Fire & Ice

I just want to share our recently concluded lanparty last Feb 23

Zalman GT1000 Chasis Featured

More Zalman Products!

MORE POWER TO CRAZYCOOL TECH! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT!

Updated my rig with the following:

DFI Lanparty UT P35 TR2

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400

The year 2007 has been filled been a wonderful year! This time I welcome the new year 2008 with great hope and anticipation. I hope this will be a better year than last.

Christmas was a very lively experience for our family unlike new year where we usually greet it more solemnly with just my Family. We had an American style cuisine for our buena noche. We had stuffed turkey for dinner and it tasted great! It also symbolized new year in such a way that it was also my first time to sample turkey cooked American style. Until yesterday I’ve only tasted lechon turkey which tasted pretty much like lechon manok.

We had our Christmas Party at my Aunt’s new house. It was also a house warming party where relatives had time to gather for the holidays. The house was really nice with its Mediterranean Style. It looks very much like Pearl Farm since the house was previously owned by one of its owners.

The 2nd DCWarez Lanparty was as success! There were more and more participants for the said events. Members were able to show case their latest and hottest gaming rigs plus the all important bonding among members. Though one cannot say its a flawless success, it is nonetheless on its way to becoming one.

I hope at the next lanparty, the network will be setup much better and that more and more water cooled rigs from lanparty goers. Also don’t forget that Gigabit switch for a faster net access! More power to the Lanparty Culture!

My father just got a hold of a new camera given to him by his brother-in-law. Its just an entry-level SLR digital camera but its a big leap for us film users.

My interest in Photography has dwindled for quite sometime due to the ever increasing cost of film and having the same processed and printed. With this hand me down digital camera, my interest was brought back to life. I won’t have to worry anymore that my film is running out. Equipped with a total of 2GB of compact flash disk, I would be able to take numerous high quality photos.

I have been looking at my rig for quite a while now, and it really bothers me that the inside is not painted black. The only problem is, it is going to be a very laborious endeavor since I will have to strip down a really big case with some high end water cooling installed.

I reckon it would help conceal some of the wiring mess that can be readily gleaned from the inside. I did the same with a much cheaper case before, but this time it would take me more patience and practice so that I won’t mess up the paint job. It would probably cost me more as well since the size of this case is really big compared to standard size ATX Cases.

I have been visiting different forums regarding how I would be able to paint the insides black. There is no mistake though, the case is already beautiful even without modifications. Its even regarded as the Lamborghini of computer cases. Its just that I’m a sucker for black.

Perhaps when I would drain my water loop for maintenance, I would strip down my rig and my case as well and get that 3-day long paint job done.

But for now, I need to dust of this monster and get it ready for the Lanparty later today.

I finally got into the world of blogging thanks to Karl. It has been a long time since I was given an opportunity to express my thoughts and this opportunity really has open new doors for me.

It is way past lunchtime and we still have a Law School Christmas party to celebrate, I’ll leave the site as it is for now.

Intel Overclocking 101 - PART I

DISCLAIMER: OC at your own risk! READ BEFORE YOU OC, Not the other way around! I’m just a noob so get tons of salt according to the OC Master if you’re going to follow this guide.

Choice of Components
In any project, one should consider how much one is willing to spend. One should also choose an overclocking goal, whether to gain high-end performance at a budget or get the ultimate performance at any price. Thus, setting a realistic budget and based on that budget, one should choose the appropriate components for overclocking. One does not have to break the bank when overclocking.

In overclocking the following components should be taken into consideration in the following components:

Motherboard: The choice of a motherboard is the most important because it is the motherboard which determines how far you can push your components. One should be looking for a motherboard with overclocking capabilities.

Memory: Most users ignore the importance of memory in overclocking by claiming that overclocking RAM does not yield significant performance gains. However, little do they know that memory overclocking is actually closely tied to CPU overclocking. For example overclocking a Core 2 Duo E6550 to (428FSBx7) 3.0Ghz would require RAM that is capable of running faster than DDR2-800 (428FSBx2=DDR2-856). Stay away from value RAM as much as possible when going for higher clocks.

Power Supply Unit: Overclocked components need more power in order to run at high speeds thus the choice of a power supply should not be overlooked. Many users neglect their PSU and end up with unstable systems even when running their system at stock speeds, or worse burned components. Look for power supplies that have rock stable 12V+ rails with a good amperage flowing through it. In the choice of a PSU remember that power quality is more important than wattage. GENERIC PSU’s ARE A BIG NO NO! (Its like recommending a generic 500W PSU to power an 8800GTX!)

Cooling: As discussed earlier overclocking components equate to greater heat output and greater heat poses threat to your system stability and/or physical hardware damage. Thus, it is imperative to provide good cooling for the overclocked parts.

CPU: Core 2 Duo processors are well known overclockers and thus it is the user’s budget which will ultimately determine what processor to use. But bear in mind that no two processors are alike thus, if one is aiming for higher overclocks, research first on what CPU batches overclock well.

Let’s get it on!

Before proceeding, I advise that you visit your motherboard’s manual and re-acquaint yourself with you computer components. Knowing and understanding how these parts work will help you in the world of overclocking.

Now that I have given a brief background on overclocking, it’s now time to actually overclock the system and discover its wonders.

