SP2004 Orthos Edition

[Cheex]

I have booted in Vista RC1.
I am running Orthos as I type this.
Both cores at 100%.
CPU Temperature at 49C according to PC Wizard 2006.
Progress: 30 minutes and counting.
How long do I need to run this as a preliminary quick-test?
I was planning on running it overnight tonight.

 

[myocardia]

You should run it overnight.

 

[Cheex]

1.
So is my current 37 minutes good enough to show that my computer doesn't error quickly?

2.
I hear a lot of debate about how long you should run Orthos to be fully stable.
How long is it supposed to run for?

 

[myocardia]

Most people on this forum consider 12 hrs. completely stable. Others will do a full 24 hrs. Still others think that more than 6 or 8 hours is a waste of their "time". It only matters what you are comfortable with, in other words. We aren't going to be using the system, having it crash at an important time, or having to reload Windows too often, etc., you are.

 

[Cheex]

That is understandable.
1. I'm a gamer, so what would be your recommendation. Games stress your PC so I'd like more or less a guide as to test my system stability properly.
2. Also, I just received my new Foxconn mobo so i'm testing a stock speeds right now.
How long should i let the mobo settle in before starting to overclock?

 

[Cheex]

Yet another question.
Why does the CPU Speed vary that much in Orthos?
I'm running at 2.8GHz and it shows this: (2793-2944).

Update: 1 hr 6 min
I wanna go play some games so i might stop it now.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: myocardia
Most people on this forum consider 12 hrs. completely stable. Others will do a full 24 hrs. Still others think that more than 6 or 8 hours is a waste of their "time". It only matters what you are comfortable with, in other words. We aren't going to be using the system, having it crash at an important time, or having to reload Windows too often, etc., you are.

 

[Cheex]

Ok ok i get your drift.

Slightly off topic but what about my other question...
I just received my new Foxconn mobo so i'm testing a stock speeds right now.
How long should i let the mobo settle in before starting to overclock?

 

[Cheex]

OK. I'm at 3.5GHz with my OC.

Orthos has been running now for 8hr 10min. Is this stable enough to stop it now?

 

[Duvie]

For PRELIMINARY TESTING....I would consider 1-2 hours fine since you want to continue...once you start to figure an ending point then up it to 12hours minimum for gamers, and 24-48 hours for DC users...

 

[Cheex]

Ok so for my next step up i'll just run Orthos for 2 hours then. When I reach my target then I'll run it for 12 hours because i'm a gamer.

DC users...??

 

[lopri]

8hrs is more than enough, IMHO, unless you're running a gambling site with bunch of aggravated people with maxed out credit cards. Also for a quick test, who's got that kind of time? 10 mins is enough for me to jump up to the next level. Unstable OC will crap out in 1~2 mins. Another good starting point is the average OC's that people are getting. (For instance, with Socket 939 Opterons my first boot after the installation was always 9x300.) Once you get the 'feel' of sweet spot then you start tweaking around in a more granular fashion. Dual Super PI 32M is a good barometer, assuming your memory setting is loose enough, in that Orthos stable frequencies will be always slightly lower.

 

[Cheex]

1. My dual Super Pi 32M crashed the system when i ran it at 3.5...what now? Everything else is ok.
2. Why is it the i have problems detecting my drives (hard drive especially) when i restart and sometimes if i cold boot?

 

[Big Lar]

Run Memtest in windows, that should tell the tale. For preliminary tests with Orthos, I set it at 9, and let it run 1 hour, if it passes, I up the clock and run it for an hour again. When you feel you have come close to being max'd out, run an hour of Large fft, then an hour of small fft back to back. If that makes it, then run Blend for an hour or so. If all 3 pass, then SuperPi should too.

 

[Cheex]

1. Why is it the i have problems detecting my drives (hard drive especially) when i restart and sometimes if i cold boot?
2. I ran Memtest from a boot cd. How do i run it in windows?
3. How do i know when its time to increase the vcore?

