AMD Sempron Processor 3100+ & ECS NFORCE3-A Motherboard for $80 at Outpost.com

[esquared]

Everest seems to work well. :thumbsup:The temp actually fluctuates once in a while.
I tried PC Wizard and it never gave me a reading other than 40C. :thumbsdown:
The newest Sandra doesn't have a CPU reading for this board.

 

[Triggerhappy007]

Originally posted by: freshspace
You are quite welcome Triggerhappy007. I know that Zap and other guys recommend against ide drivers and so on, but just try my recommendation first - after the video driver, nforce 5.10 for EVERYTHING, including LAN and IDE. I just love this thread.

Thanks. Installing the video drivers first worked. That's really weird.

As for the Temp Monitor, I'm using Speedfan on my NF4 board, so it should work on an NF3 board. Screenshots here.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: freshspace
Hey you guys, what program are you using to monitor the temperature with this board?

I finger the heatsink. It seems to work well and everyone goes home happy. 😉

 

[freshspace]

Oh geez, I thought for a second that this is turning out to be a porn forum for a second! Hahaha. I actually have downloaded a program called NextSensor from majorgeeks.com. It is a freeware. It actually seems to work quite well. I also downloaded a freeware called samurize, but I'm not sure how to use it. I don't have any time to find out. Check out Nextsensor for cpu temp. Take care.

 

[freshspace]

Originally posted by: Triggerhappy007

Originally posted by: freshspace
You are quite welcome Triggerhappy007. I know that Zap and other guys recommend against ide drivers and so on, but just try my recommendation first - after the video driver, nforce 5.10 for EVERYTHING, including LAN and IDE. I just love this thread.

Thanks. Installing the video drivers first worked. That's really weird.

As for the Temp Monitor, I'm using Speedfan on my NF4 board, so it should work on an NF3 board. Screenshots here.

Triggerhappy, I'm glad things worked out for you. Isn't it weird how installing the video driver takes care of the problem? Did you install 5.10 like I told you? Does it help with your LAN?

 

[Triggerhappy007]

Originally posted by: freshspace

Originally posted by: Triggerhappy007

Originally posted by: freshspace
You are quite welcome Triggerhappy007. I know that Zap and other guys recommend against ide drivers and so on, but just try my recommendation first - after the video driver, nforce 5.10 for EVERYTHING, including LAN and IDE. I just love this thread.

Thanks. Installing the video drivers first worked. That's really weird.

As for the Temp Monitor, I'm using Speedfan on my NF4 board, so it should work on an NF3 board. Screenshots here.

Triggerhappy, I'm glad things worked out for you. Isn't it weird how installing the video driver takes care of the problem? Did you install 5.10 like I told you? Does it help with your LAN?

Yes, I did install the 5.10 and everything works fine at the moment. Running mine at 2.25GHz 1.4V with the AMD HSF.

 

[ofacto]

Originally posted by: Zap
I don't know about Outpost, but Fry's (who owns Outpost) gives you basically a 14 day return period on the CPU and motherboard with no warranty after that. If you want more of a warranty beyond 14 days you'll have to buy extended warranty.

AMD's warranty on retail box CPUs is 3 years for end user. OEM CPUs are 1 year for customers buying them directly from AMD in bulk. That means if Fry's is getting these OEM chips directly from AMD, Fry's has a 1 year warranty from when they bought them. You don't have any warranty through AMD.

The motherboard is at the discretion of the manufacturer. Some brands are good with end users. I've heard Asus is one such brand. Other brands do not want to deal with end users. Unless they've changed, ECS is such a brand. ECS gives customers buying directly from them (such as Fry's) a 1 year warranty. If you ask them for warranty support, they'll tell you to bring it back to where you bought it. If you press them, they'll say "okay, we can process it but there's a $25 handling fee." That's what happened to me early last year when I tried getting warranty.

Paris does not have SSE3. Palermo D0 cores do not have SSE3 but E3 and E6 do (typically the ones "advertised" on the retail box as 64 bit have SSE3, though I could be wrong). No matter the stepping of Palermo or if it's a Paris, the same "rating" CPU (ie 3100+) will be the same true MHz and cache amount, and same bus speeds.

ECS Motherboard RETURN (RMA) POLICY

ECS Warranty is offered to direct customers with valid ECS invoice only.

I had to get warranty service for a motherboard I bought from Fry's last Dec 2005. I ddin't even know about the warranty limitations you described, but I emailed ECS about it and they told me to send the motherboard in + there was no mention of the $25 service fee. I sent in the motherboard only w/o any accs. as described in their email and a week later I received a brand new retail boxed board. Couldn't have gone any smoother.

