Assistance needed on freshening up a Dell

[denim]

I have a trusty Dell desktop that is not too old, but was initially bought a few years back, with the idea of being used for the most simple of daily tasks for my mother. We have since bought her a nice little Toshiba lappy and is very happy with it. So now, the trusty little Dell needs a boost in Horse Power. Since it has been a few years since I last juiced up a desktop, I could not think of a better place to ask for help, especially since this machine will be continuing it's main job as a cruncher for us. It is a simple machine with a 2.53 CeleronD and XP.

So my two questions are:

1. What ram can I get to improve performance for this machine?

2. Is there a GPU available for this box that will work for projects like PG, Moo, Einstien or MW? If not, a suggested inexpensive GPU just to keep me sane while I use the machine daily.

Box info:

Service tag: FM9HZB1
CPID: http://stats.free-dc.org/stats.php?page=hostbycpid&cpid=25bef8fbe7a9a20355a354f31695eef9

What other info do I need to provide to help in the efforts?

Thank you!
Aaron

[Fire$torm]

Well since I'm the first to respond I could use more info as the Dell online service manual lists two different versions. The eassy way would be to run CPU-Z. (http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html) CPU-Z will give very detailed info on the system hardware. After CPU-Z starts click on the "About" tab and then in the bottom section labeled "Tools" click the "Save Report (.TXT)" button. Next add the report to your next post as an attachment.

F$

[denim]

Thank you for the very clear and detailed reply. The report does not seem to want to attach to the post via the uploader due to it being 34.5k and the forum limit for this type of file is 19.5k (find that hard to believe).

So I just uploaded it quick to my old mediafire account:

http://www.mediafire.com/view/?80cjhwrwywej6nt

Thank you.

[John P. Myers]

Max RAM is 2GB DDR PC3200

Only slots on motherboard are 3 PCIs, so gonna need 3 of these as the best you can do: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500221 They should get you up to ~210k credits/day

The CPU can only be upgraded to a P4 so really not worth it.

[Fire$torm]

Max RAM is 2GB DDR PC3200

Only slots on motherboard are 3 PCIs, so gonna need 3 of these as the best you can do: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500221 They should get you up to ~210k credits/day

The CPU can only be upgraded to a P4 so really not worth it.

Except I have a Pentium 4@2.8Ghz Socket-478 denim can have for free. Specs (Here (http://ark.intel.com/products/27453/Intel-Pentium-4-Processor-511-%281M-Cache-2_80A-GHz-533-MHz-FSB%29)) Note: This Pentium 4 uses 32-bit instruction set so you can only run a 32-bit OS.

Also, I have to dig through my parts box to be sure but I think I have a few sticks of PC3200 512BM or 1GB RAM. If I can find them there yours denim.

Side note:
If you are interested I think some of us on the team might be able to come up with better hardware that will fit that box. I will ask around to see what is out there.

For my part I have a 420 Watt PSU, some DDR2 RAM I have to inventory, a nVidia 9800GT GPU, and an AMD Athlon x2 Dual Core CPU. Someone else might be able to do better on the CPU....

F$

[kaptainkarl1]

Max RAM is 2GB DDR PC3200

Only slots on motherboard are 3 PCIs, so gonna need 3 of these as the best you can do: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500221 They should get you up to ~210k credits/day

The CPU can only be upgraded to a P4 so really not worth it.

I just did this to a HP Dual Core and with the 3 GPUs John recommends it cranks out 200k daily now from dirt for a $150 investment. They had them at comp usa for $50 after a rebate.

I just added a USB fan to cool the GPUs but you may have to add an extra fan or such as I also left the case open.

[Fire$torm]

I just did this to a HP Dual Core and with the 3 GPUs John recommends it cranks out 200k daily now from dirt for a $150 investment. They had them at comp usa for $50 after a rebate.

I just added a USB fan to cool the GPUs but you may have to add an extra fan or such as I also left the case open.

Yeah, that case is not made for crunching. My old Keithinator box had that same case. My mods to help ventilate it were dead dog ugly... but it worked.

