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Help with AMD Build upgrade.

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Ya the temps look fine but that's not under load. That's what we want to see. Get prime running select just testing and then the blend test. That will get all the cores working and the ram. Prime is pretty tough on the AMD's so this will be a good indicator of your max temps. When you're done post a snip of that and cpuz main, spd and memory tabs we'll have a look under the hood and see what you have going on.
 
I personally do not care for CoreTemp. It does not show the information I am normally interested in.

CoreTemp is showing a max of 20c and HWMonitor shows 25c and also HWMonitor shows Cpu Socket temp of 34c. The difference between 25c and 34c is the "more" normal reading we see. I do not believe the 20c shown by CoreTemp. I will say this though and that is you do n0t need to use two programs. They can wonk each other up.
RGone...
 
Good call RGone, I didn't even notice. Just checked the HWMonitor results.
 
"Get prime running select just testing and then the blend test"
- Have Prime95 ready to go. Just reading various sites - says to run for 12 hrs to 24 hrs ? Is that correct. If I run it overnight, max I can hope to run it for is 8-10 hrs as its used daily as a home computer ??

CPU-Z installed.

"They can wonk each other up" - Gonna to uninstall CoreTemp R, thanks for the advice.

Will start test shortly....
 
For now just run prime for 20 minutes or so give a relative idea of stability and temps. I'm assuming you'll be overclocking? We'll run prime longer later. Everyone has a different idea of what stable is. It all depends on what you're going to use the computer for. Day to day computing and gaming a couple hours is usually sufficient. If you're going to be doing something more sensitive then 8 hrs is more appropriate.
 
"It all depends on what you're going to use the computer for"
- Home Use and Gaming.

Ran Benchmark Prime95 at 22.33 and completed. Running Blend test since 22.40. Have HWMonitor and CPU-Z both open whilst running Prime95.

Will allow to run for 20+ mins as recommended and then post results ;-)
 
It all looks good so far. First request would be to attach the images to you post directly. If you select "go advanced" under the message box it'll give you more options for posting. One of them is a paperclip for attachments. Win7 has a real handy tool in accessories, the snipping tool then you don't need screen shots and they're easier for us to read.
Second you should put up a signature like you see at the bottom of my post. List all the parts of your system and case. I have a good idea of what you're using right now but others won't. It's a very good reference tool for us. Typically we're helping more than one person so this helps us keep it straight. If you go to the top of the page you'll see a header saying quicklinks, you'll find "edit signature" there.
If you haven't read this guide yet you should. It'll familiarize you with some of the terms we'll be using and give you an idea of what we're going to do. It's based on the bulldozer but it's very relevant to the piledriver core.
One thing I have to ask about is which way is your cooler venting? Out the back or the top. The reason I ask is the cpu temp was 14° higher than the core soyour VRM section is getting warm, not enough air moving around in that area.

There's no reason for alarm since you have alot of headroom in the temp zone right now ,it just seems a little higher than I would expect for the board.
 
"First request would be to attach the images to you post directly."
- Understood, will do from this point on!

"Second you should put up a signature like you see at the bottom of my post"
- Think this is done. Will see shortly ;-)

"If you haven't read this guide yet you should"
- Ok. Will read in the morning.

"One thing I have to ask about is which way is your cooler venting?"
- Sorry, if I understand you correctly you mean the fan for the CM 212 EVO?
- If yes, then the fan is facing the Heatsink and it is blowing out the back. I positioned the heatsink parallel to the RAM slots so that I could put the Fan on it blowing air through the heatsink and out towards the back exhaust Fan..
Hope I understood you correctly ?
 
Hi Johan,
Thanks for all your help this evening.
I will read the guide in the morning and get back to you.

Should I run PRIME95 Blend test overnight for 6+ hrs or wait till I sort out the airflow issue that you have noticed ?
Thanking you,
Z_M
 
Ya that's what I wanted to know and yes vent out the back. If you have another 120 fan stick it on the cooler too it wont't hurt. I have a different set up and have made sure i have good circulation so my temp difference is 6-8°. Either way it's all good. Have you put the fan in the bottom?
 
Run it for a couple hrs anyway It's not really an issue just warm. And the core temps are great. I'm taking off so do some reading and don't be afraid to fiddle around a bit with the bios, yours won't look the same as the guide. Everythin you'l want is in the advanced setup , tweaker, tab and cpu tab. If things get messed up you can go back to defaults just by pushing F5 I think either way have a look at it.
 
Hi Johan,

"If you have another 120 fan stick it on the cooler too it wont't hurt."
- Ok, will order another 120mm Zalman fan for the CM Evo 212. Just attaches to the other side I assume and I think I saw the clips in the box to attach another fan to the heatsink.

"Have you put the fan in the bottom?"
- No, not yet. I don't have any spare fans but will go ahead and order a 120mm fan for the bottom as I think my system (from what I have read online) has more exhaust than intake and is out-of-sync.
The only intake fan is the 120mm at the front. The back, top and sides are all exhaust fans. The CM CPU fan is just on the heatsink.

The GPU temps seem stable but assuming that's due to the 2 fans on the GPU and its only heatsink.

I will wait until I have the 2 new fans before attempting any further PRIME95 testing. Will order from amazon.co.uk, so should have them by Wednesday.

Many thanks mate.
Off to bed as its 00.08 here, so a goodnight to you ......and to all a goodnight ..
 