I think ECS's warranty procedure has changed for the better (or I just lucked out).

 

[cordless89]

If I may ask...

I am using this Sempron/ECS with 2 sticks of 512mb PC2700. At what settings would you suggest to get the best and reliable CPU speeds? Using a stock AMD HS/fan from a A64 FX2 4000+ box. Thanks for any and all input.

 

[CTrain]

Originally posted by: cordless89
If I may ask...

I am using this Sempron/ECS with 2 sticks of 512mb PC2700. At what settings would you suggest to get the best and reliable CPU speeds? Using a stock AMD HS/fan from a A64 FX2 4000+ box. Thanks for any and all input.

If you have pc2700 then they are DDR333.
So if you want to OC(assuming you have the same combo)...if you set the HT to 3x, memory setting to 133 and the max clock freq to 250, then you rams should be running 133 x 250 = 332.5 which is you rams speed rating....PERFECT.
Your Sempron 3100+ should be 9 x 250 = 2.25ghz.
Should should have no problem getting the CPU running at that speed.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: ofacto
I think ECS's warranty procedure has changed for the better (or I just lucked out).

Perhaps. My experience where they asked for $25 was early 2005 (as in first couple months of the year). They seem to be pushing towards the end-user market especially with their "extreme" series of boards, and having real end-user warranty is essential.

 

[freshspace]

Originally posted by: CTrain

Originally posted by: cordless89
If I may ask...

I am using this Sempron/ECS with 2 sticks of 512mb PC2700. At what settings would you suggest to get the best and reliable CPU speeds? Using a stock AMD HS/fan from a A64 FX2 4000+ box. Thanks for any and all input.

If you have pc2700 then they are DDR333.
So if you want to OC(assuming you have the same combo)...if you set the HT to 3x, memory setting to 133 and the max clock freq to 250, then you rams should be running 133 x 250 = 332.5 which is you rams speed rating....PERFECT.
Your Sempron 3100+ should be 9 x 250 = 2.25ghz.
Should should have no problem getting the CPU running at that speed.

Dang, that is cool math!

 

[deadken]

Originally posted by: CTrain

Originally posted by: cordless89
If I may ask...

I am using this Sempron/ECS with 2 sticks of 512mb PC2700. At what settings would you suggest to get the best and reliable CPU speeds? Using a stock AMD HS/fan from a A64 FX2 4000+ box. Thanks for any and all input.

If you have pc2700 then they are DDR333.
So if you want to OC(assuming you have the same combo)...if you set the HT to 3x, memory setting to 133 and the max clock freq to 250, then you rams should be running 133 x 250 = 332.5 which is you rams speed rating....PERFECT.
Your Sempron 3100+ should be 9 x 250 = 2.25ghz.
Should should have no problem getting the CPU running at that speed.

I would guess that he will need a bump to his Vcore to be stable at that speed. I'd think %3.4 most likely, %1.7 if he is lucky.

 

[BIGFOOTPI]

not necessarily since as we know semprons have less cache, which means dont need as much juice(volts) to OC, but never know 'till ya prime95 stress test it 😉

 

[Triggerhappy007]

Originally posted by: deadken

Originally posted by: CTrain

Originally posted by: cordless89
If I may ask...

I am using this Sempron/ECS with 2 sticks of 512mb PC2700. At what settings would you suggest to get the best and reliable CPU speeds? Using a stock AMD HS/fan from a A64 FX2 4000+ box. Thanks for any and all input.

If you have pc2700 then they are DDR333.
So if you want to OC(assuming you have the same combo)...if you set the HT to 3x, memory setting to 133 and the max clock freq to 250, then you rams should be running 133 x 250 = 332.5 which is you rams speed rating....PERFECT.
Your Sempron 3100+ should be 9 x 250 = 2.25ghz.
Should should have no problem getting the CPU running at that speed.

I would guess that he will need a bump to his Vcore to be stable at that speed. I'd think %3.4 most likely, %1.7 if he is lucky.

I just built one and it runs at 2.25GHz stock voltage only using a AMD HSF from an A64 3000+. Ran Prime95 for a couple hours and it only got to 48C.

 

[deadken]

I happen to own (2) of the ECS/Sempron 3100+ combos and both needed +%3.4 to run at 2250 stable. I'd guess that I got 'average' CPU's and you got a 'great' CPU. I'd still bet that he will need some sort of Vcore bump to be P95 stable (my definition of P95 stable is over 13 hours error free). I have read this entire thread (and contributed a bunch also) and it seems standard to need some Vcore boost to run 250 FSB.

