skunkx1 Posted October 26, 2006 Hey everyone... Last night I switched out my old Venice 3000+ (939) @ 2.4ghz for an Opteron 165. Before I removed it I reset the BIOS. I tried to boot back up but had some stability issues. At this point I installed the Opty 165 and again had some stability issues. I relaxed my memory timing (to 3-4-4-8) and was finally able to boot. Stability remained an issue though (but just vs-2005 debug errors). Looking through some settings in CPU Z, Sandra, Everest I noticed it claimed the vcore was at 1.32 when I had it manually set in the BIOS to 1.350. I bumped up the vcore in the BIOS to 1.375, rebooted and now Everest says it's voltage is 1.344. My question is... what is wrong? What voltage reading is most reliable? My PSU is pretty decent... Is it normal for voltages set in the BIOS to be so off? Or is reading through Everst less accurate? If there is an issue with mobo or PSU, how can I fix? thanks, ~J Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebdoradz Posted October 26, 2006 what steeping is that opty 165??? cuz opty dont like high voltage, at least mine dont i can get it to post, boot windows and prime for 12hres @ 312*9 @ 1.3v set in bios, bios read about 1.28V 1.32 for opty is Ok, since those usualy required 1.3-1.35V to work properly Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skunkx1 Posted October 26, 2006 Well, I'm kind of new to overclocking (and now i feel like a moron). I thought I would be able to tell the stepping through CPU-z because it has those fields. Only after I installed it did I realize that the only way to find your stepping was to read it physically on the outside... All I know is that it's a 4 day old shipment from New Egg, and everyone seems to be getting good stepping there lately... I haven't bumped up speeds yet... I shouldn't be having stability problems at 1.8ghz I should hope... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tasr Posted October 26, 2006 Skunkx1 Welcome to DFI-Street Don’t worry about it, just read the threads you’ll get the hang of it This is a great Opteron support thread. Socket 939 - Unofficial Opteron 939. You will get a lot of answers here. May I also suggest some light reading; The Definitive DFI AMD Overclocking Guide. Even if you’re not planning to overclocking. It is filled with all kinds of info about your BIOS settings. Understanding those settings will take you a lot farther with your rig. It may seem overwhelming at first but it’s not that bad. Take your time, be patient and asking questions. Keep reading the posts and have fun. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skunkx1 Posted October 26, 2006 Thank you very much for your links, I'm giving them a read right now... question: which voltage reading is the most accurate... the BIOS readings / settings, or the reading provided by using some program in windows (i.e. sandra, cpu-z, etc...)? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skunkx1 Posted October 26, 2006 Also, should I remove my heat sink and redo installation just to find out my stepping? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebdoradz Posted October 26, 2006 Also, should I remove my heat sink and redo installation just to find out my stepping? i personaly wouldnt do it, unless you wanna see your steeping, and see if those OC well, i could give you an idea, on how high you can push that puppy:dog: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Retratserif Posted October 26, 2006 The stepping is on the IHS "Intergrated Heat Sink, basically the flat silver side with the cpu info on it" of the chip. Thats the only real way to know what it says it is. Something software reads you something different than whats on the IHS. This is normaly when a CPU was supposed to be one thing but didnt pass the tests so it was bumbed down untill it passed the tests and locked at those settings. Like my 3700+ is actually a Toledo that had one core disabled. So it doesnt clock so high or so stable. Its not bad and it runs completely fine under the refernce speeds it was sold at, so I cannot do much about it. Good luck with your 165. I will get one and put it in this rig before this one moves to the hand-me-down tree. I am just waiting for the DFI-Conroe boards to get to 2nd Rev/Gen. Untill then, this is still good for every game out there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tasr Posted October 26, 2006 Stay with what the BIOS is reading as far as volts go. The most accurate is a digital multi-meter (DMM) but skill and knowing where to test is essential. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skunkx1 Posted October 26, 2006 I've been looking at some posts here: http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52398 they all seem to be be placing the voltages anywhere from 1.45 - 1.61:eek2: so you don't think 1.35 (or what CPU-Z calls 1.32) is a little low? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iamkoza Posted October 26, 2006 I've been looking at some posts here: http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52398 they all seem to be be placing the voltages anywhere from 1.45 - 1.61:eek2: so you don't think 1.35 (or what CPU-Z calls 1.32) is a little low? If it's stable, its stable, you should be happy you dont need to give it 1.4+ volts!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites