Overclocking with the FX-57

[EvilRage]

After I ran the CrystalMark bench, I decided I wanted to make sure the OC was stable. So I opened up 3DMark 03 and started the default tests. First test passed fine, but during the 2nd test (Battle of Proxycon) I heard a beeping sound coming from the mobo, so alt+ctrl+del, ended the test, and immediately shut down. I didn't reset the CMOS, but I went directly into the BIOS and changed everything back to defaults and/or auto, not wanting to risk anything funny goin on.

Here's some info off CPU-Z, maybe someone can help me figure out what I'm doing wrong? And if you own a FX-57 and an ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe, let me know, maybe I can benefit from your experiences! Thanks.

 

[ElTorrente]

Nothing out of the ordinary on CPU-Z.

I think you just overheated. What is your temps? You should be running a temperature monitor of some sort to see where you are at full-load.

 

[EvilRage]

temps in BIOS When I had reset the clock were around 55. What's a good temp monitor I could use? The beep code reminded me of an overheating beep I used to get in the really hot part of summer with a beige box I had like 4-5 years ago.

 

[ElTorrente]

55 in the BIOS? OK that's pretty high! I can just imagine how high they are under full load.. :Q

I use systool for monitoring my temperatures and voltages. I like it better than some of the other ones I've used.

 

[EvilRage]

Well the 55 was after OCing, running some apps, and the computer generally being on for a while, so it WAS under load, and I imagine the temps stayed somewhat high after I rebooted.

Edit: Well holy crap, my temps @ stock are currently @ 59! WTF!? and no load either! I'm gonna play some CSS and see what happens.

 

[ElTorrente]

Originally posted by: EvilRage
Well the 55 was after OCing, running some apps, and the computer generally being on for a while, so it WAS under load, and I imagine the temps stayed somewhat high after I rebooted.

After a minute or so it would have (should have) dropped significantly. Even if it was sitting at "only" 50C in the BIOS - that is too high to expect it to run for very long at load, because it would climb much higher than that.

Download a temp monitor and see what your temps are while running prime95 large FFTs.

 

[EvilRage]

Interesting... Just on test 1, CPU temps have jumped up to 65. And climbing... this can't be good, can it? Maybe my HSF isn't fully in contact, or something?

Edit: Maybe I'm looking at it wrong? Here's a screen of what Systool reports. Am I looking at the right numbers?

 

[ElTorrente]

Here is what you should look at to tell for sure. It's just that I don't know which of these numbers in your screen is actually the cpu temp. On this screen is where you click on and off which of them shows up down in the task bar. Obviously, in this screen I'm showing, the cpu temp is 32C. I usually show the CPU temp and the GPU temp in the task bar, and don't worry about the chipset temp too much.

 

[EvilRage]

Yeah, my CPU temp is definitely 55c at idle.

 

[ElTorrente]

There's probably a couple things going on. Maybe your case isn't exhausting the hot air fast enough, and that is heating things up. Maybe it could be a combination of that, and you may not have your heatsink mounted properly. What type of thermal paste did you use, and how much did you apply? Maybe you put too much on- a common thing people do.

If you used Arctic Silver 5 (the best) you should only apply less than a BB-sized application in the center of the CPU, then lower the heat sink directly down on it- then don't lift it up or move it after that. Go to arctic silver's website for the directions, but AS5 is different than the other arctic silver types- with the others you have to spread out manually for best results. Also, AS5 takes 50-200 hours to cure and achieve optimum temps.

 

[EvilRage]

AS5, put a decent amount of it on the chip... maybe i DID put too much. I'm thinking I'll remove the HSF and reapply everything after I clean it off a little. I spread it around a lot on the chip... that could be causing the problem. So I'll redo the whole thing, and see how that affects my temps.

 

[bjc112]

What HSF?

 

[TGS]

Text

 

[Ronin]

Using the HSF in the sig, the box runs at 38C idle, 48C under load, but my OCing ventures with the 57 haven't been very good, either, so I'm not 100% sure it's heat that's giving you problems.

 

[EvilRage]

Originally posted by: bjc112
What HSF?

Zalman 7000B

 

[ElTorrente]

Well the Zalman is a good HSF, and should definetly be performing better than it currently is. Let us know what happens if/when you reseat it. If it doesn't improve much, then you must have air circulation issues in your case.

 

[Fresh Daemon]

Try taking the side off the case. If temps drop significantly, then you don't have enough case airflow.

Then try blowing a desktop fan into the case. If temps drop significantly again and your overclock improves, then you definitely need more case fans.

