More on CPU specs of the ReadyNAS Pro

link to online store where I got the hfc heatsink. Apparently there is still stock. Don't know if they ship internationally.

http://www.coolmod.com/product/3765/0/0 ... -Cobre.htm

Great, thanks for the link! I'll check them out.

Just been reading through this thread, and a couple of other similar ones on this forum and elsewhere. Quite useful as I've found out a fair bit without even opening up my ReadyNAS! Though unfortunately it's not all that clear who's talking about the old Pro and who's got the new one. Below is the consolidated knowledge that I've acquired, and then some questions.

I have the ‘new’ Pro 6 (RNDP6000-200) with the Pentium D E5300 (2.6GHz, 800MHz FSB, 45nm, 65W TDP) as standard with 1x1GB Apacer PC2-6400 (75.073B4.G00) RAM. According to bios_ver.log I'm on 07/26/2010 FLAME6-MB V2.0

From looking around there seems to be no real answer as to what chipset the motherboard uses. lspci reckons it's an Q963/Q965, but the Pentium E5300 that Netgear ship the ReadyNAS with isn't on Intel approved list for it... so maybe it's something like a G31 chipset instead? Though WhoCares in September 2010 reckoned it's maybe the DP965/967, but doesn't say whether he's talking about the old or new Pro.

I'd like a faster CPU, but I'm very wary of over-heating the unit... so the 65W TDP, and then the real-world operating temperature, are pretty key IMHO.
I did have a think about sticking in a bigger/better heatsink & fan, but then all you're really doing is removing the heat from the CPU and sticking it in the case... all your other components & HDDs are now going to be getting all the heat from the CPU instead. Though in-case it helps anyone else, what I found out was the below (but even that is conflicting):

sleepy06405 who definitely has the new Pro said that "the stock heatsink/fan unit measures 1.5" H x 3.75" W. There is about 1/4" of clearance between the case and fan on the height side, on the width side the heatsink is about 1/4" away from a big rectangular heatsink on the board itself." So that's a height of 44mm in new money that you've got to play with. Others, who don't say whether they're talking about the new Pro or the old Pro, say it's 53mm. Going with the 44mm, as that person was definitely talking about the new Pro, that's a tight fit and if you're going to run a taller heatsink you're going to have to remove/modify the door. This FrosyTech review lists a few <45mm (1.5U) models. Scythe are mentioned quite a few times in this thread, and their relevant models are Kozuti (40mm) Big Shuriken2 SCBSK-2000 (58mm) Shuriken Rev.B SCSK-1000 (64mm) Other ones mentioned are the Hiper HFC-10828-C2 (28mm), and the Thermaltake MeOrb CLP0527 (47mm). Multiple people have said that the stock CPU cooler is attached with 4 screws, so you have to use heatsinks that screw on or replace any push pin/plug ones with screws.

As for me, I'd want to stick with a CPU of similar temperature to the stock Pentium E5300. From reading what others have done...

March 2010 Chirpa said that he tried a E7400 and it didn't work - but was he talking about the old or new Pro? Note that the BIOS my new Pro 6 is running is dated after then.
August 2011 xtrips finds that a Pentium E6700 doesn't work, but again it's not clear whether he was talking about the old or new Pro (though TBH I wouldn't want to stick a Pentium in anyways).

A few people in various units, and sleepy06405 specifically in the new Pro 6, put in a Core 2 Duo E6700 (2.66GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 65nm, 65W TDP) and found that it worked fine. Although the headline clock speed isn't any better than stock, its a different architecture and the 20% higher bus speed will improve memory speed (can use PC2-8500 rather than PC2-6400 on the stock 800MHz Pentium). SL9ZF was his stepping, but I'm not sure what difference the stepping made on those anyways.

sleepy06405 also found that a Core 2 Quad QX6700 (2.66GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 65nm) worked too, and Korky did a Q6700, but at 130W TDP and 105W TDP that's just stupidly hot IMHO.

So the E6700 and QX6700 work definitely in sleepy06405's new Pro 6 (RNDP6000-200).



