Progress report

[Stan_Lite]

Little progress report on my farm upgrade.

I ordered some bits and pieces to upgrade the farm. I had some bits already (motherboards, memory, PSUs etc.). I got the bits yesterday and started to work. Unfortunately, things didn't go quite according to plan. The first rig I built with the P5W-DH board I had wouldn't work, confirming my suspicion that at least one of the spare boards I had was borked. On to the second rig (965P-DS3) and everything went fine with the build and it fired up fine. Tried to install Windows and it failed about 3/4 of the way through and again and again ........ I tried everything I could think of, different disk, Ubuntu etc but nothing would install. I had been at it for about 8 hours when midnight arrived so I set memtest running overnight and went to bed.

Got up this morning and decided to try a different optical drive so I took the DVD-RW out of my gaming rig and started with that - all went without a hitch. Unfortunately, I couldn't get it to OC anywhere near as far as I was hoping but never mind, 3.0Ghz will do for now.

Next was another disappointment, I have a 945GCMX-S2 mATX board which, for some reason, I was convinced would take a quad. It doesn't. I've ordered a couple of GA-P35-DS3L boards and some more RAM (was one set short for some reason) which will arrive tomorrow so I should get the other two quads set up then.

I swapped the G0 Q6600 from the gaming rig with one of the new ones as I was convinced the one in there was a poor clocker - looks like it's the mobo (P5N32-E Sli) which is a poor clocker so I'll probably end up changing that at some point. Bit of a PITA to be honest as it will probably mean a re-install - means cloning HDDs etc

So the farm at the moment consists of 3 x Q6600s (2 x G0s and 1 x B3), 1 x E6600 and 1 x E6300 with two Q6600s (G0) to follow tomorrow - although I'll still be short 1 set RAM (I was planning on retiring the Duos but can't bring myself to now ). I'll probably nip out tomorrow some time (depending on when the stuff arrives) and fetch a pair of sticks to put into the E6300 so it can keep running.

Here's my current FahMon:

I'll keep you updated.

Don't get too comfy in that cell Snapshot

 

[Stan_Lite]

Try the F12 BIOS for the 965P DS3 if you haven't already done so. It's meant to another 300-400mhz out of a Q6600.

First thing I did I'm afraid.

I might be able to get more out of it with more volts. Must be a dodgy stock cooler as it's reading over 70C at full load with only 1.32V (reseated and re-applied AS5 twice already). Once I get a better cooler, I might have a go with more vcore.

 

[Stan_Lite]

What cooler you got on it then? Did you set cooling mode to Legacy (I think that's the right one)?

PS - I'd be very interested in your O/C settings on the 965P. Might tweak my E6600 settings as I'll wager you have better settings than me.

I'm just using the stock Intel cooler but it must be a faulty one. What's legacy cooling mode

It's headless at the moment as I only have two monitors and the 2405 stays in one place. I'll probably be having a bit of a tweak in a day or two and I'll check my settings then.

 

[Stan_Lite]

Ah, didn't know about that. will have a look on the morrow and will jot down my settings for you whilst I'm there.

 

[Stan_Lite]

That's the sort of thing I do. I swap things around because I think I'll get a few hundred points more by having a particular CPU in a particular mobo - sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't.

Well done in advance for the 2 million tiffy - if my stuff had arrived when it was supposed to, I might have beaten you to it but fate decreed otherwise - c'est la vie.

 

[Stan_Lite]

Slightly more successful day today.

Mobos arrived at around noon. Put together the first rig using the Titan Amanda TEC cooler thing I had in the bits box. Got it running at 3.5GHz with 1.425V vcore

The other one I had to use the stock Intel HSF and was heavily restricted OC-wise by temperatures. Got that one running at 3.24GHz with 1.35V but kinda hot.

Think I'll get a box full of freezer 7s to help with the cooling and get some more MHz out of some of these.

Current FahMon:

 

[Stan_Lite]

Now that's an impressive way to get your 2 meg tiffy - an 11k PPD increase in your production. Looks like you've got everything on line now.

Pretty much. A couple of rigs are heat restricted but should have some Freezer 7s arriving today so may get a few hundred more PPD from them, apart from that, everything is pretty much up and running.

Tiffy will be displayed in a new thread soonish.

 

[Stan_Lite]

Right. The Freezer 7s arrived today. Got two of them fitted but not wothout incident.
I couldn't wait until one of the rigs finished it's WUs as it would have been two in the morning so I decided to take a chance - fatal error Got it fitted and rebooted, started the clients to check the temperature drop and both WUs died with over 50% progress
Pfaffed about for a bit trying to increase the OC but it looks like that old 965P-DS3 board is crap - can't get it to boot with a bus speed above 333MHz, so it's stuck at a maximum of 3.0GHz (9x333). Think I'll have to get another couple of GA-P35-DS3L boards for that one and the gaming rig.

The other one went considerably better, dropping the temperature by around 15 degrees. Managed to increase the OC on that one from 3.24GHz to 3.5GHz currently running at 56C, full load, on 1.45V vcore. That makes two running at 3.5GHz (both of the rigs with the GA-P35-DS3L boards).

Will get the other one fitted tomorrow. Won't help with the OC on that rig as it's at 3.0GHz on an mATX board with limited overclocking capabilities but it will reduce the temps - currently running at around 80C (it's a B3 Q6600).

