DFI Ultra-D a good board for an Opty 165 @ 2.6 or 2.8?

[kaidomac]

Starting a fresh thread based on my previous one. (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=96555) Originally I wanted to do an Opteron 170 with an MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum, but have since decided on an DFI Ultra-D due to the problems the MSI has with overclocking. I'm currently looking at an Opteron 165 from Monarch (a few people have notified me that they have good steppings right now). The DFI board is cheap and looks like it will handle a 7900gt and my Audigy 2 ZS just fine. Coupled with a TT BT, can I expect a 2.6 or 2.8ghz OC with it? Is this a good board or should I be looking at something else?

[VulgarHandle]

excellent choice, sounds like you've asked the right questions, and gotten the proper responses

i've built 5 opty 165+ultra-d pc's, all at least 2.7(300x9), and each ran ram differently based on what type they got, all using TT bigtyphoon, all using single cards w/ ocz520w power supplies, all still running strong, cool, and stable(all left my house dual-prime 24+ hours stable)

[stealth17]

Yes, very very good board. The 165 I got from monarch (OEM) yesterday was a CCBWE 0607UPBW. Did 2.4ghz stock volts/cooler. Should be able to do 2.6ghz with some volts easily. They aren't the best chips for ambient cooling. I may know where you can get a CCBBE that does 2.8ghz+. PM me if your interested.

[kaidomac]

One of my concerns is the power supply. I'm trying to build a quiet system. I'll be using an Antec SLK3000-B case with two 120mm 14dBA SilenX fans. For the processor, I'll be using a Thermaltake Big Typhoon with a 120mm 14dBA SilenX fan (64 CFM + 14dBA = better & quieter than the stock fan). I'm also going to put a Zalman vf900 on the 7900gt and a Raptor inside a SilenX hdd enclosure (rated for up to 15K-rpm). That leaves me with a noisy power supply. I know I'll need at least a 480-watt PSU, maybe 500 to be on the safe side, but I've had trouble finding a good quiet one with no LEDs or lighting. I just want a standard quality PSU with an on/off switch and no bling. Any suggestions here?

[Delirious]

Zippy makes probably the ugliest psu's lol but they are also one of the best, right up there with pc power&cooling.

Although they arent silent, i would get the 700watt fortron but it has a blue lit fan in it :(
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104015

The enermax liberties are also good, and have no bling
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817194003

[kaidomac]

excellent choice, sounds like you've asked the right questions, and gotten the proper responses

i've built 5 opty 165+ultra-d pc's, all at least 2.7(300x9), and each ran ram differently based on what type they got, all using TT bigtyphoon, all using single cards w/ ocz520w power supplies, all still running strong, cool, and stable(all left my house dual-prime 24+ hours stable)

VulgarHandle, what can you tell me about the ram? I'm currently looking at 2 gigs of DDR500 from G.Skill, but I'm open to suggestions. Whatever will give me a good, stable OC :)

[Delirious]

The g.skill is good but if i was goin to buy memory now it would be the mushkin redlines.

[VulgarHandle]

ok, did you read a thread of mine somewhere, 4 of the previously mentioned systems were built w/ antec slk3000b's, hahahaha, too funny

well, personally, because there isn't a huge hit from using dividers, i personally recommend g.skill zx's(2gbzx), they run 2-3-2-5 up to ~215(some did 2-2-2-5 up to ~ 212), and at 2.6v, to me, that keeps the heat down, allows for long life on ram, and at some of the best timings available

you can run these much higher, w/ loose timings, but it's up to you to find what you're comfortable with, but the zx's can be very cheap(i just picked some up for $153 w/ mail-in-rebate at the egg)

but if you're looking for better action, as stated above, the mushkin redlines look good, g.skill 2gbhz, as well as crucial ballistix, but i have NO EXPERIENCE with any of these

i spend most of my time benching 2x256 bh5 modules :D

[kaidomac]

ok, did you read a thread of mine somewhere, 4 of the previously mentioned systems were built w/ antec slk3000b's, hahahaha, too funny

