What operating system for the OCTITRON?

hm actually, you should have to use a switch for that. let me think about that again..

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124810.aspx

that one.

 

Well vista was a terrible fail.
Apparently Vista does not like dual cpu systems. Everytime i try to install any of the copies of vista my library has, my system BSOD's.
Its either that, or all of the discs my library has are bad
So I spent some time optimizing server 2003.
I managed to get all 8 cores to show temperature. Its also running pretty stable, and cool.
I found out that on all AMD K10 processors, their is only one thermal sensor per processor, so when you look at my taskbar, their is the same temp for each of the four cores per processor.

The operating system is Windows Server 2003 standard edition 32 bit trial.



The highest temperature I have seen so far is 104F after 2 hours of full load from prime 95. (fans at full)
The highest temperature I have seen so far is 116F after 2 hours of full load from prime 95. (fans at low)
The system idles at ~75F (with fans at full)
The system idles at ~82F (with fans on low)

K-TRON

 

Take out one of your video cards or swap it out to see more memory.

 

Those Vista discs may not be updated. Try to get a disc with SP1 on it.

 

You need to use the /3gb switch on your boot.ini for server 03 standard.

The memory addressing is split into 2 for applications and windows exec's

 

I added the "/3GB" to the end of the operating system boot ini, and it didnt make a difference at all. When I right click my computer it still reads 2Gb.
CPU-Z, sandra, and wprime read 4Gb before and after the 3Gb add.

It probably isnt working cause I have a trial version.
I guess its time to rake out the dough for server 2003 x64.

Does anyone know how I can add the microsoft games suite from XP to server 2003? (you know, solitare, spider solitare, pinball, minesweeper)

K-TRON

 

Hmm Yeah well everything else reads 4gb

Server versions usually split the memory available into 2. One half is available for applications and the other is reserved for server execs. Im guessing this is why its only showing 2gb.

 

the trial should work 100% like a full version. vista not working means your hw config is seriously borked somehow.

or it learned that you don't like it

i really would need to be in front of your system to help you more.. (and i'd like to.. it's a nice system )

 

That really surprises me that Vista didn't work.

I would suggest researching a bit further to see if anyone else had a similar problem.

As someone suggested, try getting a disc with SP1.

 

Quote from K-TRON----"I found out that on all AMD K10 processors, their is only one thermal sensor per processor, so when you look at my taskbar, their is the same temp for each of the four cores per processor." ------ A little off topic here, and just out of curiosity, what would cause one of the cores on a quad core CPU to run significantly hotter or cooler than the other cores? (aside from the obvious that a particular core might be idle, but they are on the same die cast anyway, so I don't see how there could be that much of a difference, or are they on the same die cast?)

 

why are you wasting your time with those two graphics cards that can't even work together. why not invest in one more powerful graphics card that you can use all the time that will cost less?

 

who said they are incompatible with each other, huh?
I am only using one graphics card in my system, cause all I need is one
I have the abilty to install 8 if I wanted to, but I refrain from doing silly things

Their is only one temperature sensor on the amd processors probably since they are a monolithic true quad core, unlike intels quad core, which has 4 separate cores slammed together, which still somehow perform better.

The thing which I have found is that AMD states that the sensor is in located in the center, between all four cores, so that it shows the temperature for all at the same time.
I kinda wish each core had their own temperature, but they do not. I can physically feel the heatsink and it stays very cool under full load.

K-TRON

 

@K-TRON:

What version of _Vista were you using? According to the licensing terms for Home Basic/Premium/Ultimate, _Vista can be used on up to 2 processors at the same time on any one device. Is it possible that your attempt at _Vista failed because it "saw" your dual quad-core system as having more than 2 processors?

 

You may have already said so in another page, but have you tried Win7 x64 beta?

 

Any idea when some pics will be posted? Im kinda curious to see what this looks like.

 

I'm imagining its some monstrous grey box with the apple logo on it

 

haha,
no pictures yet guys.
Its still a work in progress.

I have one thing you guys can vote on.
The shell material

What would look cooler:
Plexiglas (clear, with probably lights in it)
Brushed aluminum
Diamondplate

I can assure you it doesnt have an apple logo on it

K-TRON

 

Diamondplate - but won't that be a lot heavier than brushed aluminum? (which would be my next vote anyway)

 

What about carbon fibre, or perhaps unpainted marine steel?

