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i7 970 vs 990x

SB420

SB420

SB420

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8 Feb 2010
Posts
331
So the 990x will use less voltages to overclock and has a revised memory controller though what does this mean in the real world? I'm trying to work out the following:

1. If both processers are OC'd to the save levels, will they perform exactly the same?

2. If the 990x uses slighly less volts from what i can gather to achieve the same OC levels, how much less heat would i expect over the 970?

There's a bit of a price difference between the two and i understand, bang for buck, the 970 is the obvious choice. Though just wanted to know before purchasing if anyone could give a reason to spend the extra on the 990x?

Silver
 
the multiplier will be locked on the 970 because its not an extreme edition cpu which means you can only overclock by increasing the bclk which will only take you so far...you will still get a good overclock maybe 4.2ghz but the 990x will go to 4.6ghz - 4.8ghz.....look for a second hand 980x which will do the same as the 990x and will be cheaper
 
Just personal preference but i dont like second hand chips.

I understand the above but am more interested to know if there any other benefits and the kind of voltage differences required to reach the same levels.

Is it just rumor that the 995x will be out in April?

Google is not being helpful on the subject ^^
 
SB420 said:
Just personal preference but i dont like second hand chips.

I understand the above but am more interested to know if there any other benefits and the kind of voltage differences required to reach the same levels.

Is it just rumor that the 995x will be out in April?

Google is not being helpful on the subject ^^
Click to expand...

usually a cpu works or it doesnt...how many times have you heard of cpu's going bad?

i had a 980x a few months ago and it needed 1.45v to get it to 4.71ghz...which is to much for 24/7 use...i think they say under 1.4v is where you want to be with it....what would you use it for? i have since went back to the 920 and its plenty for me just now
 
SB420 said:
So the 990x will use less voltages to overclock and has a revised memory controller though what does this mean in the real world? I'm trying to work out the following:

1. If both processers are OC'd to the save levels, will they perform exactly the same?

2. If the 990x uses slighly less volts from what i can gather to achieve the same OC levels, how much less heat would i expect over the 970?

There's a bit of a price difference between the two and i understand, bang for buck, the 970 is the obvious choice. Though just wanted to know before purchasing if anyone could give a reason to spend the extra on the 990x?

Silver
Click to expand...

where have you got this utterly misguided and false information from?
 
From the review Tim did on overclock3d as well as other written reviews ive read on other forums. What part are you saying is not true?
 
all bloomfield cpus clock the same
all gulftown clocks the same.
westmere clocks the same as gulftown but the memory controllers are better. [its technically identical bar the extra QPI for dual socket boards]

i have had 3 6core cpus now and they all clock the same.

980X - max oc was 4.8ghz @ 1.35v
970 - max oc was 4.8ghz @ 1.36v
X5680 - max oc was 5ghz @ 1.365v
[all on a UD7 rev1 and a rampage II]

the 990x chips i have used at work are roughly the same. none of them got above 4.8ghz stable.

the only difference is the multi. and a 970 with a 25X multi means you have access to 5ghz with a board that does 200BCLK [so pretty much every X58 board on the market]

the 970 is the smart choice for going 6core on 1366.
 
rjkoneill said:
all bloomfield cpus clock the same
all gulftown clocks the same.
westmere clocks the same as gulftown but the memory controllers are better. [its technically identical bar the extra QPI for dual socket boards]

i have had 3 6core cpus now and they all clock the same.

980X - max oc was 4.8ghz @ 1.35v
970 - max oc was 4.8ghz @ 1.36v
X5680 - max oc was 5ghz @ 1.365v
[all on a UD7 rev1 and a rampage II]

the 990x chips i have used at work are roughly the same. none of them got above 4.8ghz stable.

the only difference is the multi. and a 970 with a 25X multi means you have access to 5ghz with a board that does 200BCLK [so pretty much every X58 board on the market]

the 970 is the smart choice for going 6core on 1366.
Click to expand...

good explanation rjk
i would like to play with cpu's and get paid for it too ;)
 
rjkoneill said:
all bloomfield cpus clock the same
all gulftown clocks the same.
westmere clocks the same as gulftown but the memory controllers are better. [its technically identical bar the extra QPI for dual socket boards]

i have had 3 6core cpus now and they all clock the same.

980X - max oc was 4.8ghz @ 1.35v
970 - max oc was 4.8ghz @ 1.36v
X5680 - max oc was 5ghz @ 1.365v
[all on a UD7 rev1 and a rampage II]

the 990x chips i have used at work are roughly the same. none of them got above 4.8ghz stable.

the only difference is the multi. and a 970 with a 25X multi means you have access to 5ghz with a board that does 200BCLK [so pretty much every X58 board on the market]

the 970 is the smart choice for going 6core on 1366.
Click to expand...

Cheers for the reply. Is def different from what Tim said though, in terms of the voltages required and what each chip clocked to on the same bench setup (970 vs 990x)

Dont suppose you can remember what your temps was between the 990x and 970?
 
all on water - about 80'c

check my rig in sig for what cooling i have in my system.

remember - a reviewer has access to one, maybe two cpus

i have access to a massive cross section of chips and a host of next level cooling aparatus. only then do you have an understanding of what cpus actually do.

remember as well. reviewers generally get ES chips which are marginally better clockers sometimes.
 
rjkoneill said:
i have access to a massive cross section of chips and a host of next level cooling aparatus. only then do you have an understanding of what cpus actually do.

remember as well. reviewers generally get ES chips which are marginally better clockers sometimes.
Click to expand...

So are you saying its not worth buying the 990x over the 970 in any instance other than to boast having "the latest chip" etc?

Do you have any info on the 995x though i assume going off what you have said above its going to be a similar story.. i.e. still get the 970.
 
cant discuss unreleased things.

but yes, a gulftown is a gulftown is a gulftown.

just like a bloomfield is a bloomfield is a bloomfield.

its the same cpu with a different multi.

here is a drunken analysis on bloomfield cpus which applies to 6cores as well.
 
That was a good thread. Considerable credit to Intel for achieving the above result, such consistency across the range is to be admired. I'd love to see their manufacturing plant.

25 multiplier is all you could possibly want on X58, barring subzero cooling.
 
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