 

[Zap]

All three that I bought (one with NFORCE4-A754 board) needed voltage for 250MHz HTT.

 

[winr]

I have my 3100+ Sempron in an EPOX nForce 3 250 mobo.

Paris care
90 nm
1.466 vcore, (mobo overvolts)

9x265 = 2384

I havent pushed it farther, been crunching with it.

Also playing BF2 and COD 2 with no problems.


I had it in the ECS mobo running 9x250 but it would reboot every once in a while, dont know what it was.

I will have to go back and do a more thorough test.

🙂

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: winr
I have my 3100+ Sempron in an EPOX nForce 3 250 mobo.

Paris care
90 nm

??? That doesn't make sense because Paris core is 130nm and Palermo core is 90nm.

 

[Howard]

Dead?

 

[freshspace]

Originally posted by: Howard
Dead?

Yeah, it has been for a while.

 

[winr]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: winr
I have my 3100+ Sempron in an EPOX nForce 3 250 mobo.

Paris care
90 nm

??? That doesn't make sense because Paris core is 130nm and Palermo core is 90nm.

My mistake, it is a Palermo.😱



🙂

 

[deadken]

Originally posted by: winr

Originally posted by: Zap
??? That doesn't make sense because Paris core is 130nm and Palermo core is 90nm.

My mistake, it is a Palermo.😱

🙂

I'd bet a few bucks that your combo wouldn't pass 13+ hours of P95, unless that Vcore overvolt increases even more when load increases.


BTW: I find it ironic that you have suggested that no one should need a Vcore bump to run @ 2250mhz stable, and yet you admit in your description that your motherboard OVERVOLTS on Vcore! Please consider that most of us in this thread that have bought the combos in the O/P have certainly tested them out. A few of us have bought more then one and therefore have a decent idea of what the 'average' combo is capable of. You are commenting here as if you know what these will do, when you don't own one 🙁.

 

[Melectricus]

Most people have to overvolt to get 2250. Not every board needs to, some are 'above average' I did not overvolt and passed prime after 12 hours. That is why you test a board to start with. So what does it mean - nothing unless you test. You fail - you bump and retest. FYI my Sonata case with 380w is at or slightly below spec when I set up a few months ago.

Hey from Minnesota, where all the kids are above average 😉

 

[winr]

Originally posted by: deadken

Originally posted by: winr

Originally posted by: Zap
??? That doesn't make sense because Paris core is 130nm and Palermo core is 90nm.

My mistake, it is a Palermo.😱

🙂

I'd bet a few bucks that your combo wouldn't pass 13+ hours of P95, unless that Vcore overvolt increases even more when load increases.


BTW: I find it ironic that you have suggested that no one should need a Vcore bump to run @ 2250mhz stable, and yet you admit in your description that your motherboard OVERVOLTS on Vcore! Please consider that most of us in this thread that have bought the combos in the O/P have certainly tested them out. A few of us have bought more then one and therefore have a decent idea of what the 'average' combo is capable of. You are commenting here as if you know what these will do, when you don't own one 🙁.

Who are you talking about?

Me, or Zap, or both of us?

My mobo is running my 3100 1.466, how much overvolt is .066

I will run Prime 95 and see what it does and post the results.

 

[deadken]

Originally posted by: winrWho are you talking about?

Me, or Zap, or both of us?

My mobo is running my 3100 1.466, how much overvolt is .066

I will run Prime 95 and see what it does and post the results.

Zap has already said that all 3 of his combos (2 being the ECS NF3 mobo) needed voltage bumps to be stable. Read back a few posts and you will see that 'CTrain' provided settings for someone, I suggested that he include a small increase to the Vcore (something his suggestion lacked). 'BIGFOOTPI' replied saying that he probably wouldn't need any more Vcore since it is a Sempron CPU (I don't know where this came from...:confused😉. I misread your reply as supporting what 'CTrain' or 'BIGFOOTPI', suggested. I am sorry if I mis-interpretted what you were saying.

I had said: "I would guess that he will need a bump to his Vcore to be stable at that speed. I'd think %3.4 most likely, %1.7 if he is lucky". So when I read that you are running at 1.466 Vcore, that just proved my point:

1.4 Vcore + %1.7 = 1.4328 Vcore
1.4 Vcore + %3.4 = 1.4476 Vcore
1.4 Vcore + %5.1 = 1.4714 Vcore

So, your mobo is raising your Vcore OVER the 3.4% I suggested would be fine to run stable. That is why I was 'irked'. Again I appologize if I mis-interpretted what you meant.