Rate my build please?

ScottMC7000 · 24 Dec 2010 at 00:16

I have a mate Dave, he hit 4.5 OC using a 920 on a UD5 mobo ( currently what I'm using), on air he says, but it didn't last long and ended up buying a new one. Only lasted for as long as he could take a screengrab before it crashed. His entire PC is now properly watercooled pro spec(CPU GPU blocks)and not using a simple H50 for example. He runs at 4 Ghz, but when you add up how much it all cost him, it would be over £3000. When you spend so much on a machine, do you really want to risk blowing all that money ?

Anyone looking to get anywhere near 5Ghz are going to need to spend some serious money on a Sandybridge setup not only on the chip but on the cooling solution and for stability for hardcore rendering , well thats still questionable.

Dark_Angel · 24 Dec 2010 at 00:20

ScottMC7000 said:
I have a mate Dave, he hit 4.5 OC using a 920 on a UD5 mobo ( currently what I'm using), on air he says, but it didn't last long and ended up buying a new one. Only lasted for as long as he could take a screengrab before it crashed. His entire PC is now properly watercooled and not using a simple H50 for example. He runs at 4 Ghz, but when you add up how much it all cost him, it would be over £3000. When you spend so much on a machine, do you really want to risk blowing all that money ?

Anyone looking to get anywhere near 5Ghz are going to need to spend some serious money on a Sandybridge setup not only on the chip but on the cooling solution and for stability for hardcore rendering , well thats still questionable.

If you take what people are saying on XS forums, they're saying that it IS on air. Indeed, they're complaining because extreme cooling like dry ice doesn't improve the clocks.

About the FSB can basically be raised very slightly, but currently people are reporting that it's not affecting anything and only the multi is working. They're guessing it's the board which is the issue.

One guy said:

"I got the retail i7-2600K already(D2 stepping), but cannot get it past 4.9Ghz.

4.8Ghz @ 1.35V running IBT about 2-hour (on Corsair H70), motherboard is MSI P67A-GD65.

4.9Ghz need 1.5V, a little unstable, but still can do Vantage CPU test/Wprime 1024Ms easy

5Ghz CANNOT Boot at all...no matter what voltage I applied. Already testing on air , testing a lot of various configuration, for about one week and don't seem to get better result. Still cannot boot @ 5Ghz.

And the most confusing experience, it DOESN'T Scale at ALL with LN2(-130C)...wasted 35L already, no result. Triend the same processor on 4 different motherboard(ASUS,GBT,MSI,Intel), no gain.Not even a 100Mhz increase.Nothing.nada.zip

BLCK Scaled a bit from 104Mhz(air) to 110Mhz(LN2), but clockspeed seems the same (4.9Ghz).

So far, SB = Good for air, nightmare for Xtreme overclocker"

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=4670532&postcount=154

A few other posts are similar to his. But I'm not shocked, stupidly early bios revisions.

BTW, I know it comes across as I'm a fanboi with sandy here, I'm really not. I will likely buy one though, but only because I want to upgrade and can't really keep waiting for bulldozer to see how it performs.

ScottMC7000 · 24 Dec 2010 at 00:44

Dark_Angel said:
If you take what people are saying on XS forums, they're saying that it IS on air. Indeed, they're complaining because extreme cooling like dry ice doesn't improve the clocks.

About the FSB can basically be raised very slightly, but currently people are reporting that it's not affecting anything and only the multi is working. They're guessing it's the board which is the issue.

One guy said:

"I got the retail i7-2600K already(D2 stepping), but cannot get it past 4.9Ghz.

4.8Ghz @ 1.35V running IBT about 2-hour (on Corsair H70), motherboard is MSI P67A-GD65.

4.9Ghz need 1.5V, a little unstable, but still can do Vantage CPU test/Wprime 1024Ms easy

5Ghz CANNOT Boot at all...no matter what voltage I applied. Already testing on air , testing a lot of various configuration, for about one week and don't seem to get better result. Still cannot boot @ 5Ghz.

And the most confusing experience, it DOESN'T Scale at ALL with LN2(-130C)...wasted 35L already, no result. Triend the same processor on 4 different motherboard(ASUS,GBT,MSI,Intel), no gain.Not even a 100Mhz increase.Nothing.nada.zip

BLCK Scaled a bit from 104Mhz(air) to 110Mhz(LN2), but clockspeed seems the same (4.9Ghz).

So far, SB = Good for air, nightmare for Xtreme overclocker"

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=4670532&postcount=154

A few other posts are similar to his. But I'm not shocked, stupidly early bios revisions.

BTW, I know it comes across as I'm a fanboi with sandy here, I'm really not. I will likely buy one though, but only because I want to upgrade and can't really keep waiting for bulldozer to see how it performs.