well, personally, because there isn't a huge hit from using dividers, i personally recommend g.skill zx's(2gbzx), they run 2-3-2-5 up to ~215(some did 2-2-2-5 up to ~ 212), and at 2.6v, to me, that keeps the heat down, allows for long life on ram, and at some of the best timings available

you can run these much higher, w/ loose timings, but it's up to you to find what you're comfortable with, but the zx's can be very cheap(i just picked some up for $153 w/ mail-in-rebate at the egg)

but if you're looking for better action, as stated above, the mushkin redlines look good, g.skill 2gbhz, as well as crucial ballistix, but i have NO EXPERIENCE with any of these

i spend most of my time benching 2x256 bh5 modules :D

Haha no I haven't seen your previous threads but I'm doing a search now :D

I'm pretty new to OCing (i.e. haven't done it in like 4 years). I'm not up on all the ram stuff yet. I don't understand voltage dividers or timings (still learning!). So...I want stable memory that will go with a 2.6 or 2.8ghz OC. Longer life (cooler running) is good too. Care to link me to some good G.Skill? 2gb is a must :)

[Delirious]

Ocz platinums, Gskill, mushkin redline are all good sets of 2gb

[VulgarHandle]

G.Skill 2GBZX - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231032
G.Skill 2GBHZ - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231021

i'd also suggest you check out ocz gold and platinum ram, there are alot of ram to choose from, and you might wanna visit the 'xtreme bandwidth' section of these forums and ask them: best of best? best bang/buck?

prices do vary greatly, and for very little changes in timings

[kaidomac]

G.Skill 2GBZX - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231032
G.Skill 2GBHZ - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231021

i'd also suggest you check out ocz gold and platinum ram, there are alot of ram to choose from, and you might wanna visit the 'xtreme bandwidth' section of these forums and ask them: best of best? best bang/buck?

prices do vary greatly, and for very little changes in timings

Hey, I'm not picky :) The whole overclocking thing is sort of vague for me right now, with the ram area being especially fuzzy. There's a TON more to it than I initially thought. With my old 1.4ghz Tbird, the only chip I've ever OC'd, it was a simple matter of changing the multiplier and voila, from 1.4ghz to 1.6ghz. Now I have to deal with ram timings, memory dividers, HTT, and all the other goodies that modern overclocking entails.

So what would you recommend? I'll go with what's worked for you!

[stealth17]

G.Skill 2GBHZ worked great for me!

http://xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=89630&highlight=2x1gb

Those settings may help you too!

[Hassan]

I'm happy with my 2GBHX kit and the price has dropped at newegg for em

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=96460

[kaidomac]

Not to sound like too much of a newb but what's the difference between DDR400 and DDR500 when overclocking?

Previously I just had to up the multipler and I got a nice 200mhz boost on my 1.4ghz tbird. I currently have a laptop with a 2ghz 3200+. I use RMClock to control the speeds - 4x @ .8V = 800mhz for minimal and 10x @ 1.45V = 2,000mhz for maximal speed. I'm still not too clear on how everything goes together with the dual-core chips. Is overclocking the ram required for overclocking the processor? Is overclocking the ram soley to get more speed out of the ram?

[Delirious]

You can use dividers to control the speed the memory runs at so it doesnt limit your processor so much.

[kaidomac]

You can use dividers to control the speed the memory runs at so it doesnt limit your processor so much.

Here's what I'm thinking upon further research:

CPU clock @ 300
So 300*9=2700mhz
RAM clock @ 249
Because 300*0.83=249mhz
HTT @ 3

Buy DDR500 because DDR500=250mhz. This way I get 2.7ghz stable. Right/wrong?

[Delirious]

the 183 divider would put your memory at 270, if you want 250 you would use the 166 divider which would put your ram at 245 with the same settings you mentioned.

If i were you i would head over to DFI-street as they have an excellent overlclocking guide that you can download on .pdf

[stealth17]

At 300*9 with a 166mhz (5:6) divider puts your ram at 245mhz, not 250mhz.

