Tiamat
08-15-2007, 05:21 PM
This might be a fairly long post becasue I ant to give you as much info as I can on my situation so you dont have to ask. This x2 939 topic is probably a bit tired now but i've only recently started to overclock my machine due to a long-standing problem I had with crazy memtest86+ errors which turned out to be due to 'Legacy USB Support' setting on this mobos BIOS. I only discovered this recently.
I am not planning to upgrade until after Christmas when i have a had a good look at what the manufacturers have to offer in the run up to the festive holiday. Anyway, I figured I'd start with a fairly modest CPU OC of 2.5Ghz and then i clocked the RAM up to 227Mhz which as far as I can tell is stable . Prime95 (9hours), Memtest86+ 1.70 (6hours), Windows Memtest 3.3 (400%) all stable.
A few strange things are happening though and it may just be my imagination or even a sign that Im well overdue for a Windows reinstall or a new heatsink but I would appreciate any help from people who know these things better than me. Anyway, firstly my temps seem all wrong....I am using Speedfan and Asus PCProbe (which only displays Core-0) and usually my cores are within 1-2C of each other when idling, or browsing the internet, maybe ranging to about 3-4C when gaming and such. But under heavy load like Prime95 the first core will always hover around 43-45C and the second core shoots up to around 51-53C and peaks at that level.
Now I know that 53C isnt technically dangerous for this CPU but it's not exactly desirable either...especially for long periods. But its the range of the temps that are bothering me....8-10C of difference seems extreme. The heatsink is definitely mounted correctly with an ideal amount of AS5. I have noticed that Windows does seem to assign more load to the second core when watching usage stats...but in Prime shouldnt both cores be taxed 99-100%? I am setting two seperate instance to run, one on each core with half the available RAM to work with.
Another thing is that occasionally task manager will report incorrectly by claiming that the CPU is under a certain load indefinitely (like being at a constant 34% or 67% load for an hour, when in reality its at 0-3%) and the performance page doesnt update as it should. Speefan reports the CPU usage correctly at these times and the temps reflect it.
And this might be completely unrelated but old games like System Shock 2 are now running at twice the speed they should be, loading quicker and playing at an almost unplayable turbo speed. I should note that my computer isnt in the perfect position to be cooled (under a desk surrounded by three walls) but I do have a decent heatsink and 3xNexus120mm intake, 2xNexus120mm exhaust and a Antec Tri-Cool on medium airflow over the heatsink (High speed setting does not affect temps whatsoever, which i assume is due to the recycled airflow around the back of my case).
The CPU Vcore is at 1.300v in the BIOS, which amounts to about 1.29v-1.36v in CPUZ, so I dont think this is really high enough to cause such strange temperature reports. Here are the BIOS settings and some screenies;
Asus A8N32 SLI-Deluxe (BIOS - 1303)
CPU: A64x2 4400+ 2.2Ghz (200x11)
FSB - 250x10 - 2500mhz
Vcore - 1.300v
HTT - x4 (1000)
RAM: Corsair 2x1gb DDR400 PC3200 (2-3-3-6)
Limit - 183 (227mhz)
DRAM Vcore - 2.8v
Timings - 2.5-3-3-7 1T
Now that all that is out the way, Id appreciate it greatly if anyone can cast some light on the shadows of my doubts...cheers in advance.
I am not planning to upgrade until after Christmas when i have a had a good look at what the manufacturers have to offer in the run up to the festive holiday. Anyway, I figured I'd start with a fairly modest CPU OC of 2.5Ghz and then i clocked the RAM up to 227Mhz which as far as I can tell is stable . Prime95 (9hours), Memtest86+ 1.70 (6hours), Windows Memtest 3.3 (400%) all stable.
A few strange things are happening though and it may just be my imagination or even a sign that Im well overdue for a Windows reinstall or a new heatsink but I would appreciate any help from people who know these things better than me. Anyway, firstly my temps seem all wrong....I am using Speedfan and Asus PCProbe (which only displays Core-0) and usually my cores are within 1-2C of each other when idling, or browsing the internet, maybe ranging to about 3-4C when gaming and such. But under heavy load like Prime95 the first core will always hover around 43-45C and the second core shoots up to around 51-53C and peaks at that level.
Now I know that 53C isnt technically dangerous for this CPU but it's not exactly desirable either...especially for long periods. But its the range of the temps that are bothering me....8-10C of difference seems extreme. The heatsink is definitely mounted correctly with an ideal amount of AS5. I have noticed that Windows does seem to assign more load to the second core when watching usage stats...but in Prime shouldnt both cores be taxed 99-100%? I am setting two seperate instance to run, one on each core with half the available RAM to work with.
Another thing is that occasionally task manager will report incorrectly by claiming that the CPU is under a certain load indefinitely (like being at a constant 34% or 67% load for an hour, when in reality its at 0-3%) and the performance page doesnt update as it should. Speefan reports the CPU usage correctly at these times and the temps reflect it.
And this might be completely unrelated but old games like System Shock 2 are now running at twice the speed they should be, loading quicker and playing at an almost unplayable turbo speed. I should note that my computer isnt in the perfect position to be cooled (under a desk surrounded by three walls) but I do have a decent heatsink and 3xNexus120mm intake, 2xNexus120mm exhaust and a Antec Tri-Cool on medium airflow over the heatsink (High speed setting does not affect temps whatsoever, which i assume is due to the recycled airflow around the back of my case).
The CPU Vcore is at 1.300v in the BIOS, which amounts to about 1.29v-1.36v in CPUZ, so I dont think this is really high enough to cause such strange temperature reports. Here are the BIOS settings and some screenies;
Asus A8N32 SLI-Deluxe (BIOS - 1303)
CPU: A64x2 4400+ 2.2Ghz (200x11)
FSB - 250x10 - 2500mhz
Vcore - 1.300v
HTT - x4 (1000)
RAM: Corsair 2x1gb DDR400 PC3200 (2-3-3-6)
Limit - 183 (227mhz)
DRAM Vcore - 2.8v
Timings - 2.5-3-3-7 1T
Now that all that is out the way, Id appreciate it greatly if anyone can cast some light on the shadows of my doubts...cheers in advance.