Please help w/new graphics card & system build

(401) Re: Please help with new graphics card

Thanks Lucas! Glad to see your still here.
I think the vague manuals lead to all the questions LOL. Seriously, the experience is very rewarding and a lot of fun. I'm not quite done yet and the rest of the parts will be here next week. So far, I think the hardest parts are the BIOS settings and the wiring.

I think the smaller Xigmatec will work fine for my needs. It should be a little easier to install and it won't be as heavy. If need be, I can replace the stock fan and/or add another in a push pull configuration. It should perform well if and when I decide to seek 3GHz. My apartment is cool and I use the air conditioner which is in the same room to keep ambient below 75F/25C.

I don't think I'm going to mess with the RAID right now. I was thinking about it maybe later in a business situation. I'm sorta of amazed already of how fast things load right now. I'm also thinking of bumping my speed up to 2.66GHz which would match the Q6700 which is $100 more I'll know a little more by next week as most of the parts except for the HSF will be here Monday.

I have a question for you. What are your feelings about the front upper chamber fans? I only have the one extra fan so would it serve me best behind the filter or in the "GPU" cooling position? I'm sorta thinking leaving it up front and running the upper, back and front fans on medium.

 

(402) Re: Please help with new graphics card

Innerpeace,

Think you could quite safely take it up to 2.66 with the current setup-the stock fan probably could go even higher,possibly 2.8-3ghz,but better wait for the X.

If you have a spare fan,by all means mount it as an internal on the upperHDD cage,to cool the GPu a bit.
Actually it certainly doesnt hurt to add the other internal one any time-if its set at medium and a quiet fan,shouldnt be audibly noticed at all.
So you would end up with one fan in front of the upper HDD cage and one fan behind,is that right?

Wouldnt run any of the fans at less than medium-in my experience the temps do suffer otherwise-even if low is a lot quieter.
keep up the good work

 

(403) Re: Please help with new graphics card

Sorry for the late reply, I'm still helping a relative move. I agree about the speed bump, I just don't want to increase the cpu voltage. It already appears that I have a high VID. Maybe I can try 3.0 again before and after installing the X.

No, I was trying to decide between the two front positions. I would have a top, rear and either/or for the front. That would be a total of 3 fans in the upper chamber.

I think medium will be good and chilly and thanks for the encouragement .

I can't remember what NB you have but Xigmatek makes a cooler with a 8mm HDT(Heat-pipe Direct Touch) pipe. Strap a fan on it and it looks like it would do well. http://www.xigmatek.com/product/air-portern881.php I have no idea how it performs.

 

(404) Re: Please help with new graphics card

It doesn't seem far behind the larger XIGA S1283 in regard to temps. The larger model would of cleared the RAM slots. I'm sure of it, all big coolers have enough clearance. The fans are not great quality so if it noisy just get a Sharkoon or Scythe fan . It already sounds fast enough for your needs. The screenshot looks good. I wouldn't be concerned with that VID as it proven from lots of results, high or low can still get high overclock.

I was thinking you have power management, possible Speedstep, C1E and Eist enabled in the BIOS and the fan is spinning slower at that time giving you higher temps. Is the heatsink fan connected to the board or the PSU?

 

(405) Re: Please help with new graphics card

Hello markymoo and thanks for your reply. I'm not sure if I can mount the HSF vertically or horizontally or if it's even possible. Actually, I'm not sure which would prove more efficient as my case has fans in either direction blowing outward. If the X fan is too loud or inefficient, I will definitely have a look at the Sharkoon and Scythe fans. I'm also looking into the mounting kit for the HDT-SD964 I ordered.

Good to hear about the VID . I've seen much emphasis about it in a couple of the hardware forums that I've been lurking. Also, what is the best way to mount the HSF's if using the push-pins? I know I didn't do a good job of mounting the stock one by doing it on my bed as the MB warped some. What type of surface is best and doesn't invite static electricity? I still have the bag the MB came in and the 1/8" thick foam pad that it was sitting on. I want to use a mounting kit but if I can't I need advice for the push-pin method.

Regards,
innerpeace

 

(406) Re: Please help with new graphics card

Hello innerpeace , is it warming up there yet? I don't mean your pc but location. - laughs.

