I am looking for a little overclocking expertise here. I have a DFI Lanparty UT NF4 SLI-DR and an Athlon 64 3500+. My RAM is cheap since my good RAM died, now I only have a 512 stick of 200MHz. I was able to take the HTT up to 225 or so, and according to Everest, my idle is around 36 - 38c. When I load the CPU my idle jumps to in the mid to upper 50's. Keep in mind that I am using a Zalman 7000 with AS5, so the cooling is not really a problem. My goal is to push this thing to the limit without going into meltdown. I have practically no experience with overclocking, so just tell me what to do next.


Edit: Okay I checked my temps in the BIOS and they were 45c with no overclock. Why is it getting so hot?

That HSF is a little dated now, you'd have much better temps with one of the new heatpipe coolers such as the Scythe Ninja, Noctua UH-N12 or Tuniq Tower 120.

I also know I wouldn't be pusing my A64 any further if it was already hitting the upper 50s, not until I had better cooling.

Is the chip a Winchester or Venice core?

I thought it was a Venice when I bought it, but CPU-Z identifies it as a Clawhammer. So you think these are the best temps I am gonna see until I upgrade my HSF?

Quote: Originally Posted by Sn0wMan I thought it was a Venice when I bought it, but CPU-Z identifies it as a Clawhammer. So you think these are the best temps I am gonna see until I upgrade my HSF?

the clawhammers get hot, and that HSF should really do a little better than that IMO, try reseating it , but if you get into the 50C dont gop any further

I had a clawhammer in a Titan robela case, with a cheap WC setup, and well it got hot fast but I still got it up to 2.7 easily and it only got to 35C now this water cooling would be the equivilant to a 7000 or 7700, so really you should be able to get a little further with you 7700, also what are your ambient temps and room temps

Well first of all make sure you're running the very latest version of CPU-Z, just to make sure it is identifying the core properly.

If it is a Clawhammer, it will theorectically be outputting 89W of thermal energy, which is more than a 3.2Ghz Prescot P4... which as we all know, run pretty hot.

Id definately suggest upgrading the HSF, then read Necros Athlon64 overclocking guide... if you still don't know what to do after that... id guess you can't read English

Let us know how you get on.

Thanks for the help guys. First thing I did was upgrade CPU-Z, cause I didn't have the latest version. Also I will reseat the HSF to see if that is the problem. What do you guys suggest for spreading AS5? Since this is the first 939 I have used and the first Zalman I have used then I am thinking reseating it may help some. Do you think it would benefit me to take off the IHS or not? Oh and my room temps are around 75F, so I don't think that would affect it.

I will post back after I have reseated it and checked the temps with the newer version.

Quote: Originally Posted by Sn0wMan Thanks for the help guys. First thing I did was upgrade CPU-Z, cause I didn't have the latest version. Also I will reseat the HSF to see if that is the problem. What do you guys suggest for spreading AS5? Since this is the first 939 I have used and the first Zalman I have used then I am thinking reseating it may help some. Do you think it would benefit me to take off the IHS or not? Oh and my room temps are around 75F, so I don't think that would affect it. I will post back after I have reseated it and checked the temps with the newer version.

Personally i wouldnt take off the IHS, first because of the edges of the silicone get bent you could have some issues and loos stability, its not common, and if you take the IHS off i would make sort of like a shim to hold the heat sink from crushing it

Spreding AS5 isnt too hard by far, its almost the easiest to spred the thinnest layer with besides my fav PCM+, but another issue could be is that HSF relaped, the normal machined version has so many ridges, and you could easily lap it withing a fe minutes and if you really are worried you could take a hour or so and get a nice 2000+ shine

those can help trememdously when it come to CPU temps, but i wouldnt advise removing the IHS

Okay, after finding I had way too much AS5, I cleaned it off and reseated the HSF. Upon bootup I went into th BIOS and the temps really didn't improve... The CPU is at 43c right now, and I am defragging as I type this. The temp hasn't went over 43 (so far) so hopefully it won't get too high. I guess until I upgrade the HSF to something a little better then I won't be doing much overclocking... What do you guys recommend as the best coolers out there? I want to stick with Zalman if I can, as I have heard nothing but good things about them.

Edit: I just noticed that in speedfan 4.29 it has a temp labeled core. Is this the CPU core or what? My CPU is at 46C and the core is at 34C. Screenshot included.

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i have a 3500+ venice rev.E. and i have the Noctua UH-N12 and its max's at 42 on a hot day. oc at 2.5ghz.

There are far better options on the market than anything Zalman has to offer.

For starters, you could consider the ThermalTake Big Typhoon which in the PCApex review, beat Zalmans last offering quite easily.

Stepping it up a notch, I would go for a Scythe Ninja.

However, if you really have your heart set on a Zalman product, the CNPS 9500 is the way to go. It won't perform as well as the Big Typhoon, or Ninja, but will certainly let you raise your overclock.

ThermalRight Xp 90 or 120 are your best choices for sinks! Or just drop 200 bucks and buy a DangerDen water setup!


I use to run a clawhammer and ran the Xp 90 with a 92mm tornado it was loud but overclocked temps were only mid 40's!



Hows the case temps? Add more fans on intake and more for out aswell.. Relay your As5 with the thinist layer possable like bible paper thin!


Matt

Thanks for the help guys. I will probably go with the TT Big Typhoon since I have a TT case.

Your case temps are a bit on the warm side, probably because it's still summer time.

The temps may drop another 1-2 degrees after the AS-5 has time to settle.

Hi everyone i got the 3500+ 939 venice and i got it to 2.72ghz unstable and 2.65ghz stable. This was with stock voltage and stock cooling. With the stock cooling i was idling at 48-52c. Now after i added the ARTIC COOLING 64 FREEZER PRO i idle at 28c and load is 35 c @2.65ghz stock voltage. So if you got a good cooler you should be fine to push that farther.


But i also have 8 case fans and one giant 120 volt bank machine fan in front that pushes 550 cfm into the case. So i dont no how much of a differnce u will see with a new cooler. You have to drop your case temperature down more to see any difference.