[denim]

Max RAM is 2GB DDR PC3200

Only slots on motherboard are 3 PCIs, so gonna need 3 of these as the best you can do: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500221 They should get you up to ~210k credits/day

The CPU can only be upgraded to a P4 so really not worth it.

Thank you very much for the reply and suggestion John. So you feel that is a good idea to grab three of these GPU's?

I will go with which ever you guys feel is the best use of this box and money spent on upgrading it.

[denim]

Except I have a Pentium 4@2.8Ghz Socket-478 denim can have for free. Specs (Here (http://ark.intel.com/products/27453/Intel-Pentium-4-Processor-511-%281M-Cache-2_80A-GHz-533-MHz-FSB%29)) Note: This Pentium 4 uses 32-bit instruction set so you can only run a 32-bit OS.

Also, I have to dig through my parts box to be sure but I think I have a few sticks of PC3200 512BM or 1GB RAM. If I can find them there yours denim.

Side note:
If you are interested I think some of us on the team might be able to come up with better hardware that will fit that box. I will ask around to see what is out there.

For my part I have a 420 Watt PSU, some DDR2 RAM I have to inventory, a nVidia 9800GT GPU, and an AMD Athlon x2 Dual Core CPU. Someone else might be able to do better on the CPU....

F$

Wow, thank you. I would feel strange taking freebies. Can the CPU (as I have never done it, only spectated) be swaped out as easy as RAM with zero adjustments from the fool at the keyboard?

As for that nVidia 9800, would it be more effective to run that single card, or grab three of the one's John suggested?

[denim]

Yeah, that case is not made for crunching. My old Keithinator box had that same case. My mods to help ventilate it were dead dog ugly... but it worked.


I'm not worried about pretty (cars and women do not apply to that statement). ;)

[Fire$torm]

Wow, thank you. I would feel strange taking freebies. Can the CPU (as I have never done it, only spectated) be swaped out as easy as RAM with zero adjustments from the fool at the keyboard?

As for that nVidia 9800, would it be more effective to run that single card, or grab three of the one's John suggested?

Swapping CPUs is slightly more involved then RAM. Mainly cleaning the Thermal Interface Material (TIM), aka CPU paste, off of the CPU and heatsink. That is easily done with Isopropyl alcohol and a clean lint free (Micro Fiber) cloth.

For applying new paste there are several schools of thought on this and is a huge ongoing debate on many techie forums but I won't bore you with it. Instead I'll point you to rational sources for some quick tutorials.

NCIX: Installing Thermal Compound (NCIX Tech Tips #11) Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRRWbQUqW1Y)

[H]ard|OCP: Thermal Paste Shootout - Q209 (pg. 3 - Applying the paste) (http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/04/07/thermal_paste_shootout_q209/3)

Note that the NCIX video demos two CPU coolers that are not used much anymore. If after looking at your system, you find it hard to figure out then take a pic and post it. Then I can find a youtube video (hopefully) that matches your cooler.

The 9800GT is an old GPU. A dinosaur in tech terms. I offered as an alternative to shelling out cash. But to answer your question, there of those 430s with totally smoke the 9800.

F$

PS. No reply yet to my first PM about helping you but I did find Three Pentium 4 CPUs in my collection. Two are Socket 478 so they will work with your current MB and the other is Socket 775. I also found a Socket 775 MB that has (x2) PCI slots and (x1) PCIe x16 slot. I was also able to dig up the 420 Watt PSU I mentioned before.

I forget to go through my RAM collection but I promise to do that tomorrow.

[John P. Myers]

I forget to go through my RAM collection but I promise to do that tomorrow.

One of his sticks of RAM is already a 1GB. 1 more and he'll be all set there :)

[Fire$torm]

One of his sticks of RAM is already a 1GB. 1 more and he'll be all set there :)

DOH.... I missed that. :-$

[denim]

Swapping CPUs is slightly more involved then RAM. Mainly cleaning the Thermal Interface Material (TIM), aka CPU paste, off of the CPU and heatsink. That is easily done with Isopropyl alcohol and a clean lint free (Micro Fiber) cloth.

For applying new paste there are several schools of thought on this and is a huge ongoing debate on many techie forums but I won't bore you with it. Instead I'll point you to rational sources for some quick tutorials.

