mATX board with under volting
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mATX board with under volting
I posted a inquiry in System Advice under Silent Cluster post, but as expected, no one replied
So generally what i hope you guys/galls can help me with is the selection of the board.
I live in Poland so access to all the board manufacturers is difficult, but I hope not impossible.
Platform will be AM2
Board requirements:
Size sub 244x224 (not misspell)
1gb Network card
Undervolting in BIOS (each node will run LINUX thick client so no application undervolting as far as I'm aware)
Option to disable everything outside of NIC. (this includes integrated vid)
Chipset wise I have only three options AMD690 G/V, GF 61xx, VIA K8M8xx.
Under Linux, Nvidia has decent support. So the GF6100 / 6150SE seem to be the best option. I haven't seen may reviews of the GF 7050, but i'm not excluding it.
Local availability is MSI, Gigabyte and Asus. (Wroclaw, Poland)
ASROCK is available but is excluded due to the inefficient voltage regulators that increase CPU consumption by a tad to much.
Comments and suggestions are quite welcome.
So generally what i hope you guys/galls can help me with is the selection of the board.
I live in Poland so access to all the board manufacturers is difficult, but I hope not impossible.
Platform will be AM2
Board requirements:
Size sub 244x224 (not misspell)
1gb Network card
Undervolting in BIOS (each node will run LINUX thick client so no application undervolting as far as I'm aware)
Option to disable everything outside of NIC. (this includes integrated vid)
Chipset wise I have only three options AMD690 G/V, GF 61xx, VIA K8M8xx.
Under Linux, Nvidia has decent support. So the GF6100 / 6150SE seem to be the best option. I haven't seen may reviews of the GF 7050, but i'm not excluding it.
Local availability is MSI, Gigabyte and Asus. (Wroclaw, Poland)
ASROCK is available but is excluded due to the inefficient voltage regulators that increase CPU consumption by a tad to much.
Comments and suggestions are quite welcome.
To tell you the truth, the information was posted here on the forums.
It showed that the 4 phase power regulator was not as efficient as ASUS 3 phase.
A German site performed direct measures of CPU power consumption. And with the two boards above, it ended up that the ASUS was much better. Top end wise, even 30W difference.
Link below. (bottom of the page)
viewtopic.php?t=33425
Original I was hoping for mDTX or DTX formats, but they are no where to be seen. Now Albatron released a mITX AM2 platform. The KI690-AM2. depending on price and availability, Time will tell.
It showed that the 4 phase power regulator was not as efficient as ASUS 3 phase.
A German site performed direct measures of CPU power consumption. And with the two boards above, it ended up that the ASUS was much better. Top end wise, even 30W difference.
Link below. (bottom of the page)
viewtopic.php?t=33425
Original I was hoping for mDTX or DTX formats, but they are no where to be seen. Now Albatron released a mITX AM2 platform. The KI690-AM2. depending on price and availability, Time will tell.
That is just the info that was provided. But it would be interesting if the source site performed this test on other boards to determine what type of VRM is better.
Either way, i looked that the Asrock boards, size wise they won't fit. Everything else is
Size being an issue.
Again, with regards to the manufacturers, that is what I can get at the local shops. But that doesn't mean I won't be able to get them via internet, or possibly special order from the local shops.
Either way, i looked that the Asrock boards, size wise they won't fit. Everything else is
Size being an issue.
Again, with regards to the manufacturers, that is what I can get at the local shops. But that doesn't mean I won't be able to get them via internet, or possibly special order from the local shops.
OK. I tried to investigate the issue of software undervolting in Linux, and in general, though not as easy as windows, there are possibilities.
So since there aren't many options, I'll have to just cross my fingers and hope i don't mess anything up.
Still in general undervolting via BIOS is more comfortable.
In general the "mATX roundup" that Anandtech is working on for the past few... months might answer all the questions. I was just hoping that some of you might have input into this.
Either way, thank you jaganath for the input.
So since there aren't many options, I'll have to just cross my fingers and hope i don't mess anything up.
Still in general undervolting via BIOS is more comfortable.
In general the "mATX roundup" that Anandtech is working on for the past few... months might answer all the questions. I was just hoping that some of you might have input into this.
Either way, thank you jaganath for the input.
i second that. i'm running an M2A-VM and am running a 3600x2 EE cpu @ 0.975V (orthos 24 hr stable). my cpu won't load windows at 0.9V. at 0.925V it will error out orthos after an hour. at 0.95V it'll run for 24 hours. I put it at 0.975V to be safe.Csoszi wrote:With the Asus M2A-VM (HDMI) you can go down to 0.8 Volt.
Concerning dimensions: uATX 245x229 mm; a couple of mm-s bigger than what you have specified.
Has Gb Ethernet.
You can disable almost (?) everything (haven't tried the int. video, since I am using that!)
Suffice it to say, this board is high on my list.
But as luck, one of the local shops started to carry X2 3800+ EE SFF 35W version So that brings lots of options without even undervolting. I'll will double check if any of them carry the X2 3600+ (65nm version) as most seem to have the 90nm EE versions at 65W.
So current board options: (prices are in Polish Zloty...)
Asus M2A-VM (HDMI)
1gb nic
245 x 229 (tad to big)... but still with undervolting option, still a prospect.
For the ones below, I doubt undervolting would be possible.
Albatron KI690-AM2 :: (if under 350zl, I’ll consider it)
690G
1gb nic
170 x 170
MSI K9N6SGM-V :: ~ 200zl
gf6100
1gb nic
244 x 205
MSI K9AGM2-FIH :: ~ 260zl
690G
1gb nic
244 x 215
But as luck, one of the local shops started to carry X2 3800+ EE SFF 35W version So that brings lots of options without even undervolting. I'll will double check if any of them carry the X2 3600+ (65nm version) as most seem to have the 90nm EE versions at 65W.
So current board options: (prices are in Polish Zloty...)
Asus M2A-VM (HDMI)
1gb nic
245 x 229 (tad to big)... but still with undervolting option, still a prospect.
For the ones below, I doubt undervolting would be possible.
Albatron KI690-AM2 :: (if under 350zl, I’ll consider it)
690G
1gb nic
170 x 170
MSI K9N6SGM-V :: ~ 200zl
gf6100
1gb nic
244 x 205
MSI K9AGM2-FIH :: ~ 260zl
690G
1gb nic
244 x 215
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Remember socket 754? I have the Asrock K8NF6G-VSTA and it's the first underclockable (in bios) mobo I've ever had. Voltage and multiplier both underclockable. Problem. I boot XP and immediately I'm back at the defaults. What the heck good is underclocking if Windows resets the defaults when booted?
I can use RMClock to get the underclocking back, but SpeedFan 4.32 and RMClock don't play together.
I can use RMClock to get the underclocking back, but SpeedFan 4.32 and RMClock don't play together.
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this shouldn't happen. disable CnQ in BIOS and in Windows. what multi and Vcore did you set?I have the Asrock K8NF6G-VSTA and it's the first underclockable (in bios) mobo I've ever had. Voltage and multiplier both underclockable. Problem. I boot XP and immediately I'm back at the defaults. What the heck good is underclocking if Windows resets the defaults when booted?
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- Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 11:06 am
- Location: Klamath Falls, OR
uninstall the AMD processor driver and change power scheme in Control Panel to "Home/Office".What do you mean, "disable CnQ in Windows"?
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- Posts: 2049
- Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 11:06 am
- Location: Klamath Falls, OR
Thanks for the tip!jaganath wrote:uninstall the AMD processor driver and change power scheme in Control Panel to "Home/Office".