Chaintech vnf3-250 // A64 temps

eggs420 · Sep 17, 2004, 05:14 PM

Hey all. Got my new seksi athlon in this week and I've been poking around at it. Has anybody used a vnf3-250 from chaintech? Care to share tidbits? The origional bios had a screwed temp reading, so I flashed up to the latest which is the late-7/04 bios, the second official..Skipped all those betas in between as they seemed to be pretty buggy. Instantly after flashing my temps doubled, or more. I am now sitting mostly idle at 47c (3668 HSF RPM), peaking about 60c full load with 5600rpm's at that point. But if I lock down my ram and OC the athlon up to like 2.2ghz, I get only a few degrees higher under load. I've overclocked almost every processessor owned to date and always have seen larger temp increases with that "lets push it" first OC. I fear that this board's readings are _way_ off. Based on room temp last night and some thinking, I came up with the idea that the board is reading about 10c too high. I get the same readings from the bios and all windows utilities(SF, MBM, DD, aida, etc), too.

So, anyone have an a64 2800+ or even 3000+ with retail hsf to share their temps/speeds at? Also please include estimated (look at thermostat for heat/ac?) room temp, along with the case ambient if possible.

Also, anyone have a cheap suggestion for a thermal probe/display? I froogled and poked around but I didn't find too much for detailed descriptions of them..Want something with a long run from the display to the probe and an insulated, flat probe to work with ideally.

I love this chip..zillion times improvement over my xp2100..I just don't want it to melt, ya know??

I read someplace that the a64's are rated to 70c, but to expect stability issues above 65c. That seems a bit hot to me, considering I appear to hit 60c stock with a case temp around 36c (again, screwed up temps possibly). Right now at 47c I can stick my fingers all over the heatsink's sides and it is hardly warm....I think I'll toss some silver onto it and see what happens then..Didn't wanna muck with any of that off the bat to ensure I didn't break it if it didnt work..hehe.

eggs420 · Sep 17, 2004, 06:12 PM

Ok wow. I've never had this happen. I locked down the cpu when I first installed it, but the locking bar is not very firm I noticed. No biggie I thought - I've never had an issue there before. So I release the retension bracket over the hsf and go to wiggle it free of the cpu compound and it just wouldnt budge. Wiggle wiggle gentle yank and it was free. I turn it over to inspect the hsf surface and what is stuck to it? The cpu, with two bent pins. :o I was able to straighten them back out w/a pin and clean it up and all still, but damn. Close call! But, I now idle at 44c with the thin layer of generic 10% silver and the fan stepped down to 3200rpm. I still don't like that temp though..

dipstick · Sep 18, 2004, 05:45 PM

Most A64 boards are a little off on the temps(on the high side) so I would not worry about it too much. My ZNF I remember was also off by like 10 degrees.
You got lucky with the pins though, if that happens again try to twist the hsf before lifting it out to break the seal.

eggs420 · Sep 18, 2004, 06:09 PM

Yeah, that's hard with these a64 brackets though..Not much room for moving it anywhere but up until you clear the edges (aka yank cpu from socket). On the plus side, I only peak with load about 53c after the new compound.

I'm very interested in an external probe..The cheaper the better, so long as it reports the right temp...Is it really that hard for the board makers to include the right temp?? This seems just downright silly..They don't test the temps with a 3rd party probe to ensure the board reports it right? Anywho......

From all estimates it looks like the board is indeed reading +10c..Real room temp = 21c, case = 36c, cpu = 54c full load. I have the case open and many case fans zooming, so that case temp does look a bit strong considering the above + it is near an open window with a nice cool breeze...

deadly-app · Sep 19, 2004, 06:31 AM

well, a64's do run quite warm, as well as you using a retail hsf.
you wont get good temps thats for sure, and around 44 idle is probably about right.

eggs420 · Sep 20, 2004, 07:30 AM

Really? I have excellent air flow, vga cooler, etc..I am not worried now though. I've read in many places that under 70c is fine for an a64, combined with the a64 and higher than actual temp reporting reports. I peak low enough now after an additional intake fan with a decent OC (slow ram), and she's stable as a rock.

I did also notice an issue with amd's c&q driver. I installed the sucker, twice, and it did not update the cpu driver. I then downloaded the .zip archive of it and manually updated the driver, and I am not 100% sure but I think my temps lowered..Too lazy to check, but I am sure they did not install correctly with the installer .exe..heh.

