Poor PC performance? - Page 2

Stan_Lite · 28-09-2006, 21:52

As CI says, CPU temp is much too high for idle (especially underclocked). Try a different monitoring programme like speedfan or something, if the temperature is the same, check that your heatsink is seated properly and that the thermal paste is applied properly.

Stan

killerkebab · 29-09-2006, 02:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bijstan

As CI says, CPU temp is much too high for idle (especially underclocked). Try a different monitoring programme like speedfan or something, if the temperature is the same, check that your heatsink is seated properly and that the thermal paste is applied properly.

Stan

Well for thermal paste, it was the paste which was already applied to the stock heatsink. As for the stock heatsink, I had a HUGE amount of trouble fixing it to the board with the old push until it clips and rotate clockwise. I did as it said and one or more of the clips would feel loose. After an hour I finally thought it was right... according to all this it would appear I am wrong, I guess...

Stan_Lite · 29-09-2006, 04:43

I find the new Intel stock heatsinks a pain to fit. I had a hell of a job with my PentiumD 805. Might be worth looking at an aftermarket cooler like the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro or something like that. The Freezer 7 is a doddle to fit and a really effective cooler to boot.

Stan

killerkebab · 29-09-2006, 15:53

Thank you Stan, I've ordered a Freezer 7 and some arctic silver paste in case I need some more. I don't know when I'll have it by, but since I obviously screwed the installation up the first time around, is it all right if I call you when the time comes to set this new cooler up so I don't make a total mess of it?

I am assuming the reason the CPU is running slowly is because the motherboard is automatically throttling it as it is overheating - either that or the motherboard is on factory settings and it is too dangerous to set it up to 1066 FSB lest I bring the CPU up to 70C or more?

Stan_Lite · 29-09-2006, 17:16

Hey, NP dude. Anything I can do to help.

I doubt that the mobo would automatically throttle the CPU frquency but as I said, I've never used an Abit board before so it is possible that such a feature is built in.

You are welcome to call me anytime but I'm on the rig in Egypt at the moment and won't be home until next Friday night. If you can wait until the weekend then I would be happy to help in any way I could. I could do a bit of research on the Abit board and bios in the meantime.

If you didn't live at the opposite end of the country, I'd come and help in person

Stan

killerkebab · 30-09-2006, 14:31

Update for you guys - I have yet to recieve my Freezer 7 and new thermal paste, but I've tried refitting the stock heatsink and fan as far as it will go, making sure I push all the fasteners in as far as they will go and doing my damndest to make sure that the fan will not budge by even a millimetre. Thanks to my brute force, idle temps are down to 44C. Bear in mind this is the coldest I've ever had a CPU, my old Athlon XPs used to (and still do) run at anything ranging from 55C to 75C, but it will probably sound obscene to you.

I have taken a couple pictures of the BIOS on the 'uGuru' part of the BIOS which appears to be where CPU freqs are set:

Picture1 - Main screen
Picture2 - uGuru setup

Note: The BIOS says 'user define' but I never defined anything. I can change that 'user define' to a setting called '2399 - 272', if I remember right which sets the CPU to the speed it is meant to be at, more or less. Thing is, will the cooling I have suffice?

I have no doubt the HSF is put in properly - my only doubt lies with thermal paste. On my old processors I had to paste them myself, this one appears to have a small layer already on the HSF, so I didn't dare add some more Arctic Silver 5 I had lying around (it is a year old but the syringe hasn't been opened since). Any ideas or should I wait until I get this new cooler before I get ahead of myself?

Stan_Lite · 30-09-2006, 15:04

That temperature is much better but still higher than it should be - mine is about 32 degrees at stock speeds. The thermal goo on the stock heatsinks is usually good but if you've had to fiddle about with it, it may not be covering properly. Some people say that AS5 is ok to use for years but I prefer not to - I find it goes thick and gooey after a while and doesn't spread properly. If you have new stuff coming, I would just wait for that.

In the CPU operating speed section try changing to the auto or default (2399 - 272). Your CPU temperature should (in theory) stay pretty much the same as you're not increasing the voltage at all. keep an eye on the temperature for a while and see what happens.

When you get the Arctic 7 and the new goo, check the temps again and if they are lower, you can try stressing the system for a bit to see what happens to the temperature under load. A good stress testing tool is

Let us know how you get on.

Stan

killerkebab · 30-09-2006, 15:43

Right, changed the frequencies and ran the tests again (although you failed to say what the stress testing tool was :P)

3dMark test 2

Also ran 1M SuperPI and got a score of 20 seconds. Checked CPU temperatures after running the tests and its sitting at 52C for now. Anything else I can do?

I notice CPU-Z says my RAM runs at CAS5, but individual sticks at CAS4? Is there something wrong with my setup or is this normal?

