Q6600+Striker Extreme Nightmare

[lopri]

Also, the parts should ultimately serve up to what you guys paid for, but for trouble shooting purposes there is no better way (unless you have the 6th sense) than 'process of elimination'. If CPU OC is the first hurdle, then leave only 2 (or even 1) sticks of RAM, and use only 1 video card and 1 HDD. Most of the OC trouble with NF boards are SPP-related which takes a lot of beating in such a heavy operating condition. Quad-core, overclocking, 4 sticks of RAM, 2 high-end GPUs - In a sense they're all conducted by the SPP. Reduce the load on SPP and try to find the sweet spot one by one, instead of putting it all together and hoping to work at once.

 

[ionoxx]

May it be noted...

Striker + Bios 1303 + OCZ Reaper 4GB... its a bust....

I got it to post with other mem and finally got back to 1301!!!!

Another note.... DO NOT USE AWDFLASH V1.31!

It will fail. You will have to use BootBlock to recover.... thank the computer gods that bootblock exists!

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Thoinks foah the tip, mite!! [See answers to "other questions" at end]

[Really, Ah'm frum Tech-sus, tho . . . . y'all . . . ]

OK. O . . . . KAYYYY!!

I've got to search around here for my screen capture. AigoMorla is in the ballpark to exhort people to post "screenies."

Here's the basic configuration, oft missed in my many posts these last few months:

Striker Extreme motherboard
Q6600 B3 stepping -- lapped to the copper layer
ThermalRight Ultra-120-Extreme
Crucial Ballistix DDR2-1000 2GB 2x1GB
BFG 8800 GTS 640MB -- OC'd to 576/900 w TR HR-03-Plus cooler
3Ware 9650SE 4-port RAID5 w (4 x Seagate 7200.10 320GB) = 0.90 TB
"Spesh-ul" motherboard ducting: 2x140x20 intake fans (bottom); 2x140x25mm intake fans (rear of HDD cage); 2 x 120x38mm exhaust fans; 1x 80x15mm VGA fan
1994 Compaq ProLiant Server case, modded to ATX ff; capacity for HDD's, floppy, DVD = 14 devices.

EDIT: Mui Importante, Amigos!!
Seasonic M12 700W PSU

Yes!! There are "other" PSUs that will serve you equally well. I picked the Seasonic.

The "Chrome-Lightning Whopper"

[Ah'm feelin' a bit extra proud today, mite!!]

BIOS CONFIG:
v.1301 BIOS
Q6600(B3) 2.4 @ 3.2 Ghz
FSB = 1,424 Mhz
DDR = 890 Mhz
CPU : RAM ratio = 4:5
VCORE = 1.41875V (set); 1.39V BIOS mon; 1.41V Everest "Sensor" mon
VDIMM = 2.125V (set); ~ 2.16+V BIOS; 2.16V Everest "sensor" mon
1.2V_HT = 1.45V set; 1.52V Everest sensor-mon
CPU_VTT (FSB) = 1.40V set; 1.47V Everest
NBCore = 1.40V set; 1.45V Everest
SBCore = "AUTO" set; 1.52V Everest

TIMINGS: 4,4,4,12,CMD=2T, tRC = 16

PRIME95 multi-core v.25.4 Blend-Test results @ 65F room-ambient:
9 hours, 29 minutes => manually terminated with 0 errors, 0 warnings

PRIME95 multi-core Screenie for Q6600 @ 3.2 Ghz stable

Now you'd want to see my CPU-Z and other data, but it's here in the text and I'm still wrestling with alternate screen capture utilities, so . . . . "trust me . . . "

Sooo . . . . O - KAYYY, I said, OK . . . .

I have the CoreTemp log files to process and get the "stats" on cooling.

At this room-ambient, the Blend-test core values don't seem to exceed a peak-core value of 47C degrees -- occasionally, it would go to 52C -- per my sporadic observation. The range between cores only occasionally would show a delta of 6C degrees, but mostly flipped back and forth between 3 and 4C. (This was due to the lapping.) The idle core temperatures showed a maximum delta between the cores of 3C degrees.