Vampyromaniac · Sep 20, 2004, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eggs420

So, anyone have an a64 2800+ or even 3000+ with retail hsf to share their temps/speeds at? Also please include estimated (look at thermostat for heat/ac?) room temp, along with the case ambient if possible.

Hey, I have the 3000+

At stock speed (2000 MHz), I get 31ÂºC idle, and 46ÂºC load, room temp was ~76ÂºF.
This was with Cool n' Quiet enabled, with Arctic Silver 3 on the CPU, and stock AMD heatsink.
Load temp was while encoding video to DivX.

I think your temp could be due to motherboard sensor offsets being off by a bit, a BIOS may fix it later.

Quote:

I love this chip..zillion times improvement over my xp2100..

I know what you mean

hehe

eggs420 · Sep 20, 2004, 10:53 AM

Ahha..I didn't read these forums too much for a little bit, and I missed those threads. Sorta amusing how our upgrades went, given the athlon xp/ecs combos to this, but hey so long as we're happy, right?

Cool and quiet is broken in this bios release (and all before), and chaintech claims it will be fixed in the next release within 'few months'.

Good posts you made though with the graphs -- I'm far too lazy, I even reinstalled windows over putting the old ecs board back in to remove the ide drivers.

Very usefull in confirming that indeed, these chips are great.

Sep 17, 2004, 05:14 PM	#1
eggs420 my bud > yours Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: chicago Posts: 399 Rep Power: 0	Chaintech vnf3-250 // A64 temps Hey all. Got my new seksi athlon in this week and I've been poking around at it. Has anybody used a vnf3-250 from chaintech? Care to share tidbits? The origional bios had a screwed temp reading, so I flashed up to the latest which is the late-7/04 bios, the second official..Skipped all those betas in between as they seemed to be pretty buggy. Instantly after flashing my temps doubled, or more. I am now sitting mostly idle at 47c (3668 HSF RPM), peaking about 60c full load with 5600rpm's at that point. But if I lock down my ram and OC the athlon up to like 2.2ghz, I get only a few degrees higher under load. I've overclocked almost every processessor owned to date and always have seen larger temp increases with that "lets push it" first OC. I fear that this board's readings are _way_ off. Based on room temp last night and some thinking, I came up with the idea that the board is reading about 10c too high. I get the same readings from the bios and all windows utilities(SF, MBM, DD, aida, etc), too. So, anyone have an a64 2800+ or even 3000+ with retail hsf to share their temps/speeds at? Also please include estimated (look at thermostat for heat/ac?) room temp, along with the case ambient if possible. Also, anyone have a cheap suggestion for a thermal probe/display? I froogled and poked around but I didn't find too much for detailed descriptions of them..Want something with a long run from the display to the probe and an insulated, flat probe to work with ideally. I love this chip..zillion times improvement over my xp2100..I just don't want it to melt, ya know?? I read someplace that the a64's are rated to 70c, but to expect stability issues above 65c. That seems a bit hot to me, considering I appear to hit 60c stock with a case temp around 36c (again, screwed up temps possibly). Right now at 47c I can stick my fingers all over the heatsink's sides and it is hardly warm....I think I'll toss some silver onto it and see what happens then..Didn't wanna muck with any of that off the bat to ensure I didn't break it if it didnt work..hehe. __________________ AMD64 2800+ // Chaintech VNF3-250 // 2X512mb PDI ddr400 2-3-2-5 // 80gb 7200RPM WD w/8mb cache // Leadtek 6800GT // 144kbit IDSL Clan -=CCC=- Admin 69.31.96.68 BF2 PUBLIC RANKED SERVER 205.218.65.236 BF2 DEMO SERVER

Sep 17, 2004, 06:12 PM	Thread Starter #2
eggs420 my bud > yours Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: chicago Posts: 399 Rep Power: 0	Ok wow. I've never had this happen. I locked down the cpu when I first installed it, but the locking bar is not very firm I noticed. No biggie I thought - I've never had an issue there before. So I release the retension bracket over the hsf and go to wiggle it free of the cpu compound and it just wouldnt budge. Wiggle wiggle gentle yank and it was free. I turn it over to inspect the hsf surface and what is stuck to it? The cpu, with two bent pins. :o I was able to straighten them back out w/a pin and clean it up and all still, but damn. Close call! But, I now idle at 44c with the thin layer of generic 10% silver and the fan stepped down to 3200rpm. I still don't like that temp though.. __________________ AMD64 2800+ // Chaintech VNF3-250 // 2X512mb PDI ddr400 2-3-2-5 // 80gb 7200RPM WD w/8mb cache // Leadtek 6800GT // 144kbit IDSL Clan -=CCC=- Admin 69.31.96.68 BF2 PUBLIC RANKED SERVER 205.218.65.236 BF2 DEMO SERVER