You should be able to get more then 250mhz outta your ram. If they do 270mhz then you can run them on a 180mhz (9:10) divider with your cpu at 300*9. It all depends on what your cpu maxes at and what your ram maxes at.

[Hassan]

Funny thing for me about overclockin is when I "plan" an oc before I actually overclock it, it never works out like I planned, just learn your dividers and bios options and read lots of guides on AMD so when the unplanned occurs you will be ready to work around the "plan"

[kaidomac]

At 300*9 with a 166mhz (5:6) divider puts your ram at 245mhz, not 250mhz.

You should be able to get more then 250mhz outta your ram. If they do 270mhz then you can run them on a 180mhz (9:10) divider with your cpu at 300*9. It all depends on what your cpu maxes at and what your ram maxes at.

So if I want to do 2.8ghz, would I be better off doing with the G.Skill ZX (ddr400) or HZ (ddr500) ram?

[stealth17]

The ram wount limit your cpu on an A64 since you can put it on a divider and it woun't hurt the performance. I'd get the HZ since it has Samsung UCCC chips. Most will do around 265-275mhz with 2.5-2.6v... YMMV. You can't really plan an overclock. You just have to get your parts, see what they can do, then figure out how to run them together.

[kaidomac]

Anyone know if this chipset cooler will fit on the DFI Ultra-D?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835108072

I've heard that the stock chipset HSF is fairly loud...if you have other alternative cooling solutions for it I'm open to suggestions!

[VulgarHandle]

just remember one thing when buying ram, it's not the rating(pc3200, 4000, ..etc.), it's the timings at those ratings

oh, and you might have problems with that chipset cooler and your vid card
to be honost, i've never used the lower pcie slot for a vid card in any build.....

[stealth17]

No, it woun't fit.

[kaidomac]

Wow check out this monster!

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=197&products_id=4144

[Hassan]

yeah supposedly that one is real good, OPB reccomended it, there are a few reviews if it and it did well.

[kaidomac]

yeah supposedly that one is real good, OPB reccomended it, there are a few reviews if it and it did well.

Yeah, hard to find in stock though. I found a nice quiet Papst fan to plop on it too (reviews said the fan gets a tad whiney/loud).

On another note, does anyone have the SLK3000-B case? I'm wondering if the long "bubbles" on the front under the door have cutouts for airflow in them, or if air is supposed to be pulled through the bottom. I don't know if it's worth buying a fan for the front if there's no way to get air to it :\

[jakedeez]

Seasonic S12 PSU FTW

[kaidomac]

What temp/speed monitoring app do you guys use? My current laptop doesn't have too many temp sensors so I haven't bothered keeping up on them for the past year or so. Motherboard Monitor comes to mind...or does DFI have their own stuff?

[Hassan]

DFI has smart guardian which I like due to the fact you can adjust fan speeds from within the program, otherwise MBM works fine, there is a thread at dfi-street.com to get it detect all the sensors properly

[stealth17]

I use MBM5 with the settings from DFI-Street. If you want to adjust fans I use speedfan. Very nice app for that.

[Hassan]

On another note, does anyone have the SLK3000-B case? I'm wondering if the long "bubbles" on the front under the door have cutouts for airflow in them, or if air is supposed to be pulled through the bottom. I don't know if it's worth buying a fan for the front if there's no way to get air to it :\

yeah I use those for customer rigs, and yes the bubbles are open allowing airflow, you can place a 120mm in the front

[Hassan]

hey stealth, like your avatar, i have that same triangle tattooed on my left arm... secondly i always used mbm on other rigs like my server... but for my ultra-d for me smart guardian is just easy

[kaidomac]

Another question, is there any special configuration to install XP on an SATA drive? I've had a laptop so long I've missed out on all the fun stuff :)

Edit: Ooh my 120mm Nexus fans came in, these things are MONSTERS!! :D

[Black Phoenix]

If you don't use raid it's like installing in a normal PATA disk...

[kaidomac]

If you don't use raid it's like installing in a normal PATA disk...

