kberguy1 Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 Yea, If he's considering removing the IHS and lapping it, he might as well just leave the IHS off. It'll be like reverting to the AthlonXP/THunderbird days - just gotta be careful applying the heatsink The problem I am having is that I don't understand what is holding this CPU back, so I am brainstorming (going out of my mind?) to try to resolve the issue. The CPU seems very efficient, with 2650 MHz being available at stock voltages, and temperatures SEEM pretty reasonable (flashes between 40-41C running Dual Prime 95 after 12 hr), but I have seen numerous other people with significantly better overclocks with 24 hr Prime 95 stability under much larger voltages/higher temperatures. I understand that the motherboard temps can be off a bit, and that I might be having a heat issue, so I am looking at any reasonable thing to reduce temperatures. I thought the Zalman CNPS9500 was the top heatsink, but research has now led me to the Thermalright XP90C. I special ordered a Thermalright XP90C heatsink and will combine this with a 92 mm Vantec Tornado fan in the hope that my load temperatures will drop down 4-5 C (or lower). My thoughts on lapping are just an extension of my attempt to lower the temperates a bit. What I was thinking of doing was lapping the heatsink and IHS mating surfaces to ensure they are both flat. I will now limit my lapping to the heatsink, but will only do so if it has visible machining marks on it. Unfortunately, there is no way to know if these efforts will improve my overclocking levels until I try them, because I don't know whether my issue is even temperature related or if I just have a bad CPU (voltage wise). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
red930 Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 The problem I am having is that I don't understand what is holding this CPU back, so I am brainstorming (going out of my mind?) to try to resolve the issue. The CPU seems very efficient, with 2650 MHz being available at stock voltages, and temperatures SEEM pretty reasonable (flashes between 40-41C running Dual Prime 95 after 12 hr) 40-41C at stock voltage? That seems a little on the high side to me, though its still pretty cool here....I've got one running upstairs at 1.65 volts on a 9500 with temps in the low 30's. You sure you have adequate airflow into/out of your case? And that the heatsink is making good contact? Also remember you only need a medium-sized drop of AS5 on there too, too much can increase temps actually. As for your new heatsink...personally I'd pop the top off and keep the Zalman. As for the lapping, don't sand it until your arm falls of, it completely unnecessary to make it shine like a mirror. Just get it flat and you'll be fine. Technically a rougher surface (but still flat overall) would be best because you increase the surface area, which means more area for heat to be distributed to. But anyways, just get a dull sheen and let it go. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kberguy1 Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 40-41C at stock voltage? That seems a little on the high side to me, though its still pretty cool here....I've got one running upstairs at 1.65 volts on a 9500 with temps in the low 30's. You sure you have adequate airflow into/out of your case? And that the heatsink is making good contact? Also remember you only need a medium-sized drop of AS5 on there too, too much can increase temps actually. As for your new heatsink...personally I'd pop the top off and keep the Zalman. As for the lapping, don't sand it until your arm falls of, it completely unnecessary to make it shine like a mirror. Just get it flat and you'll be fine. Technically a rougher surface (but still flat overall) would be best because you increase the surface area, which means more area for heat to be distributed to. But anyways, just get a dull sheen and let it go. Airflow in this case is very good, with two 92 mm fans drawing cool air across the motherboard, and two 120 mm fans blowing air out the top of the case + two more 120 mm fans blowing air across the hard drives at the bottom of the case. I remounted my CPU and heatsink a few weeks ago, as the guy at the computer store who did it for free screwed it up. I put no more than a BB sized drop of Arctic Silver AS5 on the IHS, and used a disposable glove to dab it aroung evenly. When I was done, I could still read parts of the model number, etc, but the whole IHS had a thin coating. After remounting, my temps under load dropped by 11 C! I will try the new Thermalright heatsink and see how it works. I special ordered it in, so am committed, but will hold on to the Zalman as well. I will ultimately be removing the IHS anyway (once I get my water cooling system ordered up), so this is a viable option for me. What do you think the removal of the IHS would do for my performance? Running cooler temperatures is great, but if I cannot also raise voltage and/or increase the FSB I need to look for a better CPU. My goal for this CPU is 2800 MHz, given that I am knocking on 2700 MHz right now, it SHOULd be achievable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benamin Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 I havn't had a lot of time with my Opty yet, but, My son was playing BF2 last night and I Kept task manager open just to see what was going on. When I Alt tabbed over I noticed that Both cores had been running between 50%-60% load. So My question is, Isn't BF2 a single threaded game? and if so, why the load balancing? He froze twice yesterday (4hrs. of playing) which is why I am asking although I suspect the issue was with the online server he was connected to. Just checking. Thanks for Input. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROcHE Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 BF2 needs to be set to use one core only. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorrento Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 With the AMD64 driver I haven't had any problems with BF2, and I haven't adjusted the afinity yet. This other forum thread explains a lot about it: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=983781 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
day187 Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 With the AMD64 driver I haven't had any problems with BF2, and I haven't adjusted the afinity yet I’ve never had no problems with bf2 only with my crucial Ballistix. I have the AMD patch installed and i personally can not tell any difference. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benamin Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 With the AMD64 driver I haven't had any problems with BF2, and I haven't adjusted the afinity yet. This other forum thread explains a lot about it: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=983781 BF2 seems to run fine. Great frame rate etc. other than those two freezes. I was just suprised that it wasn't running on one core. And yes I have the amd driver as well as the ms hotfix. Thanks, Benamin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorrento Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 The MS Hotfix made BF2 bad in my system, I had to disable it thru the registry mod... and that way it was all good again. I also tried the game with out the /usepmtimer instruction at boot.ini, and again BF2 was bad. I guess the AMD64 driver alone is the best way to run BF2, hofix might fix other games but it really hurts BF2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benamin Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 The MS Hotfix made BF2 bad in my system, I had to disable it thru the registry mod... and that way it was all good again. I also tried the game with out the /usepmtimer instruction at boot.ini, and again BF2 was bad. I guess the AMD64 driver alone is the best way to run BF2, hofix might fix other games but it really hurts BF2. Well I just heard from my kid as he is home all day on spring break. He played again for 4 hrs today without any problems ( ah to be kid with nuttin to do!). The only change I made last night was reduce my OC to 10x240 1:1. If you read my sig, I havn't had time to test yet and I guess it wasn't 100% stable. So all is good and BF2 is balancing across both cores at 50% or so. I like that, room to spare! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianmknight Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 Hello, I was just re reading the OC guide again and it mention to set the CPU multi to 9.5, now I thought that these x.5 speeds don't work. So anyone know if they work in Opterons. Many thanks in advance IMK Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazin-asian Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 quick! gonna upgrade to dual core, should i get a: 165 CCB1E 0606VPMW or 170 CCBWE 0550UPMW i actually read ALL 48 pages of this thread and im TORN between the 2. thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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