Botteneck check

Adster3000 · 27 Mar 2011 at 10:59

olivier renault said:
You may be able to unlock L3 on the tricore. Here's a discussion, probably more around the net.

Again, try a hyper 212+ with AS5 and overclock the x3. Try unlocking the cache (if available), and extra cores. YOu may need to reduce overclock to keep it stable, or it may hold with everything unlocked.

If you still not satisfied and nothing unlocks, get a 955BE and overclock with said cooler. The HD 5850 is good enough on its own, and if it's not, reduce eye candy. That would be the cheapest route to fix your problem. That's all I can say

I unlocked my tri again briefly as a test. I can confirm that mine doesn't unlock the L3 cache, which is a shame.

I also ran BC2 to see how it would fare (while keeping an eye on my temps) and found that the map loads a lot faster, I'd lag like mad when I first got into a map because it was sill loading map resources. Performance in general was a improved a bit, also.

If I got the Hyper 212, would it be recommended to use AS5? Will it provide noticeably better cooling? I only ask because I've never installed a new cooler without the thermal paste being pre-applied and if it doesn't benefit me, I'd rather avoid doing it.

In reply to your other post, my memory clock is at 1600MHz.

Best I start reading up on overclocking, also..

If anyone has any favored guides, I'd appreciate them.

MOOGLEYS · 27 Mar 2011 at 11:08

I have a Hyper 212+ on my 720be. I used the stuff that came with it and my temps are nice and low. Just make sure yo thinly spread the compound over the chip as the base of the 212 is not flat and the blob method causes it not to spread..

Adster3000 · 27 Mar 2011 at 13:22

MOOGLEYS said:
I have a Hyper 212+ on my 720be. I used the stuff that came with it and my temps are nice and low. Just make sure yo thinly spread the compound over the chip as the base of the 212 is not flat and the blob method causes it not to spread..

On an off topic note, when aiming for a max temperature when OCing, do I focus on CPU temp or core temp?

Cookeh · 27 Mar 2011 at 15:15

AS5 is not the best by a long margin - and it's curing time is just a pain in the arse.

MX-4 or IC Diamond would be the best choice.

MOOGLEYS · 27 Mar 2011 at 15:22

Adster3000 said:
On an off topic note, when aiming for a max temperature when OCing, do I focus on CPU temp or core temp?

Core temp use something like "core temp" to monitor.

olivier renault · 27 Mar 2011 at 15:25

Adster3000 said:
On an off topic note, when aiming for a max temperature when OCing, do I focus on CPU temp or core temp?

One thing to be careful with core temps, is the surface contact between the cooler and the CPU, especially cheap coolers as they tend to have less precise and grainier machining on the surface (the Hyper has the pipes pressed directly onto the contact surface).

So parts of the CPU may not have a contact as good as other parts. If you get discrepancies (say, over 10 degrees) between core temps, then your thermal contact may not be optimal and could use some better compound spreading to fill the gaps on the cooler surface.

I still recommend you use AS5, that gives you more paste to spread around and ensure maximum surface contact. You don't need a big slab though, just a 'film', unless you have big gaps to fill in between the heat pipes at the base.

As for core temps versus CPU temp, if you unlock your cores, the core temps on CPU-Z and other software may be reported wrong. You can always double check in the bios for consistency.

I say AS5 as it's a tried and tested compound and you get plenty of it. You can use some isoprophyl alcohol to clean the gunk off the CPU and cooler.

ATIorNvidia · 27 Mar 2011 at 15:48

For games that can only take full advantage of one or two cores, the Athlon II and even Phenom II is a bottleneck (I'd imagine only at low resolutions though).

Adster3000 · 27 Mar 2011 at 15:49

olivier renault said:
One thing to be careful with core temps, is the surface contact between the cooler and the CPU, especially cheap coolers as they tend to have less precise and grainier machining on the surface (the Hyper has the pipes pressed directly onto the contact surface).

So parts of the CPU may not have a contact as good as other parts. If you get discrepancies (say, over 10 degrees) between core temps, then your thermal contact may not be optimal and could use some better compound spreading to fill the gaps on the cooler surface.