Really? I had heard you had to install special drivers, but that certain boards negated that function. That's great to hear! :) I'm just installing a single Raptor drive. Later on I'm going to be adding an external eSATA RAID system, but it has RAID in the box (Thecus N2050), so that shouldn't pose a problem.

[Black Phoenix]

Normally you don't need... Be aware of that...

[kaidomac]

My audio system is coming along nicely...my old Audigy 2 ZS PCI sound card coupled with my Sennheiser HD-570 headphones and a couple of bass shakers strapped to my chair. Going to pick up a splitter tonight:

http://www.wiredbynature.org/temp/audio/

May need to get a small amp for the headphones too, depending on how much volume the splitter cuts. Ooh I can't wait to play FEAR! :D

[stealth17]

My audio system is coming along nicely...my old Audigy 2 ZS PCI sound card coupled with my Sennheiser HD-570 headphones and a couple of bass shakers strapped to my chair. Going to pick up a splitter tonight:

http://www.wiredbynature.org/temp/audio/

May need to get a small amp for the headphones too, depending on how much volume the splitter cuts. Ooh I can't wait to play FEAR! :D
hahhah NICE! Where did you get those shakers? Let us know how they work out for ya!!!

[mascaras]

i also got a DFI ULTRA-D (bios 623-3) 2x 512mb TCCD and a opteron 165 , and i got 311x9 2800Mhz@1.50v with no problems , its a excelent board ;)

[kaidomac]

hahhah NICE! Where did you get those shakers? Let us know how they work out for ya!!!

Got them from Parts Express (PE) about a year ago. They sell them for $30/pair:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=299-027

All they need is an amp (can be a sub plate amp, old receiver, whatever). 25 watts apiece. I've been running 4 of them in my couch along with my home theater...I've been living in an apartment for the past year and couldn't have a sub, so this was the next best thing. Let me tell you Jurassic Park is AWESOME with these. One of the best investments I've made in my TV setup. I just ran them from the LFE channel to a subwoofer plate amp, then to the speaker wire for the shakers. I used this 100-watt amp since I was running 4 shakers:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-802

But if you only want to run 2 for a chair, you can pick up a 70-watt amp for much cheaper: (on special right now for just $40!)

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-784

So $70 for a chair setup...hmm come to think of it that is a little pricey. I'll let you know how they turn out. Should be fun :) Installation is dirt-simple, you just screw them into your chair and connect the wires. If you decide to get them and need wiring help just LMK. Here is my planned setup:

1. Audigy 2 ZS PCI sound card
2. Headphone splitter (Radio Shack)
3. Jack 1: Sennheiser HD-570s (excellent lightweight headphones, easily the best sound I've ever owned, no headaches after long periods of use and super-durable Kevlar cord which I've run over numerous times; also, they don't require an amp like many high-end headphones, and are available for under $100 online)
4. Jack 2: Minijack-to-stereo-RCA cable (it's like a headphone cable converted to the stereo red and white cables, a few bucks at Radio Shack)
5. Amplifier (really you only need one line in since it's low-frequency, but the minijack-to-RCA cables are easy to find)
6. Bass shakers & speaker wire

I also picked up a pair of set-screw banana jacks for $5 at PE, which lets me connect them easily to my 100w amp (nice if you need to disconnect the wire quickly and don't want to mess with bare speaker wire):

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=091-1165

The shakers include quick disconnects, so if you need to pop off the speaker wire you can do it easily. I'm using 14 gauge speaker wire on mine just because I had it available, but I'm sure 16 or even 18 gauge would work. If you need more info or have any other questions, let me know. I know waaayyy more about home theater stuff than OCing ;)

Edit: I may need to pick up a headphone amp depending on how much noise I can get out of the Audigy with the splitter. You can pick up a cheap cmoy mint amp off ebay for under $50, or if you really want to get all decked-out, snag the Total Airhead for $150:

http://www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps/the-mobile-line/headroom-total-airhead.php

[Schmetterling]

One of my concerns is the power supply. I'm trying to build a quiet system. I'll be using an Antec SLK3000-B case with two 120mm 14dBA SilenX fans. For the processor, I'll be using a Thermaltake Big Typhoon with a 120mm 14dBA SilenX fan (64 CFM + 14dBA = better & quieter than the stock fan). I'm also going to put a Zalman vf900 on the 7900gt and a Raptor inside a SilenX hdd enclosure (rated for up to 15K-rpm). That leaves me with a noisy power supply. I know I'll need at least a 480-watt PSU, maybe 500 to be on the safe side, but I've had trouble finding a good quiet one with no LEDs or lighting. I just want a standard quality PSU with an on/off switch and no bling. Any suggestions here?