Scrolling up on this page, iwaleed with a Pro 6 running the same BIOS version as mine (so presumably a new RNDP6000-200) fits a Core 2 Duo E7400 (2.8GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 45nm, 65W TDP) and finds that it works fine. As he got the SLGW3 stepping (rather than SLGQ8/SLB9Y) it support VT-x Vanderpool virtualization.
He even says that it runs 10C cooler than the Core 2 Duo E6700, and as one of the changes from the E6000 to the E7000 was the change of process from 65nm to 45nm (thus making them cooler and more power efficient) I can believe it.
Note that the Core 2 Duo E7400 working directly contradicts what Chirpa said, but I'm going to wager that there's the difference of old vs new Pro, and a BIOS update in-between.


So the Core 2 Duo E7400 is the best that I've read of anyone having successfully work (ignoring the stupidly hot quads), but what about the Core 2 Duo E7600 (3.06GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 45nm, 65W TDP)? Has anyone tried it? In theory it's just like iwaleed's E7400, but just uses a higher multiplier to get the higher clock speed.

More risky perhaps would be trying a CPU that uses 1333MHz FSB. Given that we don't know what the motherboard chipset is, it's entirely possible that it won't do 1333MHz FSB... and actually I can't find anyone that's ever tried it.
Having a quick look at through at what Core 2 Duos use 1333MHz FSB and are 65W TDP there's the E6850 (3.00GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 65nm, 65W TDP), then in the E8000 series there's the E8600 (3.33GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 45nm, 65W TDP).
There's also a couple of Core 2 Quads that are still 65W TDP, but they're going to be a rather expensive trial unless you just happen to have one spare. They're the Q9505S (2.83GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 45nm, 65W TDP) and with more cache the Q9550S (2.83GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 45nm, 65W TDP).


So yeah, a E7400 with SLGW3 stepping or an E7600 is what I think I'll try. Would be good if anyone else that's tried other CPUs could post them up too, whether it was successful or not!

Westyfield2 wrote:

From looking around there seems to be no real answer as to what chipset the motherboard uses. lspci reckons it's an Q963/Q965, but the Pentium E5300 that Netgear ship the ReadyNAS with isn't on Intel approved list for it... so maybe it's something like a G31 chipset instead? Though WhoCares in September 2010 reckoned it's maybe the DP965/967, but doesn't say whether he's talking about the old or new Pro.

So working on the fact that it comes with the factory fitted Pentium D E5300, and then ones that people have found work are the E6700, Q6700, and E7400, lets take a look at Intels lists of compatible processors:

For the Q963 Intel list only the E6700 - so if this is the chipset surely the Q6700 and E7400 shouldn't have worked? And the Pentium D E5300 that Netgear are fitting isn't on the list!
For the Q965 Intel list only the E6700 - so if this is the chipset surely the Q6700 and E7400 shouldn't have worked? And the Pentium D E5300 that Netgear are fitting isn't on the list!
For the DP965 Intel list the E6700 and Q6700 - so if this is the chipset surely the E7400 shouldn't have worked? And the Pentium D E5300 that Netgear are fitting isn't on the list!
For the G31 Intel list the E5300, the E6700, the Q6700, and the E7400 - so I'd say that this is the most likely chipset.

The G31 is also listed as supporting 1333MHz FSB... 8)

Hi,

I read your summary with interest. I myself have a Pro Pioneer with FLAME6-MB V1.6, and can confirm that the Core Duo E6700 (SL9ZF) and the Core Duo Quad Q6700 "work" with this hardware. By work I mean that the system boots and starts Linux. I have not tried any other CPUs.

Going further:

The Q6700 is too hot for this system as things stand. Besides, it requires patches to the readynas software to work correctly in the Pro Pioneer. These patches are not required in the new hardware.

The E6700 is rock solid and practically requires no addtional cooling vs. the stock CPU.

However, you have to be careful with the memory. If you have the stock memory, it is PC2-5300 and will have no major problems. But if you have upgraded to PC2-6400, the memory will run faster with the new CPU and will cause additional heating on the chipset. Since the chipset is passively cooled, this could lead to problems or reduced life. With a 1333 MHz FSB, this will be even worse. I wouldn't recommend using fast memory even if the chipset can handle it.

Regarding the heatsink. Heigth is not the only limitation. All heatsink dimensions are extremely constrained. Basically you can use only round heatsinks with dimensions similar to the stock one, because there are non-standard obstructions everywhere (The chipset heatsink, the CPU capacitors, the memory DIMMs...).