I seen several Q6600 overclocking databases and users with low VID haven't got past 3.4 in certain cases This maybe another issue. A higher VID does have some relevence on needing more volts. If you overclocking on the low side you don't have to increase volts hugely so it not an issue. I have a VID of 1.3 which could be considered on the high side. I still got to 3.8 using 1.5v. Most other users who have low VID and overclocked high have still needed 1.5V or more. You still need alot volts to go high, low VID or not. Once past 3.8 it needs far more volts not in proportion to the speed increase. Your VID of 1.325 is the stock voltage what Intel tests to be stable. Your BIOS is reporting 1.296v and it's still stable. I am quite sure it is possible to lower the voltage (underclock) of your default voltage down alittle and it would still remain 101% stable. If you not overclocking high which is what i assumed from what you said it wont become an issue. I wouldn't be bothered with .2 volts higher difference. You probably still be able to run it at 3.4 with the new cooler say and keep the volts under 1.4. Getting to 3Ghz won't need alot more volts as you already done it on default lol. It seems later batch releases of G0 have higher VID. Low VIDS are rare. You got to be concerned about the heat first.

The best surface is a flat surface and non static, non metal. I would not use the foam or bubble wrap unless it pink meaning anti-static. The Intel heatsink needs abit pressure to lock the push pins and so bed is the last place to do it. You lucky you didn't crack any tracks. The mb is usually now 6 layer pcb so theres more tracks running through the board than are visible. The carpet is a bad idea as it can still contain tiny metal filings that can kill the board. Placing the anti static bag on top of the sturdy motherboard box and then placing the motherboard board on top of that or just hold the motherboard from underneath with one hand and hold the heatsink and push down the pins with the other hand. Warped motherboards and graphic cards can work fine but it's not the recommended way . To reduce anti static, touch the taps in your kitchen or metal radiator, turn down the heating, open the window and don't rub your hands together. Buying a anti static wrist strap is overkill.

I detest those push pins. They cheap, can go funny and break so be careful on your new cooler. I am curious, if they used alll copper bottom instead of some of it aluminium then how better temps over the TR Ultra but maybe can't expect that for the money.

EDIT: The fans i was particularly recommending was the Sharkoon Golfball 2000 and the Scythe S-Flex F 1600RPM. There a few others that are good. Best results is to attach 2 fans not one so they pulling and pushing the air towards the fan at the back. If you using one fan then have it pulling the air off the heatsink towards the back fan.

 

(407) Re: Please help with new graphics card

Hi markymoo, yes it is finally warming up here. Today was a beautiful day with a high of 69F/20C and a low last night of 35F/2C. I trust it's warming up in England as well?

Today I installed the new SATA dvd burner and re-arranged a few things. I also installed the new right-angled SATA cables (Thanks Hairy Coo). The AS5 arrived today and the HSF will arrive tomorrow. I'm not sure when I will install the HSF. I may wait and see if everything is running smoothly before installing it. I may go ahead and install the new XP home license tomorrow. I installed a game today and ran it for a while and core temp showed 54C on one of the cores during the game. Is there something in Core Temp that I need to set to get correct reading for the Q6600? I may try Prime95 tomorrow and see what I max out at.

Thanks for the info on the VID and overclocking. From what you have wrote and what I have briefly read the Q6600 takes a good bit of effort to get a high OC. While I'm not looking for a high OC, it would be nice for a decent bump without raising the CPU voltage. You also mentioned the heat/temps and I agree they should come first.

While that is very funny, I'm seriously hoping to get 3.0 stable without a voltage increase.

The tips you gave for the HSF install are good and I will follow them when installing the new Xiga. I did eventually pick up the MB when I installed the stock intel HSF and push the pins in while supporting the back of the MB with my other hand. I still get sick thinking about the MB bending when trying it on the bed . I just hope it wasn't an expensive lesson <crosses fingers and toes>.

I don't really like them either. I emailed Xiga about the mounting kit but didn't hear from them today. I think either way, it would be best to install the HSF with the MB outside the case but it is a huge pain rebuilding everything. I'm not sure about the entire base being copper. It's a neat idea though and I wouldn't think it would cost that much more.

