing
seems theres gonna only be two sides that i can use
either facing the back(sits on top of the power conector)
or facing the powersupply
sitting ontop of the ram
would impair cooling to the sticks

eh

so far
just booted up
and tested ram at stock settings
all looks good so far

and just got my 150 raptor
so iam good to go

ram is corsair xms 5400 2g kit 444 12 1.9v
vid is 1950xt by sapph

one question i have
i was planning on using my old antec true 550
it has adjustazble pots and a 20 pin connector
but i went out and bought the 20 to 24 pin adapter
is there any prob using this?

it booted up with my newer antec 500
but this supply is crappy
had serious booting issues with the asus a7n8x delux
and puts out a low 5v and 12v
+ its split 12v lines

looking forwards
to some overclocking goodness
 
The True Powers have a pretty bad reputation for blowing up on people. Here is some info on the issue:
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=495380

If you newer Antec is a NeoHE, then you probably have a better shot with that one. Otherwise I would suggest investing in a better PSU (plenty of good suggestions and info in the Cases and Power Supply section of the Forums).
 
Funny, as I monitor my cpu and case temps prior to my doing the deed, I was puzzled by why the temps would rise to the 30-35 range at idle during the afternoon, but drop off to the 24-28 range at night. At first I figured it was due to some upgrade activity that had been scheduled for the daytime. But the real reason is so simple it sounds silly. I have my pc sitting on top of a desk in front of my livingroom window. I had been running it with the shades open, and the heat of the sunlight shining on the pc during the day caused the temperature rise.. It was ALL due to the ambient temps, and had nothing to do with the HSF or the cpu ... Simply closing the shades, which are sheer, but nevertheless, take the edge off direct sunlight, lowers the temps by 3-5 degrees. Im not sure, but I would venture that the fanciest HSF around would still be subject to a rise in ambient caused by sunlight. Being new to overclocking and cpu cooling, I get most of my cooling knowledge from my experience with intercooling my supercharger. NO matter How fast the fan spins, or how large the radiator, Ive found that if ambient goes up by 10 degrees, so do my Intake Air Temperatures, measured after the intercooler. The intake air temps are always measured with respect to Ambient, as in, Ambient PLUS 30 degrees, for instance. For example, without intercooling, I would measure my Intake Air Temps at Ambient Plus 100 degrees F! After the intercooler was installed, IATs were routinely measured at a more acceptable Ambient PLUS 30 degrees, or, a net drop of 70 degrees due to the INtercooler. Perhaps, for our purposes, we should also adopt a practice of quoting our cpu temps with respect to ambient. Someone working in a icy cold airconditioned room in the summer, starting off with an amibent temperature of, say 60 degrees, is immediately at a 20 degree advantage over the guy who's working in a stuffy 80 degree environment. When we read reviews, the first guy crows how his HSF gives him an OVERCLOCKED temp of just 35 degrees, while Mr. Atticworker reports that his HSF is so ineffective he cant get any better than an OVERCLOCKED 55 degrees.. And yet, its quite possible each of their actual cooling is identical, with respect to Ambient. Like with cars, unless we are using Icewater in a water to air intercooler, or are packing the radiator in Ice, or in the case of computers, are using water cooling and icing it down, I dont see why the same effect of ambient temps wouldnt play out the same way. A fan blowing a ridiculous amount of air over the heatsink wont do any good if its blowing warm air. There comes a point where more cfms wont do any good whatsoever, except to enhance the marketing numbers.
 
funnyperson1 said:
The True Powers have a pretty bad reputation for blowing up on people. Here is some info on the issue:
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=495380

If you newer Antec is a NeoHE, then you probably have a better shot with that one. Otherwise I would suggest investing in a better PSU (plenty of good suggestions and info in the Cases and Power Supply section of the Forums).
Click to expand...


er
thanx for the reply

i will stay away from the true powers

prob either enermax
(have one in my other nf7 file server for several years now)
or seasonic
if i buy a new one

my old psu
is a true control antec 550
and has been running a overclocked system(in my sig)
for 3+ or so years without a hickup

thats the one i was considering
to use for my new system


the newer supply
(1 year old)
is a antec 500 smart power model
and this one has some crapy rails
might just retire it



mostly
was just wondering
if there was issues
using the 20 to 24 pin adapter
while overclocking on this motherboard

ill give the other section a read thru




thanx


p
 
Most people in reviews of HSF do quote a temp rise above ambient. However... At home most of us don't have access to any acurrate way of measuring our cpu temp or our ambient at a given point. At ant rate, you want to do most of your testing at the hottest ambient temp you expect the system to be operating in. If you still stay within an acceptable range and stay stable, then you will be fine. This also demonstrates the need for temp monitoring soft to be running all the time with warnings set so that you can know what things are affecting temps.

I live in an older appartment with a thermostat that probably keeps room temp +or- 3 degrees... However it is a basement appartment and the computer is near the floor close to cold concrete covered in carpet. I expect my temps to raise a bit in the hottest days of summer to come, so I will be testing more then.