•Kozuti (40mm) •Big Shuriken2 SCBSK-2000 (58mm) •Shuriken Rev.B SCSK-1000 (64mm)

Don't even bother with these, none of them will fit.

ddoming73 wrote:

However, you have to be careful with the memory. If you have the stock memory, it is PC2-5300 and will have no major problems. But if you have upgraded to PC2-6400, the memory will run faster with the new CPU and will cause additional heating on the chipset. Since the chipset is passively cooled, this could lead to problems or reduced life. With a 1333 MHz FSB, this will be even worse. I wouldn't recommend using fast memory even if the chipset can handle it.

One thing just to note, in the 'new' Pro 6 (RNDP6000-200) the stock RAM is actually 1x1GB Apacer PC2-6400 (75.073B4.G00). An upgrade to faster RAM you can do is PC2-8500, but because of the stock Pentium D E5300's 800MHz FSB it'll slow down to PC2-6400 speeds unless you stick in one of the 1066MHz FSB CPUs.

With regards to heat from RAM, I'd guess that using RAM without bulky heat spreaders would be better as that'll keep any heat contained within the RAM (whereas heat spreader models would radiate the heat to the surrounding air).

Interesting point about possible chipset heat from using a 1333MHz FSB CPU. Assuming that the chipset can do 1333MHz, I'd hope that Netgear have given it a heatsink that's within Intels stated TDP at TJMax for the chipset and consequently it would be ok (but it is possible that Netgear said "As we're using an 800MHz FSB CPU the chipset won't ever be running at full 1333MHz speed we can cheap-out on the heatsink and use one less powerful than Intel say it needs").


Perhaps those people here using CPU's that are still 65W TDP like stock but are running at 1066MHz FSB (e.g. Core 2 Duo E6700 & E7400) could clarify it they have noticed any increased temperature?

Hi,

One thing just to note, in the 'new' Pro 6 (RNDP6000-200) the stock RAM is actually 1x1GB Apacer PC2-6400 (75.073B4.G00). An upgrade to faster RAM you can do is PC2-8500, but because of the stock Pentium D E5300's 800MHz FSB it'll slow down to PC2-6400 speeds unless you stick in one of the 1066MHz FSB CPUs.

OK, In my case the stock memory is slower.

Perhaps those people here using CPU's that are still 65W TDP like stock but are running at 1066MHz FSB (e.g. Core 2 Duo E6700 & E7400) could clarify it they have noticed any increased temperature?

I'm one. And I can confirm that (all other parameters being equal) chipset temperature has varied up to to 2º C for me just by changing from one memory type/size to another.

There is a simple way to ensure that the chipset remains cool, however. Simply crank up the CPU fan RPM. Since the chipset heatsink is right next to the CPU heatsink, a high airflow on the CPU will produce airflow on the chipset and cool it accordingly. I have seen temperature drops of up to 10 ºC on the chipset just by forcing high RPMs ( > 3000 RPM) on the CPU fan. However, this is only acceptable for people that do not have to hear the racket made by the Readynas in these conditions.

With regards to heat from RAM, I'd guess that using RAM without bulky heat spreaders would be better as that'll keep any heat contained within the RAM (whereas heat spreader models would radiate the heat to the surrounding air).

I don't think this will help much. Chipset heating is related to RAM speed, but mostly from heat generated on the chipset itself by running faster and hotter. Ambient temperature is mostly a result of total energy contribution (component heat) vs. the amount of air moved by the fans. Heatsinks only help in reaching equilibrium faster, but they won't make air temperature lower or higher.

I’m not sure how far down the voiding your warranty slippery slope this is as it’s only plugging in a cable and viewing, but I’m lucky it that I have multiple ReadyNAS units at my disposal (and my personal one isn’t getting opened up at all!)

So on the ‘new’ Pro 6 (RNDP6000-200) the motherboard VGA header is in fact a 15pin connector, not a 12pin connector like the old one had. A suitable cable is something like the XFX 15-Pin VGA Ribbon (VGA 15-Pin Female to 15-Pin Female Board Interface) that XFX did as part of their Low-Profile bracket kit.

When you plug in the cable and boot the ReadyNAS up you’ll see it do the BIOS POST check and then load the Linux kernel.