 

[Stan_Lite]

From what I read, it's worth considering the P31-DS3L mobos which would save a few quid over the P35s. It's not as if you need all the P35 features in a dedicated folding rig.

Do you know if the P31 OCs as good as the P35? It would be handy if it does as they are over £10 cheaper but I wouldn't want to compromise any potential overclock. The P35 boards I have both clock the Q6600s to 3.5GHz and it would be nice to get the other two to the same level.

 

[Stan_Lite]

Because our average outputs are now very close, the EOC stats don't show that you're about to stomp me and start harrassing Gazzza. I'll be waving my sig around a disused airfield near Bognor today so I expect to find myself in cell 7 on my return. I'm packed up and waiting to be displaced.....

Official stomps have been issued.

Have fun shooting stuff. Remember to tidy up before you leave

Been having some stability issues with a couple of rigs the last two days but their good now so back up to full production. Have ordered another couple of the GA-P35-DS3L mobos, to arrive on Tuesday. These are for the two rigs with the issues, the issues were mostly to do with me trying to force some more out of them as they were both underachieving due to being in crappy boards.

I have to go to Aberdeen on Tuesday night for a two day training course and then I'm off daaaarn saaaarf for a few days visiting friends. When I get back, I will be getting a good board for the gaming rig and a new cooler - am I right in thinking that the best air cooling around atm seems to be the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme, coupled with a good fan or are there better coolers out there?

 

[Stan_Lite]

Thanks guys.

You might want to revise the above list a little Pneumonic. I have one of my G0s running at 3.5GHz under a Freezer Pro at about 60c (fan is on full).

Consensus seems to be that the 120 is slightly better so I'll probably go for that. I don't have a lapping kit but I may get one in future if I feel I would gain from it.

Any recommendations for fans? How about the faster Yate Loons? Noise isn't really too much of an obstacle, I'm not particularly sensitive to noise - having said that, I'll not be packing a Delta in there - been there, done that

 

[Stan_Lite]

I suppose the Deltas are only loud at full speed - would probably be nice to have the capability for benching and then turn it down for everyday use.

I've always wondered why OcUK don't stock lapping kits, considering it's a shop geared towards performance and overclocking

I'll have a look for that one you suggest and maybe look at getting one.

 

[Stan_Lite]

OK. A further update.

Didn't get the new boards last week due to some supply problems but got them delivered whilst I was away.

Put a new board in the rig with the B3 last night but still can't get it further than 3.0GHz. Never mind, I used the board from that along with some RAM and a hard drive I'd bought to resurrect the E6300. I'm currently trying to get it stable at 3.15GHz - which isn't too shabby.

I have two motherboards to change today which should let me OC the other two G0s a fair bit more. Putting one of the other G0s in a GA-P35-DS3L and changing the dodgy P5N32 board in the gaming rig for a P5K PRO and replacing the tired old Ninja with a shiny new Ultra-120 Extreme with a Yate Loon D12SH-12 (Deltas are out of stock).

I'll update again once I've finished playing.

 

[Stan_Lite]

Well, that's all I can do for now. I think I've got everything stable now - seems to all be going fine. Had to fiddle a lot with the P5K to get it stable so I hope it's not going to fall over as soon as my back is turned I haven't been having much luck with Asus boards recently, I think I'll steer clear of them and stick to Gigabyte for now. I seem to have more luck with them.

Current farm consists of:

Computer room:
2x Q6600s (G0) @ 3.5GHz running two WinSMP clients each.
1x E6600 @ 3.0GHz running one WinSMP client (nekkid).
1x E6300 @ 3.15GHz running one WinSMP client (nekkid).

Bedroom:
1x Q6600 (G0) @ 3.5GHz running two WinSMP clients.
1x Q6600 (B3) @ 3.0GHz running two WinSMP clients.

Living room:
1x Q6600 (G0) @ 3.5GHz running two WinSMP clients.

Current FahMon looks thus:

Edit: All can be monitored through remote desktop from anywhere I am. I bought myself an Asus Eee yesterday and can connect easily using rdesktop from anywhere in the world (with an interweb connection)

 

[Stan_Lite]

Spoke too soon. Bloody Asus rig BSOD'd on me. I've had to cut back the OC to an easily manageable level (3.0GHz). I don't have time to mess around with it, I have to leave for the airport in half an hour or so.

****ing Asus As soon as I get back, I'll be ordering a Gigabyte board and will ritually destroy all Asus mobos in my hoard

 

[Stan_Lite]

Set the FSB to Northbridge strap to 333mhz

Will make a note of that for when I get back. Thanks

 

[Stan_Lite]

Latest news.

The E6300 decided it didn't want to play anymore. It worked fine for about 2 weeks and then decided it wasn't happy any more and started crapping out on me It wasn't EUEing, just re-booting (presumably with BSODs) so I won't get that sorted until I get home 2 weeks on Friday.

When I get home, I'll be sorting out the E6300 and fiddling with the OC on the current gaming rig with the nice Mr Pneumonic's advice in mind - hopefully I can get a nice stable OC at a decent level doing that.

I have no plans for any more rigs this next time home due to other commitments but I'm planning on a new gaming rig the time after that (early May) which will include a QX9650 and 4Gb of DDR3 RAM amongst other goodies. This will be cooled with a reserator XT for decent, quiet cooling - haven't decided whether to use it on just the CPU for extra cooling or on CPU and GFX for extra quietness yet.