Hello everybody.
It is a silly question, but I'm wondering to know if an hardware upgrade
to my Blade 2000 WS (I'm thinking to change both the processors, currently
running at 900 MHz, with two new CPUs at 1200 MHz) could be "really"
noticeable.
I use the WS as my primary WS, for email word processing etc under the
CDE environment.
Do you believe that the CDE could be faster wit this upgrade?
On 2009-09-16, Patata Kid <none@none.com> wrote:
> Hello everybody.
> It is a silly question, but I'm wondering to know if an hardware upgrade
> to my Blade 2000 WS (I'm thinking to change both the processors, currently
> running at 900 MHz, with two new CPUs at 1200 MHz) could be "really"
> noticeable.
No reason to not do it. The SB-2K uses the "Cu" versions of the
processors. (The Sun Fire 280R, if originally supplied with non-Cu
processors needs a new fan tray with a faster central fan of the three
when moving from non-Cu CPUs to *any* Cu CPUs.) Just to be sure, do
your existing CPUs have a green sticker saying something like "US-III
Cu" on them?
You are supposedly not supposed to mix different CPU speeds in
the Cu series -- but my experience shows that a 1200 MHz and a 900 Mhz
Cu CPU work well together. The results from "top" jump all over the
range for speeds, as the process keeps jumping back and forth between
the processors several times per top sample.
But as soon as I could, I got another 1200 MHz CPU to bring it
to full speed.
> I use the WS as my primary WS, for email word processing etc under the
> CDE environment.
> Do you believe that the CDE could be faster wit this upgrade?
Of course -- as is everything else which is CPU bound.
Be *sure* to carefully follow the removal and installation
instructions in the pamphlet packaged in an envelope on the side cover
(or glued to the fan shroud on the Sun Fire 280R which uses the same
system board series.) Yes, it is important to follow the instructions
even when removing a CPU which you expect to discard. If you take too
many turns on one jackscrew before going to the other, you can damage
the CPU connector on the system board -- and you also can have the
E-clip pop off the jackscrew and unless you find it, it can short out
something on the system board.
Since it is a SB-2K, you should have the better torque limiting
screwdriver in the green holder clip near the DVD-ROM drive, floppy
drive (if present), and smart-card drive (also if present). Both the
holder and the screwdriver are a day-glo green to match the circles
around the square sockets in the CPU modules, so they should be easy to
find.
Good Luck,
DoN.
--
Email: <dnichols@d-and-d.com> | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---
DoN. Nichols <dnichols@d-and-d.com> wrote:
> On 2009-09-16, Patata Kid <none@none.com> wrote:
>> Hello everybody.
>> It is a silly question, but I'm wondering to know if an hardware upgrade
>> to my Blade 2000 WS (I'm thinking to change both the processors, currently
>> running at 900 MHz, with two new CPUs at 1200 MHz) could be "really"
>> noticeable.
>
> No reason to not do it. The SB-2K uses the "Cu" versions of the
> processors. (The Sun Fire 280R, if originally supplied with non-Cu
> processors needs a new fan tray with a faster central fan of the three
> when moving from non-Cu CPUs to *any* Cu CPUs.) Just to be sure, do
> your existing CPUs have a green sticker saying something like "US-III
> Cu" on them?
>
> You are supposedly not supposed to mix different CPU speeds in
> the Cu series -- but my experience shows that a 1200 MHz and a 900 Mhz
> Cu CPU work well together. The results from "top" jump all over the
> range for speeds, as the process keeps jumping back and forth between
> the processors several times per top sample.
> No reason to not do it. The SB-2K uses the "Cu" versions of the
> processors. (The Sun Fire 280R, if originally supplied with non-Cu
> processors needs a new fan tray with a faster central fan of the three
> when moving from non-Cu CPUs to *any* Cu CPUs.) Just to be sure, do
> your existing CPUs have a green sticker saying something like "US-III
> Cu" on them?
Thanks for the answer ad yees, they have the green label that says "CU".
> You are supposedly not supposed to mix different CPU speeds in
> the Cu series -- but my experience shows that a 1200 MHz and a 900 Mhz
> Cu CPU work well together. The results from "top" jump all over the
> range for speeds, as the process keeps jumping back and forth between
> the processors several times per top sample.
OK, but I'm planning to buy two new processors at 1200 MHz.
> Be *sure* to carefully follow the removal and installation
> instructions in the pamphlet packaged in an envelope on the side cover
> (or glued to the fan shroud on the Sun Fire 280R which uses the same
> system board series.) Yes, it is important to follow the instructions
> even when removing a CPU which you expect to discard. If you take too
> many turns on one jackscrew before going to the other, you can damage
> the CPU connector on the system board -- and you also can have the
> E-clip pop off the jackscrew and unless you find it, it can short out
> something on the system board.
>
> Since it is a SB-2K, you should have the better torque limiting
> screwdriver in the green holder clip near the DVD-ROM drive, floppy
> drive (if present), and smart-card drive (also if present). Both the
> holder and the screwdriver are a day-glo green to match the circles
> around the square sockets in the CPU modules, so they should be easy to
> find.
This is a little bit "scaring" in the sense that I tought the substitution
could be easier, but OK, I will take extra care!
