Forums | MacLife

Booksley · 2009-01-30 9:47 pm

Antec P182 + Antec Earthwatts 430W
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 @ 2.66GHz w/ Zalman CNPS-9700LED
Gigabyte EP45-DS3L
2x2GB DDR2-1066 2.2V 5-5-5-15 OCZ Reaper HPC
Sapphire 4870 1GB TOXIC
1TB Samsung HDD

Right now I've got it booting at 3.33Ghz, and we'll see how high I go, haha

Bat · 2009-01-31 5:25 am

OCing plus a 4870... I'd be just a leetle concerned about the Antec 430. Otherwise -er, I mean, congrats.

I guess I'll just have to save more dimes and pick up the pace.

THIS WILL NOT STAND.

tongue wink

(...a Z 9700? It was good in its day, still is, but not head of the class nowadays... had it on hand? Good deal? confused )

sp

Last edited by Bat (2009-01-31 5:26 am)

Booksley · 2009-01-31 10:55 am

Bat wrote:
OCing plus a 4870... I'd be just a leetle concerned about the Antec 430. Otherwise http://homepage.mac.com/oatmeal/MAF/maxes/shakefist.gif -er, I mean, congrats.

I guess I'll just have to save more dimes and pick up the pace.

THIS WILL NOT STAND.

(...a Z 9700? It was good in its day, still is, but not head of the class nowadays... had it on hand? Good deal? )

The Antec 430W was fine, believe it or not. Running Prime95 right now, it's pulling 250W according to my kill-a-watt. I actually haven't fired up a game yet ( cry ) because I ran Prime95 throughout the night, and no crashing! I just couldn't get it to boot in Windows above 450FSB, and it was not stable until I brought it back down to 417FSB (which is still a 0.66Ghz OC, which is still awesome for a quad core CPU). I'm blaming the motherboard, the MCH just needs so much voltage once you start going above 420FSB. As for the temps.... uh wow. It idles at 30˚C, and after a night of Prime95, got up to 55˚C. Because of the P182 design, it has 3 fans just dedicated to the CPU. Also, the case is sooo quiet. I can't hear it over ambient noise (the furnace, lol).

So yeah, I'm pretty happy. It's probably way easier to overclock the E8xxx series, but quad core is nice too, heh. Now begins the games... FEAR 2 and Dawn of War 2, here I come!

dv · 2009-01-31 3:28 pm

:;cackles maniacally::

Bat · 2009-01-31 8:27 pm

Booksley wrote:
Bat wrote:
OCing plus a 4870... I'd be just a leetle concerned about the Antec 430. Otherwise http://homepage.mac.com/oatmeal/MAF/maxes/shakefist.gif -er, I mean, congrats.

I guess I'll just have to save more dimes and pick up the pace.

THIS WILL NOT STAND.

(...a Z 9700? It was good in its day, still is, but not head of the class nowadays... had it on hand? Good deal? )
The Antec 430W was fine, believe it or not. Running Prime95 right now, it's pulling 250W according to my kill-a-watt. I actually haven't fired up a game yet () because I ran Prime95 throughout the night, and no crashing!

Good idea. 2+ instances might've been even better. Stability testing is good.

..I just couldn't get it to boot in Windows above 450FSB, and it was not stable until I brought it back down to 417FSB (which is still a 0.66Ghz OC, which is still awesome for a quad core CPU). I'm blaming the motherboard, the MCH just needs so much voltage once you start going above 420FSB. As for the temps.... uh wow. It idles at 30˚C, and after a night of Prime95, got up to 55˚C. Because of the P182 design, it has 3 fans just dedicated to the CPU. Also, the case is sooo quiet. I can't hear it over ambient noise (the furnace, lol).

So yeah, I'm pretty happy. It's probably way easier to overclock the E8xxx series, but quad core is nice too, heh. Now begins the games... FEAR 2 and Dawn of War 2, here I come!

I can believe all that. Remember, tho, Prime95 doesn't use the 4870, and besides wattage, you have to take current demands into account. You'll need amps a-plenty on the 12v rails; I'm concerned the Antec might be a wee bit marginal &/or have a short life before frying, maybe without warning, esp. if you OC both.

My 550 watter from '04 has plenty 12v current, but I'm concerned about the need for Molex->PCIe adapters and the number of available rails. An AT article not too long ago mentioned they preferred to avoid that route, which has me wishing for one of those dedicated PCIe PSUs, and considering dedicating a surplus PSU to graphics if the newer build shows issues. Good design ain't always easy or obvious.

