NF7-S/Barton mobile 2500+ OC issue

[imported_Ivan244]

Hey Guys, new to the forums.

I have purchased an NF7-S, 2500+ mobile Barton, DDRAM 256M|DDR400 CL25 PC3200 -k RT Kingston mem, SLK-947-U HSINK ONLY THR RT , and Vantec Tornado fan.
But I am only able to OC to 2.21ghz. And even that is not 100% stable. Plus I am running kinda hot. Just leaving my comp on for a few hours doing nothing Sandra and bios are reporting 50.5C.

I read some threads and someone mentioned to make sure all the fans were blowing out. So I have the Vantec fan and top case fan and the other case fan on the side blowing out. Nogo.

Then I read to open the case and see if the temp goes down. I opened the case, nogo. So I took off the massive heatsink and reapplied the thermalpaste and reclamped the heatsink making sure to go opposite corners while tightening. HS is on tight, not moving at all.

Same thing. Still a high temp just idling and not all that stable playing Sacred. Yes, I am well aware of Sacred having serious gaming issues.

I have played around with the voltage a little. Right now I have it set to 1.7225 and Sandra is showing it at 1.67v. If I decrease it the comp has a nasty habit of rebooting during a game.

Also, I have the OC set to 200mhz FSB and 11.0 mutiplier. Is this just a case where I should just be happy with what I got or is there something else ya'll could suggest?

 

[BlueWeasel]

The cause of the unstability is not the temps. 50C is a little high, but the mobiles are good up to 70-80C.

Seems as though your board is undervolting, try bumping the voltage so that Sandra reports 1.725 or 1.75v.

Also, the CPU fan should not be pulling air away from the HS...turn it around so it blows toward the HS.

 

[ColossusX]

The board does undervolt some but I would think that with a tornado, you shouldnt have too much of a problem.
I have a mobile 2500 running at 11.5*200 with a SLK900U and a relatively slow (and QUIET) Vantec 92mm fan @ 1.625v, which my NF7-Sv2 undervolts.
Is your NF7-S a version 2? This is a direct cut and paste from the Abit website on the NF7-S:
Processor
- Supports AMD-K7 Duron?/Athlon?/Athlon? XP Socket A with 200/266/333/400MHz FSB Processors (400 FSB support in version 2.0 only)
Abit NF7-S
So, if your board is an older version, a 200mhz FSB might be too high, which is causing your stability problems.

 

[imported_Ivan244]

Dang, I knew I would leave something out. :roll: Yes the NF7-S is version 2. The weird thing is that even with the case open it runs hot. I'm thinking about buying a clip on fan or a small desk fan and have it blowing right on the heatsink.

 

[magratton]

What is your case (mfg, model)? Do you have all the Fan slots filled?

I have a couple of cases with similar setups.
Case 1) KingWin SW11 2 front fans intake, 1 side fan intake, 1 back fan out. Different mobo/heatsink, same cpu, running around 40C idle. Over in the case/cooling forum there is the occasional debate over what is better, more in, more out or even it up as best possible. I have tried all sorts of ways, and the best seems to be the setup I have listed above on this case.

Case 2) Antec SLK3700BQE, 1 - 120mm front intake, 1 - 120mm back out. NFS-7, 2600mobile, slk947u, vantec 92mm. All the same (though I just changed from a Vantec to a panaflo on the cpu as it was too noisy!). This system run as 33C idle on the cpu (socket).

In both of these systems, the CPU is running 200x11.5@1.675v (1.65v actual).

I would call thermalright support. The guy I talked to (Bob) was extremely knowledgeable about my setup and gave lots of great recommendations. The one that was counter to what I would have intuited is that you should really use less AS5, not more. He even suggested, mounting heatsink, removing, wiping off excess on heatsink, then remounting. I will say, that my temps are very nice now and I am quite happy.

 

[ColossusX]

It might be best to try to equal the CFM coming into the case and the CFM flowing out of the case.
Also, magratton is correct, to much thermal compound will actually insulate your proc, causing the temps to rise. You want just a thin enough layer to coat the proc, I usually use an old credit card or gift card to even out the compound and remove the excess.
I know this is a stupid question, but look at the inside of your case and see if you have any obstructions restriciting airflow inside the case. And check for dust bunnies. These are both probably ok, since you have already reseated the heat sink, but sometimes somthing obvious is missed.
My thermalright SLK900u with the Vantec Thermoflow 92mm runs at 41C under full load, case temps with 2 120mm fans are 24C. I would try reducing the volts, alot of people are running at 11.5*200 at or around only 1.65v, Prime95 stable. In order for me to get 12*200 stable, I had to bump the voltage to 1.8+, and the temps were a bit too high for me. But 1.625v got me stable at 2300mhz.

Just some random thoughts to try to help.

 

[imported_Ivan244]

Hey I appreciate all the suggestions! Stuck at work and I don't recall the case mfg right off hand. What I can try is turn the small fan on the side of the case to blowing in as well as the fan at the top of the case. Then have the Vantec on the back blow out. Maybe that will cause a desired air current.

