NEW Opty 165 Build! Time to see what this proc can do!

[O.C.CaTaLYsT]

Hey guys! I just got my rig put together a couple days ago. Opteron 165 CCBBE 0615DPMW stepping and 2 gb of crucial ballistix memory all on a DFI LP Expert. I just let memtest run for 3 days straight after i got everything set up and going. I want to overclock and squeeze all the performance i can out of everything. what do ya think?

Its been a while since i overclocked Amd 64s, and im a little fuzzy on the procedure. What should I start with? I'm a little confused about the whole voltage thing since there are two settings and everything. What procedure do you guys use?

What kind of program do you guys use to check cpu temps etc??? What works well for this board? Thanks

 

[Gunlance]

Core temp is where its at.

 

[kbtat2]

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=391768

 

[Omsion]

I just let memtest run for 3 days straight after i got everything set up and going.

A bit excessive, I'd say, especially since you'll need to memtest anyway if your ram gets OCed at all in the process (which it will, unless you throw on a large memory divider).

I'm a little confused about the whole voltage thing since there are two settings and everything. What procedure do you guys use?

Try the motherboard section (kind of messy atm, it's being reorganizing by socket) to look into the settings your mobo has and what they do.

What kind of program do you guys use to check cpu temps etc??? What works well for this board? Thanks

As Gunlance says, Core Temp (background info) is probably the most straightforward. SpeedFan will also work, but you'll have to figure out which temp is which.

And do read kbtat2's link.
My personal OC didn't really follow it's guidelines, since I already knew that my RAM would not OC at all, that my mobo could do >300, and since I didn't feel a need to push my opty to it's highest point, I just slapped on a 3:2 memory divider and started increasing FSB until my CPU peaked at stock voltage (I actually think it could go to 2.7 on stock if I had better cooling).

 

[||Console||]

Follow the easy 123 a64 overclocking sticky . Find the max for each of your parts then put them all together for then end resualt. Like put the LDT on 2 and your ram on a 2:1 divider and the multi on 8 ( or lower) and then start raseing the HTT should be @ least 300+ on the mb you have . After that you will know how far your mb/chipset will oc . Then do the same thing but take the ram divider off and see how far your ram will go before it need to be put on a divider . Then the last one is the CPU , put the ram back on a divider ( so that it wont go over the high point that you found in the last step) and start jacking up the cpu. then you just put them all together .

 

[BigFoofieMan]

Also remember that steppings play a large part in the process. Sometimes your lucky and you get a great OC but other times your not. Dont get frustrated keep trying and have fun!

 

[O.C.CaTaLYsT]

Hey how do i run 2 instances of prime 95 to stress both cores?

 

[O.C.CaTaLYsT]

nevermind i figured it out thanks to google. Right now at stock settings my load temp is ~51 for core 0 and ~49 for core 1. Is this alright? about to start overclocking now after i make sure everything is fine.

 

[Gunlance]

kinda high load temps for stock I believe. I'm pushing 1.53volts through my chip and I'm at 52 load. Of course I'm under water. But it still seems a bit high.

 

[Omsion]

It's fine, more or less, just don't go too heavy on the volts, since the stock cooler seems to be hit or miss on the Opty (better then all miss, though). It get's the job done.

My temps max at around 57 stock volts and OCed as in sig. If you can get your temps lower, you should also be able to OC further at stock volts, though (my case has half-*** airflow and one case fan, so cooling isn't the most optimal).

 

[Zx2Slow]

I should be getting the same exact stepping 165 you have O.C.CaTaLYsT . It should be delivered friday. I hope these cores can hit 3GHz+ without too much hassle.

My only worries are that I got a new OEM 165 off ebay, I didnt want to play around and get a rebadged x2. The seller has 100% feedback so hopefully he's not trying to unload a poor overclocker.

