Check my setup

[ZGrip]

I posted on this a few weeks ago for suggestions. Now I have decided on exactly what my new build will be and I want to run it by everyone here.


What I am keeping :

Silverstone ST60F 600W PSU

EVGA 9600GT

Coolermaster CMstacker 830

WD raptor 150GB

Seagate 7200.11 750 GB

CD drives...


What I am upgrading:

Core i7 920

EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX X58 SLI LE

OCZ Gold 12GB (6 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600



This machine will be used to run MATLAB, ABAQUS and Geomagic studio. Possibly other scientific software down the road. I am upgrading from an athlon X2 4000+ @2.6 Ghz. What kind of performance increases should I be seeing in these types of applications with this upgrade?

I will be doing no overclocking on the CPU. I anticipate having it stressed for periods of up to and possibly exceeding 24 hours. Stability is paramount.

Also I heard that the stock cooler for the core i7 cpus are woefully inadequate, even at stock clocks. Should I get an aftermarket heatsink and if so can you recommend a good one that isn't super huge?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[lopri]

Performance will be like quadrupled. And yeah stock i7 coolers leave A LOT to be desired. Definitely get an aftermarket heatsink.

 

[Denithor]

Do yourself a favor and get an i5 750 + P55 motherboard instead. As you're not planning to OC at all the 750 offers higher stock speed and has faster turbo modes for faster data crunching.

And also since you're not overclocking the stock cooler will be sufficient to keep the chip cooled. Intel wouldn't sell an inadequate cooler - their returns would be horrendous.

 

[Ayah]

If you have a CMstacker, I really recommend you get the Megahalem. That case is freaking huge, why wouldn't you want a super huge heatsink? It'll keep your chip cool, and keep your computer quiet.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: Ayah
If you have a CMstacker, I really recommend you get the Megahalem. That case is freaking huge, why wouldn't you want a super huge heatsink? It'll keep your chip cool, and keep your computer quiet.

Agree'd

Aftermarket Sink...
http://www.jab-tech.com/Prolim...156-Rev-B-pr-4557.html

Its big tho... but it will fit in the 830 evo.

Read on how to overclock the i7...

Once u get around 3.8, which should be almost gaurentee'd with your hardware unless your incredibly unlucky, you'll have way more then 4x lopri stated....
At least 8x more... since your HT threads speeds will probably be at least = to your X2 core speed.

 

[ZGrip]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. ... I am not terribly comfortable overclocking the i7 because I need all the stability I can get. If this were a gaming rig or for personal use I would say no problem. This build however is for work related tasks so I am not as comfortable with an overclock.

Also the reason I asked for a smaller heatsink is that the CM stacker that I have has the side panel with all the fans in it. All the wiring for the fans is heat shrinked together. So I cannot just remove one fan to make room for a large heatsink. I will have to remove the whole panel which I would prefer not to do. I cannot take the fans apart either as the case does not belong to me.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: Denithor
Do yourself a favor and get an i5 750 + P55 motherboard instead. As you're not planning to OC at all the 750 offers higher stock speed and has faster turbo modes for faster data crunching.

And also since you're not overclocking the stock cooler will be sufficient to keep the chip cooled. Intel wouldn't sell an inadequate cooler - their returns would be horrendous.

I'd partially agree with this.

But instead, look at the i7 860.

i7 860 is faster in all aspects than the i7 920 at stock speeds due to turbo, not to mention far better power consumption.
Pair that baby with a nice value mobo (zero point in spending extra on OCing boards)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813121388
Maybe go up to this level at the max:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131410
Though really, any of the $100 boards should be just fine.

Also, you do realize you cannot run DDR3-1600 @ stock on s1366 or most s1156 mobos, right?
DDR3-1066 for s1366, DDR3-1333 for s1156 at stock, so try to find some nice cheap 1.5v rated stuff.

Something like this in 8 GB would do nicely.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231274

And now you've saved money & gotten a faster rig than the i7 920 you are planning.

 

[ZGrip]

Hmmm.. The i7 860 does look mighty tempting actually. I didn't realize that the i7's on socket 1156 still had HT which is why I wasn't looking at them. What do I stand to loose if anything by going socket 1156 instead of 1366? I understand that triple channel memory makes an almost negligible difference in most cases. Is there any other major difference between the two sockets?..



Yes I realize that the memory wouldn't run at its rated speed at stock However I have had good experiences with OCZ as a company and there was a combo deal with the mobo and ram on newegg so that is what I went with.

edit: I was just looking at the motherboards on newegg. They all come with only 4 memory slots. Which means that realistically I can only fit 8GB of ram on the machine. I am a little hesitant about that as I could really see myself needing 12-16 GB of ram.

 

[Markfw]

The 1366 gives you the ability to get the gulftown when it comes out. Since you do scientific calculations, that thing will be a monster for you. Stick with the 920 IMO.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: ZGrip
Thanks for the suggestions so far. ... I am not terribly comfortable overclocking the i7 because I need all the stability I can get. If this were a gaming rig or for personal use I would say no problem. This build however is for work related tasks so I am not as comfortable with an overclock.

you follow the proper guides.

Do the proper test.

The overclock will hold and it will be stable.

I can point you to almost 10k people alone who run machines overclocked crunching 24/7 non stop for months and months on end.

Just make sure u do the proper testing b4 u start crunching.

Originally posted by: ZGrip

Also the reason I asked for a smaller heatsink is that the CM stacker that I have has the side panel with all the fans in it. All the wiring for the fans is heat shrinked together. So I cannot just remove one fan to make room for a large heatsink. I will have to remove the whole panel which I would prefer not to do. I cannot take the fans apart either as the case does not belong to me.

Talk to a mod named Rubycon.

she's had that case and ever config possible for it.

Reason why we pick out a large sink is because they work better.
If the sink works better, your cpu is kept cooler.
If your cpu is kept cooler it lives longer.
If it lives longer, you can compensate it by overclocking for it to be faster.