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Saw a EX470 post with a Amd X2
http://www.mediasmartserver.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1102
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Author:  ymboc [ Wed Apr 23, 2008 9:33 am ]
Post subject: 

mentor wrote:
Ymboc are in the us? do know the spec and info for 2100 x2 AMD processor?do you have use a bios mode to use that processor?
Canada. NewEgg won't ship here :(

Some info about the processor from a quick google Actually Looks like it runs at 1.3 Volts very close the 1.25 the BE-2400 runs at... *AND* its rated at 65Watts not 45Watts... I had thought it was a 45Watt chip... so scratch that chip, as inexpensive as it is...

Puts it a bit into perspective though... the BE-2400 is only .05Volts less but somehow rated as a 45Watt chip (BS!).

I do believe I have a bios that will work with any of these chips... its just the heat. Take a look at the 3400E X2 from the following link... 22Watts!

Here's AMD's embeded solutions selection document (PDF)

Author:  Wizard37 [ Fri Apr 25, 2008 10:21 am ]
Post subject: 

What are the odds that HP updates our Bios to support these without making it a real issue?

Author:  ymboc [ Fri Apr 25, 2008 12:28 pm ]
Post subject: 

Wizard37 wrote:
What are the odds that HP updates our Bios to support these without making it a real issue?
Not Likely.... but There's a long shot that they may ship the MSS with a newer bios later in the product's life...

That said, I think I've got the bios problem solved.... I just need a cooler X2 chip... or better cooling

...or volunteers with cooler X2 chips. It's possible the BE-2300 or BE-2350 are cool enough... (I tried a BE-2400)

AMD also just announced more cooler X2's becoming 'available' in the coming quarters that are even cooler than the stock sempron (22Watts for the 3400e!)... the question is if they'll be available through retail / online channels... they could end up being for big-OEMs only.

Author:  sanespace [ Fri Apr 25, 2008 12:49 pm ]
Post subject: 

Had you tried to put a fan onto the proc like any other computer in the world? :D (Maybe a stupid question)
Installing it inside the case would be a real challenge... I know... but did you try it?

There are a lot of slim heat sinks that allow to fit a fan ontop of it and the whole thing occupies the same as the stock heat sink.

:lol:

Author:  ymboc [ Fri Apr 25, 2008 1:07 pm ]
Post subject: 

I think I mentioned elsewhere that I did all my testing with a fan resting on top of the heatsink and plugged into CPU fan header... actually you might be able to see it in the VGA header youtube vid I posted... didn't overheat once until I put it back into the chassis *without* the cpu fan.

I'm tinkering with the idea of getting the heatsink machined to fit one of those 1U 7000rpm blowers you see on ebay... but then I'm exiting my noise comfort zone... so I'll likely stand down for now... FYI there is no standard aftermarket (1U) cooler that will fit the mounting holes on the MSS

Without taking some height off of the Heatsink there is no room for a fan... and an axial fan ontop of the heatsink won't do anything anyway. You need to draw cool air from the front and push it across the heatsink toward the rear chassis fans.

Author:  sanespace [ Fri Apr 25, 2008 2:09 pm ]
Post subject: 

Did you post a video...? :shock: Sorry. I had lost that.

Did you test the "SmartGuardian" advanced mode of SpeedFan? It automatically controls the throtle of the fans for you as it monitors your temps. I'm greatly surprissed about this program.... so take a look.

....and.... have good luck... I'm also interested in an X2. :D

Author:  ymboc [ Fri Apr 25, 2008 3:52 pm ]
Post subject: 

sanespace wrote:
Did you test the "SmartGuardian" advanced mode of SpeedFan? It automatically controls the throtle of the fans for you as it monitors your temps. I'm greatly surprissed about this program.... so take a look.
I used speedfan to force the fanspeed to maximum and the system was still too hot.

Cheers

Author:  JohnBick [ Tue Apr 29, 2008 2:09 pm ]
Post subject: 

sanespace wrote:
Did you test the "SmartGuardian" advanced mode of SpeedFan? It automatically controls the throtle of the fans for you as it monitors your temps.

FYI, I have initiated a separate thread in SpeedFan:
http://www.mediasmartserver.net/forums/ ... highlight=

Anything that can be contributed to that thread regarding configuring for the MSS would be appreciated!

Author:  ymboc [ Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:46 pm ]
Post subject: 

So here's a wierd twist... after about a week, (two?) of not touching the server I powered it up to prepare & test a bios for a board member... and the WHS console holding steady @~ 27 System, 33 CPU (idle)... <shrug> (yay)

If it doesn't rise over 24hrs I'll try running orthos to see if she's stable under load.

See attached...

FollowUp Idled @ 28Sys, 33CPU for hours... loaded up orthos, CPU temperature reached 52 within minutes and then system shut-off. (sigh)

Attachments:
normaltemps.JPG
normaltemps.JPG [ 65.82 KiB | Viewed 44572 times ]

Author:  zxdavb [ Sat May 10, 2008 6:01 am ]
Post subject:  Athlon 64 X2 on EX740 - Willing to have a go...

ymboc,

I have a shiny new EX740, and a BE-2300. I am willing to give it a try if you'd like, else I'll return the CPU for a LE-1640 (I've got 14 days to do so before I lose my £50).