 

[Big Lar]

Originally posted by: Cheex
1. Why is it the i have problems detecting my drives (hard drive especially) when i restart and sometimes if i cold boot?
2. I ran Memtest from a boot cd. How do i run it in windows?
3. How do i know when its time to increase the vcore?

1; Could be not enuff voltage at boot, raise the vcore a tad if your temps are good.
2; Do a Google search for Memtest Windows, its a seperate program. Running memtestx86, is just enuff to let you know you may be semi-safe booting into windows.
3; When you get errors in tests, and or when you can't boot properly in your case.

 

[Cheex]

Are you sure i need more volts now??
I also want to make a note of how high i made it on stock volts.
I think my 3.5GHz is good going for stock volts...don't you think?
Could it be a golden chip...lol...no seriously, could it be?
Either way my RAM is definately going to be the deciding factor of how high i can go (DDR2-533).
BTW, I ran Dual Super Pi 32M again and it finished successfully without a hitch.

 

[nippyjun]

What settings should be used for orthos.

 

[John]

Originally posted by: nippyjun
What settings should be used for orthos.

Default (blend) is fine.

 

[Cheex]

Try running blend for at least 6 hours and you should be fine.

 

[Cheex]

...b...u...m...p...


Orthos seems to be a good stress test for system stablilty but what is the real difference between Blend, Large FFT, Small FFT, Stress CPU with Gromacs core??

 

[slag]

Originally posted by: Duvie
For PRELIMINARY TESTING....I would consider 1-2 hours fine since you want to continue...once you start to figure an ending point then up it to 12hours minimum for gamers, and 24-48 hours for DC users...

I can honestly say I've never done anything on my computers which pegs the cpu 100% for 100% of the time for hours on end. I play a lot of games also. 12+ hours of stress testing is a little over the top for me.

I run orthos for an hour, max. If it doesn't fail in that hour, its fine to me. I've read posts where people say their system is not stable because orthos errored out in hour 8. Big whoop.. It could have been a power flucation, software glitch, etc.. It does not mean your system is not stable.

Stability testing is also not exact. I can stress test for an hour or two (usually blend test), and not have any issues. I can then fire up wow and it might error out in a few mins.

Likewise, I can run orthos and have it error out in 8 mins, however, I can play wow all day long (or quake 4, doom 3, etc) and never have issues.

Stability is different things to different people.

When using orthos, if my computer is not stable, its always manifested itself in the first 10 minutes.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: Duvie
For PRELIMINARY TESTING....I would consider 1-2 hours fine since you want to continue...once you start to figure an ending point then up it to 12hours minimum for gamers, and 24-48 hours for DC users...

Stability testing is also not exact. I can stress test for an hour or two (usually blend test), and not have any issues. I can then fire up wow and it might error out in a few mins.

That statement right there made everything else you said in your post moot.

 

[slag]

Originally posted by: myocardia

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: Duvie
For PRELIMINARY TESTING....I would consider 1-2 hours fine since you want to continue...once you start to figure an ending point then up it to 12hours minimum for gamers, and 24-48 hours for DC users...

Stability testing is also not exact. I can stress test for an hour or two (usually blend test), and not have any issues. I can then fire up wow and it might error out in a few mins.

That statement right there made everything else you said in your post moot.

The wow problems I had were with bad memory that were not caught with prime95 or any other stress testing program . Not cpu related, memory related. It didn't crash with any other 3d games either, just world of warcraft. The wow forums are filled with posts like mine. Swapped out the sticks and the problem went away.
memtest86 didn't even show any errors.

I guess my point is, that stress test programs do well for testing the cpu and pegging it. They might test a small subsection of memory, but nothing is a replacement for real world usage. I use orthos, memtest, prime95, etc. Every little bit helps.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

A little off topic, but has anybody else noticed that Orthos mis reports the CPU speed if your overclocking with a reduced multi? Not really a problem just wondering if I'm missing an update or something.

ie.. If I'm running 7x451=3150, Orthos shows 3608 (8x451)