# Phenom 9950 Stability Issue

## Hyper_Eye

I have been running an ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe with an Athlon 64 X2 6000+ for some time now. I received a Phenom 9950BE 125W CPU yesterday and I was hoping it would be a simple drop-in. When I put the new CPU in the machine Gentoo became completely unstable. Components of KDE randomly crash. When I compile a large application like wine I get random internal compiler error's (segfault - signal 11). This usually points to memory issues but I know the memory isn't the problem because putting the old CPU back in resolves the issues. It looks like this CPU causes instability. The question is whether it is causing instability in combination with my hardware or with Gentoo (and Linux in a more broad sense.) On the ASUS forum I found that people are using this CPU with this mobo successfully. I have found, though, that similar issues occur when compiling large applications in Gentoo for other users of Phenom CPU's. What I have not found is a solution. Some have recommended setting makeopts to "-j1". That would at best allow me to compile. It isn't going to stabilize everything else. Does anyone know of a solution to these issues?

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## NeddySeagoon

Hyper_Eye,

Two things ... getting the power in and the heat out.

What PSU do you have and what are its ratings per voltage?

The CPU is actually powered by the 12v from the PSU, so it needs about 12 Amps, just for that, when its working hard compiling.

The motherboard has an on board switched mode PSU to step down the 12v from the PSU.

Overheating due to using too much thermal paste is also a cause of random segfaults.

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## Hyper_Eye

I currently am using an OCZ GameXStream 600W: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001

I used the stock HSF and it has a thermal pad on it. I have some Artic Silver 5 but scraping those pads off tends to be a major pain so I figured what the hell (although the thermal pad on my old HSF caused the 6000+ to become attach to the HSF and when I removed the HSF from the board the CPU came with it without lifting the socket arm.)

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## szczerb

A paste could do the same (sucking the CPU out of the socket) so don't worry.

Maybe you have a pair of graphic monsters in SLI?

Also how much can it give on all four +12V combined? (it's not in the specs)Last edited by szczerb on Sat Nov 22, 2008 9:24 pm; edited 1 time in total

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## NeddySeagoon

Hyper_Eye,

That PSU can provide 18A on each 12v rail, so thats plenty.

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## szczerb

Well it can give up to 18A on a single rail at a time but we have no idea how much +12 total (4 rails * 12V * 18A == 864W which tells as only that those four rails with their amperage seem to be a commercial crap ;])

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## Monkeh

 *szczerb wrote:*   

> Well it can give up to 18A on a single rail at a time but we have no idea how much +12 total (4 rails * 12V * 18A == 864W which tells as only that those four rails with their amperage seem to be a commercial crap ;])

 

No, it just means that they have 18A limiters on them instead of lower, which would cause problems with devices which require lots of power. The overall limit is 580W, or 48A, which is more than enough for most systems.

It's very possible your board can't handle the CPU. The 9950 consumes a huge amount of power, and isn't officially supported on that board.

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## szczerb

I dug a bit deeper and found the chart:

http://www.ocztechnology.com/drivers/GameXstream_600W_chart.jpg

580W is a maximum combined power for +12 +5 and +3.3

+5 and +3.3 can take up to 155W

So this leaves +12V with 425W max power

So yes, it should be plenty and probably the mobo's power section is to blame.

BTW Note that the max power is not the value that the PSU can give constantly. On some chinese crap (no offense to the Chinese here...) the real power is half the max at best and the damn thing will fry within seconds of putting some real load on it.

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## Hyper_Eye

I went through a few really good benchmarks and stress tests on that PSU as well as many reviews and all of them were good reviews. So, I don't think the quality of the PSU is bad but I understand the legitimacy of the question as to how much power it can put out. From everything I have read this PSU should handle the 9950BE fine. I have a single 9800 GTX+ in the machine and I don't use SLI since games under wine and cedega don't take advantage of it and I haven't found a native game yet that doesn't just hum along on this machine.

I think I might consider getting an M3A79-T Deluxe to replace my M2N32-SLI. I may also upgrade to DDR2 1066. I'm thinking maybe a 4gig pair of G.SKILL memory. I would rather use the CPU now but if I have no choice but to make some more upgrades I guess that's just what I am going to have to do. I will say that others have reported their systems running stable with the 9950BE and the M2N32-SLI but they were all running 1066 memory and Windows.

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## NeddySeagoon

szczerb,

Every in PC PSU I've ever seen, the sum of the limits for the rails is greater taht the overall rating.

Its a design feature - these PSUs have a single main converter and separate stabilisers on each supply.

The overall max power is set by the main converter but you can mix and match within the limits of the stabilisers.

Oh, its common for the -5v and -12v to be very poorly regulated as they are not used in a modern PC.

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## Monkeh

 *Hyper_Eye wrote:*   

> I think I might consider getting an M3A79-T Deluxe to replace my M2N32-SLI.

 

Looks like a decent choice, although I'd have to recommend avoiding another Asus board. I've had.. less than wonderful experiences with them.

 *szczerb wrote:*   

> I dug a bit deeper and found the chart:
> 
> http://www.ocztechnology.com/drivers/GameXstream_600W_chart.jpg
> 
> 580W is a maximum combined power for +12 +5 and +3.3
> ...