 

[EvilRage]

Alright, I took off the side panel, and the temps went from around 60 or so at idle, to 50 at idle, and about 55 at load. After putting the side panel back on, the temps are climbing back up, and rather quickly. went from 50 to 55 in about a minute or two. So, it appears that I do not have enough case fans... Could it also possibly be due to a pressurization issue inside the case? I was reading a few articles, and one of them mentioned to keep the case positively pressurized to keep temps high (or low, don't remember which was which). So would that mean increasing the intake fan's rotational speed? Or do I just need to add fans?

 

[EvilRage]

Double post...

 

[EvilRage]

Whoa, triple post.

 

[ElTorrente]

^ hey, I heard you the first time.

You don't have enough fans exhausting the air from your case.

Ideally, you want a slight amount of positive pressure inside the case- to keep dust from going in thru every crack and crevice, but you need to have plenty of exhaust fans. If there is a fan(s) blowing at your CPU/mobo area from the side or top, take the fan out and flip it so it's on exhaust. You just need to keep that heat from recirculating back thru your heatsink.

Just experiment with changing fan directions and the air flow thru your case- you'll find the best combo eventually.

 

[EvilRage]

The only fans I have in my case are two 80mm exhaust fans on the rear, an 80mm blowhole fan on the top, and a 120mm intake fan on the front. My vid cards and CPU have fans as well, but those don't factor in, do they?

Is there an easy way to increase fan rotation on the rear 80mm fans?

Oh, and just so you know - it's a Silverstone TJ03 case.

Edit 2: In addition, of the two 6800 GTs I've got, GPU 1 is reading a tempurature of 69C. Seems a little hot to me, but it's in the "yellow" for the vid card's temp meter.

 

[Fresh Daemon]

You should have enough fans already. It's just a matter of where the airflow is going. How is your cable management?

Also, you have plenty of suction to remove air from the top-back and top of the case, where the CPU and RAM is, but what's down where your SLI GPU's are? Nothing, right? So you have two coolers on them which are basically stirring hot air around, and as you can see, GPU's get very hot. There's a stagnant area there, and in addition to that, heat is going to rise from that area towards your CPU and RAM when the graphics cards are loaded up. Instead of a top blowhole I would have put a side one on over the graphics cards, or failing that, get a couple of Arctic Cooling Silencers which will replace your existing GPU coolers and will duct the hot air out the back of the case for you.

 

[EvilRage]

All the fans I mentioned were stock, and came with the case, so I didn't get to choose any kind of fan placement. I have been thinking about putting a blowhole on the side of the case where the GPUs are, but that would involve buying a dremel and learning to use it, and then proceeding to cut a hole in a windowed side panel I just spent 50 bucks on, so I'm a little hesitant to do that.

Other than the side blowhole or the Arctic Silencers, is there any other way to remove hot air from the vid cards? Still, my primary concern is the CPU... Last night after playing some CSS, it jumped up to 78C! I shut it down immediately after seeing that... I did however reseat the heatsink after properly applying some AS5, and my temps dropped just a little, down a few degrees. Right now I'm sitting at 50C idle. Still high compared to what I've seen, but lower than before.

I think what I might do is get the Silverstone front panel fan management plate, hook it all up, and then get a couple of extremely quiet 30 or 40mm fans, and put them where the grilles are on the front panel. Hopefully that'll get air to the processor a little bit better, but I don't know how well that would work if the door on the front of my case were closed. Hmm.

 

[Fresh Daemon]

Other than the side blowhole or the Arctic Silencers, is there any other way to remove hot air from the vid cards

Yeah, there's these: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...item-details.asp?EdpNo=39598&CatId=804

Their airflow is pretty anemic, though, don't expect too much.

Still, my primary concern is the CPU... Last night after playing some CSS, it jumped up to 78C!

That is way, way too high. AMD rates the CPU's up to about 60-65C, at 78C, you're headed for premature chip death - not something you want on any chip, let alone a $1,000 one!

Right now I'm sitting at 50C idle

Too hot. My overclocked Venice sits at about 33C idle. Even 50C under load is a little too high, in my personal opinion!

a couple of extremely quiet 30 or 40mm fans

I'm afraid no such thing exists. 30 and 40mm fans have so little blade area that to move any air, they must spin extremely fast, which means a lot of noise. Worse, in this size fan it tends to be high-pitched buzzing and whining, rather than the low-frequency rumble and whoosh you get with 120mm fans. I had a hard-drive cooler with 2 40mm fans once, I ran it for a week before I got sick of the buzzing and disconnected it.

Have you thought about rigging up some ducts? I would do this:

1) Since you're nervous about dremelling your case, get Arctic Silencers
2) Duct one rear 80mm fan straight to the CPU
3) Let the other back 80mm and blowhole handle everything else

Some pics of the inside of your case would be very helpful. Do you have a digital camera, webcam or anything?