NCIX: Installing Thermal Compound (NCIX Tech Tips #11) Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRRWbQUqW1Y)

[H]ard|OCP: Thermal Paste Shootout - Q209 (pg. 3 - Applying the paste) (http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/04/07/thermal_paste_shootout_q209/3)

Note that the NCIX video demos two CPU coolers that are not used much anymore. If after looking at your system, you find it hard to figure out then take a pic and post it. Then I can find a youtube video (hopefully) that matches your cooler.

The 9800GT is an old GPU. A dinosaur in tech terms. I offered as an alternative to shelling out cash. But to answer your question, there of those 430s with totally smoke the 9800.

F$

PS. No reply yet to my first PM about helping you but I did find Three Pentium 4 CPUs in my collection. Two are Socket 478 so they will work with your current MB and the other is Socket 775. I also found a Socket 775 MB that has (x2) PCI slots and (x1) PCIe x16 slot. I was also able to dig up the 420 Watt PSU I mentioned before.

I forget to go through my RAM collection but I promise to do that tomorrow.

Thank you for the links. I will check them out as upgrading the CPU would be very nice, especially if it is a dual core. There is nothing wrong with the Celeron D in this box, it is just pretty pokey and seems to get loaded quickly.

GPU wise, would my machine allow me to grab a 430 or two and run your 9800 also?

I am sorry for so many questions, I am just rusty on the hardware side and over the last few years have become strictly an end user. No rush on the RAM, if you find something, that would be great if not no worries I can buy a stick if it is the best approach. Going up to 2GB would be nice, maybe attempt to run some Lattice on this box.

[Fire$torm]

Thank you for the links. I will check them out as upgrading the CPU would be very nice, especially if it is a dual core. There is nothing wrong with the Celeron D in this box, it is just pretty pokey and seems to get loaded quickly.

GPU wise, would my machine allow me to grab a 430 or two and run your 9800 also?

I am sorry for so many questions, I am just rusty on the hardware side and over the last few years have become strictly an end user. No rush on the RAM, if you find something, that would be great if not no worries I can buy a stick if it is the best approach. Going up to 2GB would be nice, maybe attempt to run some Lattice on this box.


No worries with the questions. I really do not mind.

For the CPUs, the AMD would need a different MB then the one you have now. Unfortunately I do not have a working MB for that AMD. The Pentium 4s I mentioned are all single core CPUs.

Your current system cannot use the 9800GT since it does not have a PCIe slot.

Now I do have a Socket-775 Micro-ATX MB that can use two of the Pentium CPUs I mention previously. Plus it has two PCI slots (that will accept the 430) and one PCIe slot that will accept the 9800GT.
If I can find a heatsink for this MB then you won't have to bother with installing the CPU as I can do the assembly before shipping. I would do it anyway to make sure the hardware still works..... :P

Now I think the AMD Athlon-64 x2 would be a better CPU then a single core Pentium. So I'm still looking and asking around.

F$

[Fire$torm]

Update:

I found a stick of Hynix PC3200U CL3 @1GB M/N: HYMD512646CP8J-D43AA. And for what it's worth, it has a Dell label on it.

[denim]

Update:

I found a stick of Hynix PC3200U CL3 @1GB M/N: HYMD512646CP8J-D43AA. And for what it's worth, it has a Dell label on it.

That's awesome. Can you shoot me a PM with your Paypal or mailing address and what you would like for the stick?

I might go ahead an grab one of the 430's to start. :)

[Fire$torm]

That's awesome. Can you shoot me a PM with your Paypal or mailing address and what you would like for the stick?

I might go ahead an grab one of the 430's to start. :)

No need for PayPal. The stick is yours just PM you addy so I can get it out to you.

As for the 9800GT I tested it today. The card works but the stock cooler sucks. It cannot keep the GPU cool. I down clocked the card to 300Mhz and even when the card is idle GPU temp is in 55C! Running FurMark on the card at a stock clock of 600Mhz temps hit 90C+ in less then 90 seconds. All this is after I cleaned the GPU chip and heatsink and applied new Arctic Silver 5. My guess is the cooler isn't making proper contact with the GPU.