 

(40 Re: Please help with new graphics card

markymoo,

Well,I decided to lap the Ultra and the CPU and at the same time also hunted around for a new mobo,seeing you had said such good things about the P35 chip.
That Ultra is a real problem to lap,as its convex-ie had a definite evenly shaped bulge in the centre,which was quite obvious when checked with a steel straight edge ruler.Never quite got rid of it,but its better.
Apparently they are all like that,which doesnt seem to affect their performance,based on the theory that the dual core CPUs hot spot is right at that contact point.
The CPU of course was simple to lap.

Wanted a DFI,but not available,so settled on a Gigabyte -EP35-DS3-which has less features than my old DS4 mobo,but all I could ever need.
No SilentPipe,but a nice large finned NB cooler.
Easier to work with than the other monster.The DES is supposed to help keep things runnning cooler-not worried about the energy thing.Wasnt looking for that DES,but the regular non EP werent available.
Have only got it working-no overclock figures yet..

Found out one of the reasons for the previous overheating-a cable to a front fan had disconnected!
Have now mounted the Ultra horizontally-ATM the CPU temp is 19c!
The push from the fan behind the cooler plus the pull from the top exhaust fan seems to work well!

Of course ,after installing a new mobo-which I guess would be the same as a new computer as far as Windows is concerned,usually there are major problems booting into the C drive.
Using ShadowProtectRecovery Disk-I was quite amazed how easy it was with Hardware Independent Restore-it takes about a minute after asking which drive you want restored and then you are back into it! Fantastic software
All drivers however do need reinstalling!

That Thermalright is starting to annoy me- those ghastly spring devices that hold the fan on-they always fall off,catch,get lost etc etc
Surely there must be a simple way to design a better system

Innerpeace,

Wow-youve almost finished!

Its always a problem installing a cooler like the Xiga or my Ultra which needs a lot of downward force on the mobo(and CPU,sometimes I wonder if the CPU pins could get bent).
I used a soft large book,a World Atlas,as big as the mobo and worked on that as a base,for pushing down the pins.
Would strongly suggest that you consider mounting the X sideways,east to west,so the fan behind the X is blowing up to the top exhaust fan-seems to have a compounding effect.
I just did this and my temp as we speak is 18c,around ambient.

PS if you are able to mount the Xiga without taking out the mobo-do it.
I did just that once with the Ultra-was a screaming maniac at the end ,but just a matter of patience in trying to align up the holes which are never in the right position.
However I think you will find you have to insert a special x shaped recieving piece for the pins behind the mobo,which of course means taking it out again.

 

(409) Re: Please help with new graphics card

Hi, I did a little stress testing today on the new machine with the stock cooler to get an idea of the temps. All readings were made with Core Temp and all 3 fans (front, top, rear) were on medium. Ambient temp was about 22C. At idle, I'm seeing 37, 36, 31, 35. I ran Prime95 Stress testing and choose Blend and Round Off Checking. I ran it for 1hr and 7min. with 0 errors and 0 warnings. The highest temps I saw were 63, 63, 58, 60 with the front door open. When I shut the front door temps increased to 65 on the first 2 cores.

Good to hear you got another MB and your temps are fantastic! I do want to mount the HSF so it's blowing upwards towards the top fan. Especially now after hearing you great results.

I may try mounting the Xiga with the push-pins for awhile and see how it goes. For now I'll run the stock fan, but I'm not happy with the temps it is giving me. The Xiga did arrive today, but I need to re-send an email to their company because I haven't heard back from them about the mounting kit. I'm going to try and get the new machine online tonight so I will be back later.

 

(410) Re: Please help with new graphics card

You really went for it. Wow you have been busy. It sure sounds like the lapping paid off. You wouldn't expect a problem machined lapped from TR. I like to use a razor for the straight edge. I thought you was just going to try the lapping and cooling the NB first and hold off to see. You got the top DS3 that's good and comes with RAID. I don't know much on that board but will do the job. Yes, the energy saving is gimmicky. I had less features on my new board also. Looking for your board i spotted the DS4 is £5 pounds more. Thanks for sharing. I don't have much to comment on right now about that particular board but see what it's potential is later. Keep us informed.

