Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

pretty sure you want to populate A1 and A2 of each CPU first.. then at least you could see if it changes to dual channel mode. I was running it with all 8 DIMM's populated with identical reg ECC dimm's, so i never ran in any other than dual channel.

When I'm home next, I'll try that.

I thought it meant "channel A, channel B". That's how intel boards are laid out at least...

[gg1978]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

pretty sure you want to populate A1 and A2 of each CPU first.. then at least you could see if it changes to dual channel mode. I was running it with all 8 DIMM's populated with identical reg ECC dimm's, so i never ran in any other than dual channel.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

Good to see you have it up and running I think you might want to put the DIMM's in the black slots only to start with, then add them to the blues if you add more memory in the future. I didn't see anything specific about DIMM population though in the manual, so maybe you have it right.. I'd verify it's running in dual channel mode using cpu-z or another app like that..

AFAIK They're in all the "1" positions. I'll recheck my manual.

Edit- yes, I am. I have one in each A1/B1 position. It did show as being single channel in CPU-Z though... the manual says NOTHING about after A1 what order to fill them in. IIRC B1 is the next for dual channel, not A2, right?

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

I get 5.9 ... simply because I use a 400 GB 7200rpm as main drive.

Looks like it's impossible to get more than 5.9 on a single HDD. Must be in RAID.
(Probably RAID0 required.)

[gg1978]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

Good to see you have it up and running I think you might want to put the DIMM's in the black slots only to start with, then add them to the blues if you add more memory in the future. I didn't see anything specific about DIMM population though in the manual, so maybe you have it right.. I'd verify it's running in dual channel mode using cpu-z or another app like that..

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

Looks nice... my only nitpick would be the use of those plastic things used to tie cables together.
I hate those, I like to use velcro.

Zip ties?

Having a FIRST robotics background, it's only natural that I use zip ties and wire buttons (stick on zip tie cleats). Seriously, within that community, instead of duct tape jokes, we have zip tie jokes.

I use velcro for laptop cable storage (if you look in the 2nd pic you can see some on couple cables formerly used with my laptop). even there, I use zip ties to keep the velcro frome going to the wrong part of the cable.

For places where I may undo things, I used some kwick-connect straps... one for the SATA RAID bundle, one for the upper part of the mobo/GPU power umbilical. everywhere else, only things that I likely won't need to separate get the ties...

My beef with velcro is that it peels open too much... zip ties (for low-stress wires at least) is a "set it and forget it" kind of thing.

edit- Yeah, I know the shades of black don't match on any of the drives. Shit happens.

[mariushm]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

I get 5.9 ... simply because I use a 400 GB 7200rpm as main drive.
The performance index is bullshit... it tops at 7.9 on my windows, 7.7 for the fx-8320 and 7.9 for memory, everything else except the drives at 7.5

[shovenose]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

I actually really like how that one turned out - it looks pretty good inside and out!

Only thing?

FYI, I did check the windows performance index... it's rated at 6.2, which for a rig this old, is pretty awesome IMHO. I've had no performance issues aero-wise, so I think it may be biased towards newer HW (probably to increase sales of new hardware).

Why this conspiracy bull$h!t? 6.2 is a quite good score for the system you've got. Sure, I get 8.1 to 8.2 on every aspect of the score but I'm running a much never high-end system so it doesn't even compare.

Only odd thing about your system is the card reader is a glossy black everythign else is matte black. lol

[mariushm]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

Looks nice... my only nitpick would be the use of those plastic things used to tie cables together.
I hate those, I like to use velcro.

[c_hegge]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

The rear fan model. Note the cobwebs... that must have been from when it sat awaiting the K8WE board. the other parts a spider made into a home, but I didn't catch that until I shot the pic...

Looks like you have some computer bugs to deal with. At least you get a free website out of it

Jokes aside, it looks great.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

Finally, I have pictures!

First, the front:



In the background V2 is sitting... I still don't have a use/home for it... If anybody local wants to borrow it (use it until you don't need it, then give it back), let me know. I put too much work into it to sell it or trash it... but it's too good to collect dust... it's probably one the best AGP rigs ever and also one of the best non-64 ones as well). When it came to web surfing and productivity, I couldn't beat it...

Anyway, back to V3...

The back, with and w/o cables:





Yes, I know it's mising two thumbscres from the side panel... I had lost those, but later found and installed them after shooting the pics. Of course, they're not stock either, but I had them in a junk pile, so why the hell not.

The guts, an overview:



Sorry for the crappy angle. Actually, sorry for the crappy pic quality... this newer Olympus Stylus 7010 hasn't been all that great. Once I get my Canon A640 back from my lady's best friend, my pic quality hopefully will improve.

Note the lack of ribbon cables... that's right, it's 100% sata. Two opticals, 4 HDDs (via controller). I love being able to toss any optical drive I want in it... heck, my may Blu-ray eventually if prices on BD-RW drives (w/ software) ever go down (because if I can read it, I want to be able to burn it with something too). For now, I'll stick to what I have

Being a wire nazi, I exiled away all the now unused moxlex/berg connectors:



The only unused space in the case is the lower front bay:



Suppossedly supermicro makes an add-on to go there... it holds 4 2.5" drives. My guess would be for an SSD RAID array... not that I plan to.

A massive power umbilical cord:



I love how that turned out... makes for only 3 power bundles (optical SATA, HDD SATA, and Mobo/GPU).