I vacumed out the case before putting in the sys board so it's pretty clean. I made sure to go over the Power supply etc.... I think obstructed air flow maybe an issue. I don't have clips on power cables/ide cables so I may need to do some housekeeping on that.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Ivan244
Hey I appreciate all the suggestions! Stuck at work and I don't recall the case mfg right off hand. What I can try is turn the small fan on the side of the case to blowing in as well as the fan at the top of the case. Then have the Vantec on the back blow out. Maybe that will cause a desired air current.

I vacumed out the case before putting in the sys board so it's pretty clean. I made sure to go over the Power supply etc.... I think obstructed air flow maybe an issue. I don't have clips on power cables/ide cables so I may need to do some housekeeping on that.

actually, keep in mind that heat rises. As such, I recommend that you use your front and side fans to blow in, and your rear and top fans to blow out. That will made a better current.

 

[Lonyo]

What kind of PSU do you have?
Might need to look at that (12v rail might be low or something).
I have my comp rebooting in games, and it might be a PSU issue (the PSU is good for ~11.9v at least in my old system, 11.67v since i upgraded, 300w unit).
Don't have the $$$ for a new one, but I think that's my problem (Using an NF7 V2.0 and 2500+ @ 2300, reboots at 2400 regardless of voltage)

 

[Fern]

"I read some threads and someone mentioned to make sure all the fans were blowing out. So I have the Vantec fan and top case fan and the other case fan on the side blowing out. Nogo."


NO!!! You need some fans blowing in to supply cool air to the system. The better rule of thumb is too have almost equal in & out. And remember your psu has a fan blowing out. Some like one extra blowing in - claims it prevents from sucking in dust through cracks.

What I can try is turn the small fan on the side of the case to blowing in as well as the fan at the top of the case.

Yes and NO!!! The fan on the side s/b blowing in. Blows cool air on mobo and components. You do not want the on the top blowing in. Hot air rises, fan on top s/b blowing out to get rid of the hot air.

50c is not hot after running Sandra for a few hours. That is under load and 50c ain't hot at all. Mine's not OC'd ATM and I get 50c under load. Depends alot on ambient temps.

Temps are not limiting your OC. Many Bartons require 1.75 or more vcore to get to 3200 speeds. You may have to increase vcore. Just watch temps. AMD says limit is 80c or 85c, which should translate to 70c or 75 cuz the nf7 series reads socket temp, not diode.

Keep your ram timings relaxed till you hit 200, then tighten them up. Run memtest86 b4 prime 95 to make sure ram is not holding you back. Also, there may be some BIOS tweaks to help you attain stability. I'll post back with links.


Also, I prefer to leave MBM5 running in my sys tray to watch temps

EDIT: Links below
lvcoyotes site with bios infonull
NF7 BIOS optimization for OCing

EDIT #2: Just noticed you gotta mobile chip, they ususally require lower vcore, and run cooler to reach same speed as a desktop. Still you're OK heastwise.

After you raise FSB, run memtest86 to make sure your ram is not the culprit. Then go on to Prime95 (torture test) which checks the cpu for stability at that speed. This helps narrow down the problem so you're not willy -nilly making unneccessary vcore and ram adjustments. You wanna use the lowest possible vcore (and be stable) and the tightest ram timings (and be stable). An organized approach helps achieve this.

 

[JediJeb]

Originally posted by: Ivan244
Dang, I knew I would leave something out. :roll: Yes the NF7-S is version 2. The weird thing is that even with the case open it runs hot. I'm thinking about buying a clip on fan or a small desk fan and have it blowing right on the heatsink.

I hope I am wrong but I have to ask just to check, but do you have a fan attached to that heatsink? Just the way you describe things I am getting the impression that your fan in not directly attached to the heatsink, but I may just be reading you wrong.

 

[imported_Ivan244]

Yes Jedi, I have the huge SP947 copper heatsink on the cpu. It is a heatsink only. No ability to attach a fan that I can tell. I have the Vantec Tornado as my back case fan. Two small case fans one on top the other on the side. In the front I have the same size fan as the Tornado(Not nearly as powerful however).

 

[JediJeb]

There should be 2 wire clips which fit into holes on the sides of the heatsink.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-109-112&depa=1

In the images look at number 3 and it shows the clips for the fan, should have different sizes for 80 and 92 mm fans. This sets the fan right on top of the heatsink so the air blows through the fins, that will drop your temps drastically.

 

[imported_Ivan244]

Thanks for the heads up Jedi!!! Man I wish they would have included instructions for us OC newbies:brokenheart:

 

[JediJeb]

There may be good instructions on the Thermalright website, might want to check them out

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Ivan244
Yes Jedi, I have the huge SP947 copper heatsink on the cpu. It is a heatsink only. No ability to attach a fan that I can tell. I have the Vantec Tornado as my back case fan. Two small case fans one on top the other on the side. In the front I have the same size fan as the Tornado(Not nearly as powerful however).

