Breaking Dad's Big Bad Gaming Discussion - For all things to do with PC Gaming !

[RMerlin]

If you guys are tweaking CO, I strongly recommend testing with a tool like this rather than OOCT/Cinebench:

BoostTester/BoostTester at master · jedi95/BoostTester

Simple tool for generating loads that should trigger maximum CPU boost clocks. - jedi95/BoostTester

github.com

As I mentionned, CO affects the voltage offset both at the lower end and the higher end of the voltage curve. You need a single core test tool that will alternate between 0% and 100% load on each core to properly test CO stability. An all-core test like OOCT only tests one end of the curve.

 

[BreakingDad]

Already run cinebench for an hour on both single and multi core modes. I just ran OCCT for memory at 80% load for an hour, no issues. Now running CPU test, no issues so far, 40min to go. Will have a look at the tool Merlin posted as well. Still on a -30 offset, I can't seem to break it no matter how hard I try as yet. Think I got lucky on the silicon lottery. For me I only play games and mess about with video editing, plus normal surfing stuff. I also have a thermal PBO limit set to 90 degrees so my system never goes over that. Also when I play games, the temps never really hit more than 60 degrees. Looking good.

Also found this, as I could not work out how to execute Merlins one. That said at 12 hours per core, that's a lot of testing.

GitHub - sp00n/corecycler: Script to test single core stability, e.g. for PBO & Curve Optimizer on AMD Ryzen or overclocking/undervolting on Intel processors

Script to test single core stability, e.g. for PBO & Curve Optimizer on AMD Ryzen or overclocking/undervolting on Intel processors - sp00n/corecycler

github.com

 

[drinkingbird]

I haven't played any PC game in many years (I believe Quake 2 in the late 90s in college was the last). For me it was always exciting to upgrade a server and see average CPU use drop and the electric bill go down, faster DNS responses, etc. Those days are mostly over, now I just outsource everything for a few dollars a month.

I'm still surviving on a 15 year old desktop for the occasions where I want dual monitor to work on something, other than that its my 5 year old laptop.

Pretty sad setup these days for someone with a degree in computer engineering that has been a network engineer for 20+ years. Oh well, better things to do these days I guess.

I do remember playing the original MS flight SIMs and also some game called LHX attack chopper back in the mid 90s. Have come a long way since then, latest Flight SIM looks pretty incredible.

I won't even mention the computers I had before that or how exciting the smallest of things were. 64kb memory expansion card was a very big deal.

 

[BreakingDad]

I haven't played any PC game in many years (I believe Quake 2 in the late 90s in college was the last). For me it was always exciting to upgrade a server and see average CPU use drop and the electric bill go down, faster DNS responses, etc. Those days are mostly over, now I just outsource everything for a few dollars a month.

I'm still surviving on a 15 year old desktop for the occasions where I want dual monitor to work on something, other than that its my 5 year old laptop.

Pretty sad setup these days for someone with a degree in computer engineering that has been a network engineer for 20+ years. Oh well, better things to do these days I guess.

I do remember playing the original MS flight SIMs and also some game called LHX attack chopper back in the mid 90s. Have come a long way since then, latest Flight SIM looks pretty incredible.

I won't even mention the computers I had before that or how exciting the smallest of things were. 64kb memory expansion card was a very big deal.

My first computer was a bbc micro aged 11, then a comodore amiga 1200, then an atari st, then a pentium 1 133mhz, think it had 95 on it, not sure. Just missed the dos days, but I remember others having it. I'm 51 and still into gaming, assuming I am still mentally functioning after using this forum for 9 years or so i'll be gaming till the end (and breaking windows and routers)

 

[drinkingbird]

my first computer was a bbc micro aged 11, then a comodore amiga 1200, then an atari st, then a pentium 1 133mhz, think it had 95 on it, not sure. Just missed the dos days, but I remember others having it. I'm 52 and still into gaming, assuming I am still mentally functioning after using this forum for 9 years or so i'll be gaming till the end (and breaking windows and routers)

I've been through just about every x86 (I think I skipped 286 and went from 8086/8088 to 386). Every version of MS DOS from 3 and up and windows 3.1 and up. I remember saving up my money to put another 2 or 4 megs of RAM in the 386. I think it was like $80.

The very first one I had - much like a video game, had to change the TV to channel 3

 

[sfx2000]

my first computer was a bbc micro aged 11, then a comodore amiga 1200, then an atari st, then a pentium 1 133mhz, think it had 95 on it, not sure.

Dial-in to UCSD's pascal system from the local community college, which I then transitioned over to Apple II Pascal back in '79...

 

[degrub]

dial up teletype to someones mainframe Basic on paper tape ! making Snoopy calendars and chess games in 1971
PDP11/70 through 11/73 assembler and Fortran at university
HP110 laptop
Heathkit 8086 clone soldering experience ;-)
too many self assembled x86 boxes as a hobbyist since then

 

[Tech9]

making Snoopy calendars and chess games in 1971

I was in floating around chemicals form back then. Don't remember anything like this.

 

[Clark Griswald]

I was in floating around chemicals form back then. Don't remember anything like this.

I'm just glad that you've adjusted your "dosage", and have become a productive member of these forums.

 

[Tech9]

There is a game you just don't know about.

 

[drinkingbird]

Anyone remember FidoNET and BBSes

And sysops with god complexes.

 

[Maverick009]

This is a post right up my alley. I am a huge gamer both in the console space and especially in PC realm. I love games that tell stories and/or have puzzles to solve in creative ways mostly but my love of gaming always has me trying some new things out. I just finished up RE4 Remake as far as recent gen gaming, but now playing Project Hospital (love sim like games) in some downtime. I also use emulators (really good for old school games or for when kids have the consoles and Dad still wants to play) and currently playing Zelda: Skyward Sword and hoping to beat it just before the new Zelda comes out.