Twin PWM coolers:



I was thinkign I might need to upgrade to like a couple CM TX3's, but so far my temps have been good. Like under 50C most of the time (under 55 easily).

The only reason to upgraded would be to reduce noice, and due to the house's HVAC being behind me, it's had to tell nuch about noise. Props go to AMD for at least keeping the cooler latch design the same all this time so I can still get mountable coolers readily.

Speaking of cooling:



The rear fan model. Note the cobwebs... that must have been from when it sat awaiting the K8WE board. the other parts a spider made into a home, but I didn't catch that until I shot the pic... given that the fans are only dong 1100-1200 RPM (PWM stepped it down), no wonder they didn't budge. Don't worry, it still moves tons of air.

And for the front fan and all the cables nearby:



I like how everything seems to be out of the fan's way... no grille needed (good thing since I'm using rubber fan mounts).

The flex-bridge for SLI worked out well:



and those nice vented slot fillers that came with the case do actually have GPU air comign out. The GPU's run hot (around 70C), but the fan's aren't too loud (compared to startup)... so I figure it's the fan curve of the card. Not sure if that's too hot...

My only other guess is that I didn't use high-end thermal compound when I redid it (everything (CPUs and GPUs) uses the silicone based stuff in tubes at ratshack, made by synco. I didn't think it mattered to much, and being made in USA, I figured it would do ok... It was really low cost too... problem?

Last, since somebody on the forum once made the point about card readers with exposed back-ends being an issue, one would think my reader was problem since it appears to have an open back. However, it's not:



FYI, I did check the windows performance index... it's rated at 6.2, which for a rig this old, is pretty awesome IMHO. I've had no performance issues aero-wise, so I think it may be biased towards newer HW (probably to increase sales of new hardware).

So, any comments or questions? I may post some other stuff ... if anybody has a benchmark utility they want me to run and post a score of (free ones only), then I'll do so.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

The pins on those connectors are too short to stick through. All you can get with an iron is solder mounds.

My point exactly. they did it that way so the bottom would be flush (drive caddy clearance). why they didn't just SMD it is frankly beyond me.

[severach]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

The pins on those connectors are too short to stick through. All you can get with an iron is solder mounds.

[Sweet & Spicy]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

Yay!!!!!! Excited excited excited!!!1

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

DVD RW came in. It's complete... I'll take some pics and then do a pictorial.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

I didn't say it's bad that it's there, just that it's really ugly and (I assume) sticky.

No clean fluxes are still corrosive, it's just that it's so slow at corroding and doing damage that you can leave it there with no problems.

I cleaned it. Happy?

It wasn't sticky. My rosin paste flux, that does get sticky.This stuff dries and hardens.

I didn't take the pic because I saw what you were probably seeing... due to the camera angle, lighting, etc, they do look cold in the picture. . However, I assure you the joints are properly flowed and are more than adequate.

These boards aren't desinged to be hand-soldered, so they're not going to look perfect. Yeah, they're for the most part solder-heavy to a degree... but my joints tend to be that way on boards like this. Probably because of the thickness of solder I was using. Here's my list of Equipent and supplies I used:

• Weller W60-P with an 800F 3mm Chisel tip
• MG chemicals 22G (0.032") 63/37 solder, no clean flux @ 2,2%
• Chemtronics Chem-wik Rosin-fluxed desoldering braid, 0.075"
• Kester #951 Flux pen, low solids, no clean.

Let me guess, that's all wrong too?

[mariushm]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

I didn't say it's bad that it's there, just that it's really ugly and (I assume) sticky.

No clean fluxes are still corrosive, it's just that it's so slow at corroding and doing damage that you can leave it there with no problems.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

Sheeesh man ... get some isopropyl alcohol and some wipes and clean that flux off the pcb.

And I'd suggest getting some liquid flux next time... those solder joints look like cold joints, they shouldn't be so round, they should be a bit concave.

I did use flux... I used a kester flux pen liberally when desoldering.

They're not cold joints, I swear.

I almost never clean my no clean flux... It's no clean for a reason. However, I'll clean this one and get a few pics after, hopefully showing my joints are indeed good.

[mariushm]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

Sheeesh man ... get some isopropyl alcohol and some wipes and clean that flux off the pcb.

And I'd suggest getting some liquid flux next time... those solder joints look like cold joints, they shouldn't be so round, they should be a bit concave.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V3.5

So you're using three in RAID0? I would personally find an HDTune benchy interesting?

Until my debit card comes in and I can get a legit W7 disc. Then it will be 4 in Raid 0.

For now, It's running the 3 plus the 4th as a single drive.

---

I had a little f-up moment... killed another drive!

This one was one that I broke the SATA jack on and had re-glued... the glue failed when I unplugged it today.

However, since I now have a dead drive to cannibalize, I decided to fix it the BCN way... Connector Swap!

The failure:



The good news is they used through-hole connector blocks:



They were a bit of a pain, but nowhere near as bad as SMD would have been.

Fixed:



When I first powered it up, I got the click of death...

I took the board back off, and found the connection pads for the drive motor and RW head were FILTHY. Not sure if it was solder fumes or what (the board I desoldered the connection block from didn't get this dirty...

I cleaned the contacts, and voila, it spun up normally. No data loss or anything. All works well.

Yeah, I'm a hack, but I was sick of writing off raptors.

edit- while I was in there, I think I may have figured out the D1 sticker thing... the black-sticker drives had screw hole seals marked with "D3", while the "D1" units had blank screw seals. Maybe they're a different revision or something?