 

No.. That leaves +12V with 580W max power. It gives +12V 425W max power if +3.3V and +5V are drawing 155W.

 *Quote:*   

> BTW Note that the max power is not the value that the PSU can give constantly.

 

Yes it is, unless it's a surge value (which would be noted).

 *Quote:*   

> On some chinese crap (no offense to the Chinese here...) the real power is half the max at best and the damn thing will fry within seconds of putting some real load on it.

 

OCZ is not cheap crap, although just how good they are is unknown to me.

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## Hyper_Eye

 *Monkeh wrote:*   

> Looks like a decent choice, although I'd have to recommend avoiding another Asus board. I've had.. less than wonderful experiences with them.

 

I have been using nothing but ASUS boards for years now and have had great experiences with them. That's just the way it is with hardware. Some people love Maxtor hdd's and others love Western Digital (just as examples) and lovers of one tends to hate the other. That's all dictated by personal experience. It think it's the luck of the draw regardless of the choice made.

 *Monkeh wrote:*   

> OCZ is not cheap crap, although just how good they are is unknown to me.

 

It has been quite solid for my use so far.

Does anyone have experience with G.SKILL memory? I tend to buy Corsair pairs but I find the quality seems to have relaxed a bit recently. I want to replace my current memory with a good pair. How does G.SKILL compare to recent Corsair memory? What if you throw Crucial into the choices? Thanks.

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## szczerb

I never meat to imply that OCZ PSU's are crap ;] I just wanted to explain the issue on a "better" example.

Also I know that the all PSU's can't handle as much +12V as the sum of all rails. But here the sum of those rails is 144% of the whole 600W output and the limit for all rails is not given. I certainly wouldn't buy a PSU whose manufacturer decides not to share such a vital information. That is why I called it "commercial crap" - commercial as in advertisement (my english got a bit rusty as I didn't have a chance to have a decent conversation for some time now, so I can't find a better word).

BTW I'm using GoodRam sticks on several machines now and, while affordable, they seem to be very high quality. Two sets which 667MHz are working 800MHz with poor to none air flow (and of course no heatsinks) and are rock stable. Although I think it's a polish brand and I don't know if it's available worldwide.

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## Monkeh

 *Hyper_Eye wrote:*   

> Does anyone have experience with G.SKILL memory? I tend to buy Corsair pairs but I find the quality seems to have relaxed a bit recently. I want to replace my current memory with a good pair. How does G.SKILL compare to recent Corsair memory? What if you throw Crucial into the choices? Thanks.

 

Not personally, but they come highly recommended. Corsair is a definite no-no in my books (have bought XMS once, XMS2 once. Just lost the last original stick of XMS, the XMS2 came DOA. Everyone I personally know who has bought Corsair has had faulty Corsair.). OCZ are very good. Crucial aren't the best choice for performance memory.

 *Quote:*   

> Also I know that the all PSU's can't handle as much +12V as the sum of all rails. But here the sum of those rails is 144% of the whole 600W output and the limit for all rails is not given.

 

Yes.. It is. 580W.

 *Quote:*   

> I certainly wouldn't buy a PSU whose manufacturer decides not to share such a vital information.

 

Neither would I. OCZ however do. On the very image you yourself linked to.

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## szczerb

Well, then it is not clear enough for me.

If there was a box with 580W on the right of the 155W box and another box with 580W underneath those two, then it would be clear that +12V rails can give 580W and +3.3 with +5 can give up to 155W but all three together they can't give more then 580W.

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## Monkeh

 *szczerb wrote:*   

> Well, then it is not clear enough for me.
> 
> If there was a box with 580W on the right of the 155W box and another box with 580W underneath those two, then it would be clear that +12V rails can give 580W and +3.3 with +5 can give up to 155W but all three together they can't give more then 580W.

 

.. That's exactly what's there, minus one redundant line.

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## Jorgo

Which BIOS version do you have on your board? Latest version on Asus website is 2101

Phenom CPUs are supported from Bios version 1903 an higher.

Are you sure you have the 125W 9950? There is another model with 140W, wich will definatly not work on any of Asus M2N32- Models

Btw.: The CPU ist not listed as supported by your board, but there are some people using this combo without problems

http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-en&model=M2N32-SLI%20Deluxe

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## Hyper_Eye

 *Jorgo wrote:*   

> Which BIOS version do you have on your board? Latest version on Asus website is 2101
> 
> Phenom CPUs are supported from Bios version 1903 an higher.
> 
> Are you sure you have the 125W 9950? There is another model with 140W, wich will definatly not work on any of Asus M2N32- Models
> ...

 

I flashed to 2101 a few days before the 9950 arrived and ran it until after I had the 9950 in. It had some memory issues that other users had reported as well. I backed down to the 2001 which I have been running for months without issue. The 9950BE I have is definitely the 125W version. I have read the posts by users of this combo on the ASUS forum and one thing they all seem to have in common is DDR2 1066 and I am using DDR2 800. They are also all using Windows.

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## Monkeh

It could just be that some users are lucky, as I doubt the RAM has anything to do with it. The CPU isn't listed as supported, probably for a reason.

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## szczerb

They might have a different revision of the same model, which might have a better power section. Although it would be a weird coincidence if they all had the stronger one and you the weaker one.

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