E6600 + Asus 680i Striker Extreme

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Originally Posted by Haltech

Wow Eva! So your 600 Watter holds up with the Dual GTS huh? Very Impressive!

Cant wait to see the numbers with the 6600 OC'd!

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by TaPaKaH

wow, nice review :toast:

(took me ~50mins to get through :D)

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hehe... thanks :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Haltech

Wow Eva! So your 600 Watter holds up with the Dual GTS huh? Very Impressive!

Cant wait to see the numbers with the 6600 OC'd!

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it should be able to handle 8800GTS SLI as the 600W OCZ EvoStream handled oc'd FX-60 + 8800GTS SLI on DFI NF4 Ultra-D here http://i4memory.com/showthread.php?t=3388 :)

Quote:

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Power-mate power draw measurements with 8800GTS SLI installed to see what really is being consumed wattage wise :)

AFAIK, 8800GTS SLI has same or similar power requirements as 7950GX2 video card ?

As you can see for single PCI-E spaced DFI NF4 Ultra-D, having 2x 8800GTS SLI just fits :)

http://i4memory.com/reviewimages/cpu...TS_SLI_003.jpg http://i4memory.com/reviewimages/cpu...TS_SLI_006.jpg http://i4memory.com/reviewimages/cpu...TS_SLI_009.jpg http://i4memory.com/reviewimages/cpu...TS_SLI_011.jpg

FX-60 stock with 8800GTS SLI stock windows start up system power draw = 277.3 Watts.
http://i4memory.com/reviewimages/cpu...TS_SLI_013.jpg

System:

• FX-60 CCB2E 0536RPMW
• Scythe Infinity + Thermaltake 120x25mm 81cfm fan
• DFI NF4 Ultra-D R.AD0 0406 Bios (SLI modded)
• 2x 640MB Gainward Bliss 8800GTS Dual DVI with Thermaltake 120x25mm 81cfm 0.33A fan on top
• 2GB OCZ PC4000EB 3-3-2-8 with 120x25mm Delta 75cfm 0.4A fan
• 160GB Seagate 7200.7 SATAII NCQ
• Gigabyte I-RAM with 1.5GB Kingston KHX3200 Winbond BH-5
• Pioneer DVD-RW
• 600W OCZ EvoStream Modular

Power-Mate Peak power draw measurements


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@2612Mhz - 13x200HTT at 1.35v bios (1.312v)

8800GTS SLI @513/1584 stock
PC/Windows start up = 277.3W (1.286A)
Stressprime Orthos Small FFTs = 297.4W (1.314A)
3Dmark06 = 370.9W (1.629A)
PCMark05 = 322.4W (1.426A)

8800GTS SLI @650/2010
Stressprime Orthos Small FFTs = 307.1W (1.388A)
3Dmark06 = 408.9W* (1.842A) (DMM measured +12v rail min/max/average = 12.22v/12.23v/12.228v)
PCMark05 = 354.1W (1.555A)

* Seems 3Dmark06's HDR/SM3.0 HDR1 test - Canyon test draws the most system power draw in 8800GTS SLI config. While rest of time 3Dmark06 fluctuated between 340-390W system power draw.


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@3006Mhz - 9x334HTT at 1.45v bios (1.408v)

8800GTS SLI @513/1584 stock
PC/Windows start up = 308.2W (1.318A)
Windows Idle = 235.2W
Stressprime Orthos Small FFTs = 337.5W (1.514A) (DMM measured +12v rail min/max/average = 12.23v/12.23v/12.23v)
3Dmark06 = 395.7W (1.757A)
PCMark05 = 345.1W (1.529A)

8800GTS SLI @650/2010
Stressprime Orthos Small FFTs = 297.4W (1.314A)
3Dmark06 = 433.4W (1.934A)
PCMark05 = 375.8W (1.697A)

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Looks like 600W OCZ EvoStream should be able to handle 8800GTS SLI without problems. Specs for 600W OCZ EvoStream power supply

Some info to think about.

For those that are wondering in theory:
* FX-60 stock has TDP = 110W
* Intel Core 2 Duo E6300-6700 = 65W
* Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @3600Mhz at 1.45v = ~113W
* Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 = 75W

A single 8800GTS has following requirements according to the box:

Quote:

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A 400W PCI Express-compliant system power supply with a combined 12V current rating of 26A or more (Minimum system power requirement based on a typical PC configured with an Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 processor)

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X6800 is around 75 or 6.25A so that leaves 19-20A for single 8800GTS and rest of the system components.

