AMD Spider setup (Phenom 9950 / Radeon HD4870 / Antec P182)

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 8:55 am

So here it is, yet again a P182 setup.

The setup:
AMD Phenom 9950 /w Noctua NH-U12P at 900rpm
Asus M3A32-MVP Deluxe
ATI Radeon HD4870
Seagate 7200.11 500GB
Antec NeoHE 550W
Antec P182 /w stock fans at "low"

And... the pictures. I will once again skip the external pictures because everyone here knows how a standard P182 looks anyways:

Although not silent, it is very quiet and thus I am satisfied considering the hardware it runs (like that 140W TDP Phenom and 160W TDP HD4870). All I really wish for is for either a driver or BIOS fix for the fanspeed of the HD4870. I would prefer it to be a tiny bit louder if it was constant instead of this default setup where it blows just a bit harder every now an then, even at idle.

blackworx · Post by **blackworx** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 8:55 am

Nice build - very neat!

Pity about the 4870 revving up/down. I'm considering getting one if I can afford it, but that doesn't sound too promising...!

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 9:51 am

I'll try to fix that fanspeed problem with a custom CCC profile. I'll post the results on this thread later.

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 10:48 am

Ok, so I did a new profile from CCC and put in 30% fan speed. I can't say that that is very quiet though (still not as annoying as the up/down throttling). Idle temps did start going down noticeably. I'll post some idle temps as it settles down. Then maybe try out some load or continue tweaking tomorrow.

It would be nice if it had a different setting for 2D and 3D, but it seems it is only possible to set one fan speed. If I put it target percentage to 30% and set it to manual, it works. But if I leave everything else as standard (automatic) but up the target percentage to 30 (instead of the standard 5 that the default profile has) it seems it disregards that 30 setting completely. And most likely that 5 too. Need to test some more.

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 11:23 am

PS: Here is the current profile with 30% fan setting:

Code: Select all

<Profile>
  <Caste name="Graphics">
    <Groups>
      <Group name="Overdrive5">
        <Feature name="TimeUnlocked" />
        <Feature name="OverclockEnabled">
          <Property name="OverclockEnabledProperty" value="True" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="CoreClockTarget_0">
          <Property name="Want_0" value="50000" />
          <Property name="Want_1" value="50000" />
          <Property name="Want_2" value="75000" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="MemoryClockTarget_0">
          <Property name="Want_0" value="90000" />
          <Property name="Want_1" value="90000" />
          <Property name="Want_2" value="90000" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="CoreVoltageTarget_0">
          <Property name="Want_0" value="1263" />
          <Property name="Want_1" value="1263" />
          <Property name="Want_2" value="1263" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="MemoryVoltageTarget_0">
          <Property name="Want_0" value="0" />
          <Property name="Want_1" value="0" />
          <Property name="Want_2" value="0" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="FanSpeedProtocol_0">
          <Property name="FanSpeedProtocolProperty" value="Percent" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="FanSpeedAlgorithm_0">
          <Property name="FanSpeedAlgorithm" value="Manual" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="FanSpeedRPMTarget_0">
          <Property name="Want" value="0" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="FanSpeedPercentTarget_0">
          <Property name="Want" value="30" />
        </Feature>
      </Group>
    </Groups>
    <Adapter name="PCI_VEN_1002&DEV_9440&SUBSYS_05021002&REV_00_4&2ACE1B05&0&0010A">
      <Aspect name="Overdrive5" />
    </Adapter>
  </Caste>
</Profile>

I currently have three profiles. One with the default settings with fan speed algorithm at Automatic and fan speed percent target 5 (not sure if it counts for anything, as I said earlier... but that is the default).

One for overclocking with fanspeed of a "nice and quiet" 70% (might bump it even further if I decide to up the voltages for that profile too) with 790MHz for GPU and 1100MHz for MEM.

And of course the tweak profile that I posted above which I will continue testing with later on.

