Hi all,

I'm a bit new here, but I'm wondering if I could get some advice on how to best handle a cooling issue. My new Opteron 170 runs great at 10x272, but won't budge past that no matter what volts I give it or tweaking I do, and believe me, I've done a lot. From my experiences with Prime95, I determined a little while ago that Core 1 was slightly weaker than Core 2. Core 1 would always be the one to crash during marathon Prime95 sessions. But now I'm running the new CoreTemp software, and it's telling me that Core 1 is running at 48C under load while Core 2 is running at 38C (yes, I checked to make sure both Cores are being stressed). I'm using a XP-120 with AS5 in a well ventilated case, so I'm concerned that perhaps the thermal paste under the IHS is not making good contact with Core 1. So, do you think it's wise to follow the (excellent) instruction guide from Angry about how to remove the IHS to make sure both cores are making proper contact and have enough thermal paste on them. If nothing else, I can clean the cores off and apply some AS5. Also, if I do remove the IHS, do I reattach it afterwards? Thanks for any help.

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DFI Lanparty NF4 SLI-DR (04/06/2006 bios)
AMD Opteron 170 @ 10x272 = 2720mhz w/ XP-120
2gb G.Skill PC4000 @ 272mhz @ 3-4-3-8-1T
eVGA Geforce 7800GT @ 485mhz/1.24ghz
WD Raptor 74gb / WD 250gb SATA / WD 300gb PATA
Pioneer 16x DVD-R/RW
Antec NeoPower 480 PSU
WinXP Pro SP2 / Windows Vista RC2 5744

hmm. think of the effects of removing the ihs

advantage
maybe better oc
cooler

disadvantage
more fragile
no warranty


so do you think you can recover finacially if you remove the ihs and if you mess it up?
maybe its your psu thats holding ya back.

PSU? maybe. You could try running you VC @ stock/default speed and then see if your 170 will clock higher. PSU may not have what it takes to handle both CPU and VC OPC'd.

That is a normal temperature difference for DC processors. Check the following thread.

"Core Temp" - New way to monitor temps on K8s and Core/2 CPUs

Screenshot of my normal core temperature readings.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Yes, it seems the consensus is that my PSU is holding me back. it looks like people like the OCZ GamerXtreme 700W series, is that correct? If so, I'll pony up and get one.

I am still concerned about the heat coming from the Opteron, though, so I'm going to reapply the AS5 after work today and see if that helps matters at all.

Also, this isn't a cooling issue, but from what I'm reading the Opteron 165's with the CCBBE stepping overclock very well (3.0ghz often times) with FSB's well above 300mhz. Do you think it's a wise move to sell my Opteron 170 and get one of the CCBBE 165's instead? Thanks again.

Ok, so I cleaned my CPU and XP-120, reapplied the AS5, and low and behold the temps dropped quite a bit. Here's a before and after:

Before (load):
Core 1: 48C
Core 2: 38C

After (load):
Core 1: 37C
Core 2: 29C

I also followed your suggestions and grabbed an OCZ GameXtreme 700W series for $100 after rebate from Monarch. We'll see if this thing can provide the uninterrupted power I need to hit the magical 3.00ghz. Right now my system doesn't want to do a FSB over 310 unless I lower the multi to 6.0. I feel like I should be able to get 300mhz FSB out of an Opteron 170 at the very least, if not 320-340mhz.

This all sound reasonable?

I had a similar experience with my opty 170. 270x10 was a breeze, 275x10 could be done with a bunch more volts, anything beyond 275x10 I was unable to get stable. Popped the lid to see if that helped, it did drop the temps by a couple deg C, but didn't help at all with getting anything over 275x10 stable.

I have recently upgraded to watercooling & this was the magic ticket. Got 280x10 stable in no time & went after 290x10 & got that stable. Soon I am going to try to go for 300x10, but I doubt I will run it everday like that, I just want an OCDB entry @ 3GHz.

I am curious what stepping you have. It looks like you may have a shot to hit 3GHz since you are running 270x10 at .5 volts below stock. For me to get the same speed stable I had to overvolt by .75 (1.425v).

Hrmm, I'm not encouraged to hear of your similar experiences. Don't get me wrong a dual-core 2.7ghz Opteron is a great. But it seems like I'm coming up short compared to the Opteron's that have a 60mhz higher FSB and a 300mhz advantage per core.

My steppings are CCB1E, which I believe should go higher than what I'm getting. If I can sell my Opteron, I'll pick up one of the 165's on Newegg. Also waiting for the OCZ GameXtreme 700W series PSU to arrive. I do have 3 HD's (including a Raptor), a beefy GPU (7800GT), and 7 fans inside the case, so I don't know why it didn't occur earlier to me to opt for a higher end PSU.

Any other suggestions?

The FSB doesn't matter with the 165, almost everyone that runs theirs up around 3 GHz has to use a RAM divider. Besides, if you really want to, you can lower the multiplier to 9 and have a CPU that acts like a 165 . Considering yours is a CCB1E, I would think it would have gone a bit higher. Hopefully it will with that new PSU .

I am hoping the new PSU is a difference maker, but turning down the multiplier to 9 and raising the FSB has not given me a lot of success. The system will only do 282mhz LDT/FSB (RAM at 9:10 divider) with a 9x multiplier, and that only gives me 2.54ghz per core, which is almost 200mhz less than running it at 10x272 = 2.72ghz. Why would my chip be so against a higher internal LDT/FSB?