Dang, you were getting awesome temps for overclocking without a fan on your heatsink!

edit: Put the two biggest clips into the top holes. You'll probably have to use a screwdriver to get the clips stretched up to the top of the Tornado. The clips seem to be made for a 25mm-thick fan, not a 38mm-thick fan like the Tornado, but it works with them. I have a 92mm Tornado on my SLK-900a.

 

[imported_Ivan244]

yeah, I can't believe I didn't clue into what those clips were for. Going to try it out tonight. Mucho thanks to everyone for all the guidance

 

[Jeff7181]

Right now I have it set to 1.7225 and Sandra is showing it at 1.67v.

That is one hell of an undervolt situation... I didn't see you mention what PSU you have... it could be a PSU issue if voltage are more stable/accurate at lower speeds.

Also... does your motherboard have a 4-pin 12V connector? I can't remember if the NF7-S does or not... if it does, you NEED that plugged in... if your PSU doesn't have one, get a new PSU.

The board does undervolt some but I would think that with a tornado, you shouldnt have too much of a problem.

What does the fan have to do with how the board undervolts?

 

[ColossusX]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

The board does undervolt some but I would think that with a tornado, you shouldnt have too much of a problem.

What does the fan have to do with how the board undervolts?

It was a run-on thought, should have read over it a bit more before I posted.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: ColossusX

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

The board does undervolt some but I would think that with a tornado, you shouldnt have too much of a problem.

What does the fan have to do with how the board undervolts?

It was a run-on thought, should have read over it a bit more before I posted.

Easy mistake to make... I've done similar things many times =)

 

[imported_Ivan244]

Good news! I got the Tornado onto the Heatsink and WOW what a difference it makes. Very cool temps. Just ran Prime95 for about an hour and checked my temp 41C. Not too shabby.

Bad news, I can't seem to get above 2.3ghz. I've tried turning the FSB down from 200mhz and increased the Multiplier, nogo.

I think it may be the power supply. I got this enermax a while back and though good, I think it is a 300w. My memory is 3200. Maybe I need the 3700 instead.

 

[magratton]

Originally posted by: myocardia

Originally posted by: Ivan244
Yes Jedi, I have the huge SP947 copper heatsink on the cpu. It is a heatsink only. No ability to attach a fan that I can tell. I have the Vantec Tornado as my back case fan. Two small case fans one on top the other on the side. In the front I have the same size fan as the Tornado(Not nearly as powerful however).

Dang, you were getting awesome temps for overclocking without a fan on your heatsink!

edit: Put the two biggest clips into the top holes. You'll probably have to use a screwdriver to get the clips stretched up to the top of the Tornado. The clips seem to be made for a 25mm-thick fan, not a 38mm-thick fan like the Tornado, but it works with them. I have a 92mm Tornado on my SLK-900a.

Actually, the other day I realized that my tornado must have burnt out the fan only cable on my True430. How did I know this, my temps were suddenly up. Not horrible, I mean they were 44C or so. But still, higher than where they were.. Anyways, tried a few things and then decided to pop the side panel while system was running. Lo and behold! CPU Fan not working. Thank goodness for the TR heatsink

 

[magratton]

Originally posted by: Ivan244
Good news! I got the Tornado onto the Heatsink and WOW what a difference it makes. Very cool temps. Just ran Prime95 for about an hour and checked my temp 41C. Not too shabby.

Bad news, I can't seem to get above 2.3ghz. I've tried turning the FSB down from 200mhz and increased the Multiplier, nogo.

I think it may be the power supply. I got this enermax a while back and though good, I think it is a 300w. My memory is 3200. Maybe I need the 3700 instead.

Yeah that 300w is likely your culprit now. I have been happy with my Antec True430 if you are looking to upgrade. If you want to go much higher on the FSB than 200, the NF7-S and your mobile are likely going to get up to about 213 FSB. You mention above that you ram is Cas2.5. You may be able to run it up to 213FSB but either raising the VDIMM and/or changing it to run Cas3. Lastly, get more RAM 256 is a pretty lite.

 

[jagec]

nonsense, my Antec 350W works fine with 512MB RAM, NF7-S, Mobile 2400+@2.4GHz, 1.8 vCore, 2 hard drives and 2 optical drives.

 

[imported_Ivan244]

Update! Got a new powersupply. An Enermax NoiseTaker 470W. I have put the Vantec Tornado onto the heatsink. Now I'm seeing low temps even under load. 41C or so. I am running at 2.41ghz and have had no crazy issues.

However, I cannot get to 2.5 to save my life I get lockup at load screen or the infamous BSOD. I've tried adjusting the FSB, the memory to 5/3, latency to 3. Nothing seems to work. But it runs Sacred just fine at 2.41.

I have bumped up the voltage to 1.8. Maybe I have to go higher? Or it may be that I am running into the max that this proc will go. Even so 2.41 isn't a bad OC at all. Just jealous over all the ones running 2.5+ on air