PII X3 720 new build!

[Peen]

So getting sick of waiting for my i7 stuff to get here decided I would buy some new PII parts

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.203011

Not a bad deal, plus you get $20 off billmelater so I did that.

Hopefully I can unlock the 4th core too! Will update this thread later :trophy:

[Kal-EL]

WOw, that is a cheap combo for a beat on board/cpu. Might have to give it a whirl.

[Neuromancer]

Nice can't wait to see your results.

I might have damaged my 550 or mobo going for those ~4GHz benches the last 24 hours straight lol Temps have stayed great throughout so can't be sure.

Thinking of selling my PhII 920 quad and foxconn board and grabbing another x2 and the gigabyte 790X board with it. (Should be about 200 bucks as well and I will not have to buy DDR3 :) )

Once I am done benching, will have to start filling out the AMD forum a bit. So many Intel guys around here, it is starting to develop dust bunnies
Not sure what 720s to get but so far the week 21 550s have pretty much all unlocked.

[Peen]

Yeah I can't wait! I want my i7 stuff back too.

Ordered a 720BE, ASUS M4A78T-E, 2GB DDR3 OCZ Reaper (small amount for testing) and a thing of MX-2 all for $215 shipped not bad!

And my new Corsair 850HX should be here tmr

Should be a fun week if nothing explodes again

[Splave]

bang for your buck fun for AMD is top notch. Just decided to dive back into the good old AM2+ AM3 game myself. Great find on that bundle bro, might have to hit that up as well.

[Neuromancer]

Wow that is a good deal, did not realize you got ram and paste all in htat price too.

[GeorgeStorm]

Loooking forward to this, any updates?
Ive got a 720 sitting on my desk, probably going to pair it with:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?ASU-M3N7TD
bench under my SS, looking forward to it!

[Bones]

Should have the stuff to do my AM3 build by mid-week coming up.

It's based on a X3 720 BE (0904 date chip), MSI 790FX-GD70 and some OCZ RAM. For now I will be using what I have onhand to complete the rest including a PC Power & Cooling 750W PSU I'm currently running with my 939 system.

Should be enough to get things started and be able to see what this chip can do. Going H2O for cooling straightaway since I already have the setup for it and definitely better than air alone.
Will postup initial results after I take the time to tinker with it to figure things out with this new build.

[Bones]

As promised, here are some initial testing results. Mind you I'm just starting to figure this system out and what it likes/needs for OC'ing.
I've been able to get my RAM speeds up since and also working on the best settings for these sticks.

So far, not bad for doing it on air ( Having to hold off watercooling it for now) but I've still a long way to go yet.

[Neuromancer]

WOW

4GHz on air with a 720? That is sweet.

[DrNip]

Still need to get me an AMD setup again. Must find time and money!

[Bones]

Thanks guys.

Believe this chip is a good one esp in comparison to others I've seen with their speeds vs voltage used to get there. I've noticed several chips needing 1.5v just to hit 3900MHz according to a chart I've been looking at.
Check it out here:
http://www.overclock.net/amd-cpus/475649-amd-phenom-ii-x3-700-series.html

The speed I hit was right on par with most chips listed in the "Suicide Run" heading of this chart with alot less voltage used for that clockspeed.

If I can get my cooling squared away properly, may be able to do alot more here with it. I've already noted this chip is sensitive to heat in a big way and my current cooling is the biggest factor holding me back right now.

[Kal-EL]

Charts like those help AMD noobs like me compare the pwnage, thx Bones, ur doing great and so is that chip.

[Bones]

Thanks Supes and still learning this system as a whole but it's coming along. Charts can give you an idea of what to expect on average.

It's good my chip appears to be better than most so far and eventual benching will tell the real story.

[Kal-EL]

If I'm lookin at the right chip on the bot, it looks like 1.46vCore for 4ghz on the better than average chips.

[Bones]

If that's right, maybe this one is a "Golden" chip but even with the way it does with lower voltage, no guarantees yet.
I've seen and had chips that responded very well to voltage, scaled wonderfully - Then hit the wall and woudn't go further for some reason, no matter what was tried.
Hoping this one won't behave like that.

[Kal-EL]

Well, the tendancy is that the hotter (leaky voltage chips) tend to clock higher and scale higher under frostyness than the well behaved voltage/temp/clock chips.

[Bones]

All I can hope for is maybe this one has a bit of a mean-streak in it somewhere.

Only one way to find out....

[Bones]

Still have work to do here (Never ends does it?) and looks like I may have hit the wall for now.
Not bad for something on air but I know it could be better. Supes, looks like you hit the nail on the head as to how this chip behaves "As Is" but I know there's more somewhere in there. It's now a matter of finding it.

Believe setting it up with WC'ing is the only way to get more speed from it at this point in the game. I did note a real spike in temps once speeds got above 4.0 and that has to be the issue here with it.

Get temps down and speeds up is the mission here. :wh2:

However I do like the MHz speeds I've been getting from my RAM with the timings used. Still have work to do there as well and know I had the timings really tight with these runs.

[Neuromancer]

Looks liek the new 720s reall open up on am3 motherboards. I may have to grab one to see if my 550 performs any better with ddr3.

[Bones]

Looks liek the new 720s reall open up on am3 motherboards. I may have to grab one to see if my 550 performs any better with ddr3.

I'd have to say go for it if you can.