This is the board right?
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2742

On getting a luxury item like a new motherboard i would always treat it to a new operating system. You and It deserve it! It will be faster lighter for a few reasons.

I spent alot time on Universal Restore. I still have the old bookmarks. I started here

http://adminbromo.blogspot.com/2006/10/universal-ghost-image-guide.html
http://koti.mbnet.fi/olljanat/guides/generic_wds_image_from_xp.php
http://www.leinss.com/uniimg.html
http://www.leinss.com/twohals.htm

until i arrived here
http://www.leinss.com/blog/?p=125

I remember reading comments from Microsoft technical staff that it wasn't enough but it worked for me ok.

Big Bang have a Universal Image Utility. They were the original inventors of Ghost.
http://www.uiu4you.com/uiu_description.html

It can be stressing if it doesn't go as planned. You see popular models that sell as hotcakes but you see flaws that could be better and not good as the reviews make out to be and some is hype. Thermalright are good quality design to what's out there but perfection no. The clips have a habit of not behaving when you need to adjust them. I have bent mine to keep it fixed on certain fans that are not friendly. You sound like you hard some strife. Well done with it all.

If i can ask a daft question did you find this out before buying the new board? 19C sounds unreal. I have seen results no lower than 28C for Ultra anything below that is on water. I wonder what your temps were with the lapping and the fan disconnected so it equal conditions. Did you check your temps before you lapped with the fan connected?

I know what you mean about fitting a bigger cooler. It's a balancing act and alot of patience and restraint. I used a X backplate behind the motherboard for a certain cooler. The weight of the 3lb cooler pulled the solder pins on the back of the motherboard through the foam cushion of the backplate to the metal and shorted out the motherboard so i ordered a new board and it did the same thing over again. 3rd motherboard i realised what was happening which wasn't obvious at the time. I just thought it bad motherboards as everything seemed perfect. The solder pins are longer and sharper on Asus boards and spotted the tiny pricks in the foam backplate. I told the cooler company and they reinforced all there backplates so this wouldn't happen again and they sent me a new cooler. Later on i dispensed with the backplate all together (If i had done this at beginning... but cooler was so heavy.) and used restraining straps to off load the weight of the cooler on the case. I advise on using the backplate as it takes some of the strain off the motherboard.

I suggested that to you before but it not always a major difference but glad to see a difference.

No you mean Real Temp.

As you bought the smaller of the 2 coolers i would suggest the mounting kit as it give a firmer connect between the 2 surfaces giving better temps but it could be only marginal. Apparently ThermalRight do a universal mounting kit that fits all http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/lgbowiscsp.html

but i would just use the new cooler as is, put everything back together and just get some use and enjoyment out of it for along while until you get bored again or are you getting more enjoyment from tinkering.

Some info on fans - last year but relevent
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article63-page1.html
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=137832
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=171661&highlight=fans 120mm

 

(411) Re: Please help with new graphics card

markymoo

To tell it as it happpened,what started as a lap job developed into something else.
I had just finished lapping,reinstalled everything-the CPU,Ultra and mobo,but the computer wouldnt start-pretty lights and fans came on,but nothing else.
Immediately thought the CPU power plug was not installed-but it was.
Rechecked every plug-cable-took the mobo out three times and reinstalled the lot-rechecked all the cables.At that time also discovered the Live wire to a fan had pulled out of a molex.
Everything else was OK
Still no good -now the computer went into a start-stop cycle, without getting to BIOS.
At ths stage realised it must be a hardware fault-either the PSU,mobo or CPU.
Vaguely remembered that at each mobo inspection,had seen some blank spots on the mobo socket-CPU pins,but thought nothing of it,thinking they were deliberately left out .
Finally found a large magnifying glass and looked close up.
In three areas,there were a total of maybe 8 pins badly bent.
Got out a sewing needle and spent an hour trying to straighten them up-but it was a waste of time
New mobo required!

Still dont really know how the pins became bent,as I was careful-triangle against pin 1 etc.
Then thought it could have happened because of all the pressure and movement caused by the Ultra during post insertion,but doubt it.

What do you think the cause was specifically (generally, I know it was me!)