I also keep adding games to my ever-growing collection and have a slight back catalog of games and some of the old RPG games I love more than the new stuff. I highly recommend trying out Lunar: The Silver Star Complete and Lunar 2: Eternal Blue as they have one of the best stories that draws you in. If real old school gamer, then you can always try the Kings Quest, Space Quest, and other classic Sierra adventure games out or as I saw some choose flight sims, Wing Commander, I still consider one of the best if not the best flight space sim ever. I could go on and on, but I think you can see my true gaming nerdism coming out.

Also my first computer was a Tandy 1000. That began my trip into also understanding how computers work and wanting to tear them apart to figure out everything. We quickly moved on up to a IBM PS/2 486 that I ended up getting a co-processor to upgrade it with and as a graduation gift my Mom got me a Packard Bell with a Pentium II in it. That was my last prebuilt PC, as I began building new systems with both early AMD Athlon and Intel Pentium 3 CPUs and the rest was history in the making and my current PC is a highly powered custom-built system. What a trip down memory lane.

 

[BreakingDad]

I've been through just about every x86 (I think I skipped 286 and went from 8086/8088 to 386). Every version of MS DOS from 3 and up and windows 3.1 and up. I remember saving up my money to put another 2 or 4 megs of RAM in the 386. I think it was like $80.

The very first one I had - much like a video game, had to change the TV to channel 3

My god I miss Tandy, everytime I see that word I have warm memories of going in there as a boy and spending hours staring and playing with all the tech.

On to something more up to date, this saga is "interesting" to say the least

AMD Ryzen 7000 Burning Out: EXPO and SoC Voltages to Blame (AMD Responds)

Impacts all motherboard makers and all Ryzen 7000 chips.

www.tomshardware.com

 

[L&LD]

Interesting is not the word I would use for that.

After 6 long years of AMD trying to compete with Intel (particularly in a business setting), they're still not there in any meaningful way.

I like the pricing pressure they put on Intel. And I have bought a few examples over these past few years, but Intel is still the platform that just works as it should. I only have a Lenovo Carbon Edition based on AMD platform tech, and it is a daily disappointment (all the other AMD systems I've tried have either been returned or sold).

 

[RMerlin]

Anyone remember FidoNET and BBSes

Yes, I co-ran a node.

I started on Color 64 BBS myself. I had extensively modded our version, probably my first "real" software project.

Now I feel old ;(

 

[avtella]

My god I miss Tandy, everytime I see that word I have warm memories of going in there as a boy and spending hours staring and playing with all the tech.

On to something more up to date, this saga is "interesting" to say the least

AMD Ryzen 7000 Burning Out: EXPO and SoC Voltages to Blame (AMD Responds)

Impacts all motherboard makers and all Ryzen 7000 chips.

www.tomshardware.com

Seems like the issue is that motherboard vendors weren’t taking into account X3D chips when dealing with EXPO profiles using them 1:1 in regards to voltages as if they were standard parts. Also doesn’t help some like Asus have previously been known for pushing extra voltage by default.

 

[RMerlin]

they're still not there in any meaningful way.

Not sure about that. For example, every past few datacenters Linode has open these past years has been EPYC-based. Datacenters value density, and right now Intel can't even touch AMD in that department. Genoa are absolute beasts, and there's still plenty more to come. AMD currently holds a 20% market share in that market segment vs 71% for Intel, which is definitely "meaningful", and they are experiencing YoY growth, while Intel has been experiencing shrinking. The momentum is clearly behind AMD at this time.

The ARM market share is doing pretty well, and there's a chance that RISC-V might jump in at some point to disrupt things even further.

We definitely are seeing a very healthy dose of competition right now, which is good for everyone.

 

[L&LD]

I don't deal with data centers, and neither (I assume) does anyone else on the forums here). I specifically stated business use cases.

Competition is great, but actualizing promises is even better. AMD is failing there, from my perspective as a business user.

 

[avtella]

Not sure about that. For example, every past few datacenters Linode has open these past years has been EPYC-based. Datacenters value density, and right now Intel can't even touch AMD in that department. Genoa are absolute beasts, and there's still plenty more to come. AMD currently holds a 20% market share in that market segment vs 71% for Intel, which is definitely "meaningful", and they are experiencing YoY growth, while Intel has been experiencing shrinking. The momentum is clearly behind AMD at this time.

The ARM market share is doing pretty well, and there's a chance that RISC-V might jump in at some point to disrupt things even further.

We definitely are seeing a very healthy dose of competition right now, which is good for everyone.

Intel’s also putting some effort behind RISC-V, I believe the invested a decent amount in SiFive a few years back.

As for ARM apparently they are looking at making liscencing changes to get a percentage of per device sales.

 

[BreakingDad]

If you think of how many AMD ryzens are out there, maybe 4 or 5 that I have heard about have had this issue. A lot of this has come from anecdotal reports and gossip on reddit, when we don't know exactly how these users were clocking their chips. That said it is of concern for me, I will be checking my SOC voltage later.

Here is a youtube video that goes into some detail

Don't really have a desire to get into the Intel vs AMD debate, for me I just prefer AMD, I have nothing really to back up that statement with other than using them successfully for years. I see intel as like edge (or windows) and amd as like firefox (or linux), more to play with, more bang for buck, more fun for the tinkerer. I can't be bothered to search but I'm pretty sure there are examples of intel chips over heating out there as well. This is just a blip on new tech AM5 as per usual with these things. I think part of the problem is motherboard manufacturers as well, trying to up their performance ratings, rather than the AMD chip itself, by forcing higher voltages than they should.