 

I like carbon fiber, plexiglass would look really tacky with a laptop that big.

 

Whats tacky about the plexiglas?
The only problem I have is the laser cutter can cut through steel, but the shop guys do not like us using any kind of metal with it. So I guess I have to cut it when no one is looking, or use some kind of plastic/plexi, which can be cut very easily.

K-TRON

 

Dunno, just thought it would look like this:

 

How about transparent aluminum?

 

I would go brushed aluminum if it was mine. Any idea what the weights up to? +15lbs?

 

Brushed aluminum, since you wont move it around so weight wont be a problem.
Good luck with your project.

 

I don't know why it happens, but SiSandra won't load for me in XP, either (though the last I tried it I was on SP2). I never tried it with Vista or 2003.

You may be able to just copy the sol.exe program from another computer to get Solitaire back. I've done that before with MSPaint.exe from Windows 98 and it worked just fine, except that I had to manually add in the .jpg and .gif filters in the registry to be able to use more than just bitmaps. Clock.exe from Windows 3.11 also works just fine in XP with a simple copy of the file if you're in the desktop widget mood.

Looks like you're coming along pretty good except for the RAM thing, though. I was pretty concerned about the temperatures though, until I saw that they were in Fahrenheit!

 

Actually, you could probably make something pretty wild with plexiglass, like something with multiple layers, different colours, etc... The only problem I can see with plexiglass is scratching the surface.

 

Apollo, I found a version of Sandra which is working for me: (version 15.72 - downloaded from Benchmark HQ)
http://www.sisoftware.co.uk/index.html?dir=dload&location=sware_dl_3264&langx=en&a=

You may want to try installing it, it worked on two systems, which never let sandra run before.

I forgot the thin plexiglas at home today, and now I am up at college. So I guess I will have to buy some for the build.
I will have to also find a place to get brushed aluminum, hopefully I can find a place which isnt a complete rip off.

K-TRON

 

Well, you could always get a bunch of empty soda cans, flatten them out, remove the paint, and then brush them yourself, or just cut a bit out of the side of someone's LandRover (find one that has the aluminum body first, obviously ).

Are you going to go with a mix of plexiglass and brushed aluminum?

 

Thanks! That version worked for me, too. Not sure why the old ones weren't, but glad this one is nonetheless.

 

This project is turning out so sick, that RAM issue is quite confusing though, i can't wait to see the final product!

Good luck on your future projects and you've got one hell of a future ahead of you!

 

I have been doing my research, and well the system is actually working really well. I have managed to get both cpu's to operate properly, and everything is running really stable. I was having crashes, but I found out I had too low voltage going to the memory, so I set it to the proper amount, dropped the memory speed from PC6400 800Mhz speed to Pc5300 667MHz speed and the system is rock solid. Also heart touching. ASUS fans get it
Anyways I have figured out how to overclock the L1N64SLi-WS/B board. I have managed to pull the processors up from 1.9Ghz to 2.28Ghz.
I cannot break 2.28Ghz, cause at that speed, the memory is overclocked from 667Mhz all of the way back up to Pc6400 speeds of 800Mhz.
You cannot force ecc memory to run over its designed clock speed, so the only way to overclock was to drop the memory speed and overclock to bring it back up.

So performance grew quite a bit.
Here is a new wpime test: (at 2.28Ghz)


If you cant read it, here is a zoom in:


Please note that the processors are still running their stock voltage of 1.26V
ASUS does provide voltage control in the bios, but it only works when one processor is installed. The same with overclocking in the bios. It only works with one processor.
So I used n-tune to overclock. My system has dual nforce 570 chipsets, so overclocking works quite well.
Still in n-tune, the cpu voltage cannot be increased. If I could change the voltage I could easily break 2.3Ghz

I am trying to make some difficult decision right now on system layout. I have to put certain things, in certain locations, so that everything fits, but it makes it harder to make it thin.
Especially cause the heatsinks I have are pretty thick (65mm or so)

I can tell you now that the inner cooling ducts are going to be made of clear acrylic (cause plexi does not bend very well)
I am not sure as to the chassis. Its either aluminum or plexiglas. Its probably going to be plexi cause of laser cutting reasons.

More to come, hopefully I can work on it throughout the semester. But if school gets busy, I have no choice but to put the octi-tron on the back burner. Just a heads up guys

K-TRON

 

prolly doesn't have the matrix yet.....lol

 

Any chance you can post pictures of the actual build? I wanna see the guts!

