SFF Modular Senior Project

[Doomzilla]

The water cooler is installed and is running very well.  I don't really notice any noise coming from the pump besides a light hum and I can't hear it over the cumulative humming of the 120mm fan, power supply, and the video card fan.  My idle temp is 29C and when running anything intensive it never goes over 32C.  My PWM temperature suffered do to the loss of the airflow from the CPU HSF.  At idle they were running high 50s.  For now I have a 120mm fan sitting outside my case blowing over them.  That did wonders as they are now idling at 33C.  I think the water loop is pretty good for my first time and the fact that I am using a fairly small case.  As for the wiring, I have a lot of work to do there.  Figured, you'd like to see some "in progress" pics.

[mikevalla]

Looks great so far man, keep up the great work.

[Maturin]

So what do you plan on using this mDPC for after your Senior Project?
IMO it would be a great little box for Folding, since you have an OC'd CPU and a x1900 graphics card. I bet your professors would like the concept of folding as well, it might earn you some extra points.

[Doomzilla]

I figured that at the end of all of this, no matter who I present to, the question will arise, "What can all this power be used for besides making applications run faster?" So, at the end of the rest of my presentations I will mention that this computer and any computer that comes from this design (C2D or 4C) will be perfect for folding and that i suggest to anyone that leaves their computer on when they are not using it should use it for folding.  Honestly, I was going to try it before, but with all the constant restarting due to the nature of the overclocking process, I have yet to begin folding.  Once I am done overclocking I will do my part because I agree that it's the easiest way to help humanity.

[Doomzilla]

I know I posted an hour ago, but I reached the 4GHz mark with my Pentium D 805.  Everything is running fine, but I don't dare run the 10 minute long 3DMark06 benchmark because my PWM temps are hitting 80C with the short Sandra Benchamarks and low 70s when running Counter Strike: Source.  I really need to find a good way to cool them.  Those temps are even after I replaced the cheap thermal interface with Ceramique and have a good breeze over them from my 120mm fan thats pointed at them.  Beside the PWM temps I think everything else is fine.  Hooray!

So here's two things you can reply with if you don't mind.
-Suggestions on cooling PWMs
-How warm can my CPU get before I should worry about water temperature being too high? (highest temp is 43C on CPU)

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions and help.  I'm sure more will be needed as I start working on the External Box.

[mikevalla]

Nice overclock, but I don't know about the PWM issues I am afraid.  Your CPU temps are nice and chily though, especially given an overclock on top of that.

[Doomzilla]

Update on my External Box.

 The proprietary cable I was trying to make to connect the motherboard I/O ports to the external box is not going to work as I did not know that SATA wires were so damn small.  I tried hacking one and soldering it but it looked hideous and would only work if I had the manufacturer make it for me.  So, I am resorting to having one eSATA cable going to the HDD and then one USB cable for my HUB and DVD drive.  This will probably change again once I start seriously working on the external box.

[Doomzilla]

Work has been pretty slow due to finals and the fact that I found my UT2K4 CDs (It's pure crack)

I've made little changes to my design, but everything is working out.  I'm going to mount the HDD on the side of the DVD and USB hub.  I finally got my SATA DVD drive off of newegg for $35, so I'm very happy about that because I really didn't want to use a USB cable.  Also I bought a Bulgin LED power button that I will mount on the case, either below the radiator or in the upper right hand corner.



Anyways, everything is slowly working out.


BTW, I took this picture just because I was bored and thought it was a great use for my shredded paper.

[Doomzilla]

Quick Update:

-I have to do an interview for one of my references.  I have been in contact with a second person from Gigabyte and asked them all kinds of questions about the iRAM and future revisions of it.  He said that there is a new version in the works, but they are not allowed to disclose any details.  All he said was it was scheduled for a Q1 2007 release.  I guess I'll have to wait.

-I've been trying really hard to get some 1GB sticks of any speed DDR even if it's refurb, so I can eventually afford a video card.  I'd like to be able to pay the bills.

-I've also been trying really hard to get a 8800GTS. So far, no luck.

-I mounted a 60mm fan on top of the PWM heatsink and my PWM idle temp at stock went from 58C to 38C. Brilliant!  I now can run my PC at a constant 3.8+GHz without worrying about a random restart (reboots at 130C).  Whats strange is that when I run the CPU test in 3DMark06 the PWMs hit 120C, but when I play a game (oh glorious UT2K4!) it maxes out at 70C.  I hope it runs that cool on all games.  

