Upgrading to A64 Dual Core Win XP Guide comments?

[GeForce]

What chip are you running again? its an X2 4200+ right?

Did u buy that chip recently or?

Nope it's a 4400+ X2.

Bought off a mate. Brand new but has been sitting around for months.

Stepping is CCBWE 0609. It's also the ADV version (89W) rather than the usual ADA (110W) one.

Jon

 

[Clark the White]

this thread is very interesting indeed,

Sorry if this sounds like an obvious question but when upgrading from single to dual core, as well as the above, would I need to uninstall and reinstall any games I have (which support dual core) to take advantage of the dual core or will the games run as smoothly as they would have if I had done a fresh install of the game with dual core anyway?

 

[GeForce]

To be honest that really depends on the game. Some games will create config files during the install which would still contain the information of the system being single core even once the CPU has been changed. These will require a reinstall.

Others need a patch, others will just automatically recognise the new CPU and adjust themselves to suit.

Basically run the dual core game and leave Task Manager open. Then quit the game and have a look at the CPU usage. If it shows around 50% on both cores, or one core at 100% and the other at 0%, then you probably need to reinstall

Jon

 

[Quixote]

Just to add my opinion to the debate, I have always installed the Dual - core optimiser but never the windows hotfix. I have never experienced any problems.
Without the dual core optimiser, there were massive stuttering problems in far cry, applying the optimiser solved this.
Getting the 2nd core recognised should be automatic but I found that uninstalling & re-installing the AMD processor driver &/ or a reboot helped too.
On a side note, unless overclocking prevents it from working, I can see no possible reason for not using cool & quiet ; it saves your electricity bill & the environment with no performance reduction at all.

 

[Big.Wayne]

On a side note, unless overclocking prevents it from working, I can see no possible reason for not using cool & quiet ; it saves your electricity bill & the environment with no performance reduction at all.

I have been experiencing some *weird* symptons where the PC would just switch off so I haven't yet installed those C&Q drivers on these machines because I was trying to keep things simple. Normally I use C&Q however I have never been able to get it working under Windows MCE2005.

 

[Ghuraba]

Hi there

Are the AMd Drivers and the AMD Dual Core Optimizer two different things as the link to both is identical? I presume the 'AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual Core Processor Driver for Windows XP' you are refering to, second from bottom? The AMD Dual-Core Optimizer is the first download.

Thanks

Michael

 

[Big.Wayne]

AMD Dual-Core Optimizer (Setup.exe)
Installs some Windows enhancements for *Dual-Cores-only*


AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual Core Processor Driver for Windows XP (amdcpusetup.exe)
Updates the CPU driver and adds AMD PowerNow!™ (Mono & Dual)

 

[Ghuraba]

Hi there.

I just installed my new Opty 65 using 311 x 9 default voltage 2.8GHZ and ran Orthos 'bend' and coretemp (0.94) and after about 15 minutes my PC shut off. I have followed the guide above installing all the drivers and hotfixes. I ran Orothos again 'blend' 6 hours this time not using Core Temp and no problems so far. Is there a known problem with X2 and Core Temp that switches off the PC? I had 'Cool & Quiet' disabled as I have never used this in my life. One of the posts further up mentions a similar problem.

Thanks

Michael

 

[Big.Wayne]

I just installed my new Opty 65 using 311 x 9 default voltage 2.8GHZ and ran Orthos 'bend' and coretemp (0.94) and after about 15 minutes my PC shut off.

Oops that sounds a pain?

I have had the same thing happen, even worse though was the fact the system was at stock??

After a weeks worth of troubleshooting I have been unable to get these X2 chips to pass the blend test 'or' to avoid the PCs just switching off.

Stalled Orthos?

When I say trouble-shooting I mean I have swapped out just about everything, used diffferent memory, tested the PSU's, re-installed windows, changed the voltages, timings, MHz etc

The thing that worried me was that I ordered four CPU's and one of them was DOA so I started to suspect there may be a fault of some kind with the rest of the chips?

I have taken out all the dual cores x2's and replaced them with mono core Opterons and so far I have not had a single *shut-off*.

I'm kinda getting the feeling there is a batch of chips floating about with a *faulty* onboard memory controller?

Bit Baffled atm but will post back once I have a solution

 

[JEB]

Just built a new rig with a X2 6000 and was going to try these drivers and optimizer. What's the best tool for using to benchmark my before and after results?

