Nick's AMD FX-8120 Bulldozer Build

  • Thread starter nick09
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NissanSkylineN1
No, I was responding to your previous post.



Also, I never really mentioned that it only is stable due to heat. In fact there are other things that can give a bigger effect on stability than heat.
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No, all you did was talk as if stability was only related to overclocking.
 
Well I'm going to leave the RAM at 1333. I'll try again after I change over to the water cooler tonight(The one in the last video I posted).
 
I've never built one but I was thinking of going down the fx route. Currently looking at the fx 8150, asus formula v board, ati 6970 or similar and throw in another sometime later when the prices drop and about 8 gigs of 1600 ram. I've done upgrades and stuff to my old PC so I'm not concerned about building it but is there anything I should watch out for? Also about cooling is air enough, I'm not really into overclocking but I might try it on my current pc just for experience.
 
I only tried since I got a water cooler for free. It did not work due to space constraints in my case. It's worth it if you are willing to spend that much or you can spend up to $40 for a good air cooler.
 
Water cooling is the best thing you can do without going crazy and using more crazy things like TEC, LN² or LHe.
 
nick09
Auto just sets the dimms at 1333. Last I checked the 1600MHz profile just crashed the computer.

Edit: The video is up. Enjoy, you get a sneak peek to the PC.
Click to expand...

From GSKIL engineers but mostly common sense:

1. Set DRAM Frequency to DDR3-1600

2. Set CPU-NB Frequency to 2400MHz (DDR3-1600 / 2 = 800MHz, then x 3) CPU-NB Frequency should always be 3X DRAM bus frequency

3. Set timings to tCL 9 - tRCD 9 - tRP 9 - tRAS 24, or whatever your memory is rated for.

4. Set DRAM Voltage to 1.50V1.65v1.68, or whatever your memory is rated for.

5. Most CPUs will need a CPU-NB Voltage boost of +0.10V, so if your default is 1.10V, set it to 1.20V.__________________________________________________
Click to expand...

I'm assuming you're leaving bus frequency at stock 200?
 
Grayfox
Well the one major issue is the mess.

If you want to upgrade it will be messy and that is if you can upgrade.

Plus you will need some sort of cooling if you run the PC hard as the oil will just keep getting hotter.
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That's why they have the radiators for it..
 
Now water cooling is not an option for me anymore I decided to get my spare cash and bought a air cooler that will work better and more silently than the AMD Stock cooler(very good cooler but that's due to the small, fast, and loud fan pushing tons of air into the heatsink working with the copper pieces). Got this baby for a nice price when a while ago it would sell for $50.

COOLER MASTER Hyper N 520 RR-920-N520-GP 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - $33.99:
35-103-057-03.jpg


I will most likely won't be able to fit a side fan but that won't matter when I get a quieter machine.
 
Why, may I ask, unless you got it for less than $25?
The n520 has been under $35 for I'm not sure how many months and is still inferior to the 212+ and evo.

How's the memory doing?
 
The computer case width is 5.8" and I lose .1"-.2" of room due to the motherboard floor. I can't fit 120mm coolers that 150mm tall. 141mm is the closest I want to go to the side of the case. The 212 is too tall and I would have to cut the side panel if I wanted it in there! Measure it!

The computer is off to the side till I get the cpu cooler in the mail(should be in by tomorrow with 2 day shipping and has already shipped today). I'm still waiting for an email back from Team to explain why.
 
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Oh right, forgot the small case.
Are you sure the n520 will fit? I have a ~8.3" wide case and the 159mm 212 has less than 20mm of room between the sink and the side panel.
 
I see... You have a good point. I went and took some measurements. I made a mistake on my part and it's too small for even this cooler. I'm thinking of looking for a different cooler or get a refund for my current case. I'm thinking of replacing it with a case like the LIAN LI PC-A05NB. Not too big and it will fit the cooler well.

Edit: Well the computer is going to get a whole redesign. I'm returning the case and the air cooler to get a larger and better case and mount the water cooler there. I'm going to get the Fractal Design Core 3000 ATX Mid Tower Computer Case. So I can mount the water cooler.
 
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Mind suggesting a oil that is thin enough and safe enough to have have a motherboard and other electronics dunked in?