Now . . . . suppose I get those stats done, and the peak temperature shows as 55C -- I still have to process the data into Excel, and I couldn't just sit in front of the screen all night to watch for the occasional spike. The room-ambient was rock-solid all night at 65F. So at 80F room-ambient, we add 8.33C to the peak core value to show 63.3 or ~ 63.5C peak core temperature at a sweltering room-temperature of 80F degrees.

If the peak from the stats is lower than that, then the maximum core load temperature for an 80F room ambient might be around 60C.

KIDS!! You can do this at home!!

OTHER QUESTIONS

You can "do" 4GB filling all four slots, or 4GB in two slots, but you're gonna haveta loosen timings and make other adjustments. Last fall, 2007, I had 3GB in four slots w 2x1GB + 2x512MB. Those were all Crucial Ballistix DDR2-1000 modules. You can't just assume the same timings will be stable, or the same VDIMM is required.

Lopri is correct with wisdom about OC'ing with multiple components and especially 4 RAM slots filled, SLI graphics. Even for VGA over-clocking, you're supposed to run one vid card at a time to choose the over-clock settings, and under that circumstance it MAY be wise to flash the settings into VGA BIOS instead of having them implemented at boot-time through the registry. On the memory, you definitely must test them in pairs. These Ballistix DDR2-1000's seem to need slightly looser timings than the ones I RMA'd for replacement -- to get the same VDIMM voltage and keep it "tamed down."

On the BIOS flashing: I've used the floppy flash utility before, but for these boards, after a disaster with ASUS UPDATE [please avoid -- do not use], I only used the BIOS EZ-FLASH feature, and it works fine. ALWAYS BE SURE TO RESET BIOS TO DEFAULT SETTINGS FOR SPEED, VOLTAGES AND MEMORY TIMINGS. OR -- just Clear the CMOS before flashing, and follow the procedures in the manual carefully.

 

[ionoxx]

I just though I'd post some pics as well...

I haven't installed my VGA water blocks yet.... they're stuck somewhere in transit.

Building...

Building...

Empty Front with CSE-M35T. All the little shelves for each 5.25 bay had to be dremmeled off.

Almost done building...

Finished Front

Finished Side

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Originally posted by: ionoxx
I just though I'd post some pics as well...

I haven't installed my VGA water blocks yet.... they're stuck somewhere in transit.

Building...

Building...

Empty Front with CSE-M35T. All the little shelves for each 5.25 bay had to be dremmeled off.

Almost done building...

Finished Front

Finished Side

Wow. That's a badass system you got there. You put the radiator in the front? So there's still plenty of airflow, too.

My Chrome-Lightning don't even come close!!

Even so. On this motherboard, if you pay some extra attention to chipset/heatpipe cooling, it should still reap some dividends. Nor am I suggesting that you simply extend your water-loop. Pulling the copper-necklace off the Striker has too many more costs than benefits. It may even cause damage, from what I've heard about the thermal adhesive they use.

. . . . Of course . . . . that copper thingie was one of several reasons I chose the board.

 

[ionoxx]

Well the radiator comes like that... The case comes as a kit. It cools really well so far. I plan on getting another one of the little blowers that shops with the motherboard. My father in law bought a Maximus Formula and a Zalman CNPS-7700CU... he has no need for it.

May it be noted... the Maximus Formula and the Zalman 7700 were made for each other! I have never seen a motherboard so effectively air cooled. It fits like grandpa in grandma.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I take it the case is a "Thermaltake Kandalf?" Justified or not, I had my eye on the Tai-Chi for a long time.

But I'm swimming in recycled ATX full-tower cases from late-'90s OEMs. I got (I mean, I have) -- three Dremels, a drill-press, plenty of drill/screw taps. The only thing I'm missing -- and which I really don't have room for -- I think it's called a sheet-metal "slip, roll and press-brake." Then, I could literally manufacture my own aluminum cases.

