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The toy after a week of use
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Cookie Monster
Diamond Member
No wonder why they feel so snappy 😀
Joking aside, im eagerly waiting for the OCing results. Lopri, maybe you could test how much the un-core/core clock affects overall performance (from what I gather a NB speed of over 2.4GHz result in dimishing returns) then later try to find a good match of the two to get best result.
Gikaseixas
Platinum Member
i have my 940BE @ 3.8 with the NB @ 2.6 but i had to give it some serious juice (1.350v) to run @ 2.6
The end result is awesome, it's a fast chip.
The end result is awesome, it's a fast chip.
lopri
Elite Member
Thank you all for kind words and advice. I will definitely test NB scaling later on. I think there is more than what's seen to how the NB clocks, and I will explore it and report back.
Meanwhile, Linpack passed successfuly @3.8GHz w/ 8GB of RAM. Everything is left auto except the multiplier and vCore. This is by far the safest OC'ing method on this board -> proving that BIOS is immature. (This will also be explored/explained as much as I can)
Linpack 3 Hours
PII's WEI in Windows 7 = 7.4
Edit: I've also found out the system seems stable this way @3.6GHz with just 1.312V.
Meanwhile, Linpack passed successfuly @3.8GHz w/ 8GB of RAM. Everything is left auto except the multiplier and vCore. This is by far the safest OC'ing method on this board -> proving that BIOS is immature. (This will also be explored/explained as much as I can)
Linpack 3 Hours
PII's WEI in Windows 7 = 7.4
Edit: I've also found out the system seems stable this way @3.6GHz with just 1.312V.
Did you OC your 940BE by multipliers or HTT? That's really nice. Also how about HT? Do you leave it @auto or..?
BTRY B 529th FA BN
Lifer
whats this cinebench thing? cost?
Gikaseixas
Platinum Member
Multipliers since it's easier and gives you more stability as you go up in frequency. What you can do is to OC the cpu by messing with the multipliers first till you reach a limit and then start Ocing the NB till it's limits also.
soccerballtux
Lifer
Lopri could you post some numbers about performance at 3.8ghz while simply cranking the multiplier up, vs. taking the time to find the HTT/memory limit? (HTT is the right term correct? It's been a while since I overclocked an AMD system and my memory is terrible 😛. IE we know you lose very little [1-2%] performance on the Core 2 series chips by running at a higher multiplier vs higher bus; what happens on the AMDs?)
I can't say how excited I am at these 955's. 3.8Ghz was my magic number (8.5x450 q9550).
BTRY B 529th FA BN
Lifer
Thanks!
I googled it, and I thought I read there was a purchasing price er something. Thanks Ruby 🙂
soonerproud
Golden Member
Just a quick update:
Got the new parts in about 2 hours ago, put together and Windows 7 installed and 85% configured. (I still have some programs to install)
All i can say is WOW THIS FREAKING PROCESSOR IS FAST AT STOCK!!!!!
The ECS mobo I bought is an incredibly well built board with a ton of nice touches and features. This is certainly a better board than the Gigabyte boards that are popular. I had to flash the BIOS once Windows was installed because the shipping BIOS did not fully support the X4 955, but after that I set my RAM timings, made my changes and turned on ACC to auto.
The Gskill RAM I bought is pretty darn good too, except the timings could be a little faster than 8-8-8-21. (the rated timings) Other than that the ram performs well.
Got the new parts in about 2 hours ago, put together and Windows 7 installed and 85% configured. (I still have some programs to install)
All i can say is WOW THIS FREAKING PROCESSOR IS FAST AT STOCK!!!!!
The ECS mobo I bought is an incredibly well built board with a ton of nice touches and features. This is certainly a better board than the Gigabyte boards that are popular. I had to flash the BIOS once Windows was installed because the shipping BIOS did not fully support the X4 955, but after that I set my RAM timings, made my changes and turned on ACC to auto.
The Gskill RAM I bought is pretty darn good too, except the timings could be a little faster than 8-8-8-21. (the rated timings) Other than that the ram performs well.
lopri
Elite Member
That is very nice setup you got there, soonerproud. AM3 and DDR3 is the way to go if one plans to build a new system with 955BE. I'd have liked it very much, but I just have waaaayyyyyy too many DDR2 sticks! The 2GB sticks I'm using now are about 2 years old, DDR2-667 rated. I got them for $80 per piece and that was a bargain price at the time, but heck no one would buy this thing today to mate with a high-end setup.
BTW, I have ACC disabled for now. I fooled around with it a little bit but I just couldn't figure out what it did, nor whether it did anything at all. If you know/learn anything about it, please do share. In any case, your DDR3 setup will beat the crap out of my DDR2 setup given a same CPU frequency. I'm jealous!
BTW, I have ACC disabled for now. I fooled around with it a little bit but I just couldn't figure out what it did, nor whether it did anything at all. If you know/learn anything about it, please do share. In any case, your DDR3 setup will beat the crap out of my DDR2 setup given a same CPU frequency. I'm jealous!
BTRY B 529th FA BN
Lifer
Man, this thread is just making me peer over into the AMD court again. I just would be lost on a board.
soonerproud
Golden Member
I skipped the DDR 2 generation because my 939 combined with the cheap X2 4400+ was a damned good combination and performed admirably for several years. I never kept a platform for so long and was as upgradeable as the 939 socket. If I had all that DDR2 laying around doing nothing, I most certainly would have done the same thing as you.