Anyway,the new mobo is this one, the simplest,but with RAID which is the next project ,on your good advice of course
It cost about $us100.

Dont care for the gimmicky Energy Saver either,but no regular DS3s were available,neither was your model DFI.
Anand Tech had THIS to say
Luckily the DES is deactivated if you overclock.

The mobo feels generally livelier than the P965-presumably because of the 35 chip.
Unfortunately the overclocking feels a bit different-havent got it over 3420ghz yet,from 2.40ghz.Would like to get it over the bump of 3601,which you discussed.

Did you find the P35 chip needs more voltage generally or are there any O/C peculiarities you may have discovered?

Would like to have fresh installed Windows,but I have so many excellent apps. which would be lost-that the best I can do unfortunately is a repair install-not the same-I know!

Regarding temps-prior to this exercise Core Temp was around 45c under normal load.
The very front fan must have stopped working-but there were still 4 others plus the Ultra one-so just guessing,that could have been responsible for a loss of maybe 5-7c.
I couldnt check the temp after fan had been repaired-couldnt start the computer.
ATM with the overclock of 3.42,the temp is 27c-so possibly the lapping and swivelling the Ultra helped by say 10-15c.

Thanks to you good advice- you recommended both!!

Thanks for the interesting links re Universal Restore,I save your links for proper study!!.
Is that you in adminbromo?

Interested to read your experiences with mobos and heavy coolers-so you know all about getting new mobos !!

Anyway,its a great hobby

PS-great chess site-still working on the puzzle!!!

edit; the voltage droop seems quite big-BIOS set at 1.475-reported 1.312.
Presumably this means its OK to increase the CPU voltage a few more notches?

 

(412) Re: Please help with new graphics card

I'm up and running/online now and have an image of my activated XP install . It will come in handy when I start over with SP3 which I dodged for the time being. I still have some OS tweaking to do and will probably start over as I sloppily got to this point. I did a complete scan with Avira and it was done in a little over 10 min. and my system was still responsive LOL. I'm still amazed at the speed and being able to do more than one thing at a time.

No, I meant Core Temp but I guess there is nothing to set. I have not tried Real Temp yet and will have a look at the link that I posted ages ago about it.

I finally heard back from Xiga and the mounting kit for my HSF is out of stock. The one in the link you posted is also out of stock. It seems there is a lot of building going on LOL. I've not installed the new cooler yet, but I'm not happy with the temps I have. If I do a little speed bump I'm going to want better temps so I will probably end up installing the new cooler soon with or without the mounting kit.

Thank you for the links, I will have a look at them very soon as they look very informative. The Xiga I received today looks pretty good and seems sturdier than I expected.

Here's a link on applying TIM. The last page (5) shows how to do it on the HDT type of HSF. It looks fun considering I have 4 pipes .

Hairy Coo,
It sounds like you have had a long day. You have done very well and I hope you are enjoying your new board and lapped cooler. Just a thought, do you know of a good machine shop that may be able to machine the bottom of the TRUE smooth without damaging it? Not sure it would help as your temps are good now.

 

(413) Re: Please help with new graphics card

Innerpeace,

What is actually wrong with the bracket supplied by Xigma?
They look quite OK arent they?
That Sidewinder kit is exactly the one I have-good in that once its in place under the mobo,you dont need to take the mobo out theoretically every time you remove the cooler.

Thats a good link re TIM-now you can see how rough the Ultra face is.
Suppose I could have persisted in getting rid of the high spot,but the face was getting a bit thin!
One problem was trying to stop the Ultra dragging and causing uneven areas,when rubbing on the flat wet and dry-actually a sanding block with wet and dry wrapped around it is probably just as good.Window Cleaner,Dishwashing liquid is quite good for wetting.
Anyway its cooling well -24c ATM overclocked.

 

(414) Re: Please help with new graphics card

Nothing is wrong with the stock Xiga brackets. I was just thinking it would be better to mount it with the screw kit for a more solid attachment. I can't get the mounting kits anyways so I just went ahead and mounted the Xiga today with the stock push pins. I went ahead and left the MB in the case.

