Tech Link (Utility): CPU-Z has been has been updated to the version 1.40

A new version of the popular CPU utility has been released. As is usual and expected from the developer, there are a bunch of updates. The most noticeable though is the new icon. Expand to read what's new on the software...

* VIA P4M800CE chipset support.
* Preliminary support for Intel Penryn CPUs family (45 nm).
* Intel Core 2 Duo E6x20, Pentium E2140/2160 processors recognition.
* Intel P35, G33, G31, Q35, Q33, X38 chipsets support.
* Intel GL960/GM965/PM965 chipsets support.
* AMD Athlon 64 "Lima" processor support.
* AMD Geode LX processor support.
* NVIDIA nForce 520 chipset support.
* New parameter "-console" to generate output in a command prompt (Windows XP only).
* New icon, courtesy of Techlogica

Source:CPU-Z has been has been updated to the version 1.40

Tech Link (Utility): Updated SetFSB : Version 2.0b8m

abo, developer of SetFSB, released a new version of his world-famous overclocking utility for Windows that supports a rather legacy system. Not that this new release will change the world, but hey, it just goes to show that abo is not just developing software to support new hardware, but even those older systems. Check out the change log:

1. Updated SetFSB : Version 2.0b8m - Added RTM520-39D.
Supported Intel440BX, VIA Pro133(A/T) chipset.

Yay for abo. Go check out his website and grab the SetFSB that has a wide range of supported motherboards.

Tech Link (Utility): CPU-Z 1.39 is available

Wooot, MS* Vista 64 support ;). I find it really nice that it can actually detect Merom XE. I'd better get some set up and running so I can play with it asap. Seems like my AOpen* i975XA-yDG will be resurrected yet again. Anyway, that's out of topic, check out CPU-Z and download the latest incarnation.

CPU-Z 1.39 is available. The news are :

Windows Vista 64 support.
VIA CX700/VX700 chipset.
Added Merom XE (X7900/X7800)
Added "PCI" and "MaxPCIBus" in the ini file to configure PCI scanning.
Added "-core" parameter to display the clock speed of the specified core.
Go to CPU-Z page for more information.
Download version 1.39.
CPU-Z forum.

Source:CPU-Z 1.39 is available

Tech Link (Utility):SpeedFan 4.31 is available

Wow, this is really fast. The 4.30 version didn't last for long. There's a new version of SpeedFan from Mr. Almico. This software is FREE, small in size, and fast. Expand for more......(note, I don't provide direct download of the files as is required by the author).

SpeedFan 4.31 is available. A lot of users should find this release interesting because of W83627DHG support. Starting with 4.30 new hardware monitor chips are fully supported, like ADM1026, ADT7473, MAX6640 and SCH311x. Added full support for Intel 631xESB and improved support for ICH7-M. Fixed support for other chips and added new advanced settings for some of them. Added full support for the internal temperature sensor from K8 chips on multiprocessor systems. There are several bug fixes and performance improvements too.

If you are planning a software upgrade and would like to move to Vista, consider that SpeedFan is compatible with it too. The 32 bit version works fine already. For the 64 bit version I made some tests and SpeedFan will work fine on it too.

Source:SpeedFan 4.31 is available

Tech Link (Utility): CPUID is on update spree (New CPU-Z 1.37 and PC PC Wizard 2006.1.70)

I guess this day is software update day. The author of one of the best (at least, for me it is the best), CPUID utility has just updated the list of processor supported by CPU-Z. He has also released a newer version of PC Wizard which, as time passed by, is becoming more and more of my staple-type of utility next to SiSoft SANDRA due to its small size and features. Give this software a try and learn more about your system, and yes, this is FREE. Expand for more...(note, I don't provide direct download of the files as is required by the author).

PC Wizard has been updated to its 2006.1.70 version.

This new release adds the following :

New Processor support : AMD Athlon64 X2 5200+, Intel Pentium D 915.
New Processor Cache support : Intel Core 2 Duo Prefetcher Optimization (Adjacent Line, IP, DCU, DPL).
New Chipset support : Intel E8501, Intel 5000X/V/P/Z, nVidia 5xx, Intel i3000, i3010.
New Bus support : VIA V-Link and Ultra V-Link.
New Video Card support : AGEIA PhysX processor.
New Sensor support : AMD Rev. E and AMD NPT Processor Thermal Diode, Analog Devices ADT7467, ADT7468, ADT7473, ADT7476.
New DVD support : DVD BD-R, DVD BD-RE and BD-ROM reading and writing features, Region information.
New Application support : Microsoft Windows Live Messenger.
New Password support : MSN Messenger 7.5 recovery.
New Disk Benchmark support : Processor usage information.
New OSD support : OSD Desktop window can be moved.

