Old Hardware, New Adventure

[Evilsizer]

I finally after being a bit lazy but really waiting on my tax return to buy a few bits. I got my Hex core (xeon X5660) up and running but with some headaches, such as ocing. well ram clocking that is, seems the bios 1706 may need to be worked on but it is the newest one i can find for the Asus Rampage II Gene. I have some Corsair Vengeance 4gb sticks DDR3-1600 cas9, getting them to that speed was no problem on the i7 920. For some reason no matter why i try i can not for the life of me get the ram to run at 1600. leave everything on auto and tell it to run the ram at 1600, set the voltages manually and set ram to 1600, nothing. i didnt try to push the cpu for ocing atm since well without the higher ram speed it seems a waste when ur stuck at 1333 speeds. i did however set the turbo multi so she runs at 3.07ghz vs 2.8ghz. it is a shame that the hex cores never made it to the consumer side for cpu and were only xeon parts. i dont think it being a xeon is the problem but the bios. As the last owner said it was a avg overclocker but he had it on water at 4.7-4.8ghz for some runs so i have hope. on the plus side these AlphaCool Coolwave 2 fans set to run around 1.2k rpm are somewhat livea-able at full speed dont stay near them to long, get on my nerves kind of sound. i figured for $7ish they were worth grabbing, they are the 1.8k versions, thinking i should have just gotten the 1.3k's. since im use to running 120mmx38mm thick denki's undervolted i had forgotten how loud 120mmx25mm thick fans can be.

for some hw bits, os drive is a Mushkin ECO3 240gb (running sataII due to the board) feels like my other rig with the newer i7 and sammy drive. then there is the 3x4gb ddr3-1600 corsair vengeance kit, using an old Noctuna U12P SE hs with the coolwave 2 fans Push+pull setup running about 1250rpms. then there is the ATI R3 250 i snagged from the classies from ATMINSIDE along with his BD drive as well. i need to go look at who i got the ram from, but it was a single stick and i bought the 2x4gb kit from newegg.com.

she is currently chugging away for the rosetta team! only one core so far has hit 53c, rest are sitting around 47-48!

pic incoming with more tales anout the build

 

[Evilsizer]

here is how it is currently setup, using the mobo tray from the LL-A10B case it was in at one point. the CM N200 says it will support 160mm tall HS's, well with the cpu socket this high it doesnt, top 2-3fins hit the egde of the case rim where the side panel slides on. I could do one of two thing, cut out the section in the case that stops it from sitting in or cut some fins off the HS. neither is ideal since if i cut the case the panel still wont go on since the way the panel is, only taller sinks will work where the bulge is. Cutting the hs would get the everything to slide all the way in but then i would still have the issue of the panel agian, had the psu been top mounted the taller HS wouldnt have been an issue. something i didnt think about when looking at cases, so now that leaves me with building a wcing setup with the enzotech block i bought ages ago. I would rather less work so im looking at an AIO setup, thinking an AlphaCool unit, the units im looking at are 1x120mm setups. any max oc will be dictated by temps so im not wanting to go to big on the wc setup. it would have been nice if the case worked out for the air setup, i am kind worried about the aio springing a leak down the road.

picture time! link to larger picture

 

[donuts]

Ooo, nice.
Intel did do a hex core, but in socket 2011. The 3930k in my sig. Good to see yours up and running.

 

[Evilsizer]

i few things i want to bounce off some guys, i know its a xeon and all. Im starting to think i might only be able to get higher DDR3 speed in dual channel only. Either that or it might possibly be the IMC doesnt want to play with this kit be it IC's or something else. i have a Gskill kit i will test later being dual channel only and i have my sammy 2x4gb kit in my 4790k. we will see, might mess around with it in the next night or two..

thanks donuts!

 

[PolRoger]

It is a shame that the hex cores never made it to the consumer side for cpu and were only xeon parts.

I believe the Gulftown processors... i7-970, i7-980 as well as the 980X, 990X (Extreme Edition) were released by Intel as consumer side (socket 1366) 6-core parts??

I can also run higher then DDR3-1333 memory speeds (~1600/1866/2000) with my 980X chip using triple channel 4GB sticks (Hynix, Samsung, Elpida ic)... The most common type kits back when 1366 was current tech was the 3x2GB double-sided (density) configuration.

 

[EarthDog]

I believe the Gulftown processors... i7-970, i7-980 as well as the 980X, 990X (Extreme Edition) were released by Intel as consumer side (socket 1366) 6-core parts??

I can also run higher then DDR3-1333 memory speeds (~1600/1866/2000) with my 980X chip using triple channel 4GB sticks (Hynix, Samsung, Elpida ic)... The most common type kits back when 1366 was current tech was the 3x2GB double-sided (density) configuration.

All of this... +1

 

[donuts]

Thank you gentlemen for expanding my education also.