I think the BE-2300 is 3W cooler than the BE-2350, and about 6W cooler than the BE-2400; also think it is only 2W hotter than the LE-1640...

see this link: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/amd-power-cpu,review-30798-11.html

Send me a message if you wanna progress it.

FWIW, I intend to run Windows Server 2003 on it eventually...

-Dave

Author:  ymboc [ Sat May 10, 2008 7:55 am ]
Post subject: 

PM Sent.

Actually that THG link revealed some interesting info... I had always figured the Windsor F2 x2 3800+ EE to be the coolest running X2 'available'... UPDATE: I've managed to pick up one of these elusive chips off of ebay... sigh, in for a penny in for a pound I guess.

FYI For Others: The bios mod's I've described will also get your 'LE' series chips properly identified in the device manager. Also I've managed to add the raid bios util to my bios to get fakeRaid 0+1 going -- ie: Highly available multi Drive & TB storage without risk of corruption bug... but you'll need a video cable to see the config tool.

FYI2: The Bios contains your serial number and possibly more personalized info... which is why I can't just distribute a bios file. I do plan on providing instructions on how to mod the bios yourself at a later date.

Author:  zxdavb [ Tue May 13, 2008 3:01 pm ]
Post subject:  EX740 with BE-2300 (1.9GHz) & 2GB -- results!!

Firstly, thanks to ymboc for sending me a copy of the modified BIOS to test the Athlon X2 BE-2300 (1.9 GHz) on a 2GB EX740. Genius!

I run and MS Exchange server VM on my WHS ans so X2 is a real winner for me. I am really happy with the results so far (but read on).

FYI: Although it is a 45W chip, I guess that a BE-2300 (1.9GHz) is about 6W cooler than a BE-2400 (2.4GHz?) and only 3W hotter than the LE-1640. See: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-power-cpu,1925-11.html for more info...

After the upgrade, I have been running my EX740 with an Athlon X2 (BE-2300) for over two days, and I have good news, and bad news...

The good news: the system hasn't shut itself down (due to CPU heat overload) once.

The bad news: I have had some problems running Orthos.

a) in 'Stress CPU - stress CPU with Gromacs core' mode it has run non-stop for over 7.5 hours with no error...

b) in 'Small FFTs - stress CPU' mode it failed after about 2.5 hours, with the following error message:
Quote:
FATAL ERROR: Final result was B6510E36, expected: 3AC73ABD.


In both mode a) AND mode b) the max temps have been 26/62 (WHS) & 61/57/28/59/40 (SpeedFan) with max fans speeds of ~2150 (although mostly the temps are 1C less, and fans speeds are ~2050).

In 'normal' mode, temps have been about 25/35 (& 56/38/25/59/13) with fan speeds of ~1500.

Note: I have left the OS to modulate the Fan speeds (i.e. I have used SpeedFan only to collect data)...

I am not sure that the Orthos error is such bad news, so you should read the next post for an analysis of the error message (and more screen shots).

Attachments:
The Good News.gif
The Good News.gif [ 47.54 KiB | Viewed 44193 times ]
The Bad News.gif
The Bad News.gif [ 48.71 KiB | Viewed 44192 times ]

Author:  zxdavb [ Tue May 13, 2008 3:35 pm ]
Post subject:  EX740 with BE-2300 (1.9GHz) & 2GB -- analysis!!

I have run Orthos in 'small FFTs - Stress CPU' mode and received the following error after about 2.5 hours:
Quote:
Test 1, 5120 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of M110400 using 8K FFT length.
FATAL ERROR: Final result was B6510E36, expected: 3AC73ABD.
Hardware failure detected, consult stress.txt file.

In fact, I have run Orthos in this mode 4 times, and have received the exact same error message each time (exact same), always after ~2.5 hours. I have run Orthos in other modes and have received no errors, even after 7.5 hours.

However, I also noticed that if, after a while, I restarted the test (without closing & restarting the application), I immediately get the same error!

So I did the following: I ran Orthos in this mode until it failed, then immediately started a second instance of Orthos in the same mode (within 3 secs), which ran for ~2.5 hours, until it also failed. I then started a 3rd instance of Orthos, but in a different mode, and which ran for 7.5 hours.

If I run the application in another mode (for a short while), then switch back to the 'small FFTs - Stress CPU' mode, then I immediately get the exact same error. In fact, if I restart the test (without closing & restarting the application) after hibernating the system, I still get the same error!

Ideas anyone?

All I know is that the BE2300 will be staying in my MSS and the Sempron will be off to ebay.

And again thanks to ymboc for his great work!!

PS: Don't worry about the anomolous start/run times, it can be disregarded. I have included the Orthos log file...

Attachments:
Restart Orthos.gif
Restart Orthos.gif [ 33.59 KiB | Viewed 44189 times ]
splog.zip [93.54 KiB]
Downloaded 1157 times

Author:  ymboc [ Tue May 13, 2008 3:41 pm ]
Post subject: 

Fantastic work. A quick google on the gromacs core seems to say that the gromacs core stresses the CPU less than the Small FFT test... I'm surprised to see that the timing of the error is so repeatable though... puzzling...

Author:  zxdavb [ Wed May 14, 2008 1:35 am ]
Post subject: 

Update: I am now running Orthos in 'Large, in-place FFTs - stress some RAM' mode. It has been running without error for 9.5 hours (so far).

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