Bottom line... I cannot recommend this card. maybe if at some point I can find a decent aftermarket cooler on the cheap...... but its not really worth it. Better to spend that cash on a better card.

F$

[denim]

No need for PayPal. The stick is yours just PM you addy so I can get it out to you.

As for the 9800GT I tested it today. The card works but the stock cooler sucks. It cannot keep the GPU cool. I down clocked the card to 300Mhz and even when the card is idle GPU temp is in 55C! Running FurMark on the card at a stock clock of 600Mhz temps hit 90C+ in less then 90 seconds. All this is after I cleaned the GPU chip and heatsink and applied new Arctic Silver 5. My guess is the cooler isn't making proper contact with the GPU.

Bottom line... I cannot recommend this card. maybe if at some point I can find a decent aftermarket cooler on the cheap...... but its not really worth it. Better to spend that cash on a better card.

F$


Thank you on the RAM! And thank you for taking the time and effort on that GPU.

GPU wise, would it be a massive drop off if I cheaped out a little and went with something like a 6200 instead of the 430? Or just suck it up and spend a few extra on the 430? Only asking because of the three slots the price difference is three times over. And should I assume a Power Supply upgrade is required to feed 3 stronger GPU's of this nature?

Edit: After reading a lot of the feedback and reviews, the 430 that John suggested sounds like the best one performance wise and is worth the money. :)


:)

[Fire$torm]

Edit: After reading a lot of the feedback and reviews, the 430 that John suggested sounds like the best one performance wise and is worth the money. :)


Yeppers. :-bd

[Beerdrinker]

Thank you on the RAM! And thank you for taking the time and effort on that GPU.

GPU wise, would it be a massive drop off if I cheaped out a little and went with something like a 6200 instead of the 430? Or just suck it up and spend a few extra on the 430? Only asking because of the three slots the price difference is three times over. And should I assume a Power Supply upgrade is required to feed 3 stronger GPU's of this nature?

Edit: After reading a lot of the feedback and reviews, the 430 that John suggested sounds like the best one performance wise and is worth the money. :)


:)

I am not even sure that the Nvidia 6200 can crunch!!

Anyway. Stay with the 430. These guys know their stuff. So if they tell that´s the best buy for you - it probably is!

[John P. Myers]

Shop around and you may find them a little cheaper at tigerdirect or fry's. Just remember to take into consideration whether or not you'll need to pay sales tax depending on your location vs. who you order from.

And be sure to match the model number. Zotac also makes a GT 430 PCIe version that looks almost exactly like the PCI version.

[kaptainkarl1]

Shop around and you may find them a little cheaper at tigerdirect or fry's. Just remember to take into consideration whether or not you'll need to pay sales tax depending on your location vs. who you order from.

And be sure to match the model number. Zotac also makes a GT 430 PCIe version that looks almost exactly like the PCI version.

The PCI-e version has more on board ram but doesn't seem to do that much more work for it.

[denim]

Thanks guys. Will the 430 (regardless of quantity) require a stronger PSU?

[kaptainkarl1]

Thanks guys. Will the 430 (regardless of quantity) require a stronger PSU?

No the both the PCI and PCI-e versions run off the slot 25 watts or something like that. I have 3 jammed in one box and didn't upgrade the psu.

[denim]

Big thank you goes out to F$ for the stick of RAM. It made a serious difference in terms of just using the computer when BOINC was running. Meaning I could have more then 2 tabs open with NFS/WUprop/FreeHal not sezing everything up. :) :)

Next step is one or two GPU's for this box.

[Slicker]

I am not even sure that the Nvidia 6200 can crunch!!

Anyway. Stay with the 430. These guys know their stuff. So if they tell that´s the best buy for you - it probably is!

A 6200 cannot crunch. The first nVidia GPUs that could crunch were the 8400 series which start with a whopping 16 stream processors at really low speeds and take longer than a single core on an i7 to finish a mini_collatz workunit.

[Beerdrinker]

I just scavenged a Dell desktop pc on the junkyard today. It has a P4 @ 3.06Ghz...I am guessing it´s this CPU:


http://ark.intel.com/products/27499/Intel-Pentium-4-Processor-supporting-HT-Technology-3_06-GHz-512K-Cache-533-MHz-FSB

Can that old beast run in your Dell? If yes I´ll ship it to you..