I came by this old '94 pre-ATX Compaq ProLiant Server case for free. I still need to write up the modding project -- I must have hundreds of photos. I "merged" some Lian-Li HDD "expander" boxes to the old SCSI-drive trays that came with the case, so I have two "dollies" that slide out of the cage: a 4-drive dolly and a 3-drive dolly. Today I'm putting in a Star Tech aluminum hard-disk "hot-swap" caddy for use with some old IDE drives.

It takes a lot of extra work to mod these old cases to desire, and it takes attention away from other things -- like details your nifty case already provides. I wouldn't think it's a nightmare to dremel off those HD-bay tabs, though. Not a nightmare, maybe a tedious P-I-T-A. I had to do stuff like that myself, with a hard time to see where the dremel was cutting.

My biggest gripe was the time and trouble I put in to the Acrylic enamel chrome paint. It was too expensive, and for my own mistakes about choosing undercoats (and paying for them), it turned out with a chrome-color but it ain't no mirror. I had bad advice about this, and there were places in town I might have taken the side-panel and shroud to have them chrome-plated for about what I eventually spent on paint supplies. With some extra ducats, I'll eventually have that done. But it doesn't make it easy to submit "case-mod" entries to contests when all the troubles took more than a year, and the newer technology is entering the market-place.

Which RAID controller did you use? Ha!! I SAW that!! I SAW that!! You'd have to have an eight-port controller to enable five HDDs.

 

[ionoxx]

Actually... the plan is to use all 8 ports on the RocketRaid 2320. Here's how i'll go....

Right now I have:

4x Western Digital WD2500KS Raid 0 (Boot)
4x Western Digital WD7500AAKS Raid 5 (Data)

2 of the 250GB are in the back HD cage (Next to PSU) and the other 2 are in the front HD cage, which occupies 3 5.25 bays atop the Supermicro cage.

I still have 670GB free on my Data array, so when I run out, I'll stick in another 750GB, online raid migrate with the new drive, extend partition and voila... some 690GiB of storage magically appear

When I run out again, I replace the TT drive cage that occupies 3 5.25 bays with another Supermicro M35T. I'll be able to put the 2x 250GBs in there as well as another 3x 750GB in. That is where this computer earns it's Hostname... "GSD" (Gargantuan Storage Device)

That is why I got the 8 port controller

I might eventually move all the storage subsystem to another chassis and make a dedicated NAS, but for now this works!

You have to put up more pictures of your Chrome Lightening... It looks like a cool project.

Edit: Its a Kandalf LCS... same chassis as the Armor and Kandalf but the front is different.
Link to Case

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I might have been more ambitious, but I'm anticipating what happens here in a few years when the city renegotiates our electric-billing rates. Currently, we're like an island in So-Cal -- everyone else is hooked up to So-Cal-Edison, but we have our own municipal power company.

I can't be sure, although i could check the Extreme Outervision calculator again for "device differentials." The HDDs add a chunk of juice to the consumption. At one time, I was thinking about just 3 drives in RAID5, but the 4-drive configuration is just plain faster.

I probably could've gone with the 8800 GTX, but chose the GTS instead, and now looking with envy -- hoping to replace it with a newer OC'd GT (maybe two, "on the SLI" so to speak.)

Can't wait for the 15th. My Virginia tenant goes to court over back rent owed me. We all know the odds on that one, unless they can actually garnish wages. I guess I can just be happy to have the revenue-flow returned with a new -- more carefully-chosen occupant.

THEN we'll see about some "water-cooling."

Some people give me this "I heard that Adaptec or 3Ware was better" look when I mention HighPoint. But I have another RAID5 with a HighPoint IDE controller, and it's been fine for 24/7 more than three years now.

Geesh!! I like that case. Might be a better choice than one of the CM Stackers.

 

[ionoxx]

My friend and I both have RocketRaid 2320s, and we both find that they ar great value. I've also put 4 or 5 RocketRaid 2310s in entry level servers. The RAID migration feature is the best part as well as the email alerts for server use.

They don't have on board cache so burst write suffers a bit with RAID 5. In my case that doesn't bother me. I use it mostly for raw capacity and flexibility.