I'd say take an Tagan U22, got one here (Tagan TG480-U22) ... fans are temp controlled and you honestly don't hear them at all.

- Schmetterling

[kaidomac]

I'd say take an Tagan U22, got one here (Tagan TG480-U22) ... fans are temp controlled and you honestly don't hear them at all.

- Schmetterling

You know, you're the second person to recommend these two me. Maybe I should take a closer look :) Where'd you get it?

Edit: Is this the one?

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=PS-530U15&c=fr&pid=b7fefb4590ec5fa263669632aca5f7a25f75e9ebe7dcff 6eaeda359ddd20b875

[Schmetterling]

You know, you're the second person to recommend these two me. Maybe I should take a closer look :) Where'd you get it?

Edit: Is this the one?

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=PS-530U15&c=fr&pid=b7fefb4590ec5fa263669632aca5f7a25f75e9ebe7dcff 6eaeda359ddd20b875

yes, it's about the same as i have just 50w more and those modulair cables. I bought it here: http://www.digitique.nl/behuizing-voedingen-voedingen-c-158130_128_12817.html as i'm Dutch and the shop is 5 mins from my house, don't know whether they ship to other countries aswell but do know that he has them lying in stock (Had em in my hand there yesterday)

This is the website of tagan: http://www.tagan.de/

- Schmetterling

[andyisc00l]

kaidomac, dont buy a raptor unless you have 2 running in raid0, it's not worth it...just buy 2 regular 7,200 satas and put it in raid0, it'll be faster and prawly not as noisy, my raptor is really loud

[kaidomac]

kaidomac, dont buy a raptor unless you have 2 running in raid0, it's not worth it...just buy 2 regular 7,200 satas and put it in raid0, it'll be faster and prawly not as noisy, my raptor is really loud

Take a look at this article at Anandtech, which benchmarks Raptors in RAID:

http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=2101

The conclusion page reads:

Bottom line: RAID-0 arrays will win you just about any benchmark, but they'll deliver virtually nothing more than that for real world desktop performance. That's just the cold hard truth.

I'm not interested in doing RAID 0 right now at any rate; maybe in a future build, but a single drive + RAID backup is good enough for me for now. There's no real performance gain according to that article. I know what you mean about having two 7,200rpm drives, but I'd rather just get a Raptor 150 and be done with it. It'll make me feel good to finally own one, been wanting one since the first 36 gig models came out :)

[kaidomac]

Wow check out this monster!

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=197&products_id=4144

I found a Chipforce cooler on eBay and managed to pick it up for the same price shipped as retail. Only qualm is that it has a chip on the side of the heatsink, but not the bottom part that touches the chip. I figured that was good enough; no one has them in stock anywhere. I'll plop this on with some AS5 and see (1) how loud the fan is, (2) if I can run it with no fan and the air from the front 120mm fan blowing over it, and (3) add a 40mm Papst 19dB fan if necessary.

[gearhead364]

If you are serious about buying a DFI then I suggest you check out dfi-street.com (http://www.dfi-street.com). Once you purchase your system they can answer almost any question you have, very friendly to noobs. They also have a very awesome guide HERE (http://www.angrygames.com/files/DFI_Overclocking_Guide-1.zip). You must post your setup in your sig in order to post though. This site is what initialy got me interested in OCing and is currently why I am saving for a very similar setup to what you are planning.

Also I plan on using a Power PC & Cooling power supply (http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=S47ATX), 26A@12V+ is perfect for that 7900 GT. Have Fun!