Better HSF for Barton XP?

[duragezic]

I have a mobile Barton XP 2400+ currently @ 2.2ghz. I've been thinking of an upgrade, but only something small. Since I currently have a crappy artic cooling HSF close to this I was thinking maybe that is why I can't get anymore outta the chip. I run it at the maximum fan speed of 2800rpm. Seems like people were constantly getting 2.3ghz or 2.4ghz. My temps right now are 40-50° idle, up to about 60-65° under heavy load, so they seem pretty high but no instability really results. My case is a Raidmax cheapie with 3 case fans. Two are set to exhaust and one to intake. I played around with them but my temps are about the same either way.

Or perhaps my RAM can't go any higher than 200mhz, cause I can't seem to get ANYTHING higher than 11x200. And it takes 1.65-1.675v to get it stable @ 11x200. 11.5x200 doesn't seem to work.

Does anyone think my money would be well spent to get a good HSF since a CPU upgrade is far out of the question? What is a good one? I'm guessing they would be around $40? So unless you guys think I could get a few hundred more mhz outta it, I would probably be much better spending only a few $ more and get 512MB more RAM.

 

[Lonyo]

What voltages are you using (to try and get above 2.2GHz)?
I had issues with my NF7 at 200MHz FSB (well, it wouldn't boot with 180 ~ 200 or so) but it worked at 170 and 203 or thereabouts.
Have you tried jumping up to 205 or so on the RAM? Loosened timings? (Such as 3-4-4-8 for starters) and upping RAM voltage (2.8v).
I could only get 2400MHz from 1.8v or so, currently running 1.775v @ 2350MHz.

If you relax your RAM timings to the losest they can be, just to see if the RAM will overclock, then you can tweak that up, and increase CPU frequency more slowly that tring a 100MHz increase.
I was only able to hit 2500MHz at ~1.89v, and 2.4GHz was obtained at under 1.8v

(Mobile Barton 2500+, NF7, OCZ and TwinMOS PC3200 sticks)

 

[duragezic]

I was stable with 1.675v @ 11x200. After your suggestions, I'm now at 11.5x205 @ 1.75v (2.36ghz), but I haven't tested the stability, just happy that I'm in windows and everything is working. I don't think i can stay here though, since even at 2.3ghz, the idle temp was jumping right up to 55° idle. You mention some pretty high voltages (although impressive overclocks), what kind of temps do you have and what HSF do you have?

My RAM may be limiting. I've never been able to really tighten the timings. They've always been on optimal (3-4-4-8 I think). I can't find anywhere to raise the DDR voltage. I have a Shuttle AN35 ultra.

edit: Actually it's not stable. Just got a crash/restart. Temp was at 60° and I wasn't doing much. I clocked it down since I'm going to work and I don't want my baby overheating while I'm not around

 

[ts3433]

PSU a limiter, possibly?

Temps also seem a bit high, though I wouldn't know for sure; if you want a better/quieter HSF, maybe look at this cheap Zalman 7000A clone.

 

[christopherzombie]

$25 CoolerMaster HSF
...but this one is much better. I can't find it on newegg though:
CoolerMaster HCC-001
The HCC-001 is outstanding for overclocking, but it's a bit loud.

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: duragezic
I was stable with 1.675v @ 11x200. After your suggestions, I'm now at 11.5x205 @ 1.75v (2.36ghz), but I haven't tested the stability, just happy that I'm in windows and everything is working. I don't think i can stay here though, since even at 2.3ghz, the idle temp was jumping right up to 55° idle. You mention some pretty high voltages (although impressive overclocks), what kind of temps do you have and what HSF do you have?

My RAM may be limiting. I've never been able to really tighten the timings. They've always been on optimal (3-4-4-8 I think). I can't find anywhere to raise the DDR voltage. I have a Shuttle AN35 ultra.

edit: Actually it's not stable. Just got a crash/restart. Temp was at 60° and I wasn't doing much. I clocked it down since I'm going to work and I don't want my baby overheating while I'm not around

At 2500MHz (1.88v) I was close to 60 idle using a 2500rpm generic fan and Thermaltake Volcano 7 (stock fan was waaay too loud). 20 degrees room temp or thereabouts.
The temp difference from ~1.8v to ~1.9v and a 100MHz increase was almost 10 degrees! Safe enough to say that unless I go watercooling, I'm not going that high again.

I think it's just luck of the draw in terms of overclocks, some people have managed close to 2500 @ 1.75/1.8v I think, they are the lucky ones.
Temps are similar to mine at idle, but higher under load.
Have you thought about getting an Arctic Cooling VGA silencer for the graphics card? It might help remove some of the hot air, and give you a nice overclock on your 9800.

2.36GHz @ 1.75 sounds pretty similar to what I get on my system. (2.35 @ 1.776), but I have 20 ambient temp, 27 case temp and 48~49 idle temp.
Load I don't think comes close to 60.

Specifics of the crash issues would also be useful, and some SuperPi 1M runs.
I find SuperPi an easy way to test stability, and identify the error. If you get a not exact in round error, RAM is unstable, if you get a SQRT error, CPU is not stable I have found.

 

[djspl]

your temps are lousy for the amount of voltage you are running, you need new cooling.

 

[imported_whatever]

Better cooling doesn't seem to effect how well the CPU clocks, just how much vCore you can put through it. I have run my XP/M at 2.13v and 2.73GHz or so on a Zalman 6000 with a Tornado sitting on top of it. Didn't try p95, but was 3dmark01 stable, so if you are willing to just use those clocks for benching and buy a new fan, you should be good... (I was a <55C load temps for that). Although you will not want to run it 24/7 like that, it isn't noticeably faster running it at 2.6 compared to 2.2 for gaming etc, but maybe that is only me...