Preliminary Intel Processor support : Core 2 Quad "Kentsfield", Xeon "Clovertown", Core 2 Duo T5200.
Preliminary Chipset support : Intel 946PL/GZ, Intel Q965/Q963/G965, Intel 3100.
Preliminary Sensor support : ITE IT8716F, ITE IT8718F, Winbond W83627DHG, Analog Devices ADT7475.

New Extras support : Logitech G15 LCD screen support.

Several bugs fixed.
And more ...

Go to PC Wizard page for more information.

Download PC Wizard 2006.1.70


CPU-Z 1.37 is available. The news are :

New HTML report.
Intel Core 2 Quad, Celeron 360, Mobile Core 2 Duo T5200 support.
Changed SSE4 to SSSE3 (Supplemental SSE3).
Added VIA VT8237A southbridge.
Go to CPU-Z page for more information.

Download version 1.37.
CPU-Z forum.

Source:CPUID is on update spree (New CPU-Z 1.37 and PC PC Wizard 2006.1.70)

Tech Link (Utility): SpeedFan 4.30 Final is available

Alrighty, we have a new SpeedFan from Mr. Almico. If you don't know what SpeedFan is, it is a nifty utility that reads your PC's environmental status such as, yep, Fan Speed, temperature and other niceties such as CPU utilization and S.M.A.R.T.-related information. I suggest you try this one out if you haven't used it yet and once you started using this, you'll find it very useful for tweaking purposes. It is not a bloated software, in fact, I find it very lean for the type of job it can do, and this software is FREE. Expand for more......(note, I don't provide direct download of the files as is required by the author).

SpeedFan 4.30 Final is available. This release includes a lot of improvements. New hardware monitor chips are fully supported, like ADM1026, ADT7473, MAX6640 and SCH311x. Added full support for Intel 631xESB and improved support for ICH7-M. Fixed support for other chips and added new advanced settings for some of them. Added full support for the internal temperature sensor from K8 chips on multiprocessor systems. There are several bug fixes and performance improvements too.

If you are planning a software upgrade and would like to move to Vista, consider that SpeedFan is compatible with it too. The 32 bit version works fine already. For the 64 bit version I made some tests and SpeedFan will work fine on it too.

Source:SpeedFan 4.30 Final is available

Tech Link (Overclock): New Clockgen and CPU-Z Released

It's been ages since I've been trying to post this news item, till I completely forgot that it was released already. I actually have to go thru all my Blog entries to see if I haven't posted it yet.

Anyway, the new tools has been released already and I have been lagging behind in posting the news item. If you have been particularly tweaking your PC, like overclocking it, then you will love the new unified ClockGen tool. Additionally, a new version of CPU-Z has been released and now offers identification for the newer batch of processors and chipsets.

So head on over at CPUID and download the new tools. Don't forget to wipe the drool and smile on your face though.

Brag: DM helps with new OC Tool for Intel® D925XEBC2 Motherboard

I'd like to typcast this as "Article" but then again, I thought, it's not really an article so I changed it to "Brag".

So it was December 31, 2006 in the midst of silent firecrackers sounding off in the background, I decided to play with my still un-opened Intel® D925XEBC2 motherboard. It is a great uATX board, and I love the options it has such as Gigabit LAN, PCI Express, HD Audio and more.

This board has a tool for basic OCing. Intel® provided the IDC software, to OC it as much as 4% in regular Burn-In mode, and as much as 10% for extended Burn-In mode. I am not satisfied with 10%, so I decided to look for ways and means to OC this baby. I originally though of Clockgen since I already worked with the developer before, for a ClockGen utility for MSI i915G Combo.

But his time-zone is much different than mine. Then I remember SetFSB which has a similar tool to OC my Intel® D875PBZ motherboard, who, I believe, the developer resides in Japan and therefore within the same timezone (or just an hour ahead). However, unlike with Intel® D875PBZ, there was no tool that fits my clock generator for this board, either with ClockGen or SetFSB. So I just fired an email to the author, and even sent him more technical info about the clock generator. A series of email exchanges later, and as of this writing, I have a working beta version and still testing with abo for the final beta release.

So if you have this motherboard, head on to SetFSB site and download the latest beta. This tool also kicks off my article that you can read here about the not-so-overlockable-boards. So there, bragging end...

Article: A Tale of Non-Overclockable Boards turned Overclockable

Oftentimes, for enthusiasts who overclock, they base their purchase on reviews and how motherboard overclocks. If a certain motherboard, reviewed at a "respectable" and "huge" site, failed to overclock, it is dismissed as that: board is not "overclocker-friendly".

