AMD Athlon 64 X2 Overclocking Results

[Romir]

The 6/18 bios for the DFI NF4 wasn't playing nicely with my 4400+. It was giving me Athlon XP era performance (1 minute 1m superpi at stock). After several wasted hours I switched to the 5/10 bios and all is well now.

Here's a quick xvid result from AutoGK.

System:
CPU - X2 4400+ @ 2707mhz (246*11) 1.5v (1.45 in windows) - I need to get my TCCD working at 270 and try getting it an actual 1.5/1.55 volts, 2750/2800 are probably doable.
ADA4400DAA6CD
CCBWE 0517MPMW
Cooling - Koolance Exos with CPU-300G waterblock. 22.x*c ambient temperature. 38/39*c under load. I haven't seen 41 or higher.
RAM - 2x 512mb OCZ EL Rev2 Plat TCCD @ 2.5-3-3-5
Mobo - DFI NF4 Ultra-D 5/10-2 bios
PSU - Seasonic S12 430w (a 600w S12 is installed in the case this CPU will be installed in)
Video - 8mb ATI PCI (no pci-express power cable on this psu and I didn't want to tax the somewhat weak 12v rails)
HD - 37gb Raptor

Software:
AutoGK 2.09b with the included Xvid codec.
Target Quality 90%, all other settings untouched

Input:
Chapter 24 of The Incredibles dvd

Result:
43.92fps

My stock 3.0c, 875p board, with Kingston valueram got 21.66fps for reference and a 3.0e, 875p, with Crucial ram managed 24.72fps.

The X2 is doing a 90% quality xvid encode to a Pirates of the Caribbean. Its 205988 frames will be re-encoded in a tad over an hour. So far its done 50000 frames in 935 seconds. 53fps!

Originally posted by: freethrowtommy

Mine is a 0517 CPU, while Newegg?s were 0520 (at least the pictured one was).

What does this mean?

Week numbers are often shared to get a feel for how well the CPUs from specific weeks overclock (to be even more specific, batch codes are also noted). Different production times can yield different results. A newer manufactured CPU is not always better for overclocking.

 

[jpeyton]

Romir,

How I long for your Koolance Exos.

So far the system is testing stable at 300x9, but temps are still about 65C. Voltage is at 1.55v actual. My TCCD is doing 300MHz fine at 2.5-4-4-8 using Kakaroto's 620DDR settings on XS. I tried his 600DDR settings (2.5-3-3-6) but Memtest was giving me errors in Test 8.

BTW, have you tried dual Priming it yet? Man what a pain in the ass that is.

 

[Romir]

The AutoGK 90% Quality xvid encode of Pirates of the Caribbean finished right on time. SmartGuardian reported 38*c during the whole encode.

[6/21/2005 11:41:44 PM] Duration was: 1 hour, 2 minutes 29 seconds
[6/21/2005 11:41:44 PM] Speed was: 54.93 fps.
[6/21/2005 11:41:44 PM] Job finished. Total time: 1 hour, 5 minutes 24 seconds

Outstanding! VDubx64 and the XVID x64 compilation are said to be 20% faster than 32 bit too.

Originally posted by: jpeyton
So far the system is testing stable at 300x9, but temps are still about 65C. Voltage is at 1.55v actual. My TCCD is doing 300MHz fine at 2.5-4-4-8 using Kakaroto's 620DDR settings on XS. I tried his 600DDR settings (2.5-3-3-6) but Memtest was giving me errors in Test 8.

BTW, have you tried dual Priming it yet? Man what a pain in the ass that is.

jpeyton,

I'll be extremely pleased if this chip can manage 2.6ghz once installed in a case with a 7700-cu. This Exos might be worth keeping though. The performance has been better than expected and the noise level seems lower than a 7700-cu at 1800RPM. Not bad for $150 10 months ago.

Testing with those less aggressive timings is a good idea. I hadn't studied that whopper of a post yet but will try that. My TCCD hasn't been pushed above 250 yet but it should work fine. The bios banks in the DFI Nf4 are great. Re-entering memory values for the countless time in the DFI Nf3 got old quick!