 

[duragezic]

Does anyone have any other suggestions for cooling? Just glancing at the specs, the $25 Coolermaster someone posted only looks like a tiny step up from my current one. I wouldn't upgrade unless I could get a much better one that hopefully gets me to 2.4ghz stable and not so damn hot. I think that if my system ran cooler, 2.4ghz @ ~1.75v would be a possibility, since I've gotten there now just it restarts as soon as I start doing anything.

 

[Athlongamer]

Wait a sec........

I got a 2500 barton on a ASUS A7N8XE- Deluxe here
and i can only get to like 1.9 stable for gaming. But my temps are about 40 idle and low 50's for gaming (celcius).... But my voltage i think now is 1.675, for 1.9.......and when i try to get past 11x180 it won't boot......But my volts would be like 1.7 when i tried that. I've always wanted to get 200mhz but for some reason i can't.......i thought maybe my ram is going bad and is holding me back or my cpu gets to hot.......

I have a CoolerMaster Jet7+ I'm pretty sure it's characterized as a blower.....(seems to work well, but can be load at max, and it's kinda heavy but does no damage)

My RAM is 1 stick of 512 XMS Corsair, and 1 stick of 512 Corsair ValueRam.....

With a Radeon 9800Pro

I don't mean to Hijack your post duragezic, but i'm also seeking some help in this topic. Maybe our problems are related....

 

[Fern]

I think you've got two problems. (1) Crappy HSF,and (2) Crappy PSU (is it a "gasp" Powmax by any chance ?)

I'm guessing about $100 or so to upgrade both, in which case I say go for the ram. Benchies I've run recently with Far Cry, Painkiller etc showed a huge improvement in load/reloading times and generally more responsiveness in navigating between the games menus with 1 gig instaed of 512MB.

I think that w/b the best bang for your buck.

BTW, I'm pretty sure the an35n has vdimm adjustments. I just can't find the d@mn manual ATM, and am running it as a server and can't take it down to check the BIOS now.

Fern

 

[duragezic]

My PSU is a Fortron 350w, and I barely got a load on it, so I *think* that is fine. I think I'll get a new HSF AND ram, if I can get a good deal on both.

 

[duragezic]

Originally posted by: Athlongamer
Wait a sec........

I got a 2500 barton on a ASUS A7N8XE- Deluxe here
and i can only get to like 1.9 stable for gaming. But my temps are about 40 idle and low 50's for gaming (celcius).... But my voltage i think now is 1.675, for 1.9.......and when i try to get past 11x180 it won't boot......But my volts would be like 1.7 when i tried that. I've always wanted to get 200mhz but for some reason i can't.......i thought maybe my ram is going bad and is holding me back or my cpu gets to hot.......

I have a CoolerMaster Jet7+ I'm pretty sure it's characterized as a blower.....(seems to work well, but can be load at max, and it's kinda heavy but does no damage)

My RAM is 1 stick of 512 XMS Corsair, and 1 stick of 512 Corsair ValueRam.....

With a Radeon 9800Pro

I don't mean to Hijack your post duragezic, but i'm also seeking some help in this topic. Maybe our problems are related....

Isn't a stock 2500+ 1.833ghz already?? You are prolly just unlucky with that chip. Some can't go more than 100mhz no matter how much everyone else is getting, just a luck of the draw. It sucks (i never had very good overclockers but decent)...

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: duragezic
My PSU is a Fortron 350w, and I barely got a load on it, so I *think* that is fine. I think I'll get a new HSF AND ram, if I can get a good deal on both.

Yeah, I'd agree teh Fortron is fine. In your OP you didn't specify the psu and I saw the Raidmax case. Thought those sometimes came with the crappy Powmax units.

So, I think you're dead right to get a HSF and ram.

BTW: I did check your rig link yesterday, and if the psu's specified there I missed it.

 

[Fern]

BTW, the best heatsink I got my XP was a Thermalright SLK 947U (I got mine on sale for about $20-25). I don't think they make 'em anymore. But you might find one in the FS/FT forums.

 

[superkdogg]

Basically any Thermalright that fits is gonna be good. I saw an AX-7 for sale in the forums here not long ago. I had one of those on my TBred-B and got the TBB to 2.3-4 with 1.8 vCore and temps never saw 45C. I also had a Tornado 80mm on it, so be aware of that.

Cooler temps probably won't help much for the amount of OC you end up with [meaning a good cooler won't make your CPU post @ 2.5 if it only posts @ 2.3 now] , but they'll certain help you with stability @ a high OC and less heat is always a good thing.

 

[bobsmith1492]

Check out the Silent Boost; it's solid copper, and pretty cheap (~30). I've got two of 'em and they keep things nice and cool (well actually three but one is for S754 which I don't have.... ).

 

[imported_whatever]

Originally posted by: superkdogg
Basically any Thermalright that fits is gonna be good. I saw an AX-7 for sale in the forums here not long ago. I had one of those on my TBred-B and got the TBB to 2.3-4 with 1.8 vCore and temps never saw 45C. I also had a Tornado 80mm on it, so be aware of that.

Cooler temps probably won't help much for the amount of OC you end up with [meaning a good cooler won't make your CPU post @ 2.5 if it only posts @ 2.3 now] , but they'll certain help you with stability @ a high OC and less heat is always a good thing.

although any of them will be good, some are far better than others
with the SP-97 below a 92mm Tornado, I had load temps of about 46C with 2.6GHz 2.0v (which was what I ran it at for gaming a lot of the time, never tried clocking it that high under teh SP-97)