new build questions, phenom II X4 960t with GA880GMA-USB3

[mascott]

Hi all
have finally got my new media pc built and running with no problems ( so far ) and following on from my question here http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,7479.0.html] I  have a few more questions for the great peaple here.
I am running my cpu at the moment on bios F2  on my motherboard even though the gigabyte cpu support page says i need bios F3 for my cpu to be compatible with my ga880gma-usb3 motherboard ( http://uk.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3817#ov )and was wondering would i be better to update my bios to F3 to be safe? or leave it as it is on bios F2  which seems to be running great at the moment?.
At the moment i have my motherboard set to optimized settings on bios F2 and pc health settings are as follows

vcore = 1.44v

ddr3 1.5v = 1.600v

+3.3v = 3.280v

+12v = 12.302v

current system temp = 40c

current cpu temp = 43c

current cpu fan speed = 2410

IS this looking ok with this set up? have 2 antec tricool fans installed in my case but at the moment they are set on low setting, would i be better to turn them up to medium setting to  cool the cpu better?and what is a good temp for a cpu to run at?
one thing i did notice was that the memory (corsair vengeance 1600cl9) was running at 1.6v when they should be running at 1.5 ( i think ), the timings are ok though at 9-9-9-24 shall i leave them at this or should i change them?

Lastly what would be a good set of tests to run to make sure everything is running as it should be?
Thanks for putting up with all this noob questions from me and for any more help this great forum can give me but i dont want to damage anything seeing as i got it built and working first time  


Moderator Edit: I replaced the first link in this thread for one that works as the original didn't. I think I have linked to the correct post but if I have made a mistake please let DM or me know via PM with the correct link, so that we can correct it for you. Thanks, absic.

[absic]

Hi there,

to answer your main question first, yes, it would be a good idea to update your BIOS to the latest version so that the CPU is properly recognised and to prevent possible issues.

If your RAM is rated at 1.5V then it would be a good idea to try and get them to run at this. However, if you do drop the Voltage back to 1.5V and find that the system becomes unstable you can raise the Voltage again. Although 1.6V is above the rated specifications, so long as your PC case is well cooled there shouldn't be a problem running RAM at this.

When it comes to testing a newly built PC there are plenty of different ideas of how to go about this. Personally I do not bother too much with stress testing or benchmarking. The main programs I tend to use for such things are:
MemTest 86+ For testing RAM
CrystalDiskMark for benching HDD's
ATTO for Benching SSD's
HeavyLoad for stressing the CPU and RAM
HW Monitor for checking Temps, Voltages etc.
CPUID

There are plenty of other options available and I am sure other user's will have their own opinions as to which they prefer. However, I would like to offer one piece of advice here, do ne get to hng up on benchmarks or stressing your new build. The best test that I have found is to actually use the PC. If there are any major problems you will soon find out. 

[jabberwocky]

I was having problems getting the same setup to run at 1600  ram speed ,and during several conversations with gigabyte ,they told me that they had tested that same ram and board combination ,and that it needed 1.6v to run stable .

[mascott]

Thanks for the replys gus, have bin using it now for 5 days and everything seems ok so far........will wait now a few more weeks till i start messing with the timings and memory to see if i can get it to run at 1600 like it should but if i cant am well happy as it is now so no big problem.......just got to wait now to i can get a new psu and graphics card to see if i can unlock any more cores on this great cpu and start to overcloak if i can :-)

[Dark Mantis]

Good news and looks like you have it sorted however I would suggest that you read this before increasing you memory speed to 1600mhz .

http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,2515.0.html

[mascott]

Thanks for the tip dark mantis :-) .......think after reading that article i will leave me memory alone and run it at1333mhz......would it still be worth changing my timings to get a extra boost that way?