[Andoh]

I have one of these cards in a Dell pc that had on board video card and no agp slot. It's a hyperthread enabled cpu. Between the vid card and cpu it does enough work to make it worthwhile. I have a pci slot open and another Zotac in the box. This may sound dumb but can I just plug the other card in and continue to march or is there more to it to get the extra card to crunch WU's?


Steve

[Slicker]

I have one of these cards in a Dell pc that had on board video card and no agp slot. It's a hyperthread enabled cpu. Between the vid card and cpu it does enough work to make it worthwhile. I have a pci slot open and another Zotac in the box. This may sound dumb but can I just plug the other card in and continue to march or is there more to it to get the extra card to crunch WU's?


Steve

After installing the card, you will need to install the video driver for it. That should all that is needed though.

[denim]

I just scavenged a Dell desktop pc on the junkyard today. It has a P4 @ 3.06Ghz...I am guessing it´s this CPU:


http://ark.intel.com/products/27499/Intel-Pentium-4-Processor-supporting-HT-Technology-3_06-GHz-512K-Cache-533-MHz-FSB

Can that old beast run in your Dell? If yes I´ll ship it to you..

I'm not sure. Admittedly, I'm a little nervous about swapping out CPU.

[Beerdrinker]

I'm not sure. Admittedly, I'm a little nervous about swapping out CPU.

Maybe F$ can be of some assistance?

[Duke of Buckingham]

Swap CPU?

Man you are brave only to think about that, will you do it?

I got all sweaty of changing the mouse or the keyboard.

Coward Duke

http://www.badgerflats.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/coward.jpg

Wait for some help of our friends. I bet there are a lot that can help you with that.

[John P. Myers]

Changing out the more recent Intel CPUs is definitely far easier than the older ones, since the older ones actually had pins on them that would bend very very easily. Still, changing the CPU is an easy task and is nothing to be feared. Just be mindful of the pins and resist the urge to use more thermal grease than is needed. Everything will work out fine :)

[Fire$torm]

Changing out the more recent Intel CPUs is definitely far easier than the older ones, since the older ones actually had pins on them that would bend very very easily. Still, changing the CPU is an easy task and is nothing to be feared. Just be mindful of the pins and resist the urge to use more thermal grease than is needed. Everything will work out fine :)

++++1

[Beerdrinker]

Changing out the more recent Intel CPUs is definitely far easier than the older ones, since the older ones actually had pins on them that would bend very very easily. Still, changing the CPU is an easy task and is nothing to be feared. Just be mindful of the pins and resist the urge to use more thermal grease than is needed. Everything will work out fine :)

--> Denim:

I can provide a photo of the CPU in question. That will give our HW guru´s the info needed to decide wheter it fits or not??

[denim]

Little update, I ordered a trio of the GT430 GPU's (at refurb pricing I might add ;) ) and they just arrived last night. I will try to install them tonight. I think I'm still a little too chicken to do a CPU swap yet.

[denim]

Forgot to update that the stock on board power supply was not enough to start up the machine with even only one GT430 installed. So I ordered a Blue Star 680 watt power supply off Geeks.com. Silly, but fun gold case and blue LED. My son and I installed the power supply today and one of the GT430's. So far it seems to be running great and the picture is so much better on this machine. I will attempt trying to install a 2nd GPU soon and see if they will play nice with each other and still be stable.

Wanted to thank everyone who helped pointing me in the right direction and especially the RAM donation. I had forgotten how fun it was to soup up my computer, almost the same little thrill of making something better and unique, just like when upgrading performance bit's on my cars. :)

[DrPop]

Hi Denim, long time, how you been? Glad to hear you got yourself a new PSU, that should do the trick. How many amps is the 12V rail rated for? It will say on the sticker on the side of your new PSU - or post a link to it on New egg or something and I can find it for you. :). The number it says there will tell us if you can run all 3 of your 430s in the same rig. ;)
Take care and good to see you on here!

