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May 2005 Vol.5 Issue 5
Page(s) 35-37 in print issue

Phase-Change Cooling System, Part

II
Overclocking & Performance
Last month (page 39), we detailed the process of building a vapor phase-change cooled
system using a VapoChill LightSpeed [AC] unit and a matching Lian-Li aluminum
midtower case. We had to modify the case slightly to accommodate the unique
requirements of the VapoChill LightSpeed [AC], and we also had to take some
precautionary steps to protect our hardware from condensation, which is one of the
unfortunate side effects of subzero cooling. The actual assembly process was fairly
straightforward once we cut a portion of the case away and prepped our motherboard's
CPU socket with form-fitted insulating foam and nonelectrically conductive thermal paste.
Other than taking the few special steps necessary to work with the VapoChill LightSpeed
[AC] unit, our custom build didn't stray too far from the norm.

We tucked away unused

power cables, routed data
cables through drive cages,
and used nylon wire ties to
keep the system's internals
clean and allow air to circulate
unobstructed.

Once we installed all our major components, we

took some time to neaten our vapor phasechange cooled rig's internals. We outlined the
steps for doing this in December 2004's CPU
(page 30), but we'll give you a quick refresher
course. We wrapped up and tucked away the
excess power supply cables in the small space
above the PSU. We also neatly folded and
situated the data cables in their respective drive
cages and routed the power cables we used
along the edges of the motherboard and
secured them in place with nylon wire ties.

Taking these simple extra steps will significantly

clean up the inside of a system and help air to
flow through it with minimal impedance. With
our final build complete, we powered up the
system, updated the system BIOS, and
proceeded to install Windows XP. We installed
WinXP with the system running at default clock
speeds to make sure everything was functioning properly and to give the system some
time to burn in. With the kind of CPU cooling we have in place, we could have
immediately begun to overclock our processor, but there was no need to overclock the
system and risk data corruption during an OS install.
The Actual Overclock

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With the final assembly, Windows installation, and required drivers completed, we set out
to find just how high we could overclock our vapor phase-change cooled rig. The MSI
K8N Neo2 Platinum Edition board that we used for this project includes a proprietary
program dubbed Core Center that gives you the ability to monitor from within Windows
the hardware that's overclocking the system. However, we decided to do things the old
fashioned way: through the system BIOS.
Our first stop was the hardware monitor section of the BIOS to see just how cold our
processor was running and to also check that our PSU was supplying adequate
voltages. Unfortunately, we uncovered a problem here. The K8N Neo2 wasn't able to
properly report subzero temperatures. The motherboard was reporting a constant
temperature of 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius), which we knew from past
experience with vapor phase-change cooling definitely wasn't correct. However, the
VapoChill LightSpeed [AC] is equipped with its own set of thermal probes, so we used
the LightSpeed's readout to approximate our CPU's actual temperature. The VapoChill
LightSpeed [AC] was reporting temperatures that hovered around -44 F (-42 C), which is
cold enough for some serious overclocking. Additionally, our 3.3V, 5V, and 12V rails
were all rock solid and supplying power just above the rated voltage, so we were
confident that our power supply was up to the task.
Next, we configured the motherboard
in such a way as to allow for
maximum CPU overclocking. To do
so, we first disabled any unused
integrated peripherals. (When
running a motherboard and processor
out of spec, you increase the chance
that an integrated peripheral will fail,
so disable any unused ports or
controllers.) Then we entered the Cell
Menu section of the K8N's BIOS to
tweak a few more key options. The
Cell Menu is what MSI calls the
Frequency and Voltage Control
section of the BIOS. ABIT calls this
All the K8N Neo2 Platinum's major
section Softmenu or uGuru Utility.
overclocking options are available in
GIGABYTE calls it the MIT (MB
the Cell Menu section of the
Intelligent Tweaker). Most other wellmotherboard's BIOS.
known motherboard manufacturers
have their own custom names for this
section of the BIOS as well, but they all perform basically the same purpose. It's in these
sections that you can manually alter various voltages and clock speeds to overclock or
underclock a system.
In the Cell Menu, we entered the
DRAM Configuration submenu first and
configured our RAM for DDR333
operation (166MHz) and manually set
the timings to 3-4-4-8. Because we
planned to increase the motherboard's
HyperTransport clock speed (roughly
equivalent to the FSB clock speed of
other platforms) to overclock the
processor, our RAM would be
overclocked, as well. The pqi RAM we
used in this build was rated for a
maximum speed of DDR533 (266MHz)
with 3-4-4-8 timings. To ensure that we
didn't exceed this rating, we lowered

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Lowering the HyperTransport

multiplier on Athlon 64 motherboards
reduces the HT operating frequency,
which usually allows for higher
overclocks.

the maximum RAM speed from 200 to

166MHz, which effectively changed the
HT-to-Memory Clock ratio from 1:1 to
4:3. This would allow us to increase the
motherboard's HyperTransport clock
speed without overclocking the
memory past 266MHz (533MHz DDR).