American Megatrends
AMI BIOS(C) 2006 American Megatrends, Inc.
07/26/10 FLAME6-MB V2.0
CPU : Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E5300 @ 2.60GHz	Speed : 2.60GHz

Press DEL to run Setup (F4 on Remote Keyboard)
Press F11 for BBS POPUP (F3 on Remote Keyboard)
The MCH Is operating with DDR2 800/CL6/Trcd6/Trp6/Tras18
Initializing USB Controllers .. Done.
1023MB OK
USB Device(s): 1 Storage Device
Auto-Detecting AHCI Port 0..Not Detected
Auto-Detecting AHCI Port 1..Not Detected
Auto-Detecting AHCI Port 2..IDE Hard Disk
Auto-Detecting AHCI Port 3..IDE Hard Disk
SATA Port2 <Hard drive model> S.M.A.R.T. Capable and Status OK
SATA Port3 <Hard drive model> S.M.A.R.T. Capable and Status OK
Auto-detecting USB Mass Storage Devices .. 
Device #01 : SMI USB Disk *HiSpeed*
01 USB mass storage devices found and configured

So the POST didn’t really teach us anything we didn’t already know.

At the bottom of the screen until you get past “Initializing USB Controllers” its says

(C) American Megatrends, Inc.
64-****-******-********-******-Broadwater-********-Y2KC

It then disappears once past “Initializing USB Controllers”. I’ve blanked out most of the characters as I reckon they’re a unique identifier.


So the POST isn’t all that conclusive.

Then it’s time for the OS to load

MBR
H

SYSLINUX 3.31 V1.06 Fri Jul 9 18:03:04 PDT 2010
FOUND SMBIOS
Copyright (C) 1994-2005 H. Peter Anvin
02F8
Normal
FactoryDefault
OSReinstall
TechSupport
SkipVolCheck
MemoryTest
TestDisks
Loading
18
1B
To Be Filled By O.E.M.
To Be Filled By O.E.M.
07/26/2010 FLAME6-MB V2.0
To Be Filled By O.E.M.
kernel……………………
Loading initrd.gz……………………
Ready.

So nothing new there either.

If you plug in an USB Keyboard you can press Del to get in the BIOS and take a look around. Be careful not to change anything though!

Once in the BIOS the seven top tabs are “Main, Advanced, PCIPnP, Boot, Security, Chipset, Exit”. At the bottom of the screen on all tabs it says v02.61 (C)Copyright 1985-2006, American Megatrends, in.” I'm not going to post what's in every tab (and I haven't even opened all of them!), but I'll post my edited highlights.


Main Tab
Processor name/Speed, System Memory size, and date/time all as expected.

Version: 08.00.14
Build Date: 07/26/10
ID: ********

I’ve blanked the ID as I think it’s a unique identifier.

Advanced Tab
Hardware Health lists all the voltages which is nice. CPU Configuration is of interest:

Configure advanced CPU settings
Module Version: 3F.17

Manufacturer: Intel
Pentium (R) Dual-Core CPU E5300 @ 2.60GHz
Frequency: 2.60GHz
FSB Speed: 800MHz
Cache L1: 64KB
Cache L2: 2048KB
Ratio Actual Value: 13

Hardware Prefetcher - Enabled
Adjacent Cache Line Prefetch - Enabled
Max CPUID Limit - Disabled
Intel(R) Virtualization Tech - Enabled
Execute-Disable Bit Capability - Enabled
Core Multi-Processing - Enabled
PECI - Disabled
Intel(R) SpeedStep(tm) tech. - Disabled
Intel(R) C-State tech. C1 Config - Standard
Intel(R) C-State tech. C2 Config - Standard
Intel(R) C-State tech. C3 Config - Standard

The meaning of CPU Module Version: 3F.17 could well be significant I reckon.

Chipset
Chipset is divided into NorthBridge and SouthBridge pages.
NorthBridge

DRAM Frequency - Auto
	(533 MHz)
	(667 MHz)
	(800 MHz)
	(1067 MHz)
Configure DRAM Timing by SPD - Enabled
	(Disabled)

The option of setting the memory speed to 1067MHz could well be significant I reckon.

SouthBridge
Doesn't have anything interesting.

That's about everything of interest that I can think of from the BIOS.

So working out what we’ve learnt from that…

• It should be able to support PC2-8500 RAM at 1066MHz.


• Although it won’t allow you to change it, the BIOS will show the FSB and ratio being used (so if you put in a 1333MHz FSB CPU you can check if it’s only running at 1066MHz).