And remember, chipset temps will be elevated too. Aftermarket cooling might help your FSB issues, not to mention longevity.

Have fun. All I can pull off is a graphics upgrade, likely soon; found a buyer for the wirgin 3870 (which, I found, is a real power miser. It's interesting comparing the X1900, 3870, 4850 and 4870. IIRC the 1900 is up around the 4870, the 3870 about half that. Now where did I read that, just a few days ago... confused )

dang sp

Last edited by Bat (2009-01-31 8:29 pm)

Bat · 2009-01-31 8:36 pm

Oh, yeah. It was here, esp. p. 6, which mentions

Let’s take the Radeon HD 4870 as an example. AMD states “500 watt power supply” as a requirement on the packaging. According to the actual measurements, though, the graphics card doesn’t need more than 150 watts even under full load... If we assume from this a 300 watt load on the 12 V line, this means 25 A is required for this rail.

Etc. Page 9 is "Connector Requirements For PCI Express Graphics Cards;" I'll be looking that over in detail.

I note now you got a 1GB Toxic.. fine card, but it'll take more than the vanilla 4870 512MB @151.6w/12.6A.

The 1900 and 4850 are close. The 4870 takes more.

Last edited by Bat (2009-01-31 8:42 pm)

Bat · 2009-01-31 8:48 pm

Ok, I'll boost the page view here once more. Monolith... go to GOG and pick up Shogo, Mr. Anime, whilst I cue Also Sprach Zarathustra. wink

(...or is it "2002 Kazoos?" ::goes to check YouTube:: tongue )

Booksley · 2009-01-31 11:38 pm

Bat wrote:
Good idea. 2+ instances might've been even better. Stability testing is good.

It spun off 4 threads so it was hitting all the cores for 9 hours. I also ran IntelBurnTest 40 times and that worked just fine too. I'm declaring it stable, but I'm still going to try and lower the voltages on the MCH a wee bit.

Bat wrote:
I can believe all that. Remember, tho, Prime95 doesn't use the 4870, and besides wattage, you have to take current demands into account. You'll need amps a-plenty on the 12v rails; I'm concerned the Antec might be a wee bit marginal and/or have a short life before frying, maybe without warning, esp. if you OC both.

My 550 watter from '04 has plenty 12v current, but I'm concerned about the need for Molex->PCIe adapters and the number of available rails. An AT article not too long ago mentioned they preferred to avoid that route, which has me wishing for one of those dedicated PCIe PSUs, and considering dedicating a surplus PSU to graphics if the newer build shows issues. Good design ain't always easy or obvious.

And remember, chipset temps will be elevated too. Aftermarket cooling might help your FSB issues, not to mention longevity.

ArsTechnica has been recommending 380W PSU's for awhile now, and I only have slightly beefier hardware with a slightly beefier PSU, so I think I'll be okay...

ScifiterX · 2009-02-01 12:03 am

Bat wrote:
Also Sprach Zarathustra

I still have hopes of picking that game up someday.

Nice set up, books

Bat · 2009-02-01 8:10 am

ScifiterX wrote:
Bat wrote:
Also Sprach Zarathustra
I still have hopes of picking that game up someday.

Indeed. You need more renown for your dry sense of humor to pull off that line without a smilie. tongue

(For the benefit of the iggorant... monolith as in the big black thingie from 2001 [and the game company also of that name], and the movie's opening fanfare. Richard Strauss' tone poem's title is in turn a reference to Nietzsche).

(I personally favor Zubin Mehta's '68 LA Philharmonic version.. and now mayhap even Books, if not Treebeard, has learned a new thing or two- hoom, hom). cool

ScifiterX · 2009-02-01 10:01 am

Who's joking? Think of it as a temporary admission of failure.

I already have Der Wille zur Macht and Jenseits von Gut und Böse. I want to complete the set.

And BTW I knew about the Monolith's Connection to 2001 I have seen the Movie and read the book and even though I generally avoid certain types of games, I like games enough to know about Monolith to know it's the company that did Alien vs. Predator 2, Tron 2.0, The Matrix Online, F.E.A.R., & F.E.A.R.2

Booksley · 2009-02-01 11:33 am

ScifiterX wrote:
Who's joking? Think of it as a temporary admission of failure.

I already have Der Wille zur Macht and Jenseits von Gut und Böse. I want to complete the set.

