X1950XT, artefacts and VPU Recovery

The_gas said:
Well imo if you overclock your cpu,to 3-3.2ghz then you won't see too much of a difference from upgrading to a Q6600 quad core at 2.4ghz. There is nothing wrong with your pc, i never said you should upgrade it now. Its perfect for current games and your monitor as things stand now.

If you have money to burn then the upgrade won't hurt performance, just don't expect to see a huge difference, unless you get a much better CPU than a Q6600.
Click to expand...

OK mate, thanks for your help. I suppose it's just that I'm a bit wary of overclocking my CPU, but I'll probably have to upgrade it soon anyway, so now might be a good time to give it a go: if O/C does reduce the CPU's lifetime, then it might pack up just as it's upgrade time! I think I can find the CPU's temperature in the BIOS, if not can you suggest some good software to check its temperature (free, of course), as I need to see what my starting point is and edge it up from there.

Also, the net is full of O/C guides, but I don't know which ones to trust. You guys appear to know what's what, so can you suggest a guide to O/C the CPU?

MasterBlaster76 added 3 Minutes and 26 Seconds later...

Kshitiz_Indian said:
Depends, if the one you're buying is a single slot card or a double slot card. Check it out with the website.

And in terms of overclocking, for a 65nm CPU I would say that stress temperatures of around 58C should be the max you take. I'm sure you can go 3Ghz on the stock cooler without breaking this barrier. The only thing that can "kill" your CPU in overclocking is the core voltage and the VTT voltage(if you set the VTT VERY HIGH for long times). But to kill a CPU you need stupidly high vCores like 1.7V lol
Click to expand...

What sort of temperatures should it be showing now? I haven't been getting millions of BSOD, so I doubt if it's overheating right now, but best to be sure. If I can O/C it and get some more life out of it instead of having to drop ?150+ on a new one, then I'd give it a go. :)
 
You can't rely on BIOS temperatures. Use Coretemp for the temperatures.

Most OC guides are good, especially the one on Tomshardware. I read that and found it pretty useful for newbies to overclocking.

Just to reiterate, overclocking does not reduce the lifetime of your CPU by any reasonable amount of time. Its making it run at very high temperatures that does.

Kshitiz_Indian added 4 Minutes and 9 Seconds later...

Dunno about current temperatures, but after OC you should see around 58C max temperature on a Prime95 full load.
 
MasterBlaster76 said:
OK mate, thanks for your help. I suppose it's just that I'm a bit wary of overclocking my CPU, but I'll probably have to upgrade it soon anyway, so now might be a good time to give it a go: if O/C does reduce the CPU's lifetime, then it might pack up just as it's upgrade time! I think I can find the CPU's temperature in the BIOS, if not can you suggest some good software to check its temperature (free, of course), as I need to see what my starting point is and edge it up from there.

Also, the net is full of O/C guides, but I don't know which ones to trust. You guys appear to know what's what, so can you suggest a guide to O/C the CPU?

MasterBlaster76 added 3 Minutes and 26 Seconds later...



What sort of temperatures should it be showing now? I haven't been getting millions of BSOD, so I doubt if it's overheating right now, but best to be sure. If I can O/C it and get some more life out of it instead of having to drop ?150+ on a new one, then I'd give it a go. :)
Click to expand...

I agree with Kshits, his advice is good.

I use core temp, its accurate. As K said, it won't shorten the life of the CPU significantly providing you keep it at a safe temp. For example, with my CPU a E6750 thermal throttling will occur at a temp of 72c, this is where the cpu is getting dangerously hot, the cpu will downclock itself to get within a safe temp, if this fails it will shut down in order to protect the cpu. With your model it will occur at 73c, so as long as you are going no higher than 60c under full load using prime95 with a torture test you should be fine. Note, prime95 is more stressful on a cpu than most games, but its widely renowned as a good benchmark.
 
CPU temps using Core Temp, from here:

Core Temp


Tj. Max: 95 degrees (?)
Core#0: 38 degrees
Core#1: 34 degrees

(idle temperatures).

Edit: Tested using Prime95, until both cores reading 100% and kept running for around five minutes, both cores reading around 52-54 degrees at 100% usage. Not sure how long you're supposed to run Prime95 to get accurate results though.
 