We know from Anandtech testing that a single 8800GTX uses approximately 10W more at idle and 20-30W more under load than a 8800GTS http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=2873

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hi! great job, but your PSU sucks real! :slapass:
under load

3.3v. - 3.26v. :nono:
5v.- 4.85v.:nono:
12v. - 11.89v.:nono:

read above thread posts

Asus PC Probe2 reported PSU rail voltages:
Asus PC Probe2 reported voltages vs Digitech QM1538 Digital Multimeter measurements while under load @2400mhz at 1.3875v bios set (1.28v vcore idle / 1.26v vcore load).

+3.3v rail = 3.26v vs 3.387v real
+5v rail = 4.78-4.89v vs 5.02v real
+12v rail = 11.78v vs 12.23v real

Now let's check out nVidia's LinkBoost technology which is available on 680i motherboards when couplied with 79xx/88xx nVidia video cards. Straight from nVidia.com web site pdf tech documents on LinkBoost:

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NVIDIA LinkBoost technology is a technological advancement that ensures blazing graphics bus speeds, bolstering overall system performance. It features hardware and software innovations within select NVIDIA GeForce graphics processing units and media and communications processor (MCP) products. NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI MCP and NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI AMD MCP are the only core logic platforms that support LinkBoost.

Most PC platforms are designed to provide maximum performance under industry standard specifications. Speed of interlink connections between the various PC components is an influential aspect of performance. Depending on the application, PCI Express, as well as the interchip connection between MCP chips, can significantly affect performance.

http://i4memory.com/reviewimages/mot...inkboost_1.jpg

LinkBoost, a feature of the NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI and NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI AMD MCPs, becomes active once the system detects a GPU capable of supporting LinkBoost technology. NVIDIA GeForce 8800 and 7900 GTX are the only GPU add-in cards that support LinkBoost technology. When the supported GPU graphics cards are present, the system automatically recognizes their presence and dynamically boosts PCI Express and MCP HyperTransport bus speeds by 25 percent.

http://i4memory.com/reviewimages/mot...inkboost_2.jpg

LinkBoost does not require an NVIDIA SLI–enabled system configuration. The increased PCI Express and MCP HyperTransport bandwidth makes higher data transfer rates across the links possible, allowing more data packets to be transmitted at any time.

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Gainward Bliss 8800GTS SLI @621/2052

3dmark06
Linkboost disabled in bios = 15,331
Linkboost enabled in bios = 15,361

Linkboost disabled
http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...2_15331_tn.png

Linkboost enabled
http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...2_15361_tn.png


SM2.0 Score = dropped 0.0688%
HDR/SM3.0 Score = dropped 0.412%
CPU Score = increased 1.28%

Looks like Linkboost didn't do much for the actual GPU component tests ? Might need to test a full range of graphic benchmarks etc to find out.

Notice SPP/MCP PCI-E bandwidth went from 2500Mhz to 3125Mhz exactly 25% increase :)

LinkBoost made 3dmark benchmarks a bit unstable it seems so disabled it in bios again.

Gainward Bliss 8800GTS SLI @621/2052

3dmark05
http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...2_22657_tn.png

3dmark2003
http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...2_54770_tn.png

Great thread, George :up:

That DDR2-1200... Could you do that speed with any BIOS prior to 0701 (e.g. 0402 or 0505), the one you used for that shot? Also, have you played around to see what max memory frequency you can get? And one more Q - is DDR2-846 about the max you could get stable with 1T?

Thanks! :)

423mhz 1T was with 2x512MB OCZ PC5400 XTC Platinum non Micron based so probably limit of ram not board.. on 975x/965P the OCZ 5400 XTC Platinum max out at 440-450mhz 4-4-4-12 at 2.25v

For 600mhz clocks 0505 can probably pull it off but 0701/0505 have buggy vcore and not stable as 0402.

After flashing from 0402 to 0505 to 0701 back to 0505 back to 0402 I can get close to same clocks tested upto 533mhz so far... then jumped to SLI tests hehe

Kingpin, there's some improvement for 3dmark06 for higher mem clocks 400mhz 4-4-4-12 2T auto vs 533mhz 4-4-4-12 2T auto - 533mhz gained 15490 - 15361 = 129pts @621/2052 clocked 8800GTS SLI

http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...2_15490_tn.png

http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...2_22973_tn.png

http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...2_54907_tn.png

http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...2_68690_tn.png

eva the mcp is a very sensitive are on the asus striker, once you get past 1750qfsb for stability testing, after a few hours you get all sort s of artifacts and blips if the mcp is left on auto or veers too high. For higher clocks mcp definatley needs to be hard set around the 210 region. Linkboost is best left off in these situations as you found out..


Great work btw, very well laid out and very informative, keep up the good work..

regards
raja

thanks for the info..