And BTW I knew about the Monolith's Connection to 2001 I have seen the Movie and read the book and even though I generally avoid certain types of games, I like games enough to know about Monolith to know it's the company that did Alien vs. Predator 2, Tron 2.0, The Matrix Online, F.E.A.R., & F.E.A.R.2

You've also played the Xenosaga series? wink

Bat · 2009-02-01 4:38 pm

Shogo - release date, October 15, 1998. tongue The demo was fun; I'll catch up to the full game someday. Monolith's original engine was called the DirectEngine until they bought their way out of their MS contract to go indie.

Meanwhile, while Shogo won't tax the PSU or 4870, I continue to be slightly concerned. The Toxic has that great vapor chamber cooling, but factory OCed from 750 to 780 and with 512MB more VRAM than the vanilla, it'll draw more than 12.6 amps at peak. I'd also seriously consider aftermarket chipset cooling. (Sounds like the Zalman's up to the job).

ed sp

Last edited by Bat (2009-03-04 11:45 am)

ScifiterX · 2009-02-01 9:30 pm

Booksley wrote:
ScifiterX wrote:
Who's joking? Think of it as a temporary admission of failure.

I already have Der Wille zur Macht and Jenseits von Gut und Böse. I want to complete the set.

And BTW I knew about the Monolith's Connection to 2001 I have seen the Movie and read the book and even though I generally avoid certain types of games, I like games enough to know about Monolith to know it's the company that did Alien vs. Predator 2, Tron 2.0, The Matrix Online, F.E.A.R., & F.E.A.R.2
You've also played the Xenosaga series?

Hell yes, at least 3 of the 4 games if you count Xenogears anyway. (Sadly, XGs dissappeared before I had a chance to finish it.) I even have a copy of Xenosaga the animation in my anime fansub library.

Shogo looks somewhat fun considering what type of game it is.

Booksley · 2009-02-02 1:07 am

Bat wrote:
Meanwhile, while Shogo won't tax the PSU or 4870, I continue to be slightly concerned. The Toxic has that great vapor chamber cooling, but factory OCed from 725 to 780 and with 512MB more VRAM than the vanilla, it'll draw more than 12.6 amps at peak. I'd also seriously consider aftermarket chipset cooling. (Sounds like the Zalman's up to the job).

Using my hopefully accurate kill-a-watt, my computer idles at 150W, and when playing DoW2, it goes up to 170W. Because I don't have any of the CPU energy saving features enabled in the BIOS, I think it's safe to assume it's the GPU increasing draw (which makes sense, because it downclocks the GPU to 500MHz on the desktop). When I was running Prime95 or IntelBurnTest or OCCT, my watts went up to 250. Time will see who is right, heh.

ScifiterX wrote:
I even have a copy of Xenosaga the animation in my anime fansub library.

BOOOOOOOOO. The anime series was a travesty. I'd rather watch someone play the game tongue

Bat · 2009-02-02 1:25 am

Booksley wrote:
Time will see who is right, heh.

I'm just sayin', some grounds for concern. I hope it all [s]blows up in yo face while I catch & pass[/s] works flawlessly. tongue

ScifiterX wrote:
I even have a copy of Xenosaga the animation in my anime fansub library.
BOOOOOOOOO. The anime series was a travesty. I'd rather watch someone play the game

Me! Pay me! big_smile

Bat · 2009-02-02 1:34 am

Booksley wrote:
Bat wrote:
Meanwhile, while Shogo won't tax the PSU or 4870, I continue to be slightly concerned. The Toxic has that great vapor chamber cooling, but factory OCed from 725 to 780 and with 512MB more VRAM than the vanilla, it'll draw more than 12.6 amps at peak. I'd also seriously consider aftermarket chipset cooling. (Sounds like the Zalman's up to the job).
Using my hopefully accurate kill-a-watt, my computer idles at 150W, and when playing DoW2, it goes up to 170W. Because I don't have any of the CPU energy saving features enabled in the BIOS, I think it's safe to assume it's the GPU increasing draw (which makes sense, because it downclocks the GPU to 500MHz on the desktop). When I was running Prime95 or IntelBurnTest or OCCT, my watts went up to 250. Time will see who is right, heh.

Remember, you're here again confoozilating watts and amps. I'm not worried about the wattage; I'm a bit concerned about the 12v current draw, which you have no way of measuring. And not only will the core logic live longer with better cooling, you might be able to take that FSB up a little more.

Yes, it might all be safe and canny, and time will tell.