Stan_Lite · 30-09-2006, 16:11

Oops

Orthos

According to the specifications, your RAM should run at 4-4-4-12. You can set the timings manually (probably in the "advanced chipset features" section of the bios) - you should also be able to set the frequency in there also (not sure what it would be called on your board). This may be set as a ratio (i.e. 1:1 would be a frequency of 272 which you double to give 544. You want to get it to around 800 if possible (if there is a 2:3 ratio setting, this would give you a RAM frequency of 816 which that Corsair should be able to handle no problem at the tighter timings).

I wouldn't run the stress test until you get your idle temp down a bit - if you run orthos as it is, you're likely to get a load temp of around 70 degrees, which isn't deadly but there is no point overheating the thing unnecessarily.

Edit: Your superpi time looks about right now and the CPU score in 3DMark looks much better.

Stan

killerkebab · 01-10-2006, 21:13

Right I've just had the biggest scare of my life. I thought I watched myself destroy my RAID setup in a flash. Here's what went down.
I went into the 'uGuru' part of the BIOS - it reported RAM speed at 408MHz, which sounded fine to me. Next step, RAM timings. Advanced chipset menu, set timings to 4, 4, 4, and 12. Saved CMOS and exit, computer rebooted - BEEEEEEEP, BEEEEEEEP, BEEEEEEEP.

Obviously it doesn't like my timings, I thought.

So I set about resetting CMOS. Unfortunately this god damned Abit board has the CMOS jumper underneath all of my HDD wires, so I removed them all, reset CMOS, and all sounded good.

I had forgotten to memorise which drive was connected to SATA 8, and which drive was connected to SATA 9 (the RAID ports).

Oh ****.

I tried to set them up from memory. Plugged them in, booted PC. Put the CMOS settings back to what they used to be - i.e: USB keyboard support from BIOS, etc.

Tried to boot...
HARD DISK BOOT FAILURE PLEASE INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER

Oh ****.
So I swap the SATA ports around...
HARD DISK BOOT FAILURE PLEASE INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER

Oh ****, oh ****.
To cut a long story short, it turned out that the SATA power cable was only half into one of the drives, and then I noticed that no matter which way the SATA cables are plugged in, the RAID controller seems to be able to make sense of the drives and the array. Hurrah!

No idea why it won't boot at 4-4-4-12 though

28-09-2006, 21:52	#11
Stan_Lite Stan, Stan the FLASHER MAN! Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: In bed with your sister Posts: 5,483	As CI says, CPU temp is much too high for idle (especially underclocked). Try a different monitoring programme like speedfan or something, if the temperature is the same, check that your heatsink is seated properly and that the thermal paste is applied properly. Stan __________________ Just because I have a short attention span doesn't mean I...

29-09-2006, 04:43	#13
Stan_Lite Stan, Stan the FLASHER MAN! Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: In bed with your sister Posts: 5,483	I find the new Intel stock heatsinks a pain to fit. I had a hell of a job with my PentiumD 805. Might be worth looking at an aftermarket cooler like the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro or something like that. The Freezer 7 is a doddle to fit and a really effective cooler to boot. Stan __________________ Just because I have a short attention span doesn't mean I...

29-09-2006, 15:53	#14
killerkebab Vodka Martini Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bristol/Reading Posts: 656	Thank you Stan, I've ordered a Freezer 7 and some arctic silver paste in case I need some more. I don't know when I'll have it by, but since I obviously screwed the installation up the first time around, is it all right if I call you when the time comes to set this new cooler up so I don't make a total mess of it? I am assuming the reason the CPU is running slowly is because the motherboard is automatically throttling it as it is overheating - either that or the motherboard is on factory settings and it is too dangerous to set it up to 1066 FSB lest I bring the CPU up to 70C or more? __________________

29-09-2006, 17:16	#15
Stan_Lite Stan, Stan the FLASHER MAN! Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: In bed with your sister Posts: 5,483	Hey, NP dude. Anything I can do to help. I doubt that the mobo would automatically throttle the CPU frquency but as I said, I've never used an Abit board before so it is possible that such a feature is built in. You are welcome to call me anytime but I'm on the rig in Egypt at the moment and won't be home until next Friday night. If you can wait until the weekend then I would be happy to help in any way I could. I could do a bit of research on the Abit board and bios in the meantime. If you didn't live at the opposite end of the country, I'd come and help in person Stan __________________ Just because I have a short attention span doesn't mean I...

