Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: Nomak on August 28, 2006, 01:15:26 PM
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My wifes box is seriously outdated and is no longer able to play her game of choice (The Sims)
So I decided to pass my box off to her and build a new rigg. I tried to be smart and do a bit of reading before ordering anything. This article http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/05/10/dual_41_ghz_cores/ from "Toms Hardware" really caught my attention.
To paraphrase the article briefly...... They took a D805 dual core intel chip (2.66 gig) and ramped it up to 4.1 gig with just the addition of a decent fan and heat sink. The performance numbers are pretty incredable. They claim that this ($97.00 from newegg) 805 chip when overclocked will out perform the AMD64 FX-60 and the Pentium Extreme 955. Yes you read that right. A processor for a C-Note that can run with and even out perform the processors that go for $800.00 plus.
To make it even more appealing it uses the same 775 sockett that the new core 2 duo uses. So if my overclocking attempt crashes and burns all I have to do is pick up a core 2 duo ES6400 for $242.00 and all is good.
Here is the parts list that I orderd from Newegg this A.M.
1 ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce4 SLI X16 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131031 $259.99
1 eVGA 256-P2-N567 Geforce 7900GT KO Superclocked 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130016 $289.99
1 Antec TruePower 2.0 TP2-550 EPS12V ATX12V 550W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817103932 $96.99
1 Intel Pentium D 805 Smithfield 533MHz FSB LGA 775 Dual Core,EM64T Processor Model BX80551PE2666FN - Retail
Item #: N82E16819116001 $97.00
2 Pioneer 16X DVD±R DVD Burner With 5X DVD-RAM Read Black ATAPI Model DVR-111D - OEM
Item #: N82E16827129001 $63.98
1 Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Item #: N82E16835100007 $5.99
1 COOLER MASTER SLC-S41-U1 40mm Blue LED Light Chip Set Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail
Item #: N82E16835103155 $6.99
1 Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum/Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811133154 $149.99
1 CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820145034 $269.00
1 Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822136012 $234.99
ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail
Model #: CNPS9500 AT
Item #: N82E16835118003 $62.99
So this should be interesting. I am really looking foreward to the build.
One thing I am not sure about though..... This type of ASUS board uses a fanless Northbridge set up. I did do some reading where some people were seeing high temps. So I orderd a real basic Coolermaster northbridge fan. I am not sure if it will work on this board or not. Time will tell. I will post results once the system is up and running.
Any and all comments are welcomed and encouraged.
Thx.... Dave
Edit..... I really considerd going with 2 7600GT's in SLI for this build. I really didnt want to spend $500 on 2 7900GT's. In the end I went with 1 7900GT. Would 2 7600's have been a better choice?
Thx again.... Dave
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Havn't had any problems with the heat pipe on the north bridge. But i've got 3 120mm intakes, 1 120mm exhaust, 90mm cross and 50mm top exhaust - loaded temps are in the mid 40s.
Generally, it works pretty well stability wise.
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The P5N32 does not support the Conroe core. You need an Intel based (975 or 965 chipset) in order to be able to switch to Conroe.
At least, that is my current understanding. I have not checked with ASUS to see if the Nvidia chipset boards have been altered so they can support Conroe.
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Nomak, the Corsair Ram is ussually cheaper at Fry's (outpost.com)
I was comparing Newegg and Frys the other day ... Newegg is getting kinda overpriced lately .
looks like 239.00 here (http://shop3.outpost.com/search?search_type=regular&query_string=CORSAIR+OR+XMS2+OR+2GB+&sort=vendor&order_by=v05a&order=asc&resultpage=1&from=25&to=49)
i saw some good deals on surplus dual sli video cards on ebay lately too ... you might be able to get a good price on matched set .
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Instead of spending $160 on an older CPU and Cooler just get whatever Conroe you can afford. It's a better CPU and you can still overclock it if you want to.
All Pentium D 805's will not overclock the same as the THG sample did. I had one running stable at 3.8 but even with water cooling it was hot and really was happier at 3.6.
You'll eventually get back the extra money you spent on the Conroe with reduced electric bills and you'll apppreciate the lower heat and noise compared to the Smithfield. :D
Skuzzy that MB is listed as supporting Core Duo.
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Originally posted by Skuzzy
The P5N32 does not support the Conroe core. You need an Intel based (975 or 965 chipset) in order to be able to switch to Conroe.
