The Official PC building thread -3rd Edition

Robert I bet there's plenty of mobo's that support the cpu... especially with a BIOS update..

 

The AMD thuban cpus were a major disappointment to me if I was seeing straight and the benchmarks I looked at this morning we accurate. Doing a rough price calculation there is almost no reason to get one over an i7 930 with the exception being few tasks and power consumption. I was hoping, maybe foolishly, that they would dethrone intel and bring competition back to the market but that didn't happen

 

Given that i7s are almost 50% faster per clock, 4 cores versus 6, it's a fair fight

 

This is about all that I can get out of it at 3.8GHz, 2400MHz NB, 2400 HT. Here's the CPU



Memory speed. Why CPUZ reports the timings as 5-5-5-18 instead of 5-5-5-15, I don't know, but it's set manually to 5-5-5-15 at 1066MHz in the bios setup



CPU math



Memory Bandwidth



Multi Media



SuperPi 1M. Just tweaking the NB and HT Link Frequencies to 2400 gives me a Hyper Transport speed of 4800MHz, and improved the SuperPi 1M to a hair over 18s. The difference between Oman7's benches and mine is so close that you're talking about minor variences in the two CPUs.



I've already posted the temps, and I'm pretty happy with the all around result. I'm going to get the better Noctua 4-Piper to replace the Freezer 64, which, given the sterling performance of the Freezer 64 should eliminate any temperature issues. I have 83cfm in the front, 40cfm in the side for a total air intake of 123cfm. There's about 93CFM of exhaust. The rear fan over-speeds because of the air pressure difference, to about 1360rpm, and everything stays cool. I have to say that judging by these results, positive pressure works better than negative pressure. Given the size and shape of the Noctua, and how close it is to the Freezer 64, it should not have any cooling problems at all. While I could lower the CPU multiplier and increase the CPU Host Frequency and marginally improve the performance, until a bios flash is released that will let the computer recognize PC2-8500, it's not worth the effort or the risk to the parts.

It's fast, runs cool, quiet, and stable as a rock. I wanted 3.8GHz, and I'm getting very good results at that speed. I have no desire at all, to see how much more it can do! I don't care! I got a very good CPU this time, and I have no interest in possibly blowing it up! I don't have to please anyone but myself, and I'm very happy and thankful for what I have to show for my efforts, and I had a lot of fun doing it! What more could I ask for!

Clock On,
Russ

 

Exactly the same for me. I haven't even bothered clocking my i5 to its limit. I simply chose something that satisfied me for performance and have left it at that. Knowing that even 10% less will be tricky, I see no point in spending so much time over it.
Quite impressed with how cool your 955 runs at that voltage, that's about 160W of CPU power running through a Freezer 64 at a little below max (rated) fan speed.

 

Sam,
I couldn't agree more. My overclock is right about 20%, so it should draw roughly about 150w maximum. I expected good results with the Freezer 64, and the thermal performance I got was better than good. I'm still buying the Noctua, but I'm betting right now that I won't need the second fan at all. AMD has changed the specs for the CPU voltage to 1.325-1.50v, but says that a maximum of 1.55v is safe for it. It runs the way I want it to run, and does the things I expected it do at 3.8GHz, and more. I'm more than happy with it!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

At stock 1.25V and running at 1.44V, with a stock TDP of 120W (the 955C3 tends to come in a little under the 125 rating), squaring the increase in Vcore gives 160 - not sure how accurate that is.

 

Wow, that is one bad mama jamma!

 

Good Lawdy Creaky... you trying to get Sammy and Shaaf started on their dang fan expertise again?? lol.

Nice to know that the Delta is a variable fan... makes it reasonable to be close to ye computer.

 

that russ not me lol. i cant stand the fan tlak. bores the crap out of me lol

 

Yeh I know... I was messing about... but Sammy on the other hand LOVES them fans...

 

I find fan talk interesting when i'm in the right mood, and have money. My next effort will be putting quad 120mm fans on the HAF932 side panel. THAT will help the whole system no doubt. And when I get crossfire setup, it'll no doubt benefit from it

 

Shaff,
Nope, not me! I'm an airflow specialist! ROFLMSOAO

Russ

 

Full of HOT AIR maybe!!!

 

I rather doubt that after looking at my temps! No room for hot air here! LOL!!

Russ

 

It's NOT coming from your computer Russ... hehehehe.

ddp knows what I'm talking about.

 

Didn't say it was! You know what I'm talking about too GM! HaHaHaHa :0)

 

You want Hot Air, well this is Hot Air!

Hi Russ,

This is Christian with Microsoft Windows Technical Support.

It was my pleasure to work with you on your Windows service request 1130656920. I hope that you were happy with the service provided to you.

Based on our last conversation it appears that this service request is resolved and ready to be archived. If this is not correct or if you are not happy with the support we've provided please let us know as soon as possible. My goal is to ensure that your experience with Microsoft Windows Technical Support leaves you pleased with our products and services.

Here is a summary of the key points of the service request for your records:

ACTION :Russell, you tried to access windows live messenger
RESULT :However, you are getting error code: 80040154
CAUSE :It is possible corrupt system files
RESOLUTION :We tried to uninstall and reinstall windows live messenger successfully but still ended up with same problem. Advised you to reinstall the operating system

If you have any feedback regarding Microsoft support, we would be glad to hear from you. If you would feel more comfortable speaking with someone else regarding my service, Somesh, my manager, would be very happy to hear your comments and suggestions. You may reach my manager by sending an email to v-6somg@mssupport.microsoft.com

Thank you for contacting Microsoft Windows Technical Support.

Sincerely,

Christian
v-6chba@mssales.microsoft.com
Work Hours in 12:30-9:30 PM PST

*When replying please include your service request number, name, email address and phone number. Thank you.*

Now "That's" a lot of hot air! The tech spent a couple of hours checking out my computer, replacing files and everything. I watched him do it right on my screen. "Corrupt files" means he's making his boss happy. He clearly was getting frustrated by his inability to help me. I let him off the hook when I agreed to re-install the OS!

Here's what started it all!

Windows "forced" SP3 on me. It gave me a balloon at the bottom telling me I had until Feb 14th to upgrade to SP3. I clicked the box telling them not to ask again, and clicked OK. Everything was fine! When I shut down for the night, it installed SP3. Now my WLM won't sign in, and Micro$oft can't fix it! It took over 5 minutes, just for the computer to post when I turned it back on, after the Update. So nice of M$ to warn you! Thankfully I was making a pot of coffee at the time, so while I was making up my mind what to do about the black screen, it posted! I just did a fresh install of XP-Pro, within the past week too! Looks like I get to do it all over again!

Thanks micro$oft,
Russ