I know this has been discussed before, but I was wondering about gurus specific experiences with the dual core opteron series (165 in my case) as far as the burn in period and performance jumps after this time. As far as I know, it can take anywhere from 50-100 hours of use before these cpus(or any for that matter) will be able to reach their max o/c with the least voltage. For example, my previous cpu (opty 148) would do a 2.7ghz with 1.5v but 2.8ghz would take close to 1.6v(too much for me to feel secure). After about 2-3 weeks of use (50-100 hours roughly), I was able to bump my clock speed up to 2.8ghz on the same voltage. This confirms the theory in my mind. Dual cores are a different breed though. I'm having alot of trouble getting both cores to like higher speeds. I have no problem running this thing at 2.6ghz on very low voltages(1.4), but to step up to 2.7-2.8ghz, this thing needs over 1.6v(which I'm not willing to do). So basically feel free to share your experiences from start to end so some of us can get an idea of what to expect, or just learn a little more. I for one, am a complete noob when it comes to dual core cpus. I'd love to learn as much as I can and I'd rather hear it from other gurus.
Opterons have to pass rigorous testing to become opterons, so I doubt that there is gonna be a noticeable difference from hour0 to hour100 of your processor. But the thermal paste that you use will need to "burn-in". I doubt that you will notice anything, and people that say they got an extra OC because of burn-in are on crack(that's what I think). They got a better OC because of something else, could be the motherboard, memory settings(opteron dual-cores are sensitive to memory timings and dividers), or cooling situation. Going topless(remove IHS) can help, its as easy as pie, but you gotta have balls to do it, and a cpu cooler that will work properly. The hardest part is putting the cpu cooler on, it can't be too tight, but it has to have a proper seat, or goodbye cpu. For me it dropped idle temps by 1-2C, but load dropped 3-5C, and I dropped voltage by about by 0.02v.
Well my temps arn't a problem. I'm idling anywhere from 17c-20c and load rarely goes over 40c. But like I said above. Even after the arctic silver had set in on my previous opteron, I couldn't go any higher. It was after about 40-50 more hours that I was able to up my clock speed on the same voltage when the same clocks 50 hours prior needed much higher voltages. No settings timings or any other settings were changed, so that lead me to believe that the burn-in period didn't have anything to do with the thermal paste, it had to do with the cpu itself. I haven't read any substantial evidence for either side saying that is it completely true or complete bs, so I wanted to hear some peoples personal experiences.
Dude if you're gonna spam, just goto the pub. I'm looking for peoples initial overclock results and then what they were able to do 50-100 hours later, not these kind of random comments.
Kyle I've seen your results verified many time's over! ... but maybe it is more noticeable in newer builds, which means it could be a combination of several new components "settling-in", in conjunction with TIM etc/etc blah blah blah (maybe others like that term better?) ... @ Shotbothsides ... Yes Opterons go through rigorous testing because they're retailed as server processors ... but all AMD chip "families" go through certain rigourous testing parameters for quality within a reasonable "Economic STD" ... IE. they cannot possibly test them all unless it's a special order for Nasa or "Homeland Security"! ... there's a major variant right there for the typical end-user market ... I still don't know why people make such a big-deal out of this ... "it is what it is!" and there is no real way to reliably predict it ... MHO But every component has a break-in/burn-in initial test phase (simple Physics!) ... WHY DO YOU Think they (AMD/Intell/Samsung/etc) "Speed-bin" for quality testing and market distribution in the 1st place ... and not all of them get tested equally ... it just not economically feasible ... this really is they very foundation of why the overclocking community even exists ... to exploit a less than perfect (ultimately boring market) ...
@ The Kyle As far as I know, I havent heard about the theory you mentioned. But it could be possible. Why? When you buy a CPU and you want to OC it, you need to take care of it and raise it slowly as if you were taking care of a child. For example, if your Opteron comes at 1.4v stock and you want to OC, just raise it to 1.425 and stay like that for 2 or 3 days before going higher. That makes your CPU stable. This is a mistake many people do when they bought a good stepping Opteron and they just think they can raise it from 2.0 to 3.0ghz the first day. This makes a completely unstable system and then they blame the processor for not being good. So, If raising your processor by little loads of voltage can help with stability during time, there could be a possibility to achive a better OC.
never heard of a burn period though. the mos timportant factor is stepping. i know mine can hit 3 ghz but i need a water cooling setup im dual priming as i talk my idle temps are 33 and load so far is topping 53-55. i can boot intowindows at 2.7 never tried priming caus eit would be stupid.... just gonna try and save up. my steeping is ccb1e 0608mpmw 4 ref. i rlly wish i had your colling kyle. your psu could also be holding you back. i think is fine though mu total wat usage is 462..
well i have a x2 3800+ that tops out at 2.8GHz@1.65v which runs too much for me on air! will lately i have been interested in getting higher overclocks at lower voltages and somehow i did it and with the same ram timings(just boosted voltage of course!) i just played my css every day and everyday i would increase my MHz by 1 untill i got so far and it crashes. I would then increase the cpu voltage by .25 untill i maxed out at 2.8GHz @ 1.65v but my 100% load temps were about 59C which ZOMG it was terrible! When i found out my max oc and the max voltage i felt was unsafe i turned the voltage down to 1.42v and the FSB back to 250! I started daily on a 1MHz increase from 250FSB and added voltage when computer becomes unstable! when i noticed i was hitting 2.6@ 1.42v BOY WAS I HAPPY! well this went on for days unitll i then reached 2.7ghz @ 1.5v i was skeptical becuase it was so much lower then before! but to continue i was able to get 2.8GHz @ 1.58v O.O man thats good to see! I wanted to go further but my PSU crapped out on me... o wellz wait till the new one comes! I wonder how much lower i can get it! before: 10x250@1.35v 10x260@1.48v 10x270@1.55v 10x280@1.65v after: 10x250@1.30v 10x260@1.42v 10x270@1.50v 10x280@1.58v i wish i could have done some screens shots of the before voltages and after! I will on the next CPU
hey kyle, dual cores are too new, i thing in 1-2 years we will know how to correctly burn in them, for a normal opty i would, lower the multi as far your mb will let you, lower the fsb even a little, then go with about 1.7v-1.8v with prime over night... look if the temps are fine(in the ~40C)... this should do the trick...
honestly ive never heard of this either... my idea is you get what you get out of the processor... but if there is a "burn in period" alot of people have yet to discover it. the best thing to do is IMO.. 1: set your processor overclock up little by little (in steps) 2: get the voltage needed for the processor to be stable with the overclock. **3: also watch the temps!.. never go anywhere over 7-10c of the max TCase max depending on your cooling. (also helps stability) 4: test for stability with the overclock. 5: if 100% stable, lower the voltage by either .125v or .25v (witch ever is supported) ** some cooling solutions may keep it from reaching the TCase max with the idle temp closer to that of the TCase max then again this is my therory.. I do know though... with a change in a cooling solution from say H2O to phase-change. this also helps the overclock.. because we all know that silicon dose not like heat!.. now from a personal experiance... when i got my processor to first overclock to 2.92ghz on air. i had a voltage of 1.425v. i tested for stability for over 24hrs. once i had it 100% stable. i tryed to see if i could lower the voltage a little and i was able to hit 2.92ghz @ 1.375v. so if there is a "burn-in period".. it will varry with the processor.
