More on CPU specs of the ReadyNAS Pro

My results going from stock E2160 to E7600 ($30 on eBay). I had already been running 8GB RAM, 8192 MB [6-6-6-18 DDR2]. Also I'm running 6x3TB drives all at 5400RPM.

BEFORE:

TheNAS:~# cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor       : 0
vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
cpu family      : 6
model           : 15
model name      : Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual  CPU  E2160  @ 1.80GHz
stepping        : 13
cpu MHz         : 1795.524
cache size      : 1024 KB

TheNAS:~# hdparm -t -T /dev/c/c
/dev/c/c:
 Timing cached reads:   2306 MB in  2.00 seconds = 1152.98 MB/sec
 Timing buffered disk reads: 1144 MB in  3.00 seconds = 381.03 MB/sec

Fan SYS	1607 RPM
Fan CPU	1896 RPM
Temp SYS	57 C / 134 F [Normal 0-65 C / 32-149 F]
Temp CPU	26.5 C / 79 F [Normal 0-85 C / 32-185 F]

AFTER:

TheNAS:~# cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor       : 0
vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
cpu family      : 6
model           : 23
model name      : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU     E7600  @ 3.06GHz
stepping        : 10
cpu MHz         : 3059.349
cache size      : 3072 KB

TheNAS:~# hdparm -t -T /dev/c/c
/dev/c/c:
 Timing cached reads:   3880 MB in  2.00 seconds = 1940.38 MB/sec
 Timing buffered disk reads: 970 MB in  3.00 seconds = 323.05 MB/sec

Fan SYS	1088 RPM
Fan CPU	2008 RPM
Temp SYS	61 C / 141 F [Normal 0-65 C / 32-149 F]
Temp CPU	28.5 C / 83 F [Normal 0-85 C / 32-185 F]

Hello there,

Just to report another successful CPU replacement on my Pro Business!

I have installed an E6600 SL9ZL as mostly recommended for no-hassle operations.

Here the outcome

Netgear_1:/proc# cat cpuinfo
processor       : 0
vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
cpu family      : 6
model           : 15
model name      : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU          6600  @ 2.40GHz
stepping        : 6
cpu MHz         : 2393.899
cache size      : 4096 KB
physical id     : 0
siblings        : 2
core id         : 0
cpu cores       : 2
apicid          : 0
initial apicid  : 0
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 10
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov                                                                        pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx lm constant                                                                       _tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl aperfmperf pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vm                                                                       x est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm lahf_lm dts tpr_shadow
bogomips        : 4787.79
clflush size    : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes   : 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:

processor       : 1
vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
cpu family      : 6
model           : 15
model name      : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU          6600  @ 2.40GHz
stepping        : 6
cpu MHz         : 2393.899
cache size      : 4096 KB
physical id     : 0
siblings        : 2
core id         : 1
cpu cores       : 2
apicid          : 1
initial apicid  : 1
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 10
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov                                                                        pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx lm constant                                                                       _tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl aperfmperf pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vm                                                                       x est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm lahf_lm dts tpr_shadow
bogomips        : 4787.76
clflush size    : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes   : 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:

BEFORE:


AFTER:

Netgear_1:/proc# hdparm -t -T /dev/c/c

/dev/c/c:
 Timing cached reads:   8090 MB in  2.00 seconds = 4051.54 MB/sec
 Timing buffered disk reads: 442 MB in  3.00 seconds = 147.26 MB/sec

Actual reading/writing speeds are about 100MB/s both in reading and writing. Reading sometimes slows down, the throughout is not constant, but I blame my PC, even though I am saving on an SSD (it happens after 15-17GB of data transferred so it's not the cache!).

Now some termal stress to confirm the CPU is stable, after all it was not brand new.

And a note: have a look at the factory footprint of the thermal compound... And the CPU was running at 18°C! I sanded a little the heatsink - very fine sandpaper, 1200 - to try and improve it. (Now I'm looking at the picture, there was no thermal compound at all!)



