Check out my new computer!!
 

Hey, I just got this new computer, and of course prime95 performance was in the back (of the front) of my mind. I didn't catch ALL the info on new computers in this forum, and my current one is very dying (though it's a 2.4GHz P4 .... :furious:
). SoI was in a bit of a rush to buy a new computer.

Here's a link to it:

[URL]http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7740082&type=product&id=1140392808620[/URL]

So how good is this thing on Prime95? On the tower it says it's a dual core, each running at 3.2GHz. From reading this forum, it seems like Prime95 will be doing about 1.5 times the throughput as my old P4, pretty much no matter what. But just to check ... does it mean that, if I run two copies of prime95, I should expect around three times the throughput compared to my 2.4GHz P4?

Now excuse me, while I do the George.

:george:

Whoa, that's impressive! I'd love to hear the results!

Yea me too!! I'm in the process of stress testing right now, which should be done in the next few minutes. When that's done I'll be doing the tests. I wish someone here already owned this computer or a similar one that could tell me their results...

Wow .... OK.

One copy of prime95 running:
iteration time 62ms/iteration
processor usage 49%. (I figured this was b/c of the whole HT discussions in these threads.)
me: :grin:

Two copies of prime95 running:
iteration time 65ms/iteration EACH
processor usage 100%.
me: :george::george::george:

One complaint, though, is that the fan is really whirring when I have two copies running, whereas when only one copy was running it wasn't so bad. I hope the computer doesn't blow up .... Does anybody have this computer or a similar one that can tell me if I should throttle a little bit?

[QUOTE=dominicanpapi82;87834]One complaint, though, is that the fan is really whirring when I have two copies running, whereas when only one copy was running it wasn't so bad. I hope the computer doesn't blow up .... Does anybody have this computer or a similar one that can tell me if I should throttle a little bit?[/QUOTE] Get rid of default CPU cooler (probably Intel boxed) and buy some other from Thermalright or Scythe + 120mm quiet fan :smile:

[quote=Cruelty;87835]Get rid of default CPU cooler (probably Intel boxed) and buy some other from Thermalright or Scythe + 120mm quiet fan :smile:[/quote]


I'm also scared of installing fans ... doing all the work to make sure there is good contact between the processor and whatever goes above it, etc seems too difficult.

I mentioned the whirring because it scares me ... I want to know if the stock fan is doing enough. Is your suggestion just for noise? Or is the stock fan enough to cool my proc well?

First of all your processor does not have HyperThreading but two cores. There are two central processing units in your processor chip. This is much better than HyperThreading.

From the help file, advanced usage :
"If you are running on a laptop or in a hot room and you want to slow the program down to reduce heat, then you can add this line to prime.ini:
Throttle=n
where n is the number of milliseconds to sleep after each iteration."

Since you have two cores in your CPU you must add the line to prime.ini and prime0001.ini.

Having iteration times of 65 ms, a value of 5 would stop each core running primpe95 for 5 ms every 65 ms.
Throttle=5
If your processor fan still whines try a value of 13 for instance.

If you feel like it you can finetune the value.

Good luck !

I thought I was clear, but maybe I wasn't. I know how to throttle. I'm not asking because of the noise, but because the noise worried me. I haven't seen many discussions about dual core systems, especially 3.2GHz systems, so I want to know if anyone knows whether the system can handle running two instances of prime95 at full blast.

OK I realized this is an impossible question to answer since each system is different. But here's an answerable question: What should be the maximum CPU temperature that I should aim for?

Below is a picture of my system temperature and stats.

Try not to exceed 60° C
 

Intel cores tend to be warmer than AMD ones, and I've read recommendations not to exceed on the average 55°-60° C for Intels and 50°-55° For AMDs. You might want to consult some Overclocking site (where OCing tends to put extra pressure on CPU's dissipation) for reference and information.

Some other points you might want to consider (apologies if it gets too pedantic):
- leave some room behind and around your new machine, to improve airflow
- avoid direct exposure of the box to sunlight or proximity to other heat-generating things (should not be that warm these days where you live)
- use some fan-controlling software (such as SpeedFan - freeware) for monitoring temps and fan speed (3600 rpm from your fan seems quite close to upper limits)
- reconsider former suggestion to enhance your cooling (especially if you're using stock fans) (Acid test: open one side of your case and let P95 work for some time with case open: if temps drop more than 3°-5° C, you might want to improve your cooling)

FYI (and FWIW), on my 24x7 machines, AMD's with stock cooling are stable around 50° C (core) and Xeon's are around 52°-55° C with an external temp of 21°-22° C (and fan noise was for sure a major nuisance when outside temp this summer was in the 35°-38°C range)

Just my two cents...
Riccardo