Introduction

But what is "overclocker-friendly"? For most overclockers I know, it can be the options in the BIOS where users can tweak everything, from stepless frequency settings, to fine tuning RAM ratio/timing, to changing voltage settings on the fly, to having option of adjusting processor multiplier. There are many motherboards that indeed offer such options, while some, just to be called "OC friendly" do have these "features" but these options aren't really that "great".

Take a look for example, in the case of a known great Socket478 motherboard: Asus P4C800. Even if this board offers great flexibility in terms of "tweakable" options, it offers mediocre choices in the voltage options, specially, in the RAM area. In the end, this board suffered various hardware modification, from droop mod, to vDimm mod.

II. Overclock-friendly Motherboard?

Now, what's my point in all this? Simply, focusing on the term "overclock" friendly. If a certain motherboard has not much option, say, less voltage control compared to another motherboard that has many, and produce the same results, which can be called "overclocker" friendly? It can be said that both isn't, but look at how Asus P4C800 was the boon of Intel® s478 users, which needs lots of modification to make it a "great" OCing board, and if not, it's much like another board with less OC options.

So saying both isn't OC friendly will not be fitting since Asus proved that all it needs are several hardware modding. So, can it be said then that both as OC friendly? Maybe, assuming both boards are hardware modded to perform just the same. Now, some people will say that, what about voltage stability design? Well, look at server motherboards, they have great voltage stability, yet, most of them aren't really geared as a good OC-friendly board. In the end, imo, if you have a board that can overclock pretty well, no matter what the options there are in the BIOS, then I can call it OC friendly.

III. Proof Of Concept

Intel® D875PBZ

A simple Google of this board and you'll find out that this board is like a curse to overclockers. While the default BIOS can give as much as 4% OC, there isn't really much offered by this motherboard in terms of OC options. The Intel® Desktop Control software gives the same options: 4% max. However, many failed to see the gem on this board, as is evident by comments from various web reviews:

::HardOCP::

Every great board has a few needy areas though, with the D875PBZ being no exception. The biggest area of concern is the lack of FSB overclocking available with this board.

::DigitalDaily::

In the same terms you should regard the "overclocking" options integrated in the Intel® D875PBZ board. For example, increase of memory voltage and adjustable latency timings, which gives the system integrators increase the list of memory types used. But the possibility to raise the processor clock speed is not more than an extra load for various stability tests.

And there other similar outcome from Motherboards.Org, SharkyExtreme, HardAvenue, and CyberCPU.

However, this same motherboard hits 300FSB, which, as far as my fragile mind can recall, was beyond the Holy Grail of s478 overclocking, which was hitting around 250FSB back then, 260FSB-280FSB as average highest, and only a handful can even get past 285FSB. So, is an Intel® D875PBZ overclocker-friendly or not?

Intel® D925XECB2

This is another great example of a motherboard, which isn't blessed with many high-reviews re OCability, and yet can also be overclocked. As is the case with an Intel® D875PBZ, I worked with abo
to develop a tool for tweaking the FSB. In December 31, 2005, I started playing with the motherboard, and found that it has options for at most, 10%, OC. I consulted this with abo (SetFSB developer) on January 01, 2006 and by January 02, 2006, he already developed a working tool to tweak it. He spent most of the time developing, while I spent most of my time to actually test it. The results speaks for themselves in this CPU-Z validation link.

As of the time of this writing, we are is still testing the tool, but you can visit his site and check the update which pertains to the IDT CV1125 Clock generator. I would like to give a shout-out to go visit his site and check if he has something for your motherboard. Chances are, he has it.

Other Proof of Concepts

Other motherboards, such as the MSI 865PE-Neo2-P and EPoX EP-5EGA+, didn't get a good review for its OCability. But my experience with them here (registration required) and here, shows that they can OC really well.

IV. Closing thoughts...

Looking back at the term "overclocker friendly" board, I can safely assume that any board, that can be modded via hardware or software, can be called overclocker friendly. A motherboard, that offers options, and yet can't even live up to the stability and extent of its options, can't be said "overclocker friendly". I mean, come on, you have the options, and yet, can't even use it well. What good these options are if it's next to being useless. Having a useless option can be equated to having no option at all. Of course, I never said and never meant that a board that has options and can live up to its options isn't overclocker friendly, they are just uber friendly =)

V. Into the future...

I plan to play with Intel® Desktop Board D975XBX, another board that never see good OC reviews and check how it can be tweaked with FSB adjustments. And if abo is still up for it, I'll request for an Intel® Desktop Board D975XBX OC utility and work with him in testing and ensuring the tool works well =)....

Till then, happy OCing...

_{All materials ©2005 by DM, reproduction by permission only}