[kidnova]

Sorry, I've been saying 3.xxx in this whole thread for some reason. It's running at 1.375V.

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Well, I've played around with the overclocking the system a bit more and made some changes. First off, let me tell you that everything I've read about the ease of oveclocking the e4x00 CPUs has proven true with my setup. I was initially having problems pushing the FSB above 300 no matter how low I dropped the multiplier. Well, it turns out that for Vista to recognize the lower multiplier I had to disable enhanced speed stepping in the bios. So, while I thought I was lowering the multiplier, it was actually still running at 11x which was effectively overclocking it to 3.3 GHz. I'm sure the CPU can handle that speed, but not at the low voltage I was running it at.

Anyways, once I disabled speedstepping in the bios I was able to raise the FSB to 333 and drop the multiplier to 9X giving an effective speed of 3GHz while having the voltage set on 3.75. It runs around 25C at idle and 45C under load while running Prime95. I'm running my RAM at 800MHz with 2.0 volts and 4-4-4-12 timings and my PCMark05 score is up to 8011.

All in all, I'd say I'm 100% satisfied with all of the components I decided on. On a side note, CPU-Z is still giving me problems and I'm at a loss as to the issue. CrystalCPUID runs fine however.

What cooling do you use cause I want to OC my parents computer but I don't wanna Watercool it cause I really don't have the time. I was wondering whats the best air cooling and I still don't know. However I am interested in your setup since your temps are so low.

Soorena

[SOORENA]

Well, I've played around with the overclocking the system a bit more and made some changes. First off, let me tell you that everything I've read about the ease of oveclocking the e4x00 CPUs has proven true with my setup. I was initially having problems pushing the FSB above 300 no matter how low I dropped the multiplier. Well, it turns out that for Vista to recognize the lower multiplier I had to disable enhanced speed stepping in the bios. So, while I thought I was lowering the multiplier, it was actually still running at 11x which was effectively overclocking it to 3.3 GHz. I'm sure the CPU can handle that speed, but not at the low voltage I was running it at.

Anyways, once I disabled speedstepping in the bios I was able to raise the FSB to 333 and drop the multiplier to 9X giving an effective speed of 3GHz while having the voltage set on 3.75. It runs around 25C at idle and 45C under load while running Prime95. I'm running my RAM at 800MHz with 2.0 volts and 4-4-4-12 timings and my PCMark05 score is up to 8011.

All in all, I'd say I'm 100% satisfied with all of the components I decided on. On a side note, CPU-Z is still giving me problems and I'm at a loss as to the issue. CrystalCPUID runs fine however.

What cooling do you use cause I want to OC my parents computer but I don't wanna Watercool it cause I really don't have the time. I was wondering whats the best air cooling and I still don't know. However I am interested in your setup since your temps are so low.

Soorena

[kidnova]

I'm using the stock heat sink and fan as well as 3 case fans. I've got a 120mm intake fans on the front an side and another 120mm blowing out the back. What type of components doesn your parents' computer have? If it's a C2D then you shouldn't have any problems OCing and maintaining decent temps. You may just need to add a fan or two and clean up the wiring which can restrict airflow. However, P4s (the netburst versions) are notorious for running at high temps and are much more difficult to overclock safely.

[james_8970]

If you want the best of the best for air cooling SOORENA, get the thermalright 120 extreme, it has compariable results to watercooling. You could even get the Moonlight II, but I believe it's double the cost, though in many cases it can get your CPU below ambiant temperatures. Though, I doubt your trying to push your parents CPU this hard.
James

[SOORENA]

They have a new one called Fireextinguisher or something alike. I don't think I need to go overboard that much since I don't think it would fit in my parents case, lol. Ooohhh I just found THIS which according to the reviews keeps temps UNDER 20 C!!! I'm pretty sure thats better than both our WC systems. So is it worth it?