 

[Evilsizer]

Yea iloiked up later hex cores on lga1366, i just wonder. If non-xeons do better with memory speeds, im confused why the 920 worked with the same ram in triple at ddr3 1600. Just thought of it but the gskill kit i have is 8gig dimms so i dont think they would work.

I gues i need to try to track down some ddr3 1600 in 4gig dimms. I know its just folding but feeding all the threads is using 4.5gb to a little over 5 atm. So i think finding just 2gb dimms in triple would be pushing it on ram size.

I am pretty set on getting the alphacool esienburg 120 wc kit

 

[donuts]

That may only be a stopgap (2 gb sticks), monitor it and see. My Windows hex core is using 4 gb, but 1 core is set aside to feed a gpu folding. Flip side, my 4790 on Ubuntu is using 5gb of 8 installed. (The hex core has 12gb installed) It may be the luck of the WU's...

 

[EarthDog]

Does memory speed matter when folding? It doesn't in most other cases.

RE: hex cores on 1366... remember, 1366 was the HEDT platform before x79/x99. The LGA 1156 (think p55) was mainstream.

 

[PolRoger]

I fired up this combo earlier today after seeing your thread... Running a 3X4GB kit of G.Skill Trident 2000C8 with stock Intel (tower) cooler.

 

[Evilsizer]

That may only be a stopgap (2 gb sticks), monitor it and see. My Windows hex core is using 4 gb, but 1 core is set aside to feed a gpu folding. Flip side, my 4790 on Ubuntu is using 5gb of 8 installed. (The hex core has 12gb installed) It may be the luck of the WU's...

hmm, well tbh im not sure, just looking at task manager when i just got home its using 5.7gb. i guess i should at the resource windows to see how much is actually being used vs reserved by windows it self. i also set the page file to be 4gb even though i really dont think i need it.

Does memory speed matter when folding? It doesn't in most other cases.

RE: hex cores on 1366... remember, 1366 was the HEDT platform before x79/x99. The LGA 1156 (think p55) was mainstream.

i thought it might but since i also want to push the cpu speed a bit, nothing crazy. would like to see 3.6ghz-3.8ghz, was 4.7ghz on water might have been for bench runs. though the listing for the x5660 with prime32m means lower cpu speed to pass that one, 1m is alot more forgiving or just shorter to run. i guess my thought has always been if cpu speed goes up to a point it could be held back by the ram speed. even when i ran the 920 stock speed with ddr3-1333 and then at ddr3-1600 (with the same sitcks the xeon refuses to boot up when the ram is at ddr3-1600) cinebench r11.5 and r15 show an increase in (is it raw cpu performance?) in the score. one shows a .02 point increase while the other is about 10-15 i forget at but it wasnt something to write home about. now even with the ram at DDR3-1333 the hex cores cause of 4 more threads got a much higher score in both cinebench. now i had the 920 at 3ghz while i ran the test agian at ddr3-1600 which is what i compared the hex core to, yea big jump, hex core was at 3ghz.

I fired up this combo earlier today after seeing your thread... Running a 3X4GB kit of G.Skill Trident 2000C8 with stock Intel (tower) cooler.
snip

those older sticks or newer ones? im running
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144
along with another single stick of the same model/speed/timings the label shows the same version on all three. i assume the version number denotes which ic's might be used but im not sure how to find out. To bad you didnt have the SPD tab open, i would have looked to see if i can find that kit.

make me wonder if the X980 might solve the problem but id rather not shell out 300+ for a cpu, LOL. which kind of leads me to wonder if its possibly my board(Asus RIIG)+xeon or just he xeon vs X970/X980 or even 970/980. something i wish i had more parts to test with, but i dont know anyone that would loan me a X970 or X980 to see if its the IMC difference vs the xeon or what. i know this is old parts and all but hey, i plan on keeping that first gen i7 for as long as i can keep it running.


*edit*
as a side note i bought my 2x4gb kit a few months back when it was closer to 60, man i should have waited. $39 for 8gb kit!!!


*edit 2*
im wondering if i should take a chance on a triple channel kit on newegg, $67is for 12gb@DDR3-1600. not sure how pics work on the site any more but this is the highest i have seen, just saw it.


*edit3*
now im starting to think the cpu may not like the DDR3-1600 ratio option in the bios. using the ddr3-1333 ratio then a little bump in the blck from 133 to 160 got me to DDR3-1600. though i still wonder why the ddr3-1600 ratio work when at stock bclk. well now just to slowly inch her up to 3.8ghz and see how temps do, still need to figure out a water cooler setup since the hsf is to large to fit.



