Cursed overclocker attempts Core i7 Overclocking system

[Chaotic42]

So I'm completely cursed when it comes to overclocking. I mean really cursed. I've never had it work well even with little steps. This time, I'm going to get adventurous and try to get it once and for all.

After some thought and more post reading, I've changed the parts and here's what I'm thinking of going with:


-SAPPHIRE 100252HDMI Radeon HD 4550 512MB 64-bit GDDR3: $49.99 (Just for adding another monitor, I already have a 4870x2)
-OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600: $109.99
-ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail: $289.99 (It got the AT Gold Medal)
-Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model: $279.99
-ZALMAN CNPS9900LED 120mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail: $74.99 (Hopefully I can pull off the LEDs)

I'm sticking with my MAU 15K SCSI drive. I'll upgrade to an SSD when Windows 7 comes out. I like that the motherboard can support 24GB of memory; hopefully it will be somewhat upgradeable unlike my DP965LT.

 

[daw123]

Why are you going for DDR3 1866MHz RAM? I thought 1600MHz RAM was good enough with a BCLK of 200MHz?

Edit: I just noticed the NewEgg price. Very cheap since I'm going to be paying £170 for 6GB 1600MHz Corsair Dominator DIMMs (although the timings are better).

btw The same OCZ RAM in the UK is £300.00.

 

[Woofmeister]

Mighty big heatspreaders on those OCZ reapers. Are you sure they won't interfere with the Vigor Monsoon?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

That'll be a kick-ask setup!

EDIT; whats your PSU - might need a strong contender for those parts

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

C'mon, from what I've heard even a monkey can get those Core i7 920's close to 4 Ghz!

Seriously, the good news is there have been so many posts about OC'ing the i7 920 that there will be plenty of helping hands for you.

 

[Elganja]

there is no real need for ram like that... something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227365 would do just fine.

i have the same hdd as the one you picked out... pretty solid.

As far as mobo... i'm an evga fan mainly because of their customer support if needed and their awesome forums. Someone else will have to chime in on the gigabyte board.

I would also look into the TRUE Ultra Cooler and depending on your case, a push/pull setup. In addition to your list, what PSU are you going to use?

 

[Chaotic42]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I'm going to be using an Antec 1000W PSU. I picked it up with my 4870x2 card a few months ago.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

niiiice!!!

 

[Rick James]

That EX board from gigabyte is 330 bucks? HAHAHAHHAHAH

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Whats a "Mobo: GA-EX58-UB3R" = your sig

 

[HunterDT]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
Whats a "Mobo: GA-EX58-UB3R" = your sig

About 200 bucks. I love mine. =) Oh, lol, UB. hahah ooops

 

[alcoholbob]

A monkey can overclocking i7 although they do run a little hot, once you hit above 3.8ghz.

Also some people have sucess raising the QPI link from 4.8GT/s to 6.4GT/s although my comp won't post even at stock when raising the QPI link.

I'm running 3.8 with QPI at 3.6, but I don't know if the QPI at GT/s speed affects performance in any way (i'm running at 4.8 which is stock for 920).

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
-1x Vigor Monsoon III LT Dual 120mm Fan CPU Cooler Socket 1366 Ready - Retail - $61.99

Replace this please.

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
Any thoughts? I'm mainly going to be playing WoW, Supreme Commander, Battlefield 2, and Crysis with it. I might be doing some work, but it shouldn't be anything big.

go nvidia for crysis.

My quadfire rig gets owned by my cousins SLI 280GTX system in crysis. Stupid piss poor programing.

 

[jamesbond007]

Originally posted by: aigomorla
go nvidia for crysis.

My quadfire rig gets owned by my cousins SLI 280GTX system in crysis. Stupid piss poor programing.

That's funny - my roommate won a Hardcore Reactor Extreme PC from Intel overclocked to 4GHz with a pair of GTX260s in SLI and my Q9450 @ 3.2GHz with a pair of 4870 512MB in Crossfire spanks his setup at the same settings. I don't know if it's something Hardcore did or their customizations, but his system is barely playable at the Very High settings.