Something weird i noticed with linkboost disabled at 1.55v NB volts, ntune shows MCP/SPP PCI-E at 2500mhz.. but raise NB volts to 1.6v with linkboost still disabled, ntune shows MCP PCI-E at 3125mhz ... MCP PCI-E auto scales with NB volts ?

quite possibly, I did not experiment that far, I found it best to hard lock the sucker. That section of this chipset is what holds this board back at the higher fsb clocks for overall stability..

I am waiting a while to see what a new revision brings..

regards
Raja

are you refeering to SPP -> MCP ref clock as i have it fixed at 200mhz

http://i4memory.com/reviewimages/mot...triker_005.jpg

Looks like 426Mhz 4-4-4-12 1T is faster than 533mhz 4-4-4-12 2T even for 3dmark06

426mhz 4-4-4-12 1T = 15,506
533mhz 4-4-4-12 2T = 15,490

http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...2_15506_tn.png

yep spp>mcp, it works best aorund 200-210 in my experience, on auto with higher fsb it causes issues when it veers over 250.

It's a section of the chipset that some vendors have yet to get a full grip on..

regards
Raja

spp>mcp works fine for me at 250, also i have locked the pci-e mhz at 125 wich also works like a charm.

125 on the pci-e is excellent, how do you like that Gskill HZ and what ddr v are you feeding it with? I just got in a set of that ram for a E6600 build coming up and was curious as your impression of it with that setup of hardware. Is 1200-1300 possible with that board.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GAR

spp>mcp works fine for me at 250, also i have locked the pci-e mhz at 125 wich also works like a charm.

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I had issues with the led poster flashing (even though set to off) and also screen artifacts after 5 hours..

regards
Raja

well, i havnt played a game for more than 2 hours at a time cuz my head probably would be hurting like crazy, also the lcd poster hasnt had any flickering issue, just checked it, and its normal.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by flesheatinvirus

125 on the pci-e is excellent, how do you like that Gskill HZ and what ddr v are you feeding it with? I just got in a set of that ram for a E6600 build coming up and was curious as your impression of it with that setup of hardware. Is 1200-1300 possible with that board.

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The ram is great, but i need to sell it so i can buy 2 exact kits, for 4gb's.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GAR

spp>mcp works fine for me at 250, also i have locked the pci-e mhz at 125 wich also works like a charm.

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interesting.. i've left PCI-E at 100mhz fixed heh

Today's a hot and humid day with room temps at 31.8+ C so decided to make use of the Swiftech Apogee waterblock I bought just before Xmas :)

H20 setup:

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Swiftech Apogee -> Radiical Triple fan single pass radiator -> T line -> Swiftech MCP655 @12.25v -> Swiftech Apogee

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System:

• Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 QPGE B1 Step 5
• Swiftech Apogee/Radiical Triple Single Pass/MCP655@12.25v Kayl Custom 100W Psu
• 2x 640MB Gainward 8800GTS SLI
• Asus 680i Striker Extreme rev1.0 0402 bios
• 1x 160GB Seagate 7200.7 SATA NCQ on SATA2 port
• Pioneer DVR-05 DVD Burner
• 600W OCZ EvoStream Modular Power supply

E6600@9x266 = 2400Mhz at 1.18v
I know it ain't directly comparable with other results as they were run at 0.07v to 0.10v higher vcore. But best to look at the cpu load to room ambient delta figures :)

Idle
http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...uz_idle_tn.png

Load
http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...95_load_tn.png

Room temp: ~31.8-32.8C
Cooling used: Swiftech Apogee/Radiical Triple Single Pass/MCP655@12.25v Kayl Custom 100W Psu
Bios idle: 31-33C
Windows idle: 35-36C
Windows load: 45-46C
Rise above ambient delta = 12.2-13.8C
Rise above windows idle delta = 9-11C

Looks like moving from Scythe Infinity air cooling to Swiftech Apogee water cooling resulted in drop in temps as follows:
Rise above ambient delta = dropped from 22.2-24.5C to 12.2-13.8C. ~10C drop
Rise above windows idle delta = dropped from 12-14C to 9-11C. ~3C drop.

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To compare with Scythe Infinity air on Asus 680i Striker Extreme

Idle
http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...sfet_nb_sb.png

Prime95 Load
http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...ime95_load.png

Room temp: ~29.5-30.8C
Cooling used: Scythe Infinity with mount mod + 1x Thermaltake 120x25mm 81cfm push-pull
Bios idle: 30-31C
Windows idle: 40-41C
Windows load: 53-54C
Rise above ambient delta = 22.2-24.5C
Rise above windows idle delta = 12-14C

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To compare with H20 cooling on Intel D975XBX Badaxe
At http://i4memory.com/showthread.php?t=3218

http://fileshosts.com/intel/Intel975...ck_compare.png

http://fileshosts.com/intel/Intel975...k_compare2.png

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Lots of work there eva... Good job.