[denim]

Hi Denim, long time, how you been? Glad to hear you got yourself a new PSU, that should do the trick. How many amps is the 12V rail rated for? It will say on the sticker on the side of your new PSU - or post a link to it on New egg or something and I can find it for you. :). The number it says there will tell us if you can run all 3 of your 430s in the same rig. ;)
Take care and good to see you on here!

Hello DrPop. :) Been on the rollercoaster called life, no matter how hard I work to steer it, I am just along for the ride it seems.

Back to the PSU, model number BL-680G-24PE (Yes, that is g for GOLD!) ;)

The amp output on the sticker, with +12V input, is saying 22A.

My only worry is that a few people said these 430's don't always play nice, but if able to get them stable, that would be awesome! Help make up some for all the cores and two big GPU's I lost recently.

[Al]

I never had any problem getting 2-430s to play nice in a one box, but haven't tried it since the 285 series nvidia drivers. I never tried 3. The psu should be able to power 3, they're about 50w per card. Dell mbs can be problematic sometimes, so I see that as a more limiting factor than the power supply.

Edit: It would also be advisable to be able to check the amp draw at the wall before adding the 2nd and/or 3rd card. Then again, you might want to believe nv, in which case the 22a rail is only enough for 1 430.

[denim]

Thanks for the info/heads up. One thing I am worried about is the heat from the single 430 now on PG PPS so far. A second one right next to it at close proximity with no fans on it, might be interesting. If I cannot get a 3rd one going, I will let it go cheap or donate it to the cause.

[Al]

Even the 430s with fans struggle with cooling when placed next to each other. Good luck with that and do watch the temps. I think the max is 98c, but I prefer mid 70s if possible. Most of the math projects run pretty warm.

[DrPop]

22A on the 12V rail is equal to ~ 264W. TDP (max the card will draw) for a 430 is 49W. In *theory* you should have more than plenty of juice on that PSU for all three of these cards.

Heat will be your biggest factor. I'm shocked Dell even sold a mobo with 3 PCI-e slots to be honest (or are we talking the regular PCI version here?) At any rate, watch the temps as Al said, don't worry about the PSU, With the 430 being such a low TDP GPU, the temps will get you before you lose power.

Do you have a case with a side fan in it? If so, make the fan blow IN, directly over the GPU cards, and then make sure you have an exhaust fan blowing OUT somewhere on the back of the case. If you don't have a side fan, please consider modifying the case - literally just cut a hole in the side and screw a fan in there! :D We can help. ;)

[denim]

Currently I have the whole side panel off to monitor the heat on the GT 430. Right now, it is just hot enough that you cannot keep your hand on it at all. It may cool off some one it gets to some Moo work. If I have a chance tomorrow, I will give the second card a go.

[DrPop]

Hi Denim, you should really monitor the temp with something like MSI Afterburner, it is a free download. You can watch the temp go up and down as you load the GPU and/or unload it in real time.
Depending on the way your case is, sometimes a side fan actively blowing air in works even better than the side open...it just depends. Sounds like you're doing good though. Might try some collatz on there too, it will most likely run cooler than PG. :)

[Fire$torm]

Hi Denim, you should really monitor the temp with something like MSI Afterburner, it is a free download. You can watch the temp go up and down as you load the GPU and/or unload it in real time.
Depending on the way your case is, sometimes a side fan actively blowing air in works even better than the side open...it just depends. Sounds like you're doing good though. Might try some collatz on there too, it will most likely run cooler than PG. :)

+++1

AB works on my 430. And yeah, my 430 runs warm because the case its in, Antec SX-1040BII, doesn't support side panel fans.

[Al]

+++1

AB works on my 430. And yeah, my 430 runs warm because the case its in, Antec SX-1040BII, doesn't support side panel fans.

No side fan? Sounds like an easy modification for you...come on!

[Fire$torm]

No side fan? Sounds like an easy modification for you...come on!

It is but.... I love that case and so decided awhile back to keep it stock.