• The CPU Module Version is 3F.17. I imagine this is important, and someone on bios-mods.com reckoned V3F meant support for Wolfdale CPUs.

The bit that mentioned “Broadwater” intrigued me, as that’s not AMI’s address! Broadwater was the Intel codename for the P965/G965/Q965 chipsets. Now that could of-course be wrong, but lspci reckons it's an Q963/Q965 chipset too. In the previous post http://www.readynas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=29284&start=90#p367951 we listed the Chipsets and what CPUs Intel say are compatible, so adding these possibilities to the list gives:

• For the Q963 Intel list only the E6700 - so if this is the chipset surely the Q6700 and E7400 shouldn't have worked? And the Pentium D E5300 that Netgear are fitting isn't on the list!


• For the P965 Intel list the E6700 and Q6700 - so if this is the chipset surely the E7400 shouldn't have worked? And the Pentium D E5300 that Netgear are fitting isn't on the list!


• For the G965 Intel list the E6700 and Q6700 - so if this is the chipset surely the E7400 shouldn't have worked? And the Pentium D E5300 that Netgear are fitting isn't on the list!


• For the Q965 Intel list only the E6700 - so if this is the chipset surely the Q6700 and E7400 shouldn't have worked? And the Pentium D E5300 that Netgear are fitting isn't on the list!


• For the DP965 Intel list the E6700 and Q6700 - so if this is the chipset surely the E7400 shouldn't have worked? And the Pentium D E5300 that Netgear are fitting isn't on the list!


• For the G31 Intel list the E5300, the E6700, the Q6700, and the E7400.

However a problem with this is that originally the 965 chipsets originally didn’t support 45nm CPUs, but then some motherboard manufacturers updated the BIOS to allow them. And then originally 965 chipsets didn’t support 1333MHz FSB CPUs, but then some motherboard manufacturers updated the BIOS to allow them. Intel never updated the supported CPU lists as the chipset didn’t support them out of the box. Also I’ve read of cases where for some unknown reason Intel just didn’t list all CPUs on the supported CPU lists.

Consequently it’s perfectly possible that the ReadyNAS does indeed have a Q965 chipset but that BIOS updates have allowed these extra CPUs to work… but did they just add in support for 45nm + Quads, or did they do 1333MHz too?

TBH the only way of testing a 1333MHz CPU is to buy one and try. I doubt it can do any harm, as it’ll either work perfectly (hurrah), it’ll downclock to 1066MHz (you’ll be able to see in the BIOS), or it’ll refuse to boot and you’ll swap in your original.

Westyfield2 wrote:
"So on the ‘new’ Pro 6 (RNDP6000-200) the motherboard VGA header is in fact a 15pin connector, not a 12pin connector like the old one had."

I am the new owner of a RNDP6xxx-100NAS,
and I DO have the 15 (16 -1-Plugged) pinout.

Were -100's shipped with the 12-pin pinout too ?

I am currently doing testing,
but in a few weeks I'm game to test anything.

I can and will do the 1333 test if my chipset/firmware supports it.

On the fan/heatsink issue.

A simple trick is to use the stock OEM panel,
but cut it out for the taller heatsink/fan,
then use a 4" or 6" "Dome" style speaker grill.

Simple, and low cost...



Whats the EXACT difference from the -100 to -200 anyway ?

Is it a SATA-150 or SATA-300 buss device as an example ?

I ask, because the hardware compatibility list is ONLY for -200 units !

Three different calls yielded confirmation of this,
and no legacy list is still posted on the website.

Perhaps someone has the link for the old (-100) HCL ?

I am unsure what drives will work,
and things I've read elsewhere confirm
the -200 list (current) is folly for a -100. :(

At least for some of the 2-TB and one of the 3-TB...

We could sure use it on the "Wayback Machine" to help out.



In any event, it will be torn down and stripped bare,
that N/S heatsink is coming off without a doupt,
and hopefully chipset numbers will be there for us.

It will be going back on with active cooling of course.

I will be compiling a set of tight HQ pics of all,
and hope to show here, if permitted anyway.

It's a dead duck in their eyes now, should be fair.

What mini-PC card is that anyway ?

It is obviously NOT a custom build,
it has serial ports, audio ports,
and of course a VGA port as noted.

and many jumpers that are undefined.

Sure hope we figure that one out.