I'd like a bulldozer, to shift all this dam snow out of my street

Having spent almost a grand on my base 920 system as seen here back in Jan, and recently bought a new Samsung B2430 monitor I got 2 months ago, I don't feel the need to upgrade to a new CPU &Mobo system just out of it's starting blocks. I'll give it a couple of years before I look to do that and upgrade what's available on my prsent system like memory and the like .

Oh the link to my build.. and Multimedia App Resource Blog

http://www.3dbuzz.com/vbforum/entry.php?2953-Scott-s-Intel-Core-I7-920-Studio-Setup-Section

martynpd · 24 Dec 2010 at 01:07

1) intel i7 920
get the x21 or x23 multiplyers if you can, but the 920 is fine.
2) Asus P6X58D-E decent motherboard. i had for some issues with USB ports not working just switching themselves off. but a bios update fixed.

3) 6gb Corsair Dominator 1600mhz RAM (does 6 gb of XMS3 Corsair work just as well?) cosair XMS3 is just as good. make sure it has XMP mode and it will be sweet
4) 1 x 128gb SSD, 1 x 1TB 7200rpm (Samsung F3?) up to you with that battle. id personally go for 2 500gb f3s and raid them because you get 1 platter not 2 for faster access.
5) 2 x GTX460 in SLI ( Does the brand of the 460 matter? ie MSI, Zotac etc)
brand doesnt matter too much all the same chips.
6) 750W PSU (not decided on model, or if should go 650W) go for the 750 because you may need more in the future. but 650 should be fine. cosair are highly recommended.
7) Antec Darkfleet DF-85
8) CPU cooler (not decided on model, I hear recommendation of Noctua) cosair h50 h70 noctua. all good
9) Case fans (undecided, do I need more fans?) get at least one for the back one for the side and one for the front. important for temps to have good air flow in one end out the other
10) Any drive bay that can burn Dual Layer discs.
11) No sound card on board sound still isnt as good as a sound card. asus xonars are good

Liampope · 24 Dec 2010 at 03:13

LiamJ said:
Just for the record, here's Anandtech's comparison of the two chips.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/191?vs=142

... at very different clock speeds, so not a clock-for-clock comparison :rolleyes:

. That extra 533MHz is pretty much why the 980x wins in the gaming benches. But let's just call that fair - afterall the 32nm 980x will clock higher than the 760 - not quite that much higher for a given cooling solution, but let's be kind. So the average of those gaming 'wins' is about 15% better performance than the i5. 15% better performance for five times the price! Amazing. Truly amazing. I'll have two, please.

Cookeh · 24 Dec 2010 at 11:48

cammy5477 said:
980x beat it in every test...or am i missing something?

Yes, you're missing the fact its no-where near clock for clock as the 980x has an extra 533MHz of speed.

Which will ofc make it faster . . .

I will repeat what everyone has been saying, once more for you - in the hope you'll finally take it on-board.

i5 can and sometimes will beat: i7 9XX variants if they're at the same clock speed in a single GPU set-up because of the more aggressive turbo-boost, and the on-board PCI-E controller.

Hence, for several hundred pounds less, i5 is a much better buy for gaming and is considered the best gaming chip.

cammy5477 · 24 Dec 2010 at 12:16

Cookeh said:
Yes, you're missing the fact its no-where near clock for clock as the 980x has an extra 533MHz of speed.

Which will ofc make it faster . . .

I will repeat what everyone has been saying, once more for you - in the hope you'll finally take it on-board.

i5 can and sometimes will beat: i7 9XX variants if they're at the same clock speed in a single GPU set-up because of the more aggressive turbo-boost, and the on-board PCI-E controller.

Hence, for several hundred pounds less, i5 is a much better buy for gaming and is considered the best gaming chip.

how can you judge it on that......thats like buying a 580 and underclocking it to a 570 and benching in against another 570 to create a fair test.
the 980 is at 3.33 stock....the i5 is at 2.8 stock....thats what they are when we buy them so thats what the default benchmarks need to be....i know what your saying about the aggresive turbo boast and the on-board pci-e controller but even both these factored in the i5 flat out is not going to best the 980x flat out in any test. the 980x is a far greater chip.....fact.....and you can route for the little guy all day long.....aint going to make a difference.

and by the way this isnt about money.....forget what they cost....your saying an i5 is best im saying an 980x is best.

Cookeh · 24 Dec 2010 at 12:22

cammy5477 said:
how can you judge it on that......thats like buying a 580 and underclocking it to a 570 and benching in against another 570 to create a fair test.
the 980 is at 3.33 stock....the i5 is at 2.8 stock....thats what they are when we buy them so thats what the default benchmarks need to be....i know what your saying about the aggresive turbo boast and the on-board pci-e controller but even both these factored in the i5 flat out is not going to best the 980x flat out in any test. the 980x is a far greater chip.....fact.....and you can route for the little guy all day long.....aint going to make a difference.

and by the way this isnt about money.....forget what they cost....your saying an i5 is best im saying an 980x is best.