-BTW, at 3.8GHz my CPU runs at 35C at load.  This is my first water cooling rig and I love it.

[Doomzilla]

I mounted the fan using two zip ties.  I know its so high-tech.  Now that the temps are fully under control my CPU speed is currently running at 3.79GHz without a hitch and got a 3DMark06 CPU score of 1851. The CPU temp never goes over 38C.  Not too bad, but needs some improvement.  The Ballistix ran at timings of 3-3-3-8, but failed to reboot at 3-2-2-8.

Figured I better start showing the iRAM in the pics even though I don't have the 4GB of DDR yet.  Also, got an email back from Gigabyte about a 8800GTS or GTX, but apparently quantities are very limited so I have to contact them in a couple weeks after they get another shipment.

Shopping list:

-Video Card
-4GB DDR for iRAM
-Bigger HDD
-Decals (they make it go faster)
-USB extension

[synexpl0it]

Slightly off topic but could you tell me the name of the wire management device you're using for your mouse? I've seen it quite a bunch but have never known the name or place where I could find it.

[Doomzilla]

Its called a mouse bungee.  Its a nice thing to have if you're like me and get caught up on your wire, but don't want to buy a wireless mouse.  Just go to mousebungee.com.  I think after shipping its $15 and they have a few different colors to suit your color scheme.

BTW, to anyone that knows a thing or two about FSB/memory ratios:  This doesn't look right to me.  For some reason my memory frequency is low, or at least I think its low.  Someone mind clarifying it for me?



CPU-Z for Doomzilla

[jsm]

BTW, to anyone that knows a thing or two about FSB/memory ratios:  This doesn't look right to me.  For some reason my memory frequency is low, or at least I think its low.  Someone mind clarifying it for me?CPU-Z for Doomzilla

Is it off by a factor of two exactly?  (I.e. you're expecting 630 but it shows 315?)  I think it's reporting the actual memory frequency, not the effective frequency.  DDR2 memory transfers two units per clock, so a 190MHZ FSB, with a 3:5 memory ratio puts the memory clock at 315MHz, which is sometimes also reported as DDR2-630.

[Doomzilla]

Is it off by a factor of two exactly?  (I.e. you're expecting 630 but it shows 315?)  I think it's reporting the actual memory frequency, not the effective frequency.  DDR2 memory transfers two units per clock, so a 190MHZ FSB, with a 3:5 memory ratio puts the memory clock at 315MHz, which is sometimes also reported as DDR2-630.

Maybe that's why.  In my BIOS, above the ratio it says DDR2 667, but then CPU-Z was saying 315.  I was confused.

[Doomzilla]

I woke up at 5am today and got bored so I made a wallpaper and pieced my case back together.  Even though you can see it I have the eSATA adapters in a PCI bracket and connected to my HDD and DVD Drive behind my monitor.  That bright red ring on the front of my case is the Bulgin power switch that I spent half an hour installing last night  8-/

I seem to have forgotten how bright the iRAM LEDs were.  Totally messes up my red LED scheme I had planned.

[mikevalla]

Wax paper and tape can 'dull' the LED lights, without physical modification of the card itself.  Or tape and white paper, either way.

[Doomzilla]

So I definitely had a "dumb" moment.  I bought a brand new Bluetooth Dell Mouse and Keyboard set off of ebay for extremely cheap.  Unfortunately I didn't check to make sure that it had a USB dongle so that I could use my new input devices.  Luckily I found a good Class 1 dongle for $20 with two day shipping over at xpcgear.com.  

Now I'm just waiting for this New Year's weekend to be over so I can get all my stuff in the mail and finally get some emails back from companies about obtaining 4GB of DDR and a video card.  


Waiting for these items in the mail: Bluetooth dongle, Bluetooth headphones, 3rd Gen iPod, case badges, Rayman: Raving Rabbids for PC.  

[Doomzilla]

In case you didn't see it in another thread, I got a x1900XTX 512MB refurb form Crucial.com for $191.  THey are having a 40% of sale for all their refurbished video cards.  I dont think that's a bad deal, since most x1900XTX cards run around $350.