It is, however true that those of us that have been at it for a while should mention these things to the newer folk when they get started. Also keep in mind that dust, pet hair, ciggarette smoke, etc will clog your HSF over time causing temps to rise. Give it a good cleaning between 1-4 times a year depending on how closely space your fins are.
 
boostm3 said:
Funny, as I monitor my cpu and case temps prior to my doing the deed, I was puzzled by why the temps would rise to the 30-35 range at idle during the afternoon, but drop off to the 24-28 range at night. At first I figured it was due to some upgrade activity that had been scheduled for the daytime. But the real reason is so simple it sounds silly. I have my pc sitting on top of a desk in front of my livingroom window. I had been running it with the shades open, and the heat of the sunlight shining on the pc during the day caused the temperature rise.. It was ALL due to the ambient temps, and had nothing to do with the HSF or the cpu ... Simply closing the shades, which are sheer, but nevertheless, take the edge off direct sunlight, lowers the temps by 3-5 degrees. Im not sure, but I would venture that the fanciest HSF around would still be subject to a rise in ambient caused by sunlight. Being new to overclocking and cpu cooling, I get most of my cooling knowledge from my experience with intercooling my supercharger. NO matter How fast the fan spins, or how large the radiator, Ive found that if ambient goes up by 10 degrees, so do my Intake Air Temperatures, measured after the intercooler. The intake air temps are always measured with respect to Ambient, as in, Ambient PLUS 30 degrees, for instance. For example, without intercooling, I would measure my Intake Air Temps at Ambient Plus 100 degrees F! After the intercooler was installed, IATs were routinely measured at a more acceptable Ambient PLUS 30 degrees, or, a net drop of 70 degrees due to the INtercooler. Perhaps, for our purposes, we should also adopt a practice of quoting our cpu temps with respect to ambient. Someone working in a icy cold airconditioned room in the summer, starting off with an amibent temperature of, say 60 degrees, is immediately at a 20 degree advantage over the guy who's working in a stuffy 80 degree environment. When we read reviews, the first guy crows how his HSF gives him an OVERCLOCKED temp of just 35 degrees, while Mr. Atticworker reports that his HSF is so ineffective he cant get any better than an OVERCLOCKED 55 degrees.. And yet, its quite possible each of their actual cooling is identical, with respect to Ambient. Like with cars, unless we are using Icewater in a water to air intercooler, or are packing the radiator in Ice, or in the case of computers, are using water cooling and icing it down, I dont see why the same effect of ambient temps wouldnt play out the same way. A fan blowing a ridiculous amount of air over the heatsink wont do any good if its blowing warm air. There comes a point where more cfms wont do any good whatsoever, except to enhance the marketing numbers.
Click to expand...


You speak the truth, no matter how good the aircooling, your temperatures are always bounded by ambient. This is why I was saying you couldn't compare your temps to the ones you saw on Newegg earlier.

I think the reason most people list absolute CPU temperatures here is because the ultimate question for most people is not how well does this cooler cool, but how well is the CPU being cooled.

Obviously a PC that is stable at night and unstable during the day is unacceptable, regardless of whether the cooler itself is doing the job.

Most good review sites will tell you what the ambient temperature was while testing, and thus offering a more fair comparison. Some sites like overclockers.com calculate and rank the heatsinks based on the ratio of temperature increase over ambient/Heat output. Others just have a lab with tight temperature controls, and still others just have poor reviews.

shaz, I believe the Smart Powers had the same issues with blown caps, you are probably better off with the True Control.

I haven't seen anyone try to use one of those adapters in a while. But the overall consensus seemed to be that sometimes it worked well, sometimes it didn't.

But as long as you have decent wattage on the +12V rail, you should be ok. You won't know until you try it though.
 
shaz... Try it both with and without the adaptor. Sometimes motherboars will be fine without all 24 pins and you have one less connection causing a (small, but measurable) voltage drop. If that doesn't work, then the adaptor will get you by untill you can get a new power supply.
 
thanx

i spent some time in the power supply and cases section
good reading

also used the search on 20 to 24 pins
some mentions of issues?
but not elaborated on


seems biggest source of resistance
which can cause rails to drop voltage
is at the conector from the supply to the motherboard
so adding another connector
would increase resistance
and
would prob be the biggest issue it seems
considering my modest? power requirements

ill break out the multiM
after playing with the system for a bit
and see if it drops the rails with the adapter installed vs not installed

prob just do an upgrade on the power supply
in the near future anyways

got some good recommendations from this site on brands

good stuff


paul
 
it booted up just fine
with the adapter
voltages look pretty good in bios too
3.3v @ 3.31
5v @ 4.91
12v @ 11.96

might adjust pot on 5v at idle

all its missing
is a few system fans
which wont add too much to the load
i hope



two things i didnt like with this setup,

the scythe blocks the first ddr slot
and was a ***** to clip onto the socket
was fearing for cracked processor

and my 1950xt seems really loose in the pci-x slot
(have to prop it upright, it leans from the weight of the cooler attached)
iam sure it will be better once in the case with
a securing screw mount or two


p


IMG_0261.jpg
 
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