The reason I went with DDR3 this time was because during comparison shopping, I noticed I could get nice components for the same cost as the AM2+/DDR2 equivalents. In the vast majority of cases the performance increase averages above 5% due to the higher bandwidth if you exclude the few times the slower timings reduce performance. It makes no sense any more to buy AM2+/DDR2 for these processors when the AM3/DDR3 are in price parity.
Anyway you have nothing to be jealous of since you are getting most of that performance and are able to recycle some old components to save a buck. I'm all about getting the best bang for the buck.
Cheers! :beer:
soonerproud
Golden Member
I am so happy I bought one of the few AM3 boards to support up to 32 GB of RAM. Legit Reviews gave this mobo a great review too.
ECS A790GXM-AD3 Motherboard Review Legit Reviews
lopri
Elite Member
Here is the latest update. The progress has been a bit slow due to personal reasons, but it is clear that this chip has a lot to offer - I observed so many interesting behaviors and as others have commented, it is no doubt I will spend many quality hours to come.
Since there are many mysteries that I haven't even begin to explore, I think I will make a separate thread in the future with more details. The way NB behaves, the way clock generator works, and the way memory dividers work are all still big unknown to me. In this thread, I am going to concentrate on OC'ing results and brief impressions on its performance.
I have switched the HSF from Scythe Samurai to Scythe Infinity, and this seems to help for clocking quite a bit. At the least, I get more consistent OC results as well as slightly lower temperatures.
Thanks to Gikaseixas, I got more brave with voltages on NB. Previously I didn't give much voltages to NB because the default is 1.1V. In order to stablize the NB @2.6 GHz 1.35V was needed. For 2.4 GHz 1.175V suffices so it's quite a jump.
I have found a few stable combinations, with decent thermal characteristics suitable for 24/7 usage:
1) CPU 3.6 GHz (1.35V) | NB 2.6 GHz (1.35V) | 8GB DDR2-800/5-5-5 (1.9V)
2) CPU 3.8 GHz (1.39V) | NB 2.4 GHz (1.17V) | 8GB DDR2-800/5-5-5 (1.9V)
3) CPU 3.8 GHz (1.42V) | NB 2.6 GHz (1.35V) | 8GB DDR2-800/5-5-5 (1.9V)
3) is a little too hot for my taste and 1) performs better than 2), so 1) is my current favorite. (and I am biased towards 3.6 GHz 😀 )
3.9 GHz is not difficult for the chip itself, but at that point my air cooling is not cutting it. I can run some benches but not stability tests. From what I can see, it's simply a matter of temperature at that frequency. As has been noted, however, 4.0 GHz is a totally different story.
Also I have to compliment my board, despite its lacking BIOS for overclocking. Mimicking its P45 cousin, the board's usability is nearly flawless. Everything works as it should and even the SB750's performance exceeds my expectation. As a matter of fact, with 955BE @3.6~3.8 GHz the whole system feels extremely snappy and smooth. (This could be a halo/placebo effect of Windows 7, however)
Talking about recycling RAM, the whole transition didn't really cost me much thanks to my initial investment on NForce system a year ago. I even pocketed a few dollars after I sold my 780i board and purchased this 790X board. Can't complain. 😉
Since there are many mysteries that I haven't even begin to explore, I think I will make a separate thread in the future with more details. The way NB behaves, the way clock generator works, and the way memory dividers work are all still big unknown to me. In this thread, I am going to concentrate on OC'ing results and brief impressions on its performance.
I have switched the HSF from Scythe Samurai to Scythe Infinity, and this seems to help for clocking quite a bit. At the least, I get more consistent OC results as well as slightly lower temperatures.
Thanks to Gikaseixas, I got more brave with voltages on NB. Previously I didn't give much voltages to NB because the default is 1.1V. In order to stablize the NB @2.6 GHz 1.35V was needed. For 2.4 GHz 1.175V suffices so it's quite a jump.
I have found a few stable combinations, with decent thermal characteristics suitable for 24/7 usage:
1) CPU 3.6 GHz (1.35V) | NB 2.6 GHz (1.35V) | 8GB DDR2-800/5-5-5 (1.9V)
2) CPU 3.8 GHz (1.39V) | NB 2.4 GHz (1.17V) | 8GB DDR2-800/5-5-5 (1.9V)
3) CPU 3.8 GHz (1.42V) | NB 2.6 GHz (1.35V) | 8GB DDR2-800/5-5-5 (1.9V)
3) is a little too hot for my taste and 1) performs better than 2), so 1) is my current favorite. (and I am biased towards 3.6 GHz 😀 )
3.9 GHz is not difficult for the chip itself, but at that point my air cooling is not cutting it. I can run some benches but not stability tests. From what I can see, it's simply a matter of temperature at that frequency. As has been noted, however, 4.0 GHz is a totally different story.
Also I have to compliment my board, despite its lacking BIOS for overclocking. Mimicking its P45 cousin, the board's usability is nearly flawless. Everything works as it should and even the SB750's performance exceeds my expectation. As a matter of fact, with 955BE @3.6~3.8 GHz the whole system feels extremely snappy and smooth. (This could be a halo/placebo effect of Windows 7, however)
Talking about recycling RAM, the whole transition didn't really cost me much thanks to my initial investment on NForce system a year ago. I even pocketed a few dollars after I sold my 780i board and purchased this 790X board. Can't complain. 😉
Flipped Gazelle
Diamond Member
With chips... 😀
soonerproud
Golden Member
Doesn't everyone have a grand in cash just lying around in the sofa cushings? I had no clue they even had 8GB densities yet.
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