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MasterBlaster76 said:
CPU temps using Core Temp, from here:

Core Temp


Tj. Max: 95 degrees (?)
Core#0: 38 degrees
Core#1: 34 degrees

(idle temperatures).

Edit: Tested using Prime95, until both cores reading 100% and kept running for around five minutes, both cores reading around 52-54 degrees at 100% usage. Not sure how long you're supposed to run Prime95 to get accurate results though.
Click to expand...

Mmmm, yeah that does not leave you much room to play with to be honest.

As i was saying to K earlier on msn, i have refitted my stock intel cpu cooler, which is the same as yours. I applied some ceramique thermal paste to it and was pleasantly surprised at how cool it was. Sitting here at 22-26 idle and around 40-45 under full load. Obviously the paste has made a difference but really it should not make that much difference.

Now, this could be daunting for you. But a new cpu cooler, or refitting the intel cpu cooler, and applying a new layer of thermal paste might pay dividends. Its daunting if you have never done it before, but its actually pretty easy.

If you were to order some arctic silver compound, or ceramique grease, then it would definitely help. Personally, i like to reapply and reseat my cpu cooler and grease every 6-12 months to ensure optimum performance. Arctic silver (who make both compounds) offer a step by step guide on how to apply the paste that i used the first time i did it myself. They both cost somewhere in the region of ?5-?10.

If you want the easiest possible solution, then it would probably be advisable to buy a Arctic Freezer 7 Pro, as this comes with thermal paste pre-applied. It costs around ?20 + delivery. All you would need to do is remove the old cooler, wipe the cpu base to clear the old compound off, and apply the new cooler.
 
The_gas said:
Mmmm, yeah that does not leave you much room to play with to be honest.

As i was saying to K earlier on msn, i have refitted my stock intel cpu cooler, which is the same as yours. I applied some ceramique thermal paste to it and was pleasantly surprised at how cool it was. Sitting here at 22-26 idle and around 40-45 under full load. Obviously the paste has made a difference but really it should not make that much difference.

Now, this could be daunting for you. But a new cpu cooler, or refitting the intel cpu cooler, and applying a new layer of thermal paste might pay dividends. Its daunting if you have never done it before, but its actually pretty easy.

If you were to order some arctic silver compound, or ceramique grease, then it would definitely help. Personally, i like to reapply and reseat my cpu cooler and grease every 6-12 months to ensure optimum performance. Arctic silver (who make both compounds) offer a step by step guide on how to apply the paste that i used the first time i did it myself. They both cost somewhere in the region of ?5-?10.

If you want the easiest possible solution, then it would probably be advisable to buy a Arctic Freezer 7 Pro, as this comes with thermal paste pre-applied. It costs around ?20 + delivery. All you would need to do is remove the old cooler, wipe the cpu base to clear the old compound off, and apply the new cooler.
Click to expand...

Well, I have done that before on the course I'm doing, but it was with CPUs that were already dead, so no thermal paste was involved. I was told that by the end of the course, we'd all know how to build a basic PC. That better be the case! We've installed HDDs, DVDs and RAM into systems, but as far as the CPU goes, all we've done is taken it out and put it back in again. I'd assume thermal paste will be mentioned at some point. This term is supposed to involve more practicals (we did most of the theory last term), so hopefully I'll be able to get some 'practice' at the course. At some point, we're supposed to be stripping a system completely and then rebuilding it. That should be fun...

After all, the more you do this sort of thing, the more comfortable you feel with it I'd imagine. Bit like performing!! So as it stands, you'd leave O/C for this CPU?

And is the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro a better cooler than the Intel stock cooler? If so, I might look into that: if you can install an Intel stock cooler, then you can install that cooler as well, can't you. It's a case of being brave enough to do it with your own system, I suppose! Can you remember how you felt before doing major 'surgery' to your own PC? Up to now, the only things I've done with my own PC are installing a new DVD Drive and installing new RAM. At some point soon, I'm going to have a go at PSU and graphics card: my local shop want ?35 to install that for me! Stuff that...
 
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Your temps are a bit too high for stock tbh. I think there's a lot of dust in your heatsink. Take it out and clean and reseat it properly, making sure its properly seated, is tight and there's no room for movement. Grease, as Gas said, shouldn't make THAT much of an effect.
 