I also got in contact with Abit and they said that my PWM temps are running hot.  They aren't suppose to go above mid-70s and mine were hitting 80C and sometimes 100C when both cores were at 100%.  At stock speed the PWM temps are 55C Idle and 70C Load.  I don't want to ruin the mosfets, but overclocking is about 30% of my project so I need to figure something out soon.

[EDIT] I will never deal with Abit again.  Their tech support is useless.  I told them I was water cooling the CPU and the Northbridge, but the airflow that I lost from removing the stock HSF made my PWMs overheat.  I told them this was for a project and that this board was made for overclocking but the PWM issue was hindering my work.  I asked them if they had any copper replacements, special fan, etc.  Their advice was to put the stock fan back on the board and run the board at stock speeds.  It's like they didn't read half of my email and gave me a half-assed answer.  I was expecting more from a company that starts their emails with "Dear valued customer".  I understand that overclocking puts the board at risk, but this board is made to overclock and make adjustments.  If I wanted stock speed I could've saved money and bought a cheapo Dell.

[rrussell]

So I definitely had a "dumb" moment.  I bought a brand new Bluetooth Dell Mouse and Keyboard set off of ebay for extremely cheap.  Unfortunately I didn't check to make sure that it had a USB dongle so that I could use my new input devices.  Luckily I found a good Class 1 dongle for $20 with two day shipping over at xpcgear.com.

Shouldn't the dongle that comes w/the headphones work with the mouse?

[Doomzilla]

So I definitely had a "dumb" moment.  I bought a brand new Bluetooth Dell Mouse and Keyboard set off of ebay for extremely cheap.  Unfortunately I didn't check to make sure that it had a USB dongle so that I could use my new input devices.  Luckily I found a good Class 1 dongle for $20 with two day shipping over at xpcgear.com.

Shouldn't the dongle that comes w/the headphones work with the mouse?

No, because the bluetooth dongle that came with the  headphones plugs into a 3.5mm jack and not a USB port.

[rrussell]

OH.

Duh.

Sorry

You mean you don't want to use your mouse to run the mp3 player?

[Doomzilla]

I bought some Maroon vinyl from a local sports shop to cover my PSU with.   Now realizing that I probably have to remove all the factory stickers I'm not sure I want to do it.  The x1900XTX is still running great and stays pretty cool for being in a smaller case.  Also, I'm trying to convince the bookstore at my school to order some DDR for me so I can use my financial aid to buy the RAM.  I'm getting pretty annoyed that I still don't have any DDR for the iRAM.  I am now meeting with my advisor on a weekly basis to go over my project report which will probably be around 100 pages long or more.  Trying to get a hold of RAM, building the external box, and writing this report is quite the task.  At least it's my last semester.

If anyone out there has a 1GB stick of DDR (without heatspreader) for trade let me know and maybe we could work something out.

[Doomzilla]

Not that anyone is even reading these anymore...

I finally ordered 3GB of DDR for my Gigabyte iRAM so I should have timing benchmarks running this weekend.  Also, I ordered a PCMCIA card for my laptop to prove that the eSATA external components can work with any PC.  

On top of getting everything together and benchmarking, I got my hands on a KillaWatt reader that will tell me how much wattage the computer is using at idle and load at all my different overclocks.  I know parts of my project have been done before, but this is a very informative and scientific approach to it that should, in the end, really show how newer technology and enthusiast methods can really push the mainstream PC to the next level without spending a lot of extra money (or completely disprove my theory  :-/ )

[hugh]

in response to the killawatt reader, you looked at akasa's new 5.25" fan controller, all digital and not only does it tell you fans, it also tells you your psu drain etc, looks very handy

[Doomzilla]

Well as many of you know, I have to build an external case for my drives and USB hub.  I was lucky enough to find a custom case company called Protocase.  I was intrigued by their website, so I sent them an email asking about a quote for how much it would cost to get my case made by them because I don't have the tools or skills to do such a thing.  They promptly responded that they would be more than happy to help me out and offered me a sponsorship.  They even guided me through the AutoCAD design process so that I could supply them with all the information they needed to get started.  Honestly, I have only seen one other company whose customer support is as friendly and helpful as Protocase's.

Hopefully I will have the case in a week or so.  I will definitely post pics and do a little review in the forums after I receive it.

Until then, cheers.

Doomzilla