[denim]

Hi Denim, you should really monitor the temp with something like MSI Afterburner, it is a free download. You can watch the temp go up and down as you load the GPU and/or unload it in real time.
Depending on the way your case is, sometimes a side fan actively blowing air in works even better than the side open...it just depends. Sounds like you're doing good though. Might try some collatz on there too, it will most likely run cooler than PG. :)

Thanks for the AB suggestion. I will check it out. To me, to the touch MooWrapper seems to run even hotter then PG PPS. But I will know for sure once I dl Afterburner. If it says the temps are not too bad, I will put the second 430 tonight. :)

[DrPop]

... To me, to the touch MooWrapper seems to run even hotter then PG PPS. But I will know for sure once I dl Afterburner...:)

Yes, Moo Wrapper and PG PPS both run hot. Collatz is probably the coolest running. You could try Einstein, SETI@Home, or GPU Grid as well, I am not sure what those would run, but most likely cooler than PG and Moo.

[denim]

Yes, Moo Wrapper and PG PPS both run hot. Collatz is probably the coolest running. You could try Einstein, SETI@Home, or GPU Grid as well, I am not sure what those would run, but most likely cooler than PG and Moo.

I have some Einstein and SETI in the queue, so I will keep an eye on it when those come up as there is a bunch more Moo to finish up yet.

[denim]

Ok, with Afterburner installed, (neat freeware BTW), with MooWrapper running on one 430, it is hovering just under or right at 100 C. I have not overclocked it or boosted any of the settings yet. At that temp level, should I go for it on the second 430 or wait and see how Einstein and SETI do first?

If there is an easy plug and play add on fan, I will spend a couple of bucks for it.

[Al]

Too hot! Switch projects and get some more air in there. NV says 98c is max temp. I like it in the mid 80c range maximum.

[Fire$torm]

Too hot! Switch projects and get some more air in there. NV says 98c is max temp. I like it in the mid 80c range maximum.

+++++1

[kmanley57]

Too hot! Switch projects and get some more air in there. NV says 98c is max temp. I like it in the mid 80c range maximum.

++++++1

[denim]

Too hot! Switch projects and get some more air in there. NV says 98c is max temp. I like it in the mid 80c range maximum.

It dropped down almost 25 degrees when I was not using the machine for an hour. So maybe it is just hot when I am on the machine as I am watching climb as I type this post.

[DrPop]

Interesting. I would abort the Moo wrapper WUs and try Collatz. Let us know what the temps are from that. It just may be too much on it trying to do Moo! and work your monitor, etc at the same time when you're using it. Oh, when you setup Collatz, do the Collatz Mini WUs in your preferences for the project. They will get done a lot faster on that GPU. :)

[Duke of Buckingham]

To stay on Moo maybe you can have less memory clock and with that have a better temperature. Try with the memory clock on the minimum allowed. Some projects need to have less MC to run at an average temperature.

[DrPop]

To stay on Moo maybe you can have less memory clock and with that have a better temperature. Try with the memory clock on the minimum allowed. Some projects need to have less MC to run at an average temperature.

+1 and sorry I forgot to mention lowering your memory clock speed. Good on you, Duke! :)

[denim]

Slightly disappointed update;

Even with the much stronger power supply, it apperently is just not enough to start the machine with two 430's installed. Now I regret not ordering on of the monster PSU's. Oh well, maybe I can sell the 430's, or should I spend more money and buy a crazy big PSU to see if I can power up all three?

[denim]

Interesting. I would abort the Moo wrapper WUs and try Collatz. Let us know what the temps are from that. It just may be too much on it trying to do Moo! and work your monitor, etc at the same time when you're using it. Oh, when you setup Collatz, do the Collatz Mini WUs in your preferences for the project. They will get done a lot faster on that GPU. :)

Thank you for the suggestion, I want to see how it does on Einstein and SETI first, before I attach to another project.

[denim]

To stay on Moo maybe you can have less memory clock and with that have a better temperature. Try with the memory clock on the minimum allowed. Some projects need to have less MC to run at an average temperature.

Thank you. Did it and will monitor how it does. Should I leave the core clock and shader clock levels alone?

[STE\/E]

You may have other problems, I've run 3 GTX 580's with a Single 750 PSU, so a 680 PSU unless it's a piece of junk should handle 2 GTX 430's, never heard of a GTX 430 though so don't really know what you have there. It could be a OS Issue or BIOS Issue, just random thoughts ... ;)

[Duke of Buckingham]

Thank you. Did it and will monitor how it does. Should I leave the core clock and shader clock levels alone?