Regarding my computer I will getting this case and I will be using the water cooler for my CPU since I will have room to mount it on the rear fan.
 
Any mineral oil will do from the videos i have seen, but they may be better ones that are thin at room temp.

But the bigger the tank the less you have to worry about heat.

If you have a tank the size of a bathtub you wont need a radiator as their is enough surface area for the oil to keep cool.
 
Grayfox
If you have a tank the size of a bathtub you wont need a radiator as their is enough surface area for the oil to keep cool.
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So long as there is a way for the oil to be moved away yes.

I wouldn't suggest a mineral oil cool solution for Nick though. I'd honestly just get a bigger case. Makes miles more sense than trying to find a cooler that'll fit in a weird sized space.
 
Oil cooling is something you do just for kicks and to show off.

Not practical, for the money you spend getting a tank and oil will end up costing more than a good full water cooling loop.
 
LOL, I hope you know I threw in the idea of oil cooling as a joke, right?...

As for your case and all the returning, aren'tyou worried about the restocking and return shipping fees you will be now paying?
 
NissanSkylineN1
As for your case and all the returning, aren'tyou worried about the restocking and return shipping fees you will be now paying?
Click to expand...

I'm only losing about $11 in restocking fees and I got free shipping back to newegg for the air cooler. I only need to get shipping for the computer case(not paying $22 for UPS shipping, will be packing it myself and return it via usps). So I'll only be losing ~$20-ish USD out of this.

Edit: Make that ~$30, local post is only a little cheaper than UPS.
 
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nick09
Now water cooling is not an option for me anymore I decided to get my spare cash and bought a air cooler that will work better and more silently than the AMD Stock cooler(very good cooler but that's due to the small, fast, and loud fan pushing tons of air into the heatsink working with the copper pieces). Got this baby for a nice price when a while ago it would sell for $50.

COOLER MASTER Hyper N 520 RR-920-N520-GP 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - $33.99:
35-103-057-03.jpg


I will most likely won't be able to fit a side fan but that won't matter when I get a quieter machine.
Click to expand...

Hell yeah, that thing's beast. Told you it'd be the best one to get 👍

I might only have been working with computers for 10 years, and seriously working with computers for 2 months, but still... :sly:
 
Well I'm returning that by the end of the day today or tomorrow. It's half an inch too tall for the Cooler Master case and it's going to cover for the price of the new fractal case. Though I'll be reusing the water cooler for the new case since it has plenty of room. It's a good cooler and all but I'm spending enough money as-is.

Edit: Got a benchmark together for you guys. I only benched Cinebench so that's all I got to offer. For fun I benched my old computer before I moved the SSD to the new computer.

mreo8g.png


The scores that only hold relevance between the machines is CPU, CPU(Single core), and MP Ratio. Once I get the machine back together next week I'll overclock the FX-8120 to the FX-8150's normal clock and see how it compares.
 
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Doing a bump here. Took a video of the new case after I got home from college yesterday. The Fractal Design Core 3000 case is quite nice to work in. The pros outweigh the cons for this case.



I plan on making a video of the whole computer soon since I finished putting it together yesterday.
 
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^^ Nice looking case. Shame about those HDD bays, but nothing a screwdriver and a pair of pliers can't fix.

Also good to see the option of a 120/140mm fan in the side. Like I said to you on FB, personally I would put a 140 in there (since I have an LED one laying around :lol:) since that GPU is running so hot, and take the 140 from the back and put it up the top with the other top 140 (so that your output = your input).

I look forward to seeing the whole computer when it's done.
 
The HDD bays were hardly bent. Nothing more than hand strength won't fix. No graphics runs cool. 88F idle and the 107F was after playing some minecraft. The rear fan is an 120mm and that's for the water cooling. So to recap you have 140mm fan options on the top and on the side panel(you can fit 120mm on both). On the front bezel you have an option to put a 120mm fan and another 120mm fan on the bottom if your power supply is not too long or else you won't be able to fit the fan. With the HDD bay in the middle you can remove that or reposition it towards the motherboard. With the removable HDD bay in your can fit graphics cards up to 270mm long or 420mm long with the bay removed.

I can move the top 140mm fan to the other slot since most of the graphics card's heat rises through the open fan mount.
 

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