I still recommend you use AS5, that gives you more paste to spread around and ensure maximum surface contact. You don't need a big slab though, just a 'film', unless you have big gaps to fill in between the heat pipes at the base.

As for core temps versus CPU temp, if you unlock your cores, the core temps on CPU-Z and other software may be reported wrong. You can always double check in the bios for consistency.

I say AS5 as it's a tried and tested compound and you get plenty of it. You can use some isoprophyl alcohol to clean the gunk off the CPU and cooler.

I assume the Hyper 212+ does come with pre-applied paste? If it does, I think I'll just leave it as it is and buy a couple of case fans. I currently have only one that's on the front.

Another question I have is side panel fans. I can fit 2 on my Xigmatek Asgard case. If I were to buy 1, would it be best to put it over the CPU or GPU? And would I be assuming correctly that it should be pumping air into the case?

Any fan recommendations would be appreciated, also. There are so many to choose from.

ATIorNvidia said:
For games that can only take full advantage of one or two cores, the Athlon II and even Phenom II is a bottleneck (I'd imagine only at low resolutions though).

Sorry, but I already proved that wrong when I unlocked a core to test performance.

MOOGLEYS · 27 Mar 2011 at 15:53

The 212+ comes with a tube of paste not pre-applied and it works very well. I have tried them all and tbh if applied correctly they all work as good as each other. I have that cooler on my 720 unlocked to 4 cores at 3.6ghz using the paste it came with and it barely hits 40'c under load.. Just don't use the blob method as it wont spread a thinlayer on the chip is perfect..

Adster3000 · 27 Mar 2011 at 20:24

MOOGLEYS said:
The 212+ comes with a tube of paste not pre-applied and it works very well. I have tried them all and tbh if applied correctly they all work as good as each other. I have that cooler on my 720 unlocked to 4 cores at 3.6ghz using the paste it came with and it barely hits 40'c under load.. Just don't use the blob method as it wont spread a thinlayer on the chip is perfect..

Fair enough, thanks.

After finding out that I don't focus on CPU temp but on core temp, it turns out my unlocked tri is stable with the stock cooler. Highest it is was 75C (CPU temp) which is about 64/65C core temps if I'm not mistaken? Obviously I cannot check because it doesn't display them when the core is unlocked.

Should I let it run like this? I know my max temperature is 70C according to the AMD website's specification and also CoreTemp. Also bearing in mind this is about 5 or 6 degrees higher than what it was before the unlock, which isn't much I'd imagine?

Now it's a matter of deciding whether to keep this and get a new cooler or just carry on with getting a 965 with the cooler and OC that.

MOOGLEYS · 27 Mar 2011 at 20:48

Seems a little hot to me that. Is the stock cooler the non heatpipe small one as that would explain the temps.

Why don't you get a new cooler like the Hyper 212+ and have a play with your current chip and see how it goes before getting a new chip. If it turns out that it's not performing how you wan't then buy a new chip and you have the decent cooler ready to go. The Hyper 212+ is only £15 and a bargain as it offers superb cooling equal to many high end coolers...

Cheers

ATIorNvidia · 27 Mar 2011 at 20:52

Adster3000 said:
Sorry, but I already proved that wrong when I unlocked a core to test performance.

It's a bottleneck. The Athlon/Deneb architecture is pretty slow.

olivier renault · 27 Mar 2011 at 21:12

start with the hyper. If it doesn't work or you can't overclock safely, get a 955BE. Easier to overclock.

Adster3000 · 27 Mar 2011 at 21:39

olivier renault said:
start with the hyper. If it doesn't work or you can't overclock safely, get a 955BE. Easier to overclock.

Sounds like a plan. What's the delivery charges and times like through OCUK?

MOOGLEYS said:
Seems a little hot to me that. Is the stock cooler the non heatpipe small one as that would explain the temps.

Why don't you get a new cooler like the Hyper 212+ and have a play with your current chip and see how it goes before getting a new chip. If it turns out that it's not performing how you wan't then buy a new chip and you have the decent cooler ready to go. The Hyper 212+ is only £15 and a bargain as it offers superb cooling equal to many high end coolers...

Cheers

Yeah, no heat pipes. Standard AMD cooler.