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 11:40 am

For comparison, here's the default profile:

Code: Select all

<Profile>
  <Caste name="Graphics">
    <Groups>
      <Group name="Overdrive5">
        <Feature name="TimeUnlocked" />
        <Feature name="OverclockEnabled">
          <Property name="OverclockEnabledProperty" value="True" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="CoreClockTarget_0">
          <Property name="Want_0" value="50000" />
          <Property name="Want_1" value="50000" />
          <Property name="Want_2" value="75000" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="MemoryClockTarget_0">
          <Property name="Want_0" value="90000" />
          <Property name="Want_1" value="90000" />
          <Property name="Want_2" value="90000" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="CoreVoltageTarget_0">
          <Property name="Want_0" value="1263" />
          <Property name="Want_1" value="1263" />
          <Property name="Want_2" value="1263" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="MemoryVoltageTarget_0">
          <Property name="Want_0" value="0" />
          <Property name="Want_1" value="0" />
          <Property name="Want_2" value="0" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="FanSpeedProtocol_0">
          <Property name="FanSpeedProtocolProperty" value="Percent" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="FanSpeedAlgorithm_0">
          <Property name="FanSpeedAlgorithm" value="Automatic" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="FanSpeedRPMTarget_0">
          <Property name="Want" value="0" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="FanSpeedPercentTarget_0">
          <Property name="Want" value="5" />
        </Feature>
      </Group>
    </Groups>
    <Adapter name="PCI_VEN_1002&DEV_9440&SUBSYS_05021002&REV_00_4&2ACE1B05&0&0010A">
      <Aspect name="Overdrive5" />
    </Adapter>
  </Caste>
</Profile>

And the OC profile:

Code: Select all

<Profile>
  <Caste name="Graphics">
    <Groups>
      <Group name="Overdrive5">
        <Feature name="TimeUnlocked" />
        <Feature name="OverclockEnabled">
          <Property name="OverclockEnabledProperty" value="True" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="CoreClockTarget_0">
          <Property name="Want_0" value="50000" />
          <Property name="Want_1" value="50000" />
          <Property name="Want_2" value="79000" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="MemoryClockTarget_0">
          <Property name="Want_0" value="110000" />
          <Property name="Want_1" value="110000" />
          <Property name="Want_2" value="110000" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="CoreVoltageTarget_0">
          <Property name="Want_0" value="1263" />
          <Property name="Want_1" value="1263" />
          <Property name="Want_2" value="1263" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="MemoryVoltageTarget_0">
          <Property name="Want_0" value="0" />
          <Property name="Want_1" value="0" />
          <Property name="Want_2" value="0" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="FanSpeedProtocol_0">
          <Property name="FanSpeedProtocolProperty" value="Percent" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="FanSpeedAlgorithm_0">
          <Property name="FanSpeedAlgorithm" value="Manual" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="FanSpeedRPMTarget_0">
          <Property name="Want" value="0" />
        </Feature>
        <Feature name="FanSpeedPercentTarget_0">
          <Property name="Want" value="70" />
        </Feature>
      </Group>
    </Groups>
    <Adapter name="PCI_VEN_1002&DEV_9440&SUBSYS_05021002&REV_00_4&2ACE1B05&0&0010A">
      <Aspect name="Overdrive5" />
    </Adapter>
  </Caste>
</Profile>

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 12:05 pm

Update on the temps (idle) with the 30% fan speed profile

HDD, 33 degrees (Celsius)
CPU, 33 degrees
GPU, 65 degrees (down from 80)

Ambient is pretty high, around 24 or so. Need to start testing the GPU with load tomorrow.

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Thu Jul 31, 2008 7:38 am

Well, I decided to flash Asus HD4870 TOP edition BIOS on my HD4870 as it has different fan control algorithm. Install went fine. I'll report results later on.

Rebellious · Post by **Rebellious** » Thu Jul 31, 2008 4:08 pm

Wow, the next generation Asus M3 mobo with the magic Phenom. Should be twice as fast as the Asus M2 mobos with dual core Athlon X2. Is it? 2600MHz FSB sounds impressive. I read lots of complaints about the Asus M3 bios not being quite ready yet. Does DDR2 1066 memory work?

BTW, that CPUID hardware monitor is buggy, tried it once, it left my system in a funky state and blue-screened eventually.

.

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Thu Jul 31, 2008 11:08 pm

Rebellious wrote:Wow, the next generation Asus M3 mobo with the magic Phenom.

There is a new generation coming in the near future.

Should be twice as fast as the Asus M2 mobos with dual core Athlon X2. Is it?

Depends on the application

2600MHz FSB sounds impressive. I read lots of complaints about the Asus M3 bios not being quite ready yet. Does DDR2 1066 memory work?

Works as long as only 2 slots are being used. At least by default it reverts to DDR2-800 if all four slots are occupied.

BTW, that CPUID hardware monitor is buggy, tried it once, it left my system in a funky state and blue-screened eventually.
.

I haven't had any issues with it in any computer (so far).