A quick update:
The CPU temperature started from 16°C (Even though have about 18°C by the floor, I'm surprised the CPU stays at that temperature?). I covered the fan and it's now at 38°. The fan is still running at 2000rpm.

That was happening with the old CPU as well. I guess 38°C is still acceptable for the system. Then I stuck a cable tie in the fan to stop it. It took a while for the temperature to reach 60°, at that point the fan, when the cable tie was remove, was spinning at 5000rpm.

Is there a way I can run a stress test on the CPU by SSH? (update: got it from this thread, running it now)

Just upgraded my partners' Pro system in LA and again seeing great results! :D

We used another E6700 SL9ZF purchased on eBay:

BEFORE CPU:

PM_ReadyNAS:/Public_Matters# cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor	: 0
vendor_id	: GenuineIntel
cpu family  : 6
model		: 15
model name	: Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual  CPU  E2160  @ 1.80GHz
stepping	: 13
cpu MHz		: 1795.801
cache size	: 1024 KB

AFTER CPU:

PM_ReadyNAS:/Public_Matters# cat /proc/cpuinfo                                                                      processor	: 0
vendor_id	: GenuineIntel
cpu family	: 6
model		: 15
model name	: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU          6700  @ 2.66GHz
stepping	: 6
cpu MHz		: 2660.099
cache size	: 4096 KB

BEFORE - timed reads (best of 10)

PM_ReadyNAS:/Public_Matters# hdparm -t -T /dev/c/c

/dev/c/c:
 Timing cached reads:   2428 MB in  2.00 seconds = 1214.01 MB/sec
 Timing buffered disk reads: 864 MB in  3.00 seconds = 287.72 MB/sec
PM_ReadyNAS:/Public_Matters# hdparm -t -T /dev/c/c

AFTER - timed reads (best of 10)

PM_ReadyNAS:/Public_Matters# hdparm -t -T /dev/c/c                                                                
/dev/c/c:
 Timing cached reads:   10142 MB in  2.00 seconds = 5080.49 MB/sec
 Timing buffered disk reads: 814 MB in  3.00 seconds = 271.29 MB/sec
PM_ReadyNAS:/Public_Matters# hdparm -t -T /dev/c/c

BEFORE - temperatures and fans

Fan SYS   937 RPM      OK
Fan CPU   1721 RPM      OK
Temp SYS   58 C / 136 F [Normal 0-65 C / 32-149 F]      OK
Temp CPU   21.5 C / 70 F [Normal 0-85 C / 32-185 F]      OK

AFTER - temperatures and fans

Fan SYS   932 RPM      OK
Fan CPU   2083 RPM      OK
Temp SYS   58 C / 136 F [Normal 0-65 C / 32-149 F]      OK
Temp CPU   22.5 C / 72 F [Normal 0-85 C / 32-185 F]      OK

I think the team will be very happy with this upgrade, especially for things like large iPhoto libraries.
Once again, super easy to do and will give our Pro years of new life! :thumbsup:

Quick question for everyone -

Would it be possible to increase the RAM in our Pros from 2GB to 8GB?

If so, would we get any additional performance benefits? For example, faster buffered disk reads?

Thanks!

dhl wrote:
Would it be possible to increase the RAM in our Pros from 2GB to 8GB? If so, would we get any additional performance benefits? For example, faster buffered disk reads?

Yes and yes. The Patriot PSD28G800K kit (2 x 4GB) works well.

fastfwd wrote:
dhl wrote: Would it be possible to increase the RAM in our Pros from 2GB to 8GB? If so, would we get any additional performance benefits? For example, faster buffered disk reads? Yes and yes. The Patriot PSD28G800K kit (2 x 4GB) works well.

Thanks! Will put this on the list for the next upgrade! :mrgreen:

Wish I had discovered this thread while DDR2 was still cheap! I maxed out my Business Pro at 4GB a few years ago thinking that was the limit. Oh wells...