 

[O.C.CaTaLYsT]

I think i have a case airflow problem like you. I took the side panel off and instantly my cpu temps dropped about 7 degrees! I dont think i have the optimal cooling though because i have only one 120 mm exhaust fan and i have a 7800GTX that just dumps hot hair into my case. I need to get an aftermarket cooler for it that exhausts the hot air out of the case. Also, i have a thermalright chipset heatsink that doesnt have a fan, its just a big tall thing that doesnt need a fan. I felt it while i was primeing and it was pretty hot.

Anyways about the overclocking. I put the ram on a low divider, cpu multi to 6 and left the HTT at 5x and began upping FSB to find my HTT maximum. i started at 250 FSB and it worked so i got impatient and put it to 290 right away. wouldnt boot so i backed down to 280. no boot again so i slowly backed down until i got to 255 and it booted and is priming but the screen flashes black everyonce and a while. Is this a sign that it is not stable?

 

[O.C.CaTaLYsT]

can anyone explain to me how cpu VID works? im kinda confused about that setting in the BIOS when it comes to these procs

 

[bldegle2]

<left the HTT at 5x>

lower the that setting to 4x or 3x, then you will see higher numbers on the HTT, guaranteed..............

i would suggest you read up on the overclocking stickies, some of the questions you are asking here are covered ad infinitum.......

your motherboard easily will run 300+, you just have to follow the rules.

laterx,

baldy

 

[Omsion]

and left the HTT at 5x and began upping FSB to find my HTT maximum.

You could just call 1250 HT as your max. You don't really need to OC HT, so just drop the HT multiplier and get on witht the rest of the stuff (in the stickies).

If you feel really lazy (aka like me), look at what other people have done with your mobo/board/cpu/cooling and OC to something under that.
Try just sticking your FSB at 290 (your board should do 300+, as said), HT multiplier at 3 or 4 (3x=870, 4x=1160 - under the limit you found), and a RAM divider at 3:2, 10:7, 4:3 (RAM at 193, 203, or 218 - don't know what these look like on your bios) or whatever else that still has it clocked under what other people have gotten.

 

[O.C.CaTaLYsT]

I just left it Primeing overnight at stock volts but 250 FSB x 9 cpu multi. cpu is at 2.25 ghz. It was stable the whole time it was priming but this morning when i checked it the temps were 58 and 55!! This is at stock voltage too! A big part of it probably was that my room for some reason just gets really hot in the morning. I'm gonna try some more things and then ill post back with the results!

 

[O.C.CaTaLYsT]

If you feel really lazy (aka like me), look at what other people have done with your mobo/board/cpu/cooling and OC to something under that.

ya im pretty lazy too, does anyone know what i should be getting with my set up or where i could find that info? It would be cool to see it with the same ram and everything too

ABout the CPU temps. I downloaded smartguardian to see what it would tell me. It reports cpu temp as only 45 degrees when under load, while at the same time core temp reports 54 & 56 @ load. why is there such a discrepancy between these two programs?????

 

[Omsion]

I would trust Core Temp more.

Plus a temp of 58° is well inside of normal AMD reccommended range, anyway. Don't worry about it too much at this point.

 

[O.C.CaTaLYsT]

really? how hot is too hot then? sorry for asking so many n00b questions but thanks!

 

[Omsion]

http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/opteron/SideBySide.aspx?opn=OSA165DAA6CD&opn=OSA165CDBOX

TCaseMax=65°C
This is the maximum external temperture the outside (aka the part touching the heatsink) of the processer should safely reach. However, all temp monitoring reports the actual core temperture (taken from Page 2 of Core Temp article linked to in my first post).

If the DTS registers a temperature higher than TCaseMax, that doesn't mean the CPU is in danger, as the TCaseMax stands for the highest external temperature the CPU can take. On the other hand, when your chip reaches the Tjunction then you should start to worry, as that is a temperature you wouldn't want your CPU to cross.

So 58° isn't something to worry about too much. Better cooling does to a point, allow for a higher OC, and a lower temp is preferable, but 58° isn't exactly something to commit suicide over =P