Soorena

[james_8970]

To get sub ambient cooling, you need to use TEC cooling, liquid nitrogen etc, this fan is not as good as the Thermaltec 120 extreme.
Don't believe what you read, the only way this fan would get your CPU at 20*C, would be if your rooms ambients were at 10*C.
Keep in mind this isn't a bad cooler, though there are better for the price.
James

Edited by james_8970, 16 December 2007 - 05:18 PM.

[stettybet0]

The Zalman that Soorena linked to is probably one of the best air cooling HSFs (IMO) you can get for a CPU. It does keep the CPU very close to ambient temps. That being said, I also think that the HSF that James is talking about is also on that same level.

About sub-ambient temps: you do not need to go to those extremes to get sub-ambient temps. Good water cooling can easily keep your temps below the ambient temperature. The types of cooling James mentioned are used to get sub-zero temps.

[james_8970]

Good water cooling can easily keep your temps below the ambient temperature.

That's incorrect. I have the best of the best in terms of water cooling and would never hope for this. If the ambiant air is being used to cool the parts, then how could the parts become cooler then the air that is cooling them. The parts could never get below the ambient temperature, it's physically impossible.

In this setup,
http://www.anandtech...d...?i=2981&p=3
The Thermalright 120 extreme beat the CPNS9700 by 8 degrees, a large difference.

As for sub-ambiant temps, I was never suggesting it, just stating that you'd need other alternatives then the CPNS9700 to achieve them. You'd be looking at a $800+ cooling setup.

James

Edited by james_8970, 16 December 2007 - 06:29 PM.

[SOORENA]

Ok about the Thermalright the only thing I'm concerned with is if it will fit in my parent's case. Its a mid tower Raidmax Ninja which used to be mine last year.

As for watercooling I am an expert at it I know about the Liquid Nitrogen and I myself reached -4C by adding ice to my Water cooling once, I had a big container as my Reservoir but after a while the Ice melted and the temps went up again. Phase changers can reach these low temps and the price in contrast to the temp is pretty high. I have seen videos on Youtube of some people using a small fridge as their case which is pretty overboard if you ask me. HERE is a link, the video is very bad quality but we get the point, lol.

Soorena

[james_8970]

http://www.ncix.com/.....rctic Cooling
You might want to take a look at this, if you want to save some money.
People are achieving the following with it.
http://images.ncix.c...AF08A902925.jpg

You're going to have to do measurements yourself to see if the Thermalright 120 Extreme will fit or not. The blue prints of the cooler can be found on their official website.
If my current watercooling doesn't keep up, I plan on getting a bar fridge for my reservoir, though I doubt I'll go that route any time soon.
James

Edited by james_8970, 16 December 2007 - 07:49 PM.

[SOORENA]

I don't think money is a problem since they are paying for it. I will check on the measurements to see if it fits, I think it even looks better too. Also for the fridge its hard to find small ones everything is huge and not very efficient.

Soorena

Edited by SOORENA, 16 December 2007 - 07:53 PM.

[james_8970]

Nope, you just need to look for a bar fridge. Easy enough for me to find, it's only the resovoir which would need to be build out of acrylic that's holding me back.
James

[SOORENA]

Well I like to build my own parts like my old blocks that I think were better than any aftermarket block I've used, the only reason I switched was cause I was too chicken, lol. Reservoirs are the simplest to make if you need help ask me I'll show you how to make one. It doesn't necessarily have to be acrylic it can be any material, I guess for looks acrylic would be better.

Soorena

[james_8970]

Acrylic looks better, but it'd be inside of a fridge, however I'd likely build it out of copper as it'll dissipate the heat much faster, but I not really thinking about it right now, because I think that upgrade is a long ways away.
James

Edited by james_8970, 16 December 2007 - 08:03 PM.

[SOORENA]

Ok copper is a bit more challenging since its hard to find large quantities of it, then again you did manage to find a bar fridge I guess you can find that. I think it would be easiest to make the base out of copper like a box sorta thing and then have an arcylic windows that shows the water inside like THIS only the base is copper. There should be a modding section on the forums.

Soorena