 

[Tweakin]

As it has already been said:

1. Watch out for the memory...they are really tall.
2. With your bclock limit, 1600 memory is all you really need to go for, or ultra low latency like the mushkin kits.
3. I had that heatsink...didn't work very well for me, I have much lower temps with the Noctura...food for thought.

Nice system.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: aigomorla
go nvidia for crysis.

My quadfire rig gets owned by my cousins SLI 280GTX system in crysis. Stupid piss poor programing.

Yeah, I unfortunately bought the 4870x2 right before the 295 was announced. If I had know, I'd have waited. It's not a bad card, it just causes problems.

Originally posted by: Tweakin


As it has already been said:

1. Watch out for the memory...they are really tall.
2. With your bclock limit, 1600 memory is all you really need to go for, or ultra low latency like the mushkin kits.
3. I had that heatsink...didn't work very well for me, I have much lower temps with the Noctura...food for thought.

Nice system.

I'm dumping the HSF. From what it sounds like, it's not the one to have. I'm going to check out the Nocturna.

It sounds like I might be busy at work, so I may delay my purchase since I won't be home anyway.

Thanks for the replies everyone.

 

[Chaotic42]

Bump for changes

 

[Tweakin]

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
C'mon, from what I've heard even a monkey can get those Core i7 920's close to 4 Ghz!

Seriously, the good news is there have been so many posts about OC'ing the i7 920 that there will be plenty of helping hands for you.

I beg to differ...most individuals will throw around statements like that to ensure their "e-penis" is erect. A "normal" OC for a i7 on air is probably more like 3.2~3.6Ghz. After that, thermals take over and you may post, you may even get into windows, but only a few and I mean a few are really 24/7 stable.

 

[mikerb]

I concur, with my i7 920 and TRUE on air I can run easily 24/7 at 3.6 GHz, and that's pretty darn quick, faster than any commercially available chip on x86. Going up higher is possible but temps go up exponentially and instabiltity creeps in; the 10% increase going from 3.6 to 4GHz is much less noticeable than the screaming fans and bsod's...

3.6 is a good target imho.

 

[Chaotic42]

If I can get 3GHz, I'll be happy. Anyone see any issues with the gear?

 

[Dadofamunky]

3 GHz should be like taking candy from a baby. The stickies tell all.

By the way, I checked out your photography page. I swiped a few images for my desktop background I have the same camera - a Canon A620, and seeing your photos it's great to see what competent hands can do with it. I'm a terrible photographer myself.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
If I can get 3GHz, I'll be happy. Anyone see any issues with the gear?

Yeah, if you get a 965 then you won't have to worry about 3GHz.

Seriously though, I've used four different x58 boards and the only Asus board I've used (so far) was the normal P6T, and it was by far the easiest to overclock.

With your 920, just raise BCLK to 150, set your memory multiplier to 5, memory voltage to 1.6 and you're home free at 3.0GHz even on stock cooler.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
If I can get 3GHz, I'll be happy. Anyone see any issues with the gear?

*aigo puts on his voodoo hat*

*does magical chant....* u'll get at least 3.6 on a i7 920 with a decient setup, my overclocking gods are smiling on you now.

but seriously, 3.6ghz with good cooling is cake, 4.0 with water is cake.

4+ is a lottery with HT on.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: Dadofamunky
3 GHz should be like taking candy from a baby. The stickies tell all.

By the way, I checked out your photography page. I swiped a few images for my desktop background I have the same camera - a Canon A620, and seeing your photos it's great to see what competent hands can do with it. I'm a terrible photographer myself.

Awesome man. I'm glad someone is looking at the pics I don't know if I'd call myself competent. I'd say that even a stopped clock is right twice a day...

Thanks for the replies everyone. I really appreciate it.

 

[Chaotic42]

Well, I jumped on this and finally got all of my parts in. It's wonderful, especially with my new monitor. I tried for 3.33GHz, but Prime95 instantly nuked it. We're running just fine at 3GHz though. I'm going to have to do some more reading, but so far, so good.

I think I like the heatsink more than the computer.