Priming this has actually been A LOT easier than a P4 560 (now my FORMER encoder cpu). That CPU is truly a monster. I spent most of yesterday trying to quiet it down without results. It needs a better heatsink than the 7700-cu with AS5 to keep is below 70*c at load. The stock heatsink was worse. Two medium speed 120mm fans couldn't keep the case below the 38*c Intel guidelines either. I gave up and decided to cut my losses.

No, priming this 4400+ is like a vacation compared to that.

That was the worst $650 I've ever spent on a CPU and the money spent on the X2 4400+ might just be the best. I already want another one, or two. The 3.0e (about to be 3.0c) server now seems a bit gimped always running a virtual pc too and the projector pc wants its secondary role of encoder back too...

 

[jpeyton]

The pattern I'm seeing online, from different people reporting about their X2s:

2.5-2.75GHz On Air

2.75-2.9GHz On Water

2.9-3.2GHz On Phase

A guy with his 4600+ on phase mentioned that X2s run quite hot with the VCore over 1.5v, which I can definitely attest to.

 

[imported_Otter]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
A guy with his 4600+ on phase mentioned that X2s run quite hot with the VCore over 1.5v, which I can definitely attest to.

Lost Circuits measured the power consumed by a 2.4GHz Toledo (4800+) with both cores fully loaded at 79 to 86 watts, depending on CPU temperature.
http://www.lostcircuits.com/cpu/amd_x2/12.shtml

Using this this calculator
http://newstuff.orcon.net.nz/wCalc.html
we can estimate the following OC wattages:
2.7GHz at 1.35v = 97W
2.8GHz at 1.45v = 116W
3.0GHz at 1.55v = 142W

For two cores with 1GB cache each, that's not bad, but yeah, it could warm up a bit.

 

[freethrowtommy]

Hey guys,
What do you think the best air cooling solution for the 4400+ would be? I see that there are some heat problems with the Zalman. I got a 4400+ on the way and I want to know what you guys would recommend for a cooler. I don't want to go with WC yet since I am pretty much a rookie (building my first computer) and am just learning to OC.

Thanks,
Tom

 

[jdogg707]

Originally posted by: freethrowtommy
Hey guys,
What do you think the best air cooling solution for the 4400+ would be? I see that there are some heat problems with the Zalman. I got a 4400+ on the way and I want to know what you guys would recommend for a cooler. I don't want to go with WC yet since I am pretty much a rookie (building my first computer) and am just learning to OC.

Thanks,
Tom

Go with a Thermalright XP-120 w/Panaflo 120mm Fan or a Thermalright XP-90C w/Panaflo 92mm Fan if you cannot fit the XP-120 on your motherboard. Full compatibility listings can be found on Thermalright's website.

 

[freethrowtommy]

Originally posted by: jdogg707

Originally posted by: freethrowtommy
Hey guys,
What do you think the best air cooling solution for the 4400+ would be? I see that there are some heat problems with the Zalman. I got a 4400+ on the way and I want to know what you guys would recommend for a cooler. I don't want to go with WC yet since I am pretty much a rookie (building my first computer) and am just learning to OC.

Thanks,
Tom

Go with a Thermalright XP-120 w/Panaflo 120mm Fan or a Thermalright XP-90C w/Panaflo 92mm Fan if you cannot fit the XP-120 on your motherboard. Full compatibility listings can be found on Thermalright's website.

Do you have a recommendation for a place to get the Panaflo and the Thermalright? I searched google and came up with a ton of sites for the panaflo but I am not sure about where to go with that one.

Thanks again

 

[Markfw]

svc.com

 

[jdogg707]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
svc.com

agreed.

 

[jpeyton]

w00t! Finally got this thing stable at 300x9 (2.7GHz). It dual Primed overnight, and I'll keep it going for the rest of the day as well before I try lowering the voltage.

All I did was bust out my Zalman fan bracket, and place a fan right over the PWM heatsinks on the right side of the CPU. Temps are hovering between 62C-65C.

 

[Vegitto]

You've got to get some phase action on that baby . Don't tell me you can't afford it, you could afford the X2 in the first place .

 

[imported_michaelpatrick33]

Originally posted by: Otter

Originally posted by: jpeyton
A guy with his 4600+ on phase mentioned that X2s run quite hot with the VCore over 1.5v, which I can definitely attest to.