30-09-2006, 14:31	#16
killerkebab Vodka Martini Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bristol/Reading Posts: 656	Update for you guys - I have yet to recieve my Freezer 7 and new thermal paste, but I've tried refitting the stock heatsink and fan as far as it will go, making sure I push all the fasteners in as far as they will go and doing my damndest to make sure that the fan will not budge by even a millimetre. Thanks to my brute force, idle temps are down to 44C. Bear in mind this is the coldest I've ever had a CPU, my old Athlon XPs used to (and still do) run at anything ranging from 55C to 75C, but it will probably sound obscene to you. I have taken a couple pictures of the BIOS on the 'uGuru' part of the BIOS which appears to be where CPU freqs are set: Picture1 - Main screen Picture2 - uGuru setup Note: The BIOS says 'user define' but I never defined anything. I can change that 'user define' to a setting called '2399 - 272', if I remember right which sets the CPU to the speed it is meant to be at, more or less. Thing is, will the cooling I have suffice? I have no doubt the HSF is put in properly - my only doubt lies with thermal paste. On my old processors I had to paste them myself, this one appears to have a small layer already on the HSF, so I didn't dare add some more Arctic Silver 5 I had lying around (it is a year old but the syringe hasn't been opened since). Any ideas or should I wait until I get this new cooler before I get ahead of myself? __________________

30-09-2006, 15:04	#17
Stan_Lite Stan, Stan the FLASHER MAN! Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: In bed with your sister Posts: 5,483	That temperature is much better but still higher than it should be - mine is about 32 degrees at stock speeds. The thermal goo on the stock heatsinks is usually good but if you've had to fiddle about with it, it may not be covering properly. Some people say that AS5 is ok to use for years but I prefer not to - I find it goes thick and gooey after a while and doesn't spread properly. If you have new stuff coming, I would just wait for that. In the CPU operating speed section try changing to the auto or default (2399 - 272). Your CPU temperature should (in theory) stay pretty much the same as you're not increasing the voltage at all. keep an eye on the temperature for a while and see what happens. When you get the Arctic 7 and the new goo, check the temps again and if they are lower, you can try stressing the system for a bit to see what happens to the temperature under load. A good stress testing tool is Let us know how you get on. Stan __________________ Just because I have a short attention span doesn't mean I...

30-09-2006, 15:43	#18
killerkebab Vodka Martini Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bristol/Reading Posts: 656	Right, changed the frequencies and ran the tests again (although you failed to say what the stress testing tool was :P) 3dMark test 2 Also ran 1M SuperPI and got a score of 20 seconds. Checked CPU temperatures after running the tests and its sitting at 52C for now. Anything else I can do? I notice CPU-Z says my RAM runs at CAS5, but individual sticks at CAS4? Is there something wrong with my setup or is this normal? __________________

30-09-2006, 16:11	#19
Stan_Lite Stan, Stan the FLASHER MAN! Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: In bed with your sister Posts: 5,483	Oops Orthos According to the specifications, your RAM should run at 4-4-4-12. You can set the timings manually (probably in the "advanced chipset features" section of the bios) - you should also be able to set the frequency in there also (not sure what it would be called on your board). This may be set as a ratio (i.e. 1:1 would be a frequency of 272 which you double to give 544. You want to get it to around 800 if possible (if there is a 2:3 ratio setting, this would give you a RAM frequency of 816 which that Corsair should be able to handle no problem at the tighter timings). I wouldn't run the stress test until you get your idle temp down a bit - if you run orthos as it is, you're likely to get a load temp of around 70 degrees, which isn't deadly but there is no point overheating the thing unnecessarily. Edit: Your superpi time looks about right now and the CPU score in 3DMark looks much better. Stan __________________ Just because I have a short attention span doesn't mean I...

01-10-2006, 21:13	#20
killerkebab Vodka Martini Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bristol/Reading Posts: 656	Right I've just had the biggest scare of my life. I thought I watched myself destroy my RAID setup in a flash. Here's what went down. I went into the 'uGuru' part of the BIOS - it reported RAM speed at 408MHz, which sounded fine to me. Next step, RAM timings. Advanced chipset menu, set timings to 4, 4, 4, and 12. Saved CMOS and exit, computer rebooted - BEEEEEEEP, BEEEEEEEP, BEEEEEEEP. Obviously it doesn't like my timings, I thought. So I set about resetting CMOS. Unfortunately this god damned Abit board has the CMOS jumper underneath all of my HDD wires, so I removed them all, reset CMOS, and all sounded good. I had forgotten to memorise which drive was connected to SATA 8, and which drive was connected to SATA 9 (the RAID ports). Oh **. I tried to set them up from memory. Plugged them in, booted PC. Put the CMOS settings back to what they used to be - i.e: USB keyboard support from BIOS, etc. Tried to boot... HARD DISK BOOT FAILURE PLEASE INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER Oh . So I swap the SATA ports around... HARD DISK BOOT FAILURE PLEASE INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER Oh , oh **. To cut a long story short, it turned out that the SATA power cable was only half into one of the drives, and then I noticed that no matter which way the SATA cables are plugged in, the RAID controller seems to be able to make sense of the drives and the array. Hurrah! No idea why it won't boot at 4-4-4-12 though __________________