I usually use all the defaults besides the memory clock and only in some (few) projects I could improve performance with a bit more of memory clock. That was the case of POEM project with the app to run 4 tasks at a time. In all times to lower memory clock, lower the GPU temp a lot, at least for me and if the temp is not good enough for me I just lower a very small bit the core clock not ever more than 10% to not lose much of the crunching power.

Another thing that happened to me once that I was having high temp on the GPU and was not understanding why, well it was not well sealed the GPU and the fan was not having the expected effect. Closing the GPU well is very important for the temperature.

Good luck denim, I hope things get better to you and your GPU, I don't know much but I am always here to help if I can.

[DrPop]

Denim, something is just not right here. I'm not knocking your GTX 430s, but in the grand scheme of things, that's not an insane power sucking GPU. I mean your PSU should be able to power one of those like a warm knife through butter and two shouldn't be much harder. So let's look at some things:
Is that an original Dell motherboard? If yes, can you please download and run CPU-Z and let us know the model number from that?
Second, do you have the latest BIOS installed on your mobo?
Third, are we talking about PCI or PCI-e GPU cards?

Lastly, can you please list the CPU and any other peripherals you have attached to the motherboard?
Thanks!

[denim]

Denim, something is just not right here. I'm not knocking your GTX 430s, but in the grand scheme of things, that's not an insane power sucking GPU. I mean your PSU should be able to power one of those like a warm knife through butter and two shouldn't be much harder. So let's look at some things:
Is that an original Dell motherboard? If yes, can you please download and run CPU-Z and let us know the model number from that?
Second, do you have the latest BIOS installed on your mobo?
Third, are we talking about PCI or PCI-e GPU cards?

Lastly, can you please list the CPU and any other peripherals you have attached to the motherboard?
Thanks!

Hey Dr. Pop. Thank you for your concern as I am puzzled too.

Original Dell motherboard. CPU-Z stats - Mother board model: 0WF887.

Not sure on the latest BIOS. This is an Xp box oddly. My lappy is win7.

PCI-express I believe.

Right now, only a little SHG SoundWave 5.1 PCI sound card attached to the motherboard that was not stock.

[DrPop]

Hi Denim,
OK, that is an older Pentium 4 motherboard with the Intel 865GV Chipset, and will only support PCI devices (not PCI-e). The issue with this is going to be limits of the PCI bus - either watts or bandwidth, and I'm not sure, but the Dell motherboard may have some proprietary stuff there, so that might be the issue.
Unfortunately for crunching purposes, this is a small form factor board, and has the 3 PCI slots right next to each other just below the CPU. With the 3 PCI slots so close together, I'd be inclined to leave it with just one GPU in the top slot. You might get by with skipping the middle slot and putting a second GPU in the bottom, but then how close is that to the bottom of your case?

I think we're going to run into heat issues big time if we try to do much more...may be better off selling the other 2 GPUs to anyone who needs an older PCI slot GPU to fill an empty slot, or for older server type mobos that didn't have PCI-e slots, etc.

Hope that helps a little. :)

[denim]

Hi Denim,
OK, that is an older Pentium 4 motherboard with the Intel 865GV Chipset, and will only support PCI devices (not PCI-e). The issue with this is going to be limits of the PCI bus - either watts or bandwidth, and I'm not sure, but the Dell motherboard may have some proprietary stuff there, so that might be the issue.
Unfortunately for crunching purposes, this is a small form factor board, and has the 3 PCI slots right next to each other just below the CPU. With the 3 PCI slots so close together, I'd be inclined to leave it with just one GPU in the top slot. You might get by with skipping the middle slot and putting a second GPU in the bottom, but then how close is that to the bottom of your case?

I think we're going to run into heat issues big time if we try to do much more...may be better off selling the other 2 GPUs to anyone who needs an older PCI slot GPU to fill an empty slot, or for older server type mobos that didn't have PCI-e slots, etc.

Hope that helps a little. :)

I have not run into heat issues just yet, as I cannot get the machine to start up with a second 430 installed. :(