Lost Circuits measured the power consumed by a 2.4GHz Toledo (4800+) with both cores fully loaded at 79 to 86 watts, depending on CPU temperature.
http://www.lostcircuits.com/cpu/amd_x2/12.shtml

Using this this calculator
http://newstuff.orcon.net.nz/wCalc.html
we can estimate the following OC wattages:
2.7GHz at 1.35v = 97W
2.8GHz at 1.45v = 116W
3.0GHz at 1.55v = 142W

For two cores with 1GB cache each, that's not bad, but yeah, it could warm up a bit.

In other words, by these test scores the 3.0ghrtz AMD solution has the same thermals as the base 3.2 Intel dualcore. It would be interesting to do an AMD 3.0ghrtz versus a 3.2 840EE comparison to get an idea of power and performance ratios between the two.

 

[freethrowtommy]

Thanks for the replies on the cooling solution, helps a bunch!

BTW...

Newegg just got the 4800+ in stock... bout 2x as much as the 4400+ tho. Good luck with that one...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103540

 

[jpeyton]

http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NzY0LDM=

The Velocity Micro system they reviewed had a Pentium D Extreme Edition clocked at 4GHz, running on light water. After HardOCP testers reseated the water block for better contact with the CPU, the CPU was idling at 73C. I would cry if I saw the load temperatures, but I'm guessing around 95C.

 

[Zebo]

Big deal, you need 4Ghz to match a 2450Mhz X2. 1.65:1

 

[Romir]

S&M v1.7.1 is running my 4400+ 8 degrees hotter than two Prime95s! Long duration setting, 100% load, disable safe mode, and only check the CPU (FPU) test. It pegs both cores at 100% and is really stressing them.

 

[biostud]

Originally posted by: Otter


For two cores with 1GB cache each, that's not bad, but yeah, it could warm up a bit.

So does this mean I can skip system memory?

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: Romir
S&M v1.7.1 is running my 4400+ 8 degrees hotter than two Prime95s! Long duration setting, 100% load, disable safe mode, and only check the CPU (FPU) test. It pegs both cores at 100% and is really stressing them.

Yeah that's why I don't use that program. I can't find a real-world application that I use which stresses both cores as much as Prime95, so I definitely won't find one that stresses as much as S&M. And S&M does a number on your PWM temps and PSU as well.

 

[Markfw]

OK, I just got mine. Running 1.42v at 45c, 2.6 ghz FULL LOAD ! I may try for more later, I have to get the OS to see 2 cores (win2k) right now, so a new install of 2k is underway Per Duvie !... Stay tuned.... 236 memory 1:1 at 2.6-3-3-7 PC 4000 OCZ (not TCCD)

 

[jpeyton]

Mark, you must give us more details about your system. I'm dying to see what other people are clocking at.

I'm 9 hours into dual Prime95 at 2.7GHz, 300x9, 1.53v, 60-65C (depending on ambient temperature). TCCD is running 1:1 2.5-4-4-8, and I should have a new set of benches by tomorrow (I'm not touching the setup until Prime95 has reached 24 hours though...I might jinx it).

 

[Markfw]

Well, I have a neo2 Platinum motherboard, OCZ 4000 memory currently running 2000 with bios 1.8 at 2.6 stable (so far) but no dual-core support. After I finish my scratch 2k instal with SP4, if it still doesn;t see 2 cores, I will do an upgrade install to XP, and see if it sees them then. Busy with this, so I won;t be updating a lot. But it posted at 2.4 at stock voltage ! (1.28v), and at 2.6 I had to bump it 10% (the only option in 1.8) to get to 1.42 and be stable. I am happy, if I can get dual-core support running. Duvie is looking for the 1.95 bios for me, that may work.

 

[jpeyton]

Mark, Win2K does need a fresh install to enable MP support (and I'm not sure, but you might need to enable a switch when you install it, but you can look that up).

What kind of cooling, BTW?

XP detects MP flawlessly, as does Server 2003.

 

[Markfw]

I tried a scratch install of w2k, no go, I am sure a bios issue with the neo2. XP90 on a low rpm 7v 90mm fan. Trying XP pro now.

 

[RoosterKooster]

Mark, am I absorbing your situation correctly in that the MB bios is the culprit with only one core being detected by w2k even with a fresh install?

Is it w2k pro or server?

thanks!