 

[ademcg]

Can Anyone tell me how to Uninstall the DCO ?

I have gone from my Opty 185 back to my single core [email protected] GHz and I unistalled the 185 drivers, unistalled the hotfix , dleted the "Throttle" file in Regedit instaled my 144 again and rebooted.

I just couldn't find the Dual Core Optimiser to unistall it ???

Do I need to unistall it ?

I have installed the single core drivers again...is this enough ??

 

[Chris Beard]

Just as a side note - at work AMD chips caused a massive problem as they were giving negative ping results and totally killing the network bandwidth. Installing the Drivers from AMD for duel core solved the issue.

My bosses boss was not impressed and now all clients are advised to go Intel.

 

[GeForce]

My bosses boss was not impressed and now all clients are advised to go Intel.

No need for that.

AMD provide the drivers for a reason. If you don't install them, you can't expect the product to work as it should

@ademcg: If you uninstalled the 185 drivers (ie. the DCO) and the hotfix, that's all of the dual-core related stuff removed.

Check the boot.ini file for the /usepmtimer switch. If it's still there, you can get rid of that. It is not required on a single core machine.

Jon

 

[musicman53]

AMD Dual-Core Optimizer (Setup.exe)
Installs some Windows enhancements for *Dual-Cores-only*


AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual Core Processor Driver for Windows XP (amdcpusetup.exe)
Updates the CPU driver and adds AMD PowerNow!™ (Mono & Dual)

The processor driver is NOT needed at all unless you want to be able to use Cool'n'Quiet.
It serves no other purpose.
It does not"update the cpu driver and add AMD PowerNow".
Try using Cool n quiet without it and it will not work.

 

[GeForce]

It does not"update the cpu driver and add AMD PowerNow".

It does. The new driver replaces (or updates) the system driver for the dual core CPU, but you are correct it is not necessary unless you intend to use Cool'n'Quiet.

PowerNow is just the mobile name for Cool'n'Quiet. So yes, it does add PowerNow technology for notebook and/or mobile systems.

Jon

 

[wiggy]

Hi all

I have had an X2 for a year now @ stock with the amd driver and optimizer. Ever since then i have had numerous blue screens and freezing, though only in windows/internet and not during games. I initially thought it was the usb modem as i also installed that at the same time. So i checked the mini dump and was suggesting it was the modem/driver. I then bought a new modem and was still having problems.
I decided in the end to disable cool and quiet in the bios, and not one crash or blue screen. Seems the vcore was not enough to run at lower speed. So if your having problems like mine then just turn off the power saving feature on these chips, and see what happens.
Just thought i would share my long and frustrating experience, but glad i have at last got it sorted.

 

[ademcg]

No need for that.

AMD provide the drivers for a reason. If you don't install them, you can't expect the product to work as it should

@ademcg: If you uninstalled the 185 drivers (ie. the DCO) and the hotfix, that's all of the dual-core related stuff removed.

Check the boot.ini file for the /usepmtimer switch. If it's still there, you can get rid of that. It is not required on a single core machine.

Jon

I unistalled the Opty 185 Drivers from Device Manager....is this what you mean (i.e. the DCO)?

#i will check the /usepmtimer switch thingy tonight and report back, thanks for the reply

 

[GeForce]

You can check if the DCO is still installed by doing the following:

1. Start
2. Run
3. Type "msconfig" and hit enter
4. Go to the startup tab

If the entry "amd_dc_opt" is present under the heading "Startup Item" AND the checkbox is ticked, then the DCO is installed AND active.

If the entry is there but no tick appears in the checkbox, the DCO is installed but inactive.

If the entry is not there at all, the DCO has been completely removed.

If it's installed and active, just uncheck the box and hit 'OK'. Restart the system and it will no longer be active Check the power management timer switch (/usepmtimer) in the boot.ini file too.

Jon

 

[sneakypenguin]

Is there an intel version of this? like a quad core optimizer? I have the qx6700 and recently installed xp pro 64 and would be very interested. thanks

 

[devilman_079]

Has anyone solved the random shut downs issues? I upgraded from an A64 3000 to a x2 4200 on a MSI Neo 2 Plat MB and have experienced a few random restarts. I have followed the guide and installed all the drivers but unsure what causes the restart. Seems to happen when in windows (XP SP2).

Any ideas how to look for the fault? I thought it might be the CPU temp but these seem fine ...

Thanks,

D