I mounted it east to west with the fan below it blowing upwards towards the top case fan. I'm not sure how well I did with the TIM application and sorta improvised after screwing up the first attempt at filling in the cracks between the copper pipes and aluminum mounting block. The AS5 was a little thicker than I anticipated and I made a mess filling in the cracks so I abandoned the idea. It was #*%^! hard to clean off the TIM from the Xiga with the cracks from the heat pipes . I used a lot of coffee filters LOL. I ended up placing 3 stripes of AS5 on the aluminum mounting blocks about 1/2 the width of the CPU heat spreader (1 1/2 cm) and then mounted it. I hope it spread well.

I need to find out how to slow down the fan as it runs full speed all the time. I used the 4 pin connection to the MB. In the BIOS, I see there are two related fan settings.

* CPU Smart Fan Target which is set to disabled. When enabled the settings are 40C, 45C, 50C, 60C, 65C
* Sys fan1 Control 100%, 75%, 50%

Here are my temps so far with the Xigamatek HDT-SD964. I left the front case door closed and ran Prime95 Short FFT's with error checking for 27min. Ambient temp is 22C.

Prime95 Temps were 51, 51, 46, 48 (the stock cooler was 63, 63, 58, 60 with front door open)
Idle temps are 36, 34, 28, 33 (the stock cooler idle temps were 37, 36, 31, 35)

 

(415) Re: Please help with new graphics card

Innerpeace

OK I understand,there is no backing plate with the Xigma,but Im sure the backroom boys calculated all the loads.
Just dont go rushing around with the computer under your arm.

Quite respectable temp.results all around!

Probably will come down further when the AS settles down-they quote another couple of degrees or so.
Possibly if you juggle around with the case fans,even better results could be achieved .

Wouldnt worry about how the AS was applied-dont think its that critical at all.
The idea after all is to get metal to metal contact with the copper pipes,but if thats not perfect,the AS will transfer the heat.
If you really want to clean up the remnants,I found isopropyl alcohol with ordinary tissues,excellent.

 

(416) Re: Please help with new graphics card

Set to 50C

 

(417) Re: Please help with new graphics card

I think that's unfortunate of course. Were the pins so badly bent that was the cause? I seen bent pins and the board still work. Could it not been a short somewhere else? A badly connected molex to a fan can be all it takes to not power up or a slight break in a PSU lead. I had pins badly bent stuck up and bent them all down again and the pressure on them has kept it working. The pins are easily to bend. I pulled off the metal bracket and didnt have a clip and held the cpu in by pressure alone but this gave more movement so the pins bent easier. This was extreme to get a good flat contact with the CPU. I think the pins have got bent from a slight twisting of the heatsink as you tightened down and it's sheer pressure or when you lift it on and off a tiny twist can happen most likely. Thanks for all the info.

Ah so you needed a new motherboard anyway...I thought it was the higher spec. You first said EP35 when it's the GA. I saw your actual board before and cheaper but enough features plus the RAID and got a better heatsink than the one above..The NB heatsink looks big. Certain cheaper models have sometimes been better overclockers on certain models. I remember a certain DS3 P965 was good.

Is it any wonder it confusing. All similar specs. Your board isn't the simplest, there's 3 below it that still have RAID but i know what you mean.

Gigabyte EP35-DS4
Gigabyte EP35-DS3P
Gigabyte GA P35-DS3P
Gigabyte EP35-DS3R
Gigabyte GA P35C-DS3
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L

I give you a hand i just need to do some research on that model of the layout and check out the BIOS. You might be limited by your memory though by being 800mhz. I upgraded to a quad before i got the P35 board. I didn't run the dual on the P35. The P965 with a quad ran very hot. All the chips were so much hotter. Voltage was around the same. Heat was the problem more. The quad was putting alot demand on the board. Soon as i used a P35 it ran alot cooler. I thought i'm going to burn this P965 sometime soon but it just taken so much abuse. I was expecting a capacitor to blow or start leaking but they look good as new. I was sorry to give it up especially moving to less features.

