AMD3700 Sandy O/c on Asus A8N32SLI m/b

[chuckcrc]

Well at long last I finally got around to overclocking my new system.

I followed the advice here from Nick N (thanks) to get a good stable o/clock.

I had to wait for my new ram to arrive and with work committments I was only able to get it done this weekend.

Here are my settings.
AMD 3700 San Diego cpu--- o/c to 2640Mhz
Vcore--1.47v
CPU temp --35 deg C
M/B temp -- 33deg C
CPU--FSB Freq-- 240Mhz
SB-- NB o/clk-- Manual
SB--NB Freq--200mhz
Adjust PCIe Freq-- 100
CPU Freq Multiplier --11
K8 to NB Freq HTT-- 4
SB -- NB freq--5

RAM Memory settings
OCZ PC3500 Gold Edition 2 x 512mb CAS2
1T @ Cas 2.2.2.5  at 203Mhz
Vdd --2.85v
Mem Divider Limit 183Mhz

At these settings the system is very stable.
I could go further with the o/clk because when I was stress testing the RAM I found I could go to 214Mhz at 1T cmd and CAS2.2.2.5 but with the Vdd set to 2.95v.
I believe OCZ say their RAM will handle Vdd at 3.0 v ok so maybe I might push it further.

This would give me close to 2.8Ghz on the CPU which was starting to push it on standard cooling.
I mainly wanted to get to CPU FX55 specs which I have achieved .

Using the memory divider really makes a difference.

Clockgen was very useful for quickly seeing what was being adjusted , then going into bios and changing the settings.

I used Prime to stress test for 20hrs with no problems.
I haven't got any other performance measuring s/ware at the moment so I can't post any results.

However I fired up CFS3 and noticed and increase in frame rates by about 15fps.

cheers
chuck

[NicksFXHouse]

Dont worry so much about the memory timing... loosen them up

Set to 2.5, 3, 3, 11

A64 dont care about mem timings like the old processors. The name of the game is FSB and make sure you do not exceed 2000 on HT (2x1000)

Loosen the memory timing and leave the 1T command enabled... the higher the FSB (without exceeding 2000 HTT) the better the performance.


I would NOT raise Vdd. Keep it at what OCZ recommends... 3.0 sound very high. You WILL shorten the life of that memory if you raise that voltage past spec. Check the OCZ forums and see what they reccommend for your motherboard and memory in the way of Vdd.

Depending on the motherboard, 5:3 ratio @ 250FSB @ 6HT should = 2000 VERIFY that. The trick is to get it as close to 2000 without going over. Anywhere between 2x800 and 2x1000 is aceptable but the closer to 2x1000 you get, the better.

I would bet if you loosen the memory timings and get the divider ratio optimized you could hit 260-280 (or better). You would need to reduce the multiplier on the CPU in order to get that.

The trick is to hit the highest FSB with the right multipler that places the CPU @ its max without going over 2x1000.

It takes time to find the max CPU/FSB/HTT and verify it with 24hrs of stress tests

[congo]

Sounds like your Vcore might be too high as well, most Sandy's will do 2.6mhz on stock or near stock Vcore. You might need 1.47 or more at around 2.8ghz, but it's up to the cpu you have, I can't say for certain.

Don't raise Vcore unless it's required.

[NicksFXHouse]

Sounds like your Vcore might be too high as well, most Sandy's will do 2.6mhz on stock or near stock Vcore. You might need 1.47 or more at around 2.8ghz, but it's up to the cpu you have, I can't say for certain.

Don't raise Vcore unless it's required.

Mine had to be set to 1.7 in order to hit 2.75 stable. @ 2.6 he's actually running about the same as I did at around 1.5 but I agree... if it will run stable @ lower Vcore.. he should drop it.

[congo]

Over 2600mhz is where I need to start adding vCore. But yeah, cpu's are all different.

I get a serious case of diminishing returns with adding vCore over 2.86ghz.

[PisTon]

Hey guys I have a quick questions.
What exactly are Sandy San Diegos? Are they diferant from the normal 3700+?

[GeForce]

What exactly are Sandy San Diegos? Are they diferant from the normal 3700+?

The "San Diego" is the nickname if you like, for the core. It signifies:

• The 90nm process
• 1mb L2 cache
• Socket 939

rather than the Venice, which has:

• The 90nm process
• 512kb L2 cache
• Socket 939

The 3700 was also manufactured on the Clawhammer core, which is:

• The 130nm process
• 1mb L2 cache
• Socket 754

Jon

[PisTon]

Thanks
I thought Sandy was like some special type of San Diego

[chuckcrc]

Thanks Nick &Congo who your input.
I've just got back home from working away in a remote location so I will try a few of your suggestions.

One question though , what should the standard Vcore be for the cpu ??

cheers
chuck

[GeForce]

One question though , what should the standard Vcore be for the cpu ??

For the E4 stepping it is 1.4V.
For the E6 stepping it is 1.35V.

Jon

[chuckcrc]

Thanks Jon-- will go and play.

cheers
chuck

[GeForce]

Just for the record I'll post my overclock with this CPU. As I didn't build the system myself I don't know the exact stepping, but it is the E4 core.

This is on stock volts (1.4v for this core) and on the stock cooling as well.





Don't know if it will be any help. I know I could push it a lot further - it's still on stock volts at the moment. Maybe I will at some point.

Jon

[congo]

For the E4 stepping it is 1.4V.
For the E6 stepping it is 1.35V.

Jon

This is the AMD specification link for the San Diego 3700+
Sandys have a nominal Vcore 1.35/1.4v range.

http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop ... 3700DAA5BN

I wasn't aware that there were any other San Diego's other than on E4 cores...... 3700+, 4000+, FX55, FX57.

http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop ... FX55DAA5BN

Sandys are Socket 939, single core, 1mb L2, E4 stepping, 90nm process.

Interestingly, no E4 stepping, X2 dual cored CPU's with 2x1mb L2 cache were released, I'm not sure why, but I suspect that such a CPU would have wiped out sales of the expensive Opteron dual cores.

http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop ... 3800DAA5BV

And so........ I wonder now about the strangest thing of all.

I simply can't find any evidence of an Opteron dual core based on E4 silicon, which seems like it would be the pinnacle of AMD processor performance, but alas, where is it?

Was there ever an E4 dual core with 2mb L2 cache

[GeForce]

Right, firstly the 3700s were originally on the San Diego E4 core. These were built specifially for the 3700, 4000, etc etc ec.

The X2 chips such as the 4400+ and 4800+ are, as you put it, "double San Diegos". That's the Toledo core. They have 2x1mb cache, giving a total of 2mb L2 cache for the CPU.

Then you have the X2 chips such as the 4200+ and 4600+. These are built on the Windsor core, which are the same as the Toledo but with 2x512k cache, giving a total of 1mb L2 cache.

The newer versions of the 3700 (although they are out of production now) were built on the San Diego E6 core. Steppings like the CCBWE are not San Diego cores, they are actually Toledo cores with one core disabled (making them poor O/Cers).

So basically, the Twin Sandy is the 4400 X2, which is the Toledo core running at 2.2Ghz.

Jon

[congo]

So where is the e4 silicone in a toledo?