Thanks Timmay :)

Well without testing optimal voltages, I just shoved 1.6v (1.58v load) vcore and jacked up the FSB to see how it goes with some 3dmarks. 3dmark2003 is usually the 3dmark app which is most stressing on cpu stability often needing lower max cpu mhz to pass compared to other 3dmark05/06 benchmarks.

So started with 3dmark2003.

http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...2_55235_tn.png

That's only 318pts more than my E6600@3600Mhz with 533mhz 4-4-4-12 2T memory run hmmm... probably memory clock related ?

Again it seems 1T is faster.. here's same cpu clock but with 433mhz 4-4-4-12 1T memory clocks. About 65 pts faster than 500mhz 4-4-4-12 2T

http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...2_55300_tn.png

Awesome work! I am very interested in this board and a e6600.

Looks like there is room for a stock Mach II head and the LGA775 kit.

Thanks.

thanks.. yup lots of room around the board for phase!

Well 16k mark fell so easily once I changed to 1T memory speeds. Gainward Bliss 8800GTS SLI stock hsf @621/2052 pulled off 16,143 nicely :)

System:

• Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 QPGE B1 Step 5
• Swiftech Apogee/Radiical Triple Single Pass/MCP655@12.25v Kayl Custom 100W Psu
• 2x 640MB Gainward 8800GTS SLI
• Asus 680i Striker Extreme rev1.0 0402 bios
• 1x 160GB Seagate 7200.7 SATA NCQ on SATA2 port
• Pioneer DVR-05 DVD Burner
• 600W OCZ EvoStream Modular Power supply

http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...2_16143_tn.png

bit higher @648/2052
http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...2_16250_tn.png

Breaks 24k barrirer for 3dmark05 for 8800GTS SLI category :D

http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...2_24247_tn.png

Seems 336-342FSB is where my Q6600 Kentsfield is for max FSB with 0402 bios.

http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680..._validated.png

Excuse the image dimensions for screenshot @13xx X 11xx but only 82-90KB in size :D

Quad threaded Prime95 v25.1 small FFTs loaded
http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...95_load_tn.png

Quad threaded Prime95 v25.1 small FFTs post load idle
http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...ad_idle_tn.png

Seems raising CPU VTT from 1.4v to 1.5v helped but only in conjunction with raising NB volts from 1.55v to 1.65v. 345FSB seems fine so far.

Settings used:

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AI Tuning: Manual
Nvidia GPU Ex: Disabled
LinkBoost: Disabled

FSB - Memory Clock Mode: Unlinked
x FSB - Memory Raio: N/A
FSB (QDR), Mhz: 1380 (means 345FSB)
Actual FSB (QDR), Mhz: 1380
MEM (DDR), Mhz: 805 (means 402mhz speeds)
Actual MEM (DDR), Mhz: 805

Vcore Voltage: 1.425 set (1.31v bios/1.30v windows idle/1.28v windows load - 0505 and higher bios fix the vcore issue but 0402 bios more stable for both my E6600/Q6600 cpus)
Memory Voltage: 2.000v
1.2v HT Voltage: 1.4v
NB Core Voltage: 1.65v
SB Core Voltage: 1.50v
CPU VTT Voltage: 1.5v
DDRII Controller Ref Voltage: AUTO
DDRII Channel A Ref Voltage: AUTO
DDRII Channel B Ref Voltage: AUTO

tCL (CAS Latency): 4
tRCD: 4
tRP: 4
tRAS: 12
Command Per Clock (CMD): 2 clock (2T)

Advance Memory Settings
tRRD: AUTO
tRC: AUTO
tWR: AUTO
tWTR: AUTO
tREF: AUTO
Async Latency: AUTO

CPU Spread Spectrum: Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum: Disabled
MCP PCIE Spread Spectrum: Disabled
SATA Spread Spectrum: Disabled
LDT Spread Spectrum: Disabled

CPU Internal Thermal Control: Disabled
Limit CPUID MaxVal: Disabled
Enhanced C1 (C1E): Disabled
Execute Disable Bit: Disabled
Virtualization Technology: Disabled
Enhanced Intel Speedstep Tech: Disabled
LDT Frequency: 5x

PCIEX16_1 Frequency (Mhz): 100
PCIEX16_2 Frequency (Mhz): 100
PCIEX16_3 Frequency (Mhz): 100
SPP<->MCP Ref Clock, Mhz: 200

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http://fileshosts.com/intel/Asus/680...95_load_tn.png