I would install a Windows along side the existing Windows into C:\Win so you have a dual boot and then all your Program Files can be saved and you know what programs you got. You can easily see what programs need reinstalling. Some programs just need a shortcut and not need reinstalling again. You can then delete the C:\Windows. Also talking about MFT recently, it reminds me it would be less fragmented on a clean Windows. Alternatively you could take an image of C and then wipe it and install new Windows and mount the image to a virtual drive and you can see at a glance of the programs you got installed and can grab data from it.

I heard more good things about those TriCool fans and handy having the slow medium fast switch. It quite possible something that you overlooked, like you didnt't realise the connector had come off. etc. Any heat build up around the CPU area can have effect on CPU. Circulating warm air or it not escaping enough.

No that's not me i just showing you websites found on my travels researching about Universal Restore.that had the info more and more the deeper i researched. You can use the utility Sysprep like what businesses use to setup multiple Pc's but didn't want to use that.

Yes and can be addictive. I am content now i know i can't go much further and as most can't get past 3.6 i am content. I get excited again when Nehalem comes out.

Yes join the chess it is a quality site with lots of features.. I never done any of the puzzles. They force the ads on you if you not subscriber. If you block the ads they know about it and ban you despite that it best around.

That's sounds a huge drop more than my DFI. Whats it report when its at default. There should be a overclocking profile that you can save settings to so when you clear the BIOS you can load in another profile. I don't know if you aware but as a last resort you can use a 2HB pencil on a certain resistor and increase the resistance so it doesnt drop so much so you can overclock higher without it dropping. You can remove it anytime. You then stay stable on load. Maybe something to try when you exhausted all other possibilities. yes OK to bump it up.

lol but true. those heatsinks are tall. mine cane with ropes to take the weight off the top.

I find less AS5 iis better than more as more can create a wedge between the metal reducing contact.

When they enabled they should display the RPM. You can't turn them down to the exact RPM you want. You need a fan controller for that with a knob that lowers the voltage. The fans will slow down due to the power manangement. I have to have a look at your BIOS more.

Yes that's the quad core for you at work. Getting 2 more cores was the wise thing, carry on as normal when you scanning with A-V.

You mentioned about setting Real Temp up before not Core Temp so when you said about Core Temp i assumed you meant Real Temp.

Yes thanks for the informative link. I appreciate.

Yes especially so when you got soft aluminium too.

As i was saying more is not better and using the finger in a plastic bag and filling in all the pits and valleys is a good one. That's ideal when the surfaces are quality and flat. On cheap or off heatsinks it not so. You then got take 2 cores side by side into consideration, Getting a mounting kit you might only seen a small margin. Don't expect to knock 10C off your temps with it. If you want far better temps the bigger model and not bother with the mounting kit would been a better proposition but notice your new cooler performs alot better under load. I expected to see a better result on idle but the cooler is not been tested under a lower heat. The heat pipe takes effect on hotter temps. It could drop quite abit after it cures. See how far you can overclock it without raising the voltage. If you do, set the FSB Memory Ratio to 1.00 so you don't overclock the memory.

Noticed this thread got 7000 views. Is that because of the content or because it's been at the top along time so new people enter it lol.

 

(41 Re: Please help with new graphics card

markymoo

That DS3 board was strange,as it wouldnt overclock.
I boosted it to around 3.2ghz temporarily-but the problem was the increased voltage wouldnt lock and immediately reverted to default, time after time.
This happened with the original and the updated BIOS.
Returned it as faulty and now have the GA-EP35-D3R-very similar but supports RAID better,with the ICH9R chip.
This one has different problems,the voltage will lock but also hates being overclocked so far-certainly more difficult than with the P965.


Yes -the mobo socket pins were too badly bent to straighten them out so they would work-did test after my straightening effort.

You must have the skills of a brain surgeon to have fixed your bent pins



The black squares indicate my present temps-wish the rest of the board was working as well as the cooling!
Ambient is about the same.

This range of boards doent have the Silent Pipe,but heatsinks for the NB and SB- they may also be contributing,especially the NB,which now is directly before the airflow to the Ultra!

Good idea about the fresh Windows install-I have FDISR so will start one using that!

With your CPU o/c results,you can now relax until the next build-good work

Thanks for all your good advice!!

 

(419) Re: Please help with new graphics card

It should be fine and this machine is staying put. I takes a forklift to move it .