(...and the Shield will eventually turn out a Books-beater... aside from 05-032. )

ScifiterX · 2009-02-02 9:52 am

Booksley wrote:
BOOOOOOOOO. The anime series was a travesty. I'd rather watch someone play the game

Well to be fair, it is something that I burnt back when my computer's ability to convert and burn data exceeded it's ability to process for video playback. That and after its burnt, I only ever throw anything in my library out once it's broken and/or replaced with a working copy. Still I agree, the game is far more fun to watch.

Bat · 2009-02-21 2:32 am

Foolish Booksley wrote:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 @ 2.66GHz w/ Zalman CNPS-9700LED

I'm sure you made the best choice... however, Anand Himself recently wrote

Speaking of the 720BE processor, I have to say this little jewel is currently my favorite bang for the buck processor. I have had an absolute blast testing this processor and when overclocked, it truly takes on a "devil with a blue dress" persona. I highly suggest you take a serious look at this processor if you are in the market for an upgrade right now. Anyway, we will be back shortly with our first results and some additional details about the AM3 platform.

Wat? AMD!? eek

Oh well. If bang/buck and overall performance are secondary to running Intel... feel free to ignore anything I write. wink tongue

PS Zug zug. cool

http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/default.aspx#559

Last edited by Bat (2009-02-21 2:33 am)

Bat · 2009-03-04 11:59 am

Re: the above, AMD looks even better now that the X3s have been found to often having their 4th cores unlockable in BIOS... but re: this,

Bat wrote:
Ok, I'll boost the page view here once more. Monolith... go to GOG and pick up Shogo, Mr. Anime, whilst I cue Also Sprach Zarathustra.

(...or is it "2002 Kazoos?" ::goes to check YouTube:: )

...enough time has passed to have a little fun with the reveal of the real inspiration for 'The Monolith.'

Booksley wrote:
So yeah, I'm pretty happy. It's probably way easier to overclock the E8xxx series, but quad core is nice too, heh. Now begins the games... FEAR 2 and Dawn of War 2, here I come!

How 'bout... Crysis? twisted

↑ NSFW ↑ (...or the easily offended. You've been warned. smile )

NightCougar_37 · 2009-03-04 4:46 pm

Similar PSU to the one I got. Think mine was the Trio. At the time I had the choice between the Earth and Trio 430W but the price premium on the Earth was insane at that time. Nice pick.

Can see why Bat is worried. That is a lot of rig for one lone 430W. Heck i'm using my 250W GPU PSU on this to take some of the load off and my rig isn't even that advanced. Think yours can handle that but i'd be concerned more about putting too much of a load on it for extended periods. Course i've gone through a bunch of different PSUs over the years. So i'm always wary of pushing mine now.

Forums | MacLife

#1 2009-01-30 9:47 pm

The Monolith has awakened

#2 2009-01-31 5:25 am

Re: The Monolith has awakened

#3 2009-01-31 10:55 am

Re: The Monolith has awakened

Bat wrote:

#4 2009-01-31 3:28 pm

Re: The Monolith has awakened

#5 2009-01-31 8:27 pm

Re: The Monolith has awakened

Booksley wrote:

Bat wrote:

#6 2009-01-31 8:36 pm

Re: The Monolith has awakened

#7 2009-01-31 8:48 pm

Re: The Monolith has awakened

#8 2009-01-31 11:38 pm

Re: The Monolith has awakened

Bat wrote:

Bat wrote:

#9 2009-02-01 12:03 am

Re: The Monolith has awakened

Bat wrote:

#10 2009-02-01 8:10 am

Re: The Monolith has awakened

ScifiterX wrote:

Bat wrote:

#11 2009-02-01 10:01 am

Re: The Monolith has awakened

#12 2009-02-01 11:33 am

Re: The Monolith has awakened

ScifiterX wrote:

#13 2009-02-01 4:38 pm

Re: The Monolith has awakened

#14 2009-02-01 9:30 pm

Re: The Monolith has awakened

Booksley wrote:

ScifiterX wrote:

#15 2009-02-02 1:07 am

Re: The Monolith has awakened

Bat wrote:

ScifiterX wrote:

#16 2009-02-02 1:25 am

Re: The Monolith has awakened

Booksley wrote:

ScifiterX wrote:

#17 2009-02-02 1:34 am

Re: The Monolith has awakened

Booksley wrote:

Bat wrote:

#18 2009-02-02 9:52 am

Re: The Monolith has awakened

Booksley wrote:

#19 2009-02-21 2:32 am

Re: The Monolith has awakened

Foolish Booksley wrote:

#20 2009-03-04 11:59 am

Re: The Monolith has awakened

Bat wrote:

Booksley wrote:

#21 2009-03-04 4:46 pm

Re: The Monolith has awakened

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