Odd thing about the CPU upgrade is that the older and slower clocked E6600 and E6700 seem to give better hdparam scores than the newer and higher clocked E7600. Here are my scores:

E2160 (Stock Pentium, 1.80Ghz)
/dev/c/c:
Timing cached reads: 2354 MB in 2.00 seconds = 1177.79 MB/sec
Timing buffered disk reads: 1120 MB in 3.00 seconds = 372.82 MB/sec

E7600 (Core 2 Duo, 3.06Ghz)
/dev/c/c:
Timing cached reads: 3960 MB in 2.00 seconds = 1980.20 MB/sec
Timing buffered disk reads: 1574 MB in 3.00 seconds = 524.41 MB/sec

E6700 (Core 2 Duo, 2.66Ghz)
/dev/c/c:
Timing cached reads: 9878 MB in 2.00 seconds = 4947.44 MB/sec
Timing buffered disk reads: 1554 MB in 3.00 seconds = 517.78 MB/sec

The hdparam scores are pretty dramatic. What does that translate into real world usage? Would the E7600 be better for transcoding and streaming or should I stick with the E6700 given the hdparam scores?

Thanks!

eurotech wrote:
Odd thing about the CPU upgrade is that the older and slower clocked E6600 and E6700 seem to give better hdparam scores than the newer and higher clocked E7600.

Yes. I noticed this before and we've had some (as-yet inconclusive) discussion about it here. My best guess at the moment is that it's because the E6600 has 4MB of L2 cache while the other chips have only 3MB.

eurotech wrote:
What does that translate into real world usage? Would the E7600 be better for transcoding and streaming or should I stick with the E6700 given the hdparam scores?

I don't know. I've been very happy with my E6600, but I don't do video transcoding. I suspect that the E7600's higher clock speed (and SSE4.1 instructions) will trump the E6600's cache efficiency, but the easiest way to know for sure would be to try both chips and see.

If you do try both, post your results here. I'm sure many others will be interested.

Both these processors work up to 1066FSB, but I think the PRO has an 800Mhz FSB. I wonder if the E7600 has more delay when working at 800Mhz. Maybe it's a bad internal multiplier for that chip or something. I've tried to get info about the real speed the FSB is running at but the kernel we have just doesn't show it in any of the utilities I've installed. Possibly if I hooked up a monitor I could see what the bios reports, but I haven't gotten to it.

Has anybody tried an Intel Pentium E6800 (LGA775, 2 Cores, 2M Cache, 3.33 GHz, 1066 FSB, 45 nm, 65 W TDP)? It was cheaper at retail, but currently costs more and is more difficult to find on eBay. Here's are some links to some comparisons:

PassMark C2D E6700 vs C2D E7600 vs Pentium E6800 (Copy and Paste this link)
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=1668&cmp[]=948&cmp[]=1398
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 vs Pentium E6800
Intel Core 2 Duo E7600 vs Pentium E6800

TRANSCODING TEST
I went ahead and performed some rudimentary benchmarks, and it seems that the C2D E7600 performs slightly better at transcoding as expected. I down converted some videos to 720p using ffmpeg for AirVideo 2.0.00. I used this command for all files:
ffmpeg -i FILENAME.EXT -t 300 -vcodec libx264 -crf 23 -preset ultrafast -s hd720 -acodec copy FILENAME_PROCESSOR.mp4 -vstats_file FILENAME_PROCESSOR.txt

This is what ffmpeg reports:
C2D E6700
[libx264 @ 0x8da2ea0] using cpu capabilities: MMX2 SSE2Fast SSSE3 Cache64
C2D E7600
[libx264 @ 0x8dd0f80] using cpu capabilities: MMX2 SSE2Fast SSSE3 FastShuffle SSE4.1 Cache64

