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First Time Builder - New Core 2 Duo System

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I mean .. unless I'm thinking of something different .. my friend describe it as though there would be a sticker-thing (thermal pad?) that you would peel off and it would leave a thermal paste behind. I saw nothing like that on mine. The chip just had the raised surface with the etching and the heatsink just had a copper base to press against.

I feel a little uneasy about it .. but I'm pretty sure I'd recognize a peel-off dealy and it would likely have big words saying 'peel-off dealy' .. I just wish the manual had featured more than simplistic pictures.

Regarding overclocking .. I'll get on that as soon as the shine has worn off a bit. I'm still getting used to instant XP and racing loadbars.
 

Thanks, goldfarb, I'd be happy to share notes.

My heatsink did not look like that at all .. It had a raised copper bump that contacted with the chip. I can't imagine I was supposed to take it off, or anything. My manual was practically useless.
 
Originally posted by: tcG
I say go for the BadAxe2 if you have a 9x multi processor.
Click to expand...

Read the thread? He has ordered it all already, and additionally why would you suggest that motherboard if he has a 9x multiplier?
 
zengonzo,

it sounds as if your heatsink did not have the paste. I don't recall if it does have a sticker you are supposed to peel off, but the paste is pretty obvious. I don't think you could have missed it if you looked at the bottom of the heatsink surface, they are three very obvious strips of material.

By the way, I have the same MoBo and CPU, so I figured I would throw this out in case it helps you. I started playing with Vcore a bit, and found that I could significantly lower Vcore without any impact on stability. The MoBo's default Vcore under load was 1.27V (as read by CPU-Z and Asus Probe), I was able to lower it to around 1.14V (this is actual Vcore as read by CPU-Z, not the Vcore setting in BIOS which is somewhat higher due to the Asus boards' notorious Vdroop). I just started at 1.27 and tried one step lower each time, testing for stability after each decrease. I stopped at 1.14, maybe I could have continued but did not try. I have been using like that for a couple of weeks now with no problems. The upside of this is that it lowers my CPU temperatures by a few degrees. My CPU was spec number SL9S8, not the SL9ZL, I don't know if that made any difference (you can find your spec number by looking at the last 5 characters of the product code on the side of the box that the CPU came in).

Have fun with your new system!
 

Thanks for the advice, goldfarb. I'll make that my first education lesson.

Maybe I'll get an image of it. What does your temperature hang around, if I might ask?

I see that you got the 4-4-4 memory timings. Isn't there an issue with the P5B and those timings? Or is it just a matter of 5-5-5 being ideal?
 
My core temperatures (as read by TAT) hover around 40C degrees at idle when my ambient temp is around 23C (down to 37 if the ambient is 20C). I have the two stock fans in the upper section of the case, in their default location at the rear/top, both pulling air out of the case. I think my GPU is not helping things: it runs somewhat hot, and all that hot air is rising right towards the CPU. Some time soon I am going to try installing the third fan behind the upper HDD cage (it is empty, so I can put the fan there), hoping it will help cool the GPU and hence the rest of the system.

My RAM defaults to the 5-5-5 timings if left on Auto, but I found a post by a G.Skill tech recommending the 4-4-4 timings for this RAM on this mobo. I tried it and it worked 🙂

I think most memory problems with the mobo occur with RAM that requires voltage above the MoBo's default VDimm. Once you boot for the first time into BIOS and change the Vdimm to whatever your RAM requires, the problems should go away. It sounds as if you have had no problems, so I would not worry too much. Just make sure your RAM is getting the voltage it is rated for, and you should be ok.

EDIT: about the 5-5-5 timings being "ideal", it probably is only from the point of view of avoiding any possible stability issues. I think that if your RAM can run at 4-4-4 and remain stable, it is definitely better as you will get improved performance.
 
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