I'm supposed to get my VGA waterblocks tomorrow as well as a second radiator that will fit where the rear exhaust fan is. I really have to fid a scale to weigh this computer when I'm done.

I really like the Kandalf LCS so far. Its not the most quiet case I've ever owned, but it does offer excellent performance. As you can see it has room for about anything you can throw at it. And the watercooling is all integrated, so you can move it without disconnecting tubes and leaking all over the place.

Now I just have to figure out the best way to empty all the coolant. Since I'm adding the VGA waterblocks, I have to empty the whole thing. Any suggestions based on the pictures above?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Well, given my exchanges with AigoMorla these last several months, I may "take to water" in the next few months --- maybe before mid-summer, anyway. In terms of "hands-on" experience, it will be a first.

When I designed my "ProLiant case-mod," I did it with an eye toward serious water-cooling. The two bottom fans are unrestricted, because we put 3"-double-wheeled casters on the case, using 1/4"x2.5"x10" aluminum bars to extend the wheels half-way extended from either case-side, making it less possible to tip the case over. But it also allows for 3 to 4" of clearance underneath. The fan-cage for the two 140x20mm bottom-fans will be ideal for bolting in a radiator, or I might decide to bolt the radiator to the case under-side, where it will hardly be seen, anyway, and leaks from those radiators will only ruin the carpet. The two 120x38mm rear exhaust fans sit one above the other, so I can add a double-120x240mm radiator to the case rear. And since it's a "monster-case," I'll find room inside an auxiliary HD-cage for the pump.

You're supposed to have a "T-connection" in your loop for filling and bleeding your water-system. But I think this is in the upper part of your loop, allowing air-bubbles to move toward the bleed-hose, for obvious reasons. I'm wondering what AigoMorla would say about another T-connection at the bottom at a low-point in the system so that you could simply drain it all of coolant, not different from the drain-plug on the bottom of an automobile radiator.

EDIT: UPDATE: NEW OBSERVATIONS

[Learning to reduce the number of my sequential posts by use of "edit." ]

Poor BobbyFoo -- We've gone from Striker Extreme, to BIOS versions, to cookbook overclocks, to memory, to cooling, to watercooling and cases. Maybe the 2nd thru 4th items fit into the first topic, and maybe even the 5th is relevant for a long stretch for relevance.

FSB holes. Customer-reviews saying it's a s***ty pieca-c*** for the price. Frustrated users. Knowledgeable users, like my buddy Idontcare here, who stuck with this board on the verge of losing his marbles until it finally shorted out -- maybe he's got a revision to that story now, but that's what I heard.

So I swapped the Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2-800s back in and pulled the C_ B_x DDR2-1000 RMA replacements out. 14 hours, 2 minutes to recertify the memory again with lower HT, VTT and NB voltage settings, and I learned that a +0.05V increase in NBCore fixes a 3-core simultaneous rounding error in PRIME95 after a perfect 8-hour run.

The Tracers clock the same or better than the DDR2-1000s at the chosen VDIMM, VCORE, CPU : RAM ratio, and FSB, given the fact that these 1000's aren't up to snuff, even if "they work." So the 14 hours recertifies my 3.0 Ghz settings. We move on to the 3.2 Ghz speed setting -- again with minimal voltages across the board -- and for all these configurations, I've chosen memory timings that go well with a single VDIMM at 2.125V. The monitored memory voltage seems to be more like 2.150 or 2.160V -- or somewhere between. But we've been through all this, in posts above.

It says something about the "need" for high-end memory modules.

Where this Striker board will go, may be mostly known by now. I understand it's Wolfdale compatible, but who wants to give up their quad-cores, even for a Penryn C2D? Hmmm?? 680i has now been "around" for more than a year and a half. 780i is taking its place. P35, X38 and X48 boards are now the choice of eager over-clockers. Nothing much has happened with some "license" for Intel's deployment of SLI, although I've heard -- or seen somewhere, that an Intel board actually implements it -- it works.