At least, that is my current understanding. I have not checked with ASUS to see if the Nvidia chipset boards have been altered so they can support Conroe.
It says that its supported so I am assuming that it is
ASUS
Model P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe
Supported CPU
CPU Socket Type Socket T (LGA 775)
CPU Type Intel Core 2 Extreme/Core 2 Duo/Pentium EE/Pentium
FSB 1066/800MHz
Supported CPU Technologies Hyper-Threading Technology
Chipsets
North Bridge NVIDIA nForce4 SLI X16
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Originally posted by Roscoroo
Nomak, the Corsair Ram is ussually cheaper at Fry's (outpost.com)
I was comparing Newegg and Frys the other day ... Newegg is getting kinda overpriced lately .
looks like 239.00 here (http://shop3.outpost.com/search?search_type=regular&query_string=CORSAIR+OR+XMS2+OR+2GB+&sort=vendor&order_by=v05a&order=asc&resultpage=1&from=25&to=49)
i saw some good deals on surplus dual sli video cards on ebay lately too ... you might be able to get a good price on matched set .
Its funny you mention price because I just looked again and it went up just since this morning :lol
I shouldnt have posted the prices but it was a quick cut and paste deal (Shrug)
I do know that better deals can be had ....but Newegg has 6 months same as cash right now. I always take advantage of that and am willing to pay a bit more for it.
Thx Roo ;) Dave
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Originally posted by FLS
Instead of spending $160 on an older CPU and Cooler just get whatever Conroe you can afford. It's a better CPU and you can still overclock it if you want to.
All Pentium D 805's will not overclock the same as the THG sample did. I had one running stable at 3.8 but even with water cooling it was hot and really was happier at 3.6.
You'll eventually get back the extra money you spent on the Conroe with reduced electric bills and you'll apppreciate the lower heat and noise compared to the Smithfield. :D
Skuzzy that MB is listed as supporting Core Duo.
You may very well be right on all accounts there. However I am going to give it a run and see what happens. I am sure I will end up with the better Conroe..... but for 97 bucks, I dont think I can lose. Especially since I can plug in the better processor anytime I am ready to.
Ya never know....... If I can duplicate thier (Toms Hardware) results than my D805 will out perform the Conroe that I can afford :aok
Thx for the reply.... Dave
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Originally posted by Nomak
My wifes box is seriously outdated and is no longer able to play her game of choice
Oh man...theres just WAY too many comments I could make..... LMAO :D
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Originally posted by Waffle BAS
Oh man...theres just WAY too many comments I could make..... LMAO :D [/
B]
Thanks waffle, I was worried that I was going to read a whole post with no humour in it... and that is NOT why I come here.
Balsy
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My ASUS P5B is configured to support core 2. It's simple to overclock with ASUS too, so that's another plus. Of coarse I've never tried to overclock anything before so I really don't know:D
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As far as the fanless chipset; my Asus board has a fanless chipset & I only saw high temps when I switched to water cooling because the heatpipe heatsincs use the CPU fan exhaust to cool it. When you remove the CPU fan, the heatsincs do not get any air moving through them. Lucky for me I was expecting this & just set a 120mm fan in front of my oven....er I mean my 7950 GX2 video card & that cools both the chipset & the card. I've been on this PC all day & the mobo temp is only 31C
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Mine uses the cases side intake to blow right on to the North bridge and were the CPU fan would normally be . My N bridge heatsink is always nice and cool .
on my old gamer I screwed a small fan right to the heatsink .
With a good case and a couple of 120mm fans it should stay cool inside.
my problem is i keep looking for fish food to feed my pc :D
(Water cooled guys will understand )
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my problem is i keep looking for fish food to feed my pc
Hehe , since you mentioned it Roo , i would say that trying to clock that Pentium D840 to 4 gig is prolly going to require water for longevity. With decent complete water kits around its alot easier to do now a days . My Tt 745 was my first kit , and would be simple to install for a new build. Ive been at 3ghz (up from 2.2ghz ) for almost 8 months now without a hitch , i dont think i would have left it turned up all this time if i was on air . Another plus is the lack of a high speed fan for the heatsink , my system sounded like a leaf blower prior to water, now its nice and quiet with just the case fans going . GL 38
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water is the best way to go for anything over clocked . and with more and more graphic gpu power there gonna be needed the adv of water too ....