*edit4*
ok so i couldnt sit no the floor any more, i took it up to 3.6ghz with 1.25v to the cpu. might be a little high on voltage atm but i will work it down, so note to self try different ratios. i guess i got use to the more everything works oc of the newer gear... Instead of the 2:10 ratio as in the pic above it is now using the 2:8 ratio since it is also running 200bclk with 18x ratio on the cpu. turned of bonic for the time being while orthos runs for a few hours. i do need to turn the fans up a touch, one of the cores is hitting 67c and its been barly 5mings since starting orthos. on the plus side in that short time that is the highest temp it has hit, we shall see what coretemp says the highest is/was a few hours from now. Man i never realized how much i miss this old way of ocing...

 

[PolRoger]

Those older sticks or newer ones?

They are older sticks... EOL back toward the end of socket 1366 heyday... The ic are some kind of Elpida. I also have some other 4GB Samsung and Hynix based sticks.





Check the version of your Corsair kit for ic codes here:

http://forum.corsair.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68811


Glad to see that you got it running at ~1600.

 

[Evilsizer]

sounds like your not ratio limited like i am, meaning if you ran the cpu at stock. then tried to just run the ram on stock bclk at 1600 ect.

*edit*
turned the fan speeds back up, asus board only allows increments of 10%, they were at 40% putting the speed around 1k now at 50% making it 1.15/1.2 it goes back and forth. temps on the hottest core in orthos dropped 3c from that fan speed increase, things looking good so far. i think im just going to leave it at 3.6ghz and add a water setup so i can get it in the N200 case.

*edit 2*
poll turns out they are version 5.21 so they are the Hynix-512Mx8 ic's.

 

[PolRoger]

sounds like your not ratio limited like i am, meaning if you ran the cpu at stock. then tried to just run the ram on stock bclk at 1600 ect.

*edit 2*
poll turns out they are version 5.21 so they are the Hynix-512Mx8 ic's.

My memory ratio(s) seem to be working... I did have some BSOD and needed to adjust/tweak qpi/vtt voltage for the IMC.

That kit has higher density ic... (4GB stick/single-sided?).

You most like would have greater compatibility running sticks with older ic... 2GB or 4GB sticks double-sided.

I had one DDR3 kit with the newer high density ic (2x8GB... sold it off) and just kept a few of the 2GB/4GB double-sided sticks.







** Edit**

I've now noticed something strange about the 2:14 dram ratio with this setup... The board only seems to boot/run with the x21 uncore (NB) multi (133.33 bclk x 21=2800MHz) for this ratio... Any higher uncore multi seem to result in a no boot/BIOS hang... Requiring a CMOS reset.

 

[Evilsizer]

interesting, other then changing the mutli and blck i never messed with setting other speeds. i left that to auto on the board, so i wonder if its kind of the same deal then. im not sure if the sticks are single sided since they have heatspreaders covering both sides. it does sound like they are single sided since i checked out newegg found this kit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233299
same speed/timings things seem to much up to be the 8gb sticks being the same ic's and double sided.

i wish there was a way to see a list of ram kits released back then so i can try to track down some 4gb sticks. though i cant complain about these since they are working at the speed i was after.

 

[PolRoger]

Kit on the left (top/bottom) 2x4GB 2666C11 single-sided Hynix MFR... Kit on the right (top/bottom) 2x4GB 2600C10 double-sided Samsung Rev. D (HCH9).


Look at the single-sided kit on the left top stick has a row of "SMD" along the bottom near the golden fingers while the bottom stick is bare...

Look at the double-sided kit on the right... Both sides of each stick has "SMD" on distributed evenly on the bottom of each side near the golden fingers...


Ebay or the classifieds would be the best place to find older double-sided kits from back then.

Back with Sandy Bridge people were still running 2x2GB kits or 4x2GB of which most were d/s while the 2x4GB kits were also d/s. Later with Ivy Bridge and Haswell... "IC" and kit density went up... And dram makers were offering 2x4GB kits some of which were d/s while others were s/s as well as the larger 2x8GB kit d/s. Now days most kits are either 2x4GB s/s or 2x8GB d/s.

 

[freeagent]

Before I got my x5690 I had a 970. For cpu overclocking it was a dog, doing 4200mhz with 1.5v or so. It clocked ram pretty well.. Took a 6gb set of adatas to 1250mhz. My Xeon clocks great! But it has a weak imc. It doesn't like to take ram too much over 1000mhz. I think i7 extreme could do both cpu and memory fairly well, tho not always..

 

[Evilsizer]

Yea but the xtremes still run in the 300's or i would have one lol. For 70 on the hex it is one bang for the buck imo to bring new life into old hw.

 

[freeagent]

That's crazy.. I agree 100%, I have been using mine for about 5 years or so.. It's ancient, but it is smooth, and still has some juice. I recently decided to try out windows 10, and it tears through it with ease still. X58 has been good to me.. But I will probably retire it soon, and it will sit beside my rampage formula x48 and Xeon quad