MasterBlaster76 said:
Well, I have done that before on the course I'm doing, but it was with CPUs that were already dead, so no thermal paste was involved. I was told that by the end of the course, we'd all know how to build a basic PC. That better be the case! We've installed HDDs, DVDs and RAM into systems, but as far as the CPU goes, all we've done is taken it out and put it back in again. I'd assume thermal paste will be mentioned at some point. This term is supposed to involve more practicals (we did most of the theory last term), so hopefully I'll be able to get some 'practice' at the course. At some point, we're supposed to be stripping a system completely and then rebuilding it. That should be fun...

After all, the more you do this sort of thing, the more comfortable you feel with it I'd imagine. Bit like performing!! So as it stands, you'd leave O/C for this CPU?

And is the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro a better cooler than the Intel stock cooler? If so, I might look into that: if you can install an Intel stock cooler, then you can install that cooler as well, can't you. It's a case of being brave enough to do it with your own system, I suppose! Can you remember how you felt before doing major 'surgery' to your own PC? Up to now, the only things I've done with my own PC are installing a new DVD Drive and installing new RAM. At some point soon, I'm going to have a go at PSU and graphics card: my local shop want ?35 to install that for me! Stuff that...
Click to expand...

Yes the arctic cooler is a better cooler. It uses the same push pin device that the intel stock cooler uses. Its a simple design that is awkward at first, in fact i believe i damaged mine upon install, but that was because i didn't fully understand how to install it. I will be able to help you avoid the problems that i had. Mine still works, but two of the pins have expanded a little, meaning it does not sit 100% tight, but saying that it still kept under 60c for me when overclocked to 3.2ghz from 2.66ghz at stock.

When i was installing it i was bricking it, at the time i had other problems with my PC, and the company i bought it from were getting twitchy, even though all problems before that were nothing to do with me.

Put it this way, its one of the only coolers around for socket 775 cpu's that does not require you to remove your motherboard, which frankly is a hassle.

In the system specs thread, i have posted an image of another cooler you can buy, which offers improved performance over the Arctic Cooler, but it uses the same install method of the push pins. It costs around ?30-?35 + plus delivery though, so it is more expensive, but from what i have seen is a solid cooler. Sadly, it is quite big so you need to check dimensions and make sure it will fit in your case. My case is not small, but its not huge either, and i am currently not sure if it will fit in mine, but i think my case is big enough to enable it to fit, although i may have to leave the side case off. Which is annoying, but again this will keep temps even lower.

The name of the cooler is here. ThermalTake V1 CPU Cooler 775, K8 , AM2 : novatech.co.uk : tt-v1

Read the reviews written about it.
 
MasterBlaster76 said:
Lols! That looks completely different from the stock Intel cooler!
Click to expand...

Yep its a big mother F.....

To be honest, that is a crap picture. You can only see a small portion of it, look in the system specs thread for some better pictures including overheads.

The thermaltake has two of the copper fins, one on each side, with a big 120mm fan in the middle, which glows blue when turned on. :cool:
 
The_gas said:
Hmmm, does not look like a two slot cooler, but i could be wrong its hard to tell from that picture.
Click to expand...

These are its specs. So, it's an ASUS Glaciator fansink then (sounds cool!)

Radeon
HD 4850 PCIE
PCIE 2.0
512MB DDR3


256 bit 625 1.986 GHz
Glaciator fansink
Dual slot
HDTV DVI-I*2
(1HDCP) DVI-HDMI adapter
Premium DX10.1, OpenGL2.1, Shader Model 4.1

If I have ?25-?20 burning a hole in my pocket, which game would you recommend I test run this baby on (online prices, of course)? I am thinking of CoD 4 and Left 4 Dead...

Edit: Here's a better picture of the card:

2329_l.jpg


and I like the look of this:

temps.jpg


The cooler on this card is way better than any others I have seen, it both keeps the temperatures down and also helps this card to stay very quiet compared to other cards.

That's good. When the fan on my X1950XT revs up, it sounds like a 747 taking off!
 
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Save it for F.E.A.R 2 maybe? :p

Or, hmm, I think you could just see the technical prowess of Crysis through its demo. For the money, COD4 would be nice but if you're into online.

Maybe GTA IV?
 
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