There as fast as a 1.0 -1.3 ghz pc was these days . so compare the power and heat from those old pc's .
The thermaltake water kits are the best built and bang for buck as far as ive seen .. I helped a friend install that new crucial water kit which is cheaper then the thermaltake one ... but yes its alot cheaper ... spring bands, no visibility into the cpu block (harder to check for air) and the resevoir isnt as nice .
figure it costs at least 45-75 bucks for the top of the line cpu heat sink fan combo's , for 100-145 your into a water setup . this takes id say about 95% of the cpu heat out of the box .. now your just dealing with hard drive ,gpu ,ram temp mostly .. two case fans can pritty much take care of this effectively .
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As soon as someone gets on the ball & designs a waterblock for the 7950GX2 that can be purchased in the U.S. w/o overseas S&H I'm going to wc that sucker, it is the hottest thing in my case by a good 20C-30C. Radiator placement was a pain even though I got the 120MM single fan model, when I add in the GPU's I fear I will need a much larger one & that will mean more case modding....I don't like cutting holes in my case, if it was a $10 used biege one I might enjoy it, but I hate spending money on something & cutting on it while it still looks & smells new:D
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Update.....
All the parts are here and assembled. The case is nothing short of fantastic. Ill post pics later.....
I couldnt get the onboard sound to work :confused:. I had a sound blaster live laying around that I installed and thats all cool now.
I am having stability problems. Not sure whats going on. Formated the drive, installed XP Pro, Installed MB, video and sound drivers..... Trying to load all my games now. Installed Lock On FC then Falcon 4. All seemed good then tried COD2 and am having problems.
Its taking forever to install COD and its also locking up on restarts sometimes. I havnt tried to OC the processor yet. All the temps look nice and cool......
Will post more updates later.
Dave
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The 805 is amazing......
Once everything was sorted out I began to overclock and benchmark one step at a time. I was able to duplicate the THG overclock and then some. I was able to run lower core voltage and lower temps then they recorded. I am not sure why :confused:. I am not complaining though.....
I was able to hit 3.83 Gig with memory clocked @667 at a core voltage of 1.425v. Idle temp was 33c and max load temp under 3dmark06 benchmark was 55c.
Once THG tried 4.0 Gig they had to liquid cool. I was able to hit 4.0 Gig without any issues. 4.0Gig with memory @800 and core voltage @ 1.525v I am running 36c at idle and 62c under max load while running 3dmark06.
After running some more benchmarks and checking the results against other results from online my 805 is running right around FX60 speeds. Give or take a hair.
Overall I am very happy with the Intel. Hard to beat for a c-note.
Dave
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2 comments. First, I read a couple articles online that basically say the failure rates on factory overclocked video cards are unusually high. Basically the manufacturers OC them and if they run stable on the bench rig for a few minutes, they get boxed up and shipped. If you care about the life of your video card, you might consider underclocking it back towards nvidia specs a bit. Second, I will never buy RAM from Frys again. Every single memory stick I've ever bought from them, whether it was cheapo or name brand stuff, has been defective. Their RMA process pretty much involves taking returns, even "defective" returns, boxing it back up, and putting it back on the shelf at original price with a sticker on it noting it was a returned item. They just hope the next sucker won't return it. As a result, I won't buy anything critical like a cpu or memory from Frys, and I never buy any of their open box items either. I've been burned about 4 times at Frys.
Newegg prices are a bit higher but in my experience they don't pull that kind of crap.
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Nice overclock! Just out of curiousity what does intel recommend for a max temperature on those chips? For my Amd's id never run over 55C as a rule of thumb, but i'm sure intels can handle greater temps .
I get great satisfaction out of turning up some of the cheaper cpu's on the market to rival speeds of the big dollar ones, my neighbor with his Fx-57 (Dfi board) is still mad about my $600 dollar cheaper cpu turning in better numbers than his in the games we play (our systems have identical hardware except cpu and motherboard) . His will more than likely live longer, but if i get more than a year (already 9 months) running @ 3ghz i think its worth it . :D Good luck with your new system . 38
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yes nice OC :D
temps alittle warm for my liking but then its a intel ...
now Eagl ive bought all my top end ram at Frys. Ive never had a problem with the ram from there (note I only use corsair/crucial )