For this guide I will be using the following components:

 

Rig Specs

Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Batch/FPO 3718A650

DFI Infinity P965-S Dark

2GB Team Xtreem DDR2-1066

Palit 8800GT Sonic 512MB GDDR3 256-bit
160GB Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM SATA II 8MB Cache

320GB Western Digital Caviar 7200RPM SATA II 16MB Cache

Liteon 18X DVD-Writer /w LS

Corsair HX 620W Modular PSU

Cooler Master Stacker 832

Water Cooling
Dtek Fusion Extreme CPU Block

Swiftech MCR-220

Swiftech MCP655-B

Swiftech MCRES-MICRO Reservior

Durelene 7/16″ ID x 5/8″ OD Tubings

Dual Thermaltake A2018s 120mm Blue LED Smart fans.

In overclocking there are three basic steps to follow: 1) Initial Preparations; 2) CPU Overclocking; 3) Memory Overclocking and; 4) GPU overclocking.

Part I will cover Initial Preparations and CPU Overclocking.

Initial Preparations Before proceeding with overclocking one must test the system at stock and check for stability issues and gather temperature readings.

1. Set your heatsink fan controller to manual, and in full/maximum power.
2. Set your Memory a step down lower, i.e. from DDR2-800 to DDR2-533 (1:1),
3. Set your Memory Timing to SPD, or check the markings on the RAM, add +0.5 to 1.0 value to each, and enter it on the BIOS i.e. CL4-4-4-12 to CL5-5-5-15.
4. Set PCI Clock to 100Mhz
5. Disable the CPU C1E, EIST, VT functions;
6. Disable Spread Spectrum;
7. Set voltages manually: (May vary depending on the parts used)

* vCore = 1.35v
* vDIMM = 2.1v
* Note: Most RAM’s have a default of 1.8v-1.9v, Micron D9GMH based RAM work best if set to 2.1v for a start to ensure maximum stability.
* Northbridge (vMCH) = 1.25v
* FSB Termination Voltage/VTT Voltage = 1.20v
* Sourthbridge = 1.5v

8. Boot your system on stock, run Orthos Blend, priority 9 preferably for 1 hour, and record idle, average, and peak temperature.
9. Benchmark your system using 3DMark 2006, Super Pi Mod 1.5 XS, Sisoftware Sandra 2007, Everest 2007, or any other tool you like and record your results.
10. Backup you precious data! Overclocking can and may corrupt your Operating System and other important files, especially when using SATA Drives! Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Final Preparations
Before you OC the hell out of your rig, observe first the effect of a mild overclock on your system temperatures.

1. Bump your FSB by 10Mhz;
2. Boot, run Orthos Blend, priority 9 preferably for 1 hour, and record idle, average, and peak temperature.
3. Compare the temperature with your stock settings. If temperature goes up 10c higher than stock, stop and get a better heatsink or review your case ventilation. Otherwise, go to next step.

CPU Overclocking

1. Bump the FSB 5-10 notches; (Depends on your current skill and confidence)
2. Boot, run Orthos Blend priority 9 for 15 minutes and record idle, average, and peak temperatures.
3. Compare the temperature with your stock settings.
4. If your OC is stable, go back to steps 1-3, otherwise… proceed.
5. You MAY have hit the wall. Which is it? It’s up to you to find out and have fun.

Note: You may achieve your target overclock before hitting instability issues, and if you’re happy with it you may stop there… Yah, right!

Troubleshooting Guide Questions in order of priority:

Maybe your CPU needs more voltage?
Maybe your CPU needs to be cooler?
Maybe it’s the max your CPU can handle?
Maybe your RAM hate lax timing or tight timings?
Maybe your RAM needs more voltage?
Maybe your RAM needs to be cooler?
Maybe it’s the max your RAM can handle?
Maybe your Northbridge needs more voltage?
Maybe your Northbridge needs to be cooler?
Maybe it is the max your Northbridge can handle?
Maybe your PSU needs to replaced?
Maybe you need to look into your Southbridge?
(Thanks to Master DM!)

IMPORTANT: After passing Orthos Blend 9 for 15 mins using your desired OC settings and have decided to stick with it, run Orthos Blend 9 again for 8 HOURS!! If it fails before 8 hours, refer to the guide questions above for troubleshooting.

Benchmark your OVERCLOCKED system using 3DMark 2006, Super Pi Mod 1.5 XS, Sisoftware Sandra 2007, Everest 2007, or any other tool you like and record your results.

Now, who wants to run at stock?

More to come! Watch for the memory OC and tweaking guide!

Good Luck! Be safe, and enjoy $$$$ worth of savings. OC brings High-end performance without breaking the bank.

OC Guide Version 1.2

When: December 22, 2007

Where: Blinque, Matina Davao City

Time: 7:00pm till you drop!

I cannot miss this 2nd Lanparty since I missed the first one. Time to showcase the best water-cooled rig in Davao for the time being. hehehe

Chiboy, Eman, and Karl, your water kits were delayed because of the holiday rush. They will be available for your pleasure before the year ends… when that time comes… I’ll still have the 2nd best water-cooled rig in Davao! You guys can have the Top slot since you all have identical customized kits.