That DCuii shouldn't need the fans on the side. If you take them right out it'll allow air to vent n at that point, right now they're disrupting the airflow.Good night to you too Zolton
 
Zorton_Maverick said:
Thanks RGone, Johan45 and Trents,


"As to point number 2 If you're talking about the PCIEx1 slot being covered which I assume you are. That card will work in one of the othe PCIE slots. The gold connector has the same cut out it's just alot shorter."
- Ah ok. I just went with the instructions from the manual advising to use Slot 1 for only 1 GPU. May move it at some stage but sitting nicely at the moment ;-)

"Welcome to the Sabretooth owners club Zorton"
- Many Thanks....and Yep, its a cracking board - very, very good board and a beauty to look at. Cant believe it can hold 3 GPUs in a 3-way SLI..Not that I will be attempting that myself.

"And I always run P95 Blend on my systems at stock speeds and voltages just to "establish" a baseline before overclocking begins"
- As per recommendation - gonna do this tonight.

"HWMonitor of course shows Min/Max for Volts and Temps"
- I installed HWMONITOR and CoreTemp.

Please see the following for temps whilst just running Internet and Word:-

https://imgur.com/GXyzVB7

Are these high/low/average ?

"Did you get the cooler mount issue sorted out?"
- I haven't touched since. I only applied a pea size amount of AS5, but when I went to use the clamp to screw in place, it slided and moved quite badly. I was afraid I was putting too much pressure on the CPU and mobo. To be honest, I would imagine its ok but not sure.. If I have to reapply again, I will, but dont want to remove the mobo from the case and disconnect all cables again. Please no!!
"Tighten the screws until they bottom out. You cannot over-tighten them"
- Does this mean you can continue to screw clockwise but the screw goes no further ?

Yes, this is what it means. The screw has a shoulder above the threads that causes it to stop as I recall.

Anyhow, I will report back with my Prime95 results tomorrow. I have installed GPU tweak for my 660ti as it can be OCd to 110% performance easily according to vid I saw on Youtube.

My final concern relates to the fans. Quite confusing.
My understanding in relation to the Zalman Z11 case is as follows:-
1. The 2 side 80mm fans using Moulex are exhaust fans that blow the air out through the vents.
2. The 120mm fan at the back is an exhaust.
3. The 120mm fan at the front is an intake.
4. The 120mm fan at the top is an exhaust.

Based on this, should I install a 120 or 140 intake fan at the bottom next to the PSU ?
Also, I installed the PSU with the FAN faced down as instructed. Was this correct.

Many thanks for the super information guys. Its hugely appreciated.

EDIT - Can someone post a link for the latest version of PRIME95 for AMD CPUs on 64bit Win 7?
Click to expand...
 
Looking good. As far as core temp goes, its not all bad. No temperature monitoring program is perfect, but its more that each have pros and cons. Core temp allows you to see your temps real time and also cpu load and clock speed in the taskbar, If you like that feature I would try comparing your temps with hwmonitor more than just once before you give up on it.

Did you end up with the 1333 ram? Only reason I ask is because your proc supports up to 1866.

Nice build and these guys will help you get everything dialed in.
 
Good morning all,

"That DCuii shouldn't need the fans on the side. If you take them right out it'll allow air to vent n at that point, right now they're disrupting the airflow"
- Thanks Johan - I will remove them today.

"Yes, this is what it means. The screw has a shoulder above the threads that causes it to stop as I recall."
- Thanks Trents - based on that info you provided, may take off sink, clean and reapply as it was my 1st attempt and not great at that.

"Did you end up with the 1333 ram? Only reason I ask is because your proc supports up to 1866."
- Hi Storm-C, yes that is correct. The RAM is 1333. I upgraded my previous AMD build and had no further funds to upgrade the case or RAM. Bit hesitant to change the RAM as well as it cost me £100 (approx. $160) in August 2012 and unless the improvement is noticeably significant, would rather just leave it as is ?

"Nice build " - Thanks a mill for the nice feedback ;-)

OK, as per Johan request yesterday evening, I went looking to buy another fan for the CM EVO 212. I wanted to use the exact same fan on the other side as I had read good things about it. I normally buy from amazon.co.uk, aria.co.uk, dabs.ie, etc - but none of the sites had the Fan.
Eventually I found it at www.cm-store.eu and ordered 1 of XtraFlo 120 Slim [R4-XFXS-16PK-R1] - which is the exact FAN model from teh CM Hyper Evo 212 cooler. So my push-pull fans on the Heatsink will be exactly the same.

The other request was to get a 120mm bottom-Intake fan. I havent ordered that yet as stuck on what to get but the following seems to be highly recommended:-

- Akasa Viper High Performance S-Flow 12cm Fan
Can be seen at - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
Its priced at £11.20 ($17) and has the following spec:-


Dimension: 120 X 120 X 25mm
Fan speed: 600 -1900 RPM
Airflow: 83CFM

This looks to be more powerful than the case fans that came with the Z11.
If this is ok, will go ahead and order. ??

All going well, should have the fans next week sometime and once I have configured as advised and read the Guide, will check temps and run PRIME95 agtain for an hour.
Will report back with the details for further instructions.

Again, many thanks to Johan, RGone and all others for continuous help/guidance/advice with this build and apologies for the windy psot !!

PS - May upgrade the Case to "CM HAF X" at christmas as I have had my eye on it for a while ;-)
PSS - Any advice in relation to upgrades to my current build would be greatly apprciated and received.
 
First suggestion is on the fan take a look at this it's cheaper, quieter and moves more air. Here's a good chart if you want to look at different fans.

I think your case will work out fine but if you were considering new ram I'd suggest some thing like this 2 sticks of 4Gb is plenty and typically 4 sticks are a bit harder to OC
 
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