I'm fairly pleased with the loaded temps and you have a good point about the temps dropping a little after the AS5 cures.

I do hope the TIM application was ok. I guess my temps would be bad if it wasn't ok so far. I was able to use some isopropyl alcohol but I only had 91%. I've read that 90% or above is acceptable.

Thanks! That does an good job and kicks in at 54C according to Core Temp while running Prime95. When I set that, another setting appeared called BIOS Min. Fan Speed and I set it at 62.5% which translates into 1800 rpm's. After the TIM cures, I will try 50% which is 1400 rpm's. My fan is variable from 1200 to 2800 rpm's.

I think I have it figured out now, see the post above. Before changing the speeds, my fan was running at close to 3000 rpm which is above it's rating . It was very loud but I did the above changes and it blends in with my case fan noise.

I'm glad you help convince me into getting the quad. It going to be hard to adjust to not running a minimal setup with just a few items in the task bar .

I'll stick with the stock push pin mounting method. You just had me a little concerned because you had mentioned that you had a push pin come loose once and your temps got high. I also wanted to see better idle temps and still hope they come down a little soon. One thing that may be hurting them is the CPU fan is sucking air from the NB heatsink fins which aligns with it. Good for the NB though. I will also consider overclocking like you advise. I may have to do a little more reading first.

LOL, I'm sure 1000 of them is from me lurking in and out of it. The thread does have a ton of useful information and links in it.

Edit: A new version of Real Temp (2.5) is here.

markymoo, is it worth the effort to calibrate Real Temp like it shows 1/2 down the page here? I grabbed the new Speedfan version 4.34 and it's temps are identical to Core Temp.

Also, what would be a good number to start with for my page file? It's set now at 2046MB with a max. of 4096.

 

(420) Re: Please help with new graphics card

Innerpeace

Even if you had no thermal paste at all-chances are that your temps wouldnt change all that dramatically-assuming the surfaces are making good contact.
There seems to be a huge amount of nonsense written about application,when all that is needed is commonsense.
Next step for you is lapping the cpu and the Xigma-another drop in temps

Here is expert advice re page file optimisation-depends on your RAM size.

 

(421) Re: Please help with new graphics card

markymoo

The new P35 mobo is starting to make a bit of sense.

The key to successful overclocking is to keep increasing the voltages more than with the P965.

AnandTech confirmed this -the P35 chip is power hungry.

With the P965,I could reach 3.6ghz from the original 2.4ghz with BIOS set at 1.475 volts for the CPU

Now I am already on 1.51 volts at the BIOS ( 1.470 after droop) ,to achieve my current 3.465mhz.

As the temps are now only 25c at normal load ,will press on to my goal of 3.6ghz.

EDIT-3.51ghz at same voltage-starting to like the board

 

(422) Re: Please help with new graphics card

Hi Hairy Coo . Your probably right about the TIM application. After my first experience with installing the HSF, there are things I would have done differently but it's working fine as is. I really do want to try lapping the cooler and cpu but I need to get some mileage on the cpu first. I can tell just by looking at the cpu that lapping would would help it's contact surface.

Thanks for the link. I will have a closer look soon. I was wanting to set a fixed page file size like I had on my last machine and I think 2GB might work as an experiment. So far my Peak Commit Charge today is 1513508K.

 

(423) Re: Please help with new graphics card

The PageFile is supposed to be set at a minimum of 1.5 times the physical memory size,mine is set at twice.

So you should set yours at about 6GB,assuming you have 4gb of RAM.

Also the Pagefile should be placed on a seperate partition or drive.

 

(424) Re: Please help with new graphics card



Made it to 3.618ghz- a 50% overclock.

The temps are good(black squares),but the core voltage is higher than I'm comfortable with.

Not longterm stress tested yet.

edit; ambient temp is about 25c

 

(425) Re: Please help with new graphics card

Hairy Coo

Nice overclock! How's it running so far? What are you using to check the temps?

Thanks for the advice. I just didn't want to set it bigger than it needed to be. Also, should the pagefile be moved when having multiple snapshots in a program like FD-ISR or would you need to make multiple pagefiles? Or in that situation, should I just leave them as is?