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 8:57 am

The Asus 4870 TOP BIOS was too loud (not a big surprise) for my liking, so I reverted back to the original BIOS.

frenchie · Post by **frenchie** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 10:33 am

This is a very nice build.. SO TIDY !!! You barely see the cables.. quite amazing....

I'll keep a link to your thread since a 4870 is probably going to be in my computer soon and you have a lot of cool info on it.

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 10:55 am

frenchie wrote:This is a very nice build.. SO TIDY !!! You barely see the cables.. quite amazing....

I'll keep a link to your thread since a 4870 is probably going to be in my computer soon and you have a lot of cool info on it.

Thank you

ryboto · Post by **ryboto** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 8:08 pm

I'm curious of the power that your system requires...you don't happen to have a power meter handy do you? Just curious what idle/load power draw is.

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 9:26 pm

ryboto wrote:I'm curious of the power that your system requires...you don't happen to have a power meter handy do you? Just curious what idle/load power draw is.

I don't have a power meter, but I might be able to borrow one. I am curious too

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 8:38 am

Slight update. Changed my PSU from the previous Antec NeoHE 550W to a PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W. Cabling looks just the same, only the PSU looks different (bigger and it's bright red) so no need to update the pics at this point, though I'll probably post some pics later.

Pros:
- Long cables. Now even the 8-pin power cable reaches the top of the motherboard with ease with no need for extension cable.
- Quiet so far (maybe a bit quieter than NeoHE with the loads I have had)
- I love the looks of it

Both the colour and the size (bigger is better?

)
- No detachable cables (cables all come from the side and thus is a lot better for P182, no messing around with connectors directly in front of the fan). This is better also in theory from electrical standpoint.
- 2*6pin + 2*(6+2)pin PCI-E and enough power to handle anything up to four way crossfire setups or a couple of very powerhungry graphics cards
- High efficiency

Cons:
- No detachable cables... might be a con for some. For me it wasn't. With P182 it was just much better this way, but I had to add it to cons as well as pros.
- It is rather long... again might be a con for some, but with no detachable cables, the lenght didn't cause any issues with the center fan of the P182.

http://www.pcpower.com/power-supply/sil ... sfire.html

Might post some pics/updates later.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 11:00 am

colour of PSU really suits powering up tha Ati Monster ^^

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 11:25 am

thejamppa wrote:colour of PSU really suits powering up tha Ati Monster ^^

It sure does

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 8:44 pm

A few pics with the new PSU:

seba84_2005 · Post by **seba84_2005** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 5:43 am

NICE rig!!!

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 6:32 am

seba84_2005 wrote:NICE rig!!!

Thank you

that Linux guy · Post by **that Linux guy** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 6:49 am

I really like your rig Suosaaski! Though I prefer the Core2Duos over the Phenoms, your set up is very, very nice indeed. I love seeing the HD4870. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on it's performance. What games are you playing?

Also glad to be able to see the difference between the NeoHE 550 and the PC P&C Silencer 750. I've had my eye on one for a bit, just in case 550w turns out to be under sufficient.

Awesome rig, and keep up the good work. Looking forward to seeing some more mods.

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 7:42 am

that Linux guy wrote:I really like your rig Suosaaski! Though I prefer the Core2Duos over the Phenoms, your set up is very, very nice indeed.

Thank you.

I had Phenom before this one too, I tried a C2D and C2Q setup in between but they just didn't feel like my thing (nothing wrong with the performance though... something subconsious perhaps)... anyway, didn't want to keep them so I am back to Phenom and very happy indeed

The old Phenom setups:
viewtopic.php?t=43940&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=42
viewtopic.php?t=48005

Seems the latter does not have pics anymore, but it doesn't matter, it is basically the same setup as the first one with a different case.

I love seeing the HD4870. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on it's performance. What games are you playing?

I like the performance. I play mainly COD4, Race Driver Grid, Assasins Creed, Microsoft Flight Simulator X, Falcon 4.0 Allied Force and Lock On : Modern Air Combat. They all run at very high detail with no issues.

I don't like the noise (at idle it is quiet but slightly irritating since the rpm changes a bit all the time). I can live with it though.

Also glad to be able to see the difference between the NeoHE 550 and the PC P&C Silencer 750. I've had my eye on one for a bit, just in case 550w turns out to be under sufficient.

Yeah, well at least for my setup it was this way. I read somewhere that if things get hot with it, things also get loud, very fast. But with Antec P182 the PSU keeps cool all the time under full load, so it is not an issue at least not for me.

Awesome rig, and keep up the good work. Looking forward to seeing some more mods.

