Core i7 920 steppings

[exar333]

Originally posted by: RaptureMe
Sorry dont mean to be so defensive just stating the facts.
Yeah I totaly agree with you though not everyone is going to get the same overclock as me and mostly its luck of the draw.
But from the many posts I have seen and read alot of people are getting the same results as me with using the same type of cooling.
As for stress testing so far I have used Prime,Cinbench,all the future marks/Pc marks,and a few verious others..
I totally admit though when hammered and maxed out when stressing I do get higher temps much higher like 70-75c.
But this is only in those stress testing programs.
I can max out all the cores for hours on end using video editing programs,Compression,Converting, or run several games at once and never see temps ever get that high.
Still though you guys say 50-55c is good but that seems abit high to me and 70-75c is just nuts.
If I ever seen my system hit temps that high in everyday use I would not clock to these speeds..

I guess it comes down to what you define as "stable". Personally, I don't consider my system stable unless i CAN stress-test with Prime, OCCT, etc. and both NOT hit excessive temperatures and have instabilities. My i7 920 will post at ~4.2Ghz, but the heat is too much at full load. I preferred to keep my temps below 60C at all times, so I have mine sitting at 3.6ghz with a push-pull fan system as well.

"Too hot" and "stable" are very relative terms, and that is why most AT posters consider "load" to be 100% on all cores for more than just a minute or two. I kep my 8 instances of Prime running for 12 hours before I considered it initially stable. Then I stress tested for 1-2 days while monitoring temps to ensure it was 100% reliable. Could I get a faster OC if I wasn't running such demanding programs, yes. But down the road I know that what ever program I run will not exceed the tests I have verified I am comfortable with.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I can't believe a 135w i920 will runat 4Ghz on air at low temps under gaming stress

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: RaptureMe

Still though you guys say 50-55c is good but that seems abit high to me and 70-75c is just nuts.
If I ever seen my system hit temps that high in everyday use I would not clock to these speeds..

yeah this is why i got turned into an adverb, and everyone who migrates to water on this forum is called in a sense.. aigo'd. *sigh*

seriously tho, people who do good migrations, ask them to come back to air and see the reponse.

 

[exar333]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
I can't believe a 135w i920 will runat 4Ghz on air at low temps under gaming stress

Well, what game are you speaking of? I can game just fine at 4.0 on air with a title that doesnt tax all four cores. That was part of my point above that you may *think* your computer is stable or that your temps are *OK* while playing WoW, but when you actually run a taxing game utilizing all four cores at 70-100% your temps go through the roof or instabilities creep in.

I do not doubt in my mind that some people are sitting right now with their i7 920's at 3.8-4.2 and barely use the CPU power and idle at 65C. Different strokes for different folks i guess...

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

All I know is im set when i get an i7 or hot running chip

 

[ayabe]

Mine will POST at 4.2, boot into windows, I can even play games. But 2 minutes of Prime blend will blue screen it followed by a reset regardless of voltage.
4.0 is even better, everything works, Prime will run for 12+ hours, but temps are 75C and she won't do a reboot, but will POST every single time from a hard start.

So I've settled on 3.8 and ~70 max for now. The 200mhz diff isn't worth much of anything really. I think just about anyone getting a 920 now with a decent aftermarket air cooler will be able to get to 3.6-3.8 with no problems.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Originally posted by: ayabe
Mine will POST at 4.2, boot into windows, I can even play games. But 2 minutes of Prime blend will blue screen it followed by a reset regardless of voltage.
4.0 is even better, everything works, Prime will run for 12+ hours, but temps are 75C and she won't do a reboot, but will POST every single time from a hard start.

So I've settled on 3.8 and ~70 max for now. The 200mhz diff isn't worth much of anything really. I think just about anyone getting a 920 now with a decent aftermarket air cooler will be able to get to 3.6-3.8 with no problems.

Have you upped the NB voltages, that's how I got my 8400 stable at 3.825 @ 1.16v NB 1.30v and ram is always at specified volts

 

[ayabe]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN

Originally posted by: ayabe
Mine will POST at 4.2, boot into windows, I can even play games. But 2 minutes of Prime blend will blue screen it followed by a reset regardless of voltage.
4.0 is even better, everything works, Prime will run for 12+ hours, but temps are 75C and she won't do a reboot, but will POST every single time from a hard start.

So I've settled on 3.8 and ~70 max for now. The 200mhz diff isn't worth much of anything really. I think just about anyone getting a 920 now with a decent aftermarket air cooler will be able to get to 3.6-3.8 with no problems.

