I hope some of you have already read my take on an AMD Phenom II X4 965 with Gigabyte MA790FXT-UD5P.
For those who haven’t – link
The whole event of getting the requisite hardware, the stock and OC sessions on air had been so erratic and unpredictable that an LN2 session with the same seemed highly improbable, given the few days I was allowed to keep the chip.
Add to that, prior commitments at work and at home too due to the festive season and a sudden unavailability of space conducive for a proper setup, the improbability seemed more like uncertainty.
And without some extreme testing, the whole point of me requesting for the same seemed futile.
But miracles do happen and a kind-hearted "elf" heard my tales and summoned a "fairy godmother" who waved her magic wand and the doors to a lovely place were opened for what can be termed an extremely unnerving but equally eventful and fun session.
This is not a mere narration of just one of my LN2 sessions, this is a fairy tale.
"So, The day for the LN2 session is set and I have been up all night prepping up the stuff.
A very late night takes it toll and I have woken up late.
A quick shower and am off on my way to the venue.
After some run-in with Mumbai traffic and some location hunting, I am here at my gracious host’s home- my impromptu test lab for a day.
But the LN2 is not here yet.
So I get busy settling down and by the time the LN2 dewars arrive, half a day has passed by.
And I have forgotten to carry my keyboard and my host has a huge lineup or USB wireless ones that just won’t let me do anything.
So off he goes to buy a new keyboard while I have to tolerate an endless loop of reboots and have to keep the LN2 flowing just to keep the temperature in check to prevent condensation.
There are some things that are beyond the control of even elves and fairy godmothers I guess.
So the brand new PS/2 keyboard arrives and finally we are off the mark.
These X4 chips are said to have no cold bugs.
Yet, considering my ongoing not-so-lucky phase, I decide to play it safe and start with the pot half full.
As I proceed further, steadily but a bit overcautiously, I take the temps lower and lower.
Overcautious as I really don’t want any mishaps with a retail board, that involves a bit of unlearning and a bit of learning some new moves.
The RAM kits at my disposal are last year ones and acting not so friendly with the AMD setup now.
Also seems like something, maybe the chill and some last minute additional paper towel tucking, has caused the temp probe to dislodge a bit.
Readings seem a bit off for sure.
As the digital thermometer reads -140C, mostly -160C odd in real, ___
I mean it, ___
At around an indicated -140C, the whole setup is seemingly dead.
As a cold shiver runs down my neck, I think what the heck died- mobo, cpu or RAM?
Never have I encountered such a situation in all my LN2 sessions till date.
And as the rig lies seemingly dead, the temps keep climbing lower and now I have to get it up again, hoping it’s a (non-existing) cold bug or something.
And that’s going to be risky as well as it means condensation in and around the cpu socket.
A few RAM changes and reboots later, the temperature is at an indicated -110C odd and still nothing.
And then my dear fairy godmother arrives with some refreshments and is saddened at the turn of events.
So she offers to pour the LN2 and a few attempts later, we have lift off.
w00t- we are back in action.
The chip still acts a bit off for some more time, the RAMs still disagreeing to agree with it..
And then like a phoenix rising from it’s ashes, the 965 is HOTT and scaling.
As the clocks climb higher and the temps climb lower and closer to peak, the pot is gobbling LN2.
A lot of time has gone by and it’s getting a bit late into the night to be still at my gracious host’s place.
The whole room is in a mess, we have gobbled up a lot of refreshments and it’s almost time to say thank you and leave."
So in those final but precious moments, here is what i could achieve.
Mandatory Iced Pics
I am sure she poured some magic potion into that pot when she poured the LN2.
With an amazing elf for a friend, a fairy godmother and God by your side, nothing is impossible.
P.S: Many thanks to my friends Rishi, Shatul and Sharan.
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