Fact of the matter, it isn't. Overclock an i5 to the same 3.33GHz will still match and beat the i7 980x in single GPU tests as it has the on-board PCI-E controller.

Which, correct if I'm wrong, makes it better than the 980x, for gaming?!

Also, cost factors into everyone's builds. If someone has a budget of £1k for a gaming build, one isn't exactly going to tell them to spend £600 on a CPU that really has little to no advantage over a £120 one, and end up skimping on gpu/psu/mobo/ram in order to get said £600 chip.

Wake up, and join us in the real world. 980x is not the be all and end all, its a chip designed for high end applications like encoding and other programs that make use of its 6 actual and 12 theoretical cores, and therefore is not even worth considering for a gaming build.

Dark_Angel · 24 Dec 2010 at 12:23

Because most people are going to overclock them. Maybe not the general public, but the general public certainly isn't going to have a use for a 980 anyway.

I'm not saying DON'T buy a 980, but for gaming alone in my opinion, it's pointless. For MORE than gaming, then by all means, knock yourself out!

But, when clocked, the I5 760 will likely be about 300 MHZ lower average overclock. Meaning your performance will be 10 percent better for several times the price. Which the 2500 K will clock higher and be more efficient clock for clock. It will likely beat the 980 in games. Not in encoding, but then the 2600 K is giving it a very good run for its money.

cammy5477 · 24 Dec 2010 at 12:33

Dark_Angel said:
Because most people are going to overclock them. Maybe not the general public, but the general public certainly isn't going to have a use for a 980 anyway.

I'm not saying DON'T buy a 980, but for gaming alone in my opinion, it's pointless. For MORE than gaming, then by all means, knock yourself out!

But, when clocked, the I5 760 will likely be about 300 MHZ lower average overclock. Meaning your performance will be 10 percent better for several times the price. Which the 2500 K will clock higher and be more efficient clock for clock. It will likely beat the 980 in games. Not in encoding, but then the 2600 K is giving it a very good run for its money.

i agree with you dark angel......the 2600k will be equal or better for half the price but thats high end computing for you....

cammy5477 · 24 Dec 2010 at 12:37

Cookeh said:
Wake up, and join us in the real world.

nahhh...i like it up here on planet rapid

anyway this is getting alittle bit pointless....merry christmas cookeh

have a

good one.

Cookeh · 24 Dec 2010 at 12:51

cammy5477 said:
nahhh...i like it up here on planet rapid

anyway this is getting alittle bit pointless....merry christmas cookeh have a

good one.

You too

Look on the bright side, you won't need to upgrade that cpu for an age, so wallet can breath again

Nah, if you're making use of it's massive capabilities then I can't fault your purchase.

OLDPHART · 24 Dec 2010 at 12:57

If cmy5477 wants to buy a 980 so be it, l'm just using the poor i7 920 at 4.2GHz does everything l need. Quite happy with it, l won't be upgrading to Sandy can't see the point correct me if l'm wrong 10>15% faster , the 920 will do me for a couple of years yet.

Meryy Xmass to one and all.

Dark_Angel · 24 Dec 2010 at 13:02

OLDPHART said:
If cmy5477 wants to buy a 980 so be it, l'm just using the poor i7 920 at 4.2GHz does everything l need. Quite happy with it, l won't be upgrading to Sandy can't see the point correct me if l'm wrong 10>15% faster , the 920 will do me for a couple of years yet.

Meryy Xmass to one and all.

10-15 percent, and probably overclocks about 6-800MHZ more. Say 25 percent faster.

BUT, in games, I'd argue. does it matter?

I'm only getting sandy as quite frankly, I want to upgrade from a Q6600 and may as well wait for its release!

mythicdawn07 · 24 Dec 2010 at 13:23

cammy5477 said:
i find that hard to believe.......if its for gaming get the best gfx card you can afford cpu will make no noticable difference between i5 and i7...but for everything else i7 kicks ass...but yes dont drop £1000 yet till we see sandy bridge

Yeah to be fair i would rather an I5 over an I7 it might not be noticble in games but it is in everything else, and its only a few extra quid.

That being said id wait for sandybridge as it'll be even better

theone1989 · 24 Dec 2010 at 15:54

Dark_Angel said:
10-15 percent, and probably overclocks about 6-800MHZ more. Say 25 percent faster.

BUT, in games, I'd argue. does it matter?

I'm only getting sandy as quite frankly, I want to upgrade from a Q6600 and may as well wait for its release!

Well a few people have said wait for SandyBridge. Would the i5-2500k be a good choice then?