Have you upped the NB voltages, that's how I got my 8400 stable at 3.825 @ 1.16v NB 1.30v and ram is always at specified volts

Yeah I've gone to 1.5+ on the QPI, no real difference. I'm happy with 3.8 for now, if and when they release a new BIOS revision, I'll probably give it another go. Before the latest, which I think is F4 or something, I could never get the board to POST above 190 BLCK, so Gigabyte is making improvements for sure.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN

Originally posted by: ayabe
Mine will POST at 4.2, boot into windows, I can even play games. But 2 minutes of Prime blend will blue screen it followed by a reset regardless of voltage.
4.0 is even better, everything works, Prime will run for 12+ hours, but temps are 75C and she won't do a reboot, but will POST every single time from a hard start.

So I've settled on 3.8 and ~70 max for now. The 200mhz diff isn't worth much of anything really. I think just about anyone getting a 920 now with a decent aftermarket air cooler will be able to get to 3.6-3.8 with no problems.

Have you upped the NB voltages, that's how I got my 8400 stable at 3.825 @ 1.16v NB 1.30v and ram is always at specified volts

the i7 is a new ballpark guys.

2 sets of voltage you need to tweek and not just 1.

you got your vcore voltage, which a lot of people are reporting can be low.
Then you got QPI voltage.

Then you also have a .5 Dram rule you must follow.

Dont think cuz yorkfield was all easy, the i7 will be easy as well. Some settings take some time to tweek out.

 

[Compddd]

So its looking like I can't get 4.0 GHz on air stable 24/7 without insane temps? Is what I should be gathering here

 

[ajaidevsingh]

Originally posted by: Compddd
So its looking like I can't get 4.0 GHz on air stable 24/7 without insane temps? Is what I should be gathering here

Yes that is correct at 4Ghz it is very much impossible to keep the system stable on air "If it was water it could be done" The best you can hope is 3.8Ghz which i do not recommend at all.

For me the sweet spot for the long life of the processor and best overall appeal is 3.6Ghz @ 24/7

 

[ayabe]

Originally posted by: Compddd
So its looking like I can't get 4.0 GHz on air stable 24/7 without insane temps? Is what I should be gathering here

I wouldn't say it's impossible but I've yet to run across anyone doing it under realistic conditions, ie not disabling Hyperthreading(which is stupid and cheating IMHO) or only running on a test bench(outside of a case).

I wouldn't say that my case has the best airflow(LL A7110), but it's not terrible either. But I built this rig with noise suppression in mind so I don't the have "balls out, noise be damned, gimme the CFM!!" fans in there.

 

[AdamK47]

Originally posted by: ajaidevsingh

Originally posted by: Compddd
So its looking like I can't get 4.0 GHz on air stable 24/7 without insane temps? Is what I should be gathering here

Yes that is correct at 4Ghz it is very much impossible to keep the system stable on air "If it was water it could be done" The best you can hope is 3.8Ghz which i do not recommend at all.

For me the sweet spot for the long life of the processor and best overall appeal is 3.6Ghz @ 24/7

3.6 at what voltage?

 

[Neo2020]

hi guys I heard from different source on the internet that a new stepping is comming for january or mid february as Q1 2009 does any one as information to share about that?

thanks,

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: Neo2020
hi guys I heard from different source on the internet that a new stepping is comming for january or mid february as Q1 2009 does any one as information to share about that?

thanks,

No info here but the timing is about right so there may some legitimacy to the rumor.

 

[Neo2020]

Thanks IdontCare, will wait

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: Compddd
So its looking like I can't get 4.0 GHz on air stable 24/7 without insane temps? Is what I should be gathering here

yes thats why a lot of people migrate to water on i7.

and a lot of people are complaining how d-tek doesnt have mounts for there sinks.

Originally posted by: Neo2020
hi guys I heard from different source on the internet that a new stepping is comming for january or mid february as Q1 2009 does any one as information to share about that?

thanks,

well that would be the gainestown class. (enterprise sector with 2 x QPI)


Not a very good overclocker tho, i have some theorys why. Because my chip is normally 2xqpi while the regular i7's are 1xqpi.

The board side disables the second qpi on my chip. Since qpi is also a driving factor in overclocking, half my 6.4G qpi is split and im limited to 3.2qpi. which seems to be my bclk wall.

In short, dont get gainestown for the regular X58 boards. This is why im having another i965 sent to me soon.