MPEG2.WTV
Stream #0.0[0x5]: Video: mpeg2video (Main), yuv420p, 1920x1080 [PAR 1:1 DAR 16:9], 20000 kb/s, 29.97 fps, 29.97 tbr, 10000k tbn, 59.94 tbc
Stream #0.2[0x6]: Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5.1, s16, 384 kb/s
C2D E6700: 30 fps
C2D E7600: 34 fps

1080P.MP4
Stream #0.0(und): Video: h264 (High), yuv420p, 1920x1080 [PAR 1:1 DAR 16:9], 11998 kb/s, 29.97 fps, 29.97 tbr, 30k tbn, 59.94 tbc
Stream #0.1(und): Audio: aac, 48000 Hz, stereo, s16, 127 kb/s
C2D E6700: 21 fps
C2D E7600: 24 fps

4K.MP4
Stream #0.0(eng): Video: h264 (High), yuv420p, 4096x2160 [PAR 1:1 DAR 256:135], 24686 kb/s, 23.98 fps, 23.98 tbr, 48k tbn, 47.95 tbc
Stream #0.1(eng): Audio: aac, 48000 Hz, stereo, s16, 317 kb/s
C2D E6700: 8 fps
C2D E7600: 9 fps

TEMPERATURE
I checked frontview during the last minute of each test and there really wasn't much of a difference in heat measurements, although the C2D E7600 reported lower for me overall.
C2D E6700
Fan SYS 1278 RPM OK
Fan CPU 2163 RPM OK
Temp SYS 58 C / 136 F [Normal 0-65 C / 32-149 F] OK
Temp CPU 45 C / 113 F [Normal 0-60 C / 32-140 F] OK
------
Fan SYS 1298 RPM OK
Fan CPU 2136 RPM OK
Temp SYS 60 C / 140 F [Normal 0-65 C / 32-149 F] OK
Temp CPU 46.5 C / 115 F [Normal 0-60 C / 32-140 F] OK
------
Fan SYS 1534 RPM OK
Fan CPU 2083 RPM OK
Temp SYS 58 C / 136 F [Normal 0-65 C / 32-149 F] OK
Temp CPU 46.5 C / 115 F [Normal 0-60 C / 32-140 F] OK

C2D E7600
Fan SYS 975 RPM OK
Fan CPU 2191 RPM OK
Temp SYS 58 C / 136 F [Normal 0-65 C / 32-149 F] OK
Temp CPU 44.5 C / 112 F [Normal 0-60 C / 32-140 F] OK
------
Fan SYS 975 RPM OK
Fan CPU 2163 RPM OK
Temp SYS 60 C / 140 F [Normal 0-65 C / 32-149 F] OK
Temp CPU 44 C / 111 F [Normal 0-60 C / 32-140 F] OK
------
Fan SYS 1339 RPM OK
Fan CPU 2109 RPM OK
Temp SYS 58 C / 136 F [Normal 0-65 C / 32-149 F] OK
Temp CPU 43 C / 109 F [Normal 0-60 C / 32-140 F] OK

FILE COPY TEST
I wanted to see if there would be any noticeable difference transferring files from share to share, but there wasn't any real difference. I didn't think to get out the stopwatch for precise time measurements, but the log files generated indicte each process completed within five minutes.

28,157 Files, 956 Folders
18.7 GB (20,091,560,191 bytes)
cp -v -r source/* E6700 &> E6700.txt
12:38AM
12:43AM
~5 min
cp -v -r source/* E7600 &> E7600.txt
2:33AM
2:38AM
~5 min

The real interesting part is when I deleted the subsequent folders with Windows 8.1. I deleted the folders before installing and running the test with the next processor to free up drive space.
Windows hovered around 94 items per second deleting while C2D E6700 was installed.
Windows hovered around 85 items per second deleting while C2D E7600 was installed.
Perhaps there is some merit to the hdparam scores? Not at all scientific, but more to add to the puzzle.