Our next stop was the HT Frequency submenu. The default HyperTransport link between
a Socket 939 Athlon 64 processor and the system chipset/memory is clocked at 1GHz
(2GHz DDR). This clock speed is derived by using a multiplier of 5X and a stock 200MHz
HyperTransport clock speed. Most motherboards aren't completely stable with more than
2GHz effective HT clock, though. To alleviate this potential caveat, enthusiast-friendly
motherboards usually give users the ability to alter the HyperTransport multiplier. In our
case, we lowered the HT multiplier from 5X to 3X, for an effective 600MHz (1.2GHz
DDR) HyperTransport clock speed. Dropping the processor's effective HT link clock
speed to 1.2GHz may seem low at first, but keep in mind that as we raise the
motherboard's actual HT clock from its default 200MHz, the speed of the processor's HT
link is also increased.
After lowering the HT multiplier, we locked the AGP clock speed at 66MHz to keep our
GeForce 6800 GT running within specifications and raised the processor core, memory,
and AGP voltages. We dialed the memory voltage up to 2.85V and the AGP voltage to
1.65V to make sure our system memory and video card were supplied with ample power.
Then we increased the processor's voltage to an effective 1.63V. To configure the
processor voltage with the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum, we first increased the CPU VID
(voltage identification) to 1.55V and then set the voltage to 5% above the VID. With air or
watercooling, it's common to see overclockers crank their processor voltages up higher
than this, but because our processor was cooled to subzero temperatures, excessive
voltages weren't as necessary.
With our preparations complete, we then started to
adjust the CPU FSB Frequency so that we could
overclock the CPU. We should note that the idea of
a FSB no longer applies with the Athlon 64
processors. The memory controller has been
integrated into the CPU's die, so it runs at the same
speed as the processor. The CPU and the chipset
interface via the chip's HyperTransport link, which
as we mentioned earlier, runs at a separate
frequency up to 1,000MHz (2GHz DDR). Most
motherboard manufactures still use the term FSB in
their BIOS only to maintain continuity between the
different processor platforms.

Our completed vapor

phase-change cooled
system has a somewhat
subdued appearance, but
don't let its uncluttered
look fool you, this is one
powerful system.

In the end, we settled for a maximum speed of

281MHz for an effective CPU clock speed of
2,530MHz (9 x 281MHz). This was a respectable
overclock of 730MHz over our Athlon 64 3000+'s
stock clock speed of 1,800MHz, but we probably
could have gone higher. Our choice of motherboard
turned out to be the limiting factor in our
overclocking efforts.
Assessing The Project
In retrospect, we probably should have gone with a
slightly faster processor that had a higher default
multiplier because we were ultimately held back by

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our choice of motherboard for this project. Getting 100% stable HyperTransport clock
speeds in excess of 280MHz with an nForce 3 chipset-based motherboard can be
difficult, but we won't complain too much. When you really think about it, complaining
about a 700MHz+ Athlon 64 overclock is like complaining that you didn't win enough
money in the lottery. Had we used an Athlon 64 3500+, we suspect we would have hit a
clock speed approaching 2.8 or 2.9GHz with our vapor phase-change cooled rig. Of
course, we would have liked to have taken our particular CPU even higher, but making a
$150 Athlon 64 3000+ outperform a processor that costs more than four times as much
is nothing to sneeze at.
by Marco Chiappetta
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Buyer Beware
Unfortunately, all hardware isn't created equal. In fact, even multiple samples of
the same product may behave differently depending on the components used.
Some versions of the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum motherboard we used for this
project, for example, have had problems when used with Winchester core-based
Athlon 64 processors when the processors were cooled to subzero temperatures.
(Newcastle-based Athlon 64 processors don't seem to have this problem.) We
aren't entirely certain of the root of the problem yet, but it seems to stem from
different revisions of the nForce 3 chipset used on the K8N Neo2 Platinum. In
many cases like this, a simple BIOS update may resolve some basic compatibility
issues, but there's also a chance that some pieces of hardware won't work
together.
Before making any major hardware purchases, it pays to do a little research. The
support forums on most manufacturers' Web sites are a great place to start. The
user reviews listed on the product pages of many major online retailers (written
by consumers who have actually purchased the products) are also an excellent
source. Between those resources and a sampling of product reviews, you should
be armed with the information necessary to make a smart buy. Doing research
beforehand will help avoid potential problems and ensure your final assembly
goes off without a hitch.

Copyright 2006 Sandhills Publishing Company U.S.A. All rights reserved.

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