Thanks again. I am not sure if I'll mod this any further. Maybe change the case fans etc. I did cut the metal fan grilles of my previous P182 but the difference was so minimal that I probably won't this time. At least that's what I think now, who knows if that will change

I am also considering changing the graphics card to for example a couple of older ATI cards for crossfire, maybe two HD3870s or HD2900XTs.

that Linux guy · Post by **that Linux guy** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 6:35 am

Wow, the first 3 games you listed are what I'm playing too

My 7900GS doesn't handle them good though. 1280x1024 (on a 22" widescreen) at minimal settings to get good frames. High detail same res gets me around 15 fps. Running any at full res (1680x1050) is completely out of the question. I'm hoping a Radeon HD4850 will solve those problems though.

I really like the pics of your Phenom setup. Very clean. How did your 3850s perform? Now that the HD4000 series is out, I'm considering saving some cash and picking up a 3870 instead. It's not the greatest, but It's way better than what I'm running now.

Even if you don't mod it any, it's still a very nice rig you're running. keep up the good work

-Andrew

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 6:46 am

that Linux guy wrote:Wow, the first 3 games you listed are what I'm playing too

My 7900GS doesn't handle them good though. 1280x1024 (on a 22" widescreen) at minimal settings to get good frames. High detail same res gets me around 15 fps. Running any at full res (1680x1050) is completely out of the question. I'm hoping a Radeon HD4850 will solve those problems though.

I run everything at 1680*1050 (native resolution for my 22") at max details and 4xAA.

You can get at least a certain Sapphire 4850 model for almost the same price as a 3870.

I really like the pics of your Phenom setup. Very clean.

Thanks. Again.

How did your 3850s perform? Now that the HD4000 series is out, I'm considering saving some cash and picking up a 3870 instead. It's not the greatest, but It's way better than what I'm running now.

They performed nicely, but they were only 256MB models which caused some issues at very high detail. I later changed them to a single 3870 which performed better for that reason.

Even if you don't mod it any, it's still a very nice rig you're running. keep up the good work

-Andrew

I have started to consider experimenting with different fan configurations.

At least I am gonna try out if that lower chamber needs that 120mm fan at all, if the 80mm of the PSU would be enough to cool the HDD. If it is enough, I'll probably go and buy some new fan(s) to replace the top chamber fans of the P182.

I'll post the results if I find the time to start testing.

falcon26 · Post by **falcon26** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 4:07 pm

Nice setup man

very nice and tidy. Try putting a artic cooling s1 on the 4870. I did, its dead silent now and it idles at about 50 and loads about 65. That's with a 120mm scythe sflex 800 rpm fan. Ramsinks on the memory and the vrm's as well...

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 8:25 pm

falcon26 wrote:Nice setup man very nice and tidy. Try putting a artic cooling s1 on the 4870. I did, its dead silent now and it idles at about 50 and loads about 65. That's with a 120mm scythe sflex 800 rpm fan. Ramsinks on the memory and the vrm's as well...

Thanks.

I kinda want this to be a "warranty build" this time, so I am not gonna change the cooling on the hd4870 for now.

But if and when more of cards like this emerge with better stock cooling, I think I'm gonna sell this 4870 and buy a model with silent cooling.

I just tried unplugging the Antec Tricools that make a small hum and stopping the HD4870 fan temporarely and there is a huge difference in the noise output. So even though this current setup is adequately quiet, now that I tried that, I think I'm gonna go and buy me some new case fans and wait for availability of HD4870s with better cooling.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 11:01 pm

Suosaaski. Club 3D is comming Overclocked version of HD 4870. It will have quad heatpipe cooler with 80mm fan. The PCB has regular 3-pin motherboard connection instead regular special power plug motherboard makers have used.

Their site you have high resolution picture but that does look very nice:
http://www.club3d.nl/index.php/products ... s/item/344

Suosaaski · Post by **Suosaaski** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:38 am

thejamppa wrote:Suosaaski. Club 3D is comming Overclocked version of HD 4870. It will have quad heatpipe cooler with 80mm fan. The PCB has regular 3-pin motherboard connection instead regular special power plug motherboard makers have used.

Their site you have high resolution picture but that does look very nice:
http://www.club3d.nl/index.php/products ... s/item/344

Sweet. That basically means that most likely in the near future my 4870 is up for sale

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:50 am

Yeah, that cooler looks real big and mean. I just love way it looks. Maybe I get HD 4870 OC version just to get that cooler. I know its hefty overkill but then I have good reason to upgrade my Monitor into 22" - 24" Wide Screen range ^^