So maybe fretting over the Striker Extreme in early 2008 will exasperate some people. But it's been interesting -- a real learning experience. And maybe, just maybe . . . . even without water-cooling . . . . I'll risk the Q6600 on this puppy and shoot for another 100 Mhz. Like the Top-Gun said: "Do you feel the need for speed?" I'm just afraid this is no 1925 Indian Scout, for which you can make a new set of Titanium pistons. Would I water-cool this puppy, when I could invest the equipment in a newer mobo? You can't put the chipset on an anvil; you can't heat-temper your voltage regulation components. You can only cool it down, and stick with processors that will start to become obsolete with Nehalem.

So for the exasperated minions, I won't yet say "Requiescat in Pacem, Striker Maximus." But sooner or later, I might say something like "Find a new home: Maximus is movin' in." Don't mean nuthin fruity with that, but it still sounds a bit strange.

 

[ionoxx]

nTune really bothers me. I cannot have it installed while I'm overclocking. The other day, I was overclocking, anything above the stock 2.4GHz, gets to windows and crashes. Even with extra voltage. So I think to myself.... this is impossible... set FSB 300/QDR1200 and boot to safe mode: Prime Stable 3 hours....

Uninstall all nvidia drivers and it boots to Windows normally, while overlcocked. Reinstall drivers, but problem is now I can't monitor GPU temps. I can use RivaTuner to force my GPU fans to 65% (Otherwise too much heat gets stuck in the case and get my raid controller really hot). Is there any app out there that can monitor GPU temps?

Also, here's a fun little behavior I can't figure out... I overclocked my two GTSs last night. Overclocked to 720/1800/1000 (Core/Shader/Memory), up from 670/1674/972. I get a lower score in 3DMark06 and 2 FPS lower in CS:S Stress Test.... Any thoughts?

 

[Rigatoni]

Thanks BonzaiDuck for your suggested settings. I stumbled upon this thread while searching google for help with my q6600 / striker extreme overclock and it helped out quite a bit.

I'm using these settings and am 24+hour prime95 stable with 0 errors. The peak cpu core temp logged on core temp was 55 degrees c. but I ran this particular batch of tests with my side cover off and a small house fan pointed at my motherboard to test what better air flow would do for my system. Sometime in the next week or so I'm upgrading my cooling to the thermalright 120extre cpu cooler, thermaltake case side panel with 25cm fan, and 3 higher cfm 120mm case fans. Then I'll try to OC some more.


EDIT: NO LONGER STABLE.


For now here are my specs...

Bios settings

FSB & MEM Linked in Sync mode
FSB: 1,333
MEM: 667
VCORE: 1.31875
1.2V_HT: 1.30v
NB: 1.30v
CPU_VTT: 1.30v
MEM: 2.2v at 4-4-4-15

System Specs

CPU: Q6600
Motherboard: Asus Striker Extreme
Bios: 1303
Graphics Card: Two EVGA 8800gts 640mb in SLI (Overclocked GPU:600mhz MEM: 900mhz)
Memory: 4GB 800mhz ocz reaper hpc
Hard Drive: Two Western Digital Raptors in Raid 0
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 750 Silencer
Case: Thermaltake Armor
Operating System: Windows Vista 32bit

Cooling

CPU: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
Graphics Card (GPU): Stock EVGA fans & heatsinks
Case: Two 120mm and two 90mm Thermaltake Fans

3DMark06 Score

15,142

Thanks again,
-Rigatoni

 

[max6300]

Hello everybody, I have purchased a Striker Extreme MObo and i upgrade'd my bios to 1503(the latest). After the Asus online update finshed distroying my Cmos the PC rebooted, and never booted again, so... I took out the battery for 4 minutes and but it back in, the PC booted and the bios was updated, I know that is not normal, but i dont know how to revert my bios to an older version, can it be done? I succesfuly OC my Q6600 at 3,333; 3,666; 4,050, but the bios is not acurate at all(the voltages ar totaly wrong). so please help me revert my bios to a more stable version, Thank you.