On 2009-09-19, Patata Kid <none@none.com> wrote:
>> No reason to not do it. The SB-2K uses the "Cu" versions of the
>> processors. (The Sun Fire 280R, if originally supplied with non-Cu
>> processors needs a new fan tray with a faster central fan of the three
>> when moving from non-Cu CPUs to *any* Cu CPUs.) Just to be sure, do
>> your existing CPUs have a green sticker saying something like "US-III
>> Cu" on them?
>
> Thanks for the answer ad yees, they have the green label that says "CU".
Good! That means that if you have to mix for a while (say if
you can only find one affordable 1200 MHz CPU at first) you can run them
mixed.
>> You are supposedly not supposed to mix different CPU speeds in
>> the Cu series -- but my experience shows that a 1200 MHz and a 900 Mhz
>> Cu CPU work well together. The results from "top" jump all over the
>> range for speeds, as the process keeps jumping back and forth between
>> the processors several times per top sample.
>
> OK, but I'm planning to buy two new processors at 1200 MHz.
Good. Sometimes things like that show up only one at a time.
>> Be *sure* to carefully follow the removal and installation
>> instructions in the pamphlet packaged in an envelope on the side cover
>> (or glued to the fan shroud on the Sun Fire 280R which uses the same
>> system board series.) Yes, it is important to follow the instructions
>> even when removing a CPU which you expect to discard. If you take too
>> many turns on one jackscrew before going to the other, you can damage
>> the CPU connector on the system board -- and you also can have the
>> E-clip pop off the jackscrew and unless you find it, it can short out
>> something on the system board.
>>
>> Since it is a SB-2K, you should have the better torque limiting
>> screwdriver in the green holder clip near the DVD-ROM drive, floppy
>> drive (if present), and smart-card drive (also if present). Both the
>> holder and the screwdriver are a day-glo green to match the circles
>> around the square sockets in the CPU modules, so they should be easy to
>> find.
>
> This is a little bit "scaring" in the sense that I tought the substitution
> could be easier, but OK, I will take extra care!
Note that it is really easier than changing the CPU on a typical
PC -- especially since they provide the one special tool needed in the
system box. (Hmm ... make sure that you have that screwdriver. All the
systems which I have worked with, from SB-1000, through SB-2000 and Sun
Fire 280R (same system board and CPUs) have had one form or another of
torque limiting screwdriver for the CPUs, but the manual says that some
of the later systems don't ship with a torque-limiting screwdriver, and
expect it to be supplied with a *new* CPU bought from Sun. Have you
ever noticed the screwdriver in your system? Bright dayglow green. If
a screwdriver (SB-2000 systems mostly) it will be in a similarly bright
green clip in the bottom of the compartment where the DVD drive and such
live, while in the SB-1000 it is a specially formed loop of heavy steel
wire stored in a bright green plastic carrier between the two disk drive
slots. For this, you apply force until the ends of the loops just
barely touch -- but the screwdriver type is better.
I can't find an eBay auction which has photos showing the
screwdriver at the moment -- though I have seen them before, including
in an auction where the vendor said that he had not pulled the CPUs to
check the speed because they needed a special tool. :-)
It is not a real problem as long as you follow the instructions
in the pamphlet concerning how much to turn each screw before you go to
the other. (There are only two jackscrews per CPU module.) The green
torque screwdriver has a raised ridge on the handle near the front which
makes it easy to tell how much you have rotated it by feel. (I use the
right hand to turn it, and the left hand to steady it, starting and
ending each turn with the ridge in contact with my thumb.
And I turn the screws, alternating from one to the other, until
I get at least three "clicks" from the torque screwdriver at each end.
Too little torque (no clicks) and the connector may not be properly
seated and not making connection on some pins. Too much torque (using a
normal Roberson screwdriver (the ones with the square end to fit the
socket in the screw heads) with too much "muscle" can potentially crush
the CPU connector -- either on the system board, or on the CPU module.
Oh yes -- they also *strongly* suggest (perhaps elsewhere, I
forget that detail) that you not handle the CPU modules by the heat
sinks, or the connector edge. Best to use just the plastic front panel
that the green "Cu" sticker is on.
I think that for the heat sinks, the concern is that normal skin
oils which may transfer to the heat sinks could hold dust on its way
through the CPU cooling airspace and reduce the efficiency of the
heatsinks over time. If you wear thin cotton gloves while handling it,
I doubt that it will make any difference.
For the connector -- that is always to be avoided because of
static buildup. If you are working in a dry environment (especially a
problem in winter) a wrist strap to connect your wrist to the metal
chassis of the computer will tend to drain off static electricity
buildup. (I usually just make sure that one hand is touching the
chassis when I reach for the part (DIMM, CPU module, or whatever) which
accomplishes the same thing -- but requires forming a habit, while the
anti-static wrist strap is sufficient without having to remember
details.
If you don't have an anti-static wrist strap (usually a one-use
one comes with new CPU modules and other things to go into Sun
computers), you can make one by wrapping a bare wire around your left
wrist (perhaps connect it to a wrist watch strap), run the wire through
a high-value resistor (say 1 Megohm) to the chassis ground. The
resistor is to keep the current down to a minimum -- just enough to
drain the static from your body.
If you are working in a humid room, you really don't need any
special care for static electricity.
Good Luck,
DoN.
--
Email: <dnichols@d-and-d.com> | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---
Cpu 900 -> 1200 MHz, good idea? 
Linear Mode