 

I have given you the model of the parts, you compare

here is a screenshot of the 3d Model I made of the motherboard:


thats all youre getting for a while.

K-TRON

 

Overclocking with nLite? I always thought nLite was for slipstreaming drivers. Is there some way to overclock with slipstreaming the PLL number, or is there some other way that you're overclocking without the BIOS?

Also, you're contradicting yourself by saying the memory frequency limits you to 2.28 GHz, and then saying that with higher CPU voltage you could easily break 2.3 GHz. With a quick Calculator calculation, I think you should be fine up to 2.37 GHz from the memory-frequency standpoint (1.90 / 667 * 800), so my guess is the voltage is your limit.

As for changing the voltage, I don't suppose RightMark CPU Clock utility works with multiple processors? Only other thing I can think of would be modifying the BIOS, similar to what you'd do to modify the voltage on a video card. But I don't know of any handy bios modification software (for nvidia video cards there's NiBiToR), so that pretty much leaves the commercial BIOSMAN option, which appears to be rather expensive for custom engineering.

That's an amazing wPrime time. Looks like the 32M test will be obsolete when 8 cores becomes standard - but you're pretty far ahead of the curve on that one!

I noticed the screenshot shows 4 GB of RAM, not 8 GB. Is the other 4 GB just not installed yet?

A fellow WMP 10 user on XP, I see. I don't think there are too many of us left. Are you using it for the interface as well? I certainly wouldn't be using it for stability compared to 9 or 11!

 

Thanks for the catch apollo, I meant n-tune. I have a 32 bit operating system, and only 4gb are installed at the moment. I will put the otehr 4gb kit in when i get a 64 bit operating system.

I understand where you are coming from with the FSB and such, but if you look at my second enlarged image, you can see that when the FSB is pushed to 240 the memory is running back at 800Mhz, the stock speed.
If I bring the FSB to 241, it shuts off. I read that ECC memory has no overhead like standard unbuffered memory, so thats why I felt it couldnt go any further.
It could very well be the voltage too. Its a shame their is no cpu voltage support. Their are known volt mods, but I am not touching a soldering iron to this motherboard.

Rightmark does not work on this system. It couldnt read anything, other than AMD.
I use WMP 10 cause I like it. I like version 10 cause its an even number, and I do not like WMP11's organization and appearance.
I also use IE5, so thats a big plus on performance. It uses barely any cpu/ram.

K-TRON

 

Well
this project could be over right now

The power supply just exploded on me, so I dont have a clue if any of the parts work.

K-TRON

 

too bad, if it successes, you may make ton of money out of it

 

good luck! must've been quite a shock..

but now that you could resolve the stability problems, you should be able to test out all other os' as well. they should work flawless now, too.

i hope it's still alive.. i really hope.

 

Remain + and think "5 alive"

 

Awww... where's the funeral at? I want to pillage the spare parts.

 

I have one question to ask:
Where the hell does an 18 year old find the money to run these projects?

And one comment:
Dude, sweeeet

 

well good news guys
I daisy chained a 250 watt and a 600 watt power supply together and it fired up.
So my silverstone power supply sacrificed itself for the system.
Well at least I know everything else works.

By the way, I am 19, and I own my own landscaping business

Only thing is, it may take 2-3 months to get a new power supply.
Well at least it leaves me time to build the shell

K-TRON

 

Glad to see you've got it up and running gain, looking forward o seeng the finished result!!

 

man, you make me jealous. I'm 21 and still @ school. Dont know to do anything

 

PHEW, for a second i thought this project was going under. Glad to here you got it fired up again, Im another eagerly awaiting photos of this monster.

 

anything to update K-tron?

 

I spent a good 6 hours this morning cleaning up the broken power supply and trying to repair it. Things arent going to well with it, I will need to get a new power supply. Other than that I am taking a course to use the 3 arm plasma mill. That will allow me to make a solid 1 piece aluminum shell for the system. It should be sweet.
Only thing is, I need to find a block of aluminum 22" x 18" x 6", so that I can mill out the entire thing.
It should look pretty cool.
However I pretty much have one shot doing this, cause a block of aluminum like that isnt going to be cheap.
So I need to make a perfect CAD file, before doing anything.
Good things take time, and schoolwork also takes time.
Dont worry, the project will be finished soon enough

K-TRON

 

Can't wait man!this is more exciting then anything on NBR