Sep 18, 2004, 06:09 PM	Thread Starter #4
eggs420 my bud > yours Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: chicago Posts: 399 Rep Power: 0	Yeah, that's hard with these a64 brackets though..Not much room for moving it anywhere but up until you clear the edges (aka yank cpu from socket). On the plus side, I only peak with load about 53c after the new compound. I'm very interested in an external probe..The cheaper the better, so long as it reports the right temp...Is it really that hard for the board makers to include the right temp?? This seems just downright silly..They don't test the temps with a 3rd party probe to ensure the board reports it right? Anywho...... From all estimates it looks like the board is indeed reading +10c..Real room temp = 21c, case = 36c, cpu = 54c full load. I have the case open and many case fans zooming, so that case temp does look a bit strong considering the above + it is near an open window with a nice cool breeze... __________________ AMD64 2800+ // Chaintech VNF3-250 // 2X512mb PDI ddr400 2-3-2-5 // 80gb 7200RPM WD w/8mb cache // Leadtek 6800GT // 144kbit IDSL Clan -=CCC=- Admin 69.31.96.68 BF2 PUBLIC RANKED SERVER 205.218.65.236 BF2 DEMO SERVER

Sep 20, 2004, 07:30 AM	Thread Starter #6
eggs420 my bud > yours Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: chicago Posts: 399 Rep Power: 0	Really? I have excellent air flow, vga cooler, etc..I am not worried now though. I've read in many places that under 70c is fine for an a64, combined with the a64 and higher than actual temp reporting reports. I peak low enough now after an additional intake fan with a decent OC (slow ram), and she's stable as a rock. I did also notice an issue with amd's c&q driver. I installed the sucker, twice, and it did not update the cpu driver. I then downloaded the .zip archive of it and manually updated the driver, and I am not 100% sure but I think my temps lowered..Too lazy to check, but I am sure they did not install correctly with the installer .exe..heh. __________________ AMD64 2800+ // Chaintech VNF3-250 // 2X512mb PDI ddr400 2-3-2-5 // 80gb 7200RPM WD w/8mb cache // Leadtek 6800GT // 144kbit IDSL Clan -=CCC=- Admin 69.31.96.68 BF2 PUBLIC RANKED SERVER 205.218.65.236 BF2 DEMO SERVER

Sep 20, 2004, 10:53 AM	Thread Starter #8
eggs420 my bud > yours Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: chicago Posts: 399 Rep Power: 0	Ahha..I didn't read these forums too much for a little bit, and I missed those threads. Sorta amusing how our upgrades went, given the athlon xp/ecs combos to this, but hey so long as we're happy, right? Cool and quiet is broken in this bios release (and all before), and chaintech claims it will be fixed in the next release within 'few months'. Good posts you made though with the graphs -- I'm far too lazy, I even reinstalled windows over putting the old ecs board back in to remove the ide drivers. Very usefull in confirming that indeed, these chips are great. __________________ AMD64 2800+ // Chaintech VNF3-250 // 2X512mb PDI ddr400 2-3-2-5 // 80gb 7200RPM WD w/8mb cache // Leadtek 6800GT // 144kbit IDSL Clan -=CCC=- Admin 69.31.96.68 BF2 PUBLIC RANKED SERVER 205.218.65.236 BF2 DEMO SERVER

Sep 18, 2004, 05:45 PM	#3
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	Most A64 boards are a little off on the temps(on the high side) so I would not worry about it too much. My ZNF I remember was also off by like 10 degrees. You got lucky with the pins though, if that happens again try to twist the hsf before lifting it out to break the seal.

Sep 19, 2004, 06:31 AM	#5
deadly-app DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 10 Rep Power: 0	well, a64's do run quite warm, as well as you using a retail hsf. you wont get good temps thats for sure, and around 44 idle is probably about right.