i7 860 at 4ghz on air?

[garyttu]

I'm looking to rebuild a P55 system with a i7 860. I plan on getting a nice HSF combo (thermalright true or something similar performing).

I'm used to running my E6600 @ 3.2 pretty much 24/7 and its time for an upgrade....

Will i7-860 using a good HSF let me run a stable 4.0ghz 24/7 on air?

 

[Keysplayr]

Impossible to answer. All that can be safely said is tha you should be able to o/c the 860. By how much? No way of knowing. You might hit 4.2, or may be only able to hit 3.4 or something. I'd wait to see what the "norm" is for these new i7's as they make their way into more rigs.
So bottom line - Your results may vary.

 

[yacoub]

Not to mention temps. Temperatures will vary as well, depending on the hsf you use, the case, the airflow, the ambient/room temps, whatever other items in your case might be giving off heat, etc.

 

[RussianSensation]

Maybe you could sell the E6600 and get Q9550 E0 stepping. Those will do 3.8-4.0ghz and will give you a very good boost if you require a quad.

 

[garyttu]

I guess what I am asking is what the average expectation is thus far...

Is 4.0 in the realm of reasonable? It seems as though in regards to the 920 it is, but if the 860 can hit the same, i'd rather go that route.

 

[RussianSensation]

With proper cooling and 1.4V, it should do that. You can raise the multiplier to 22x and then you just need 182 Base Clock.

I magine almost any board will do 182 base clock. The limiting component is going to be the CPU and cooling.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: garyttu
I guess what I am asking is what the average expectation is thus far...

Is 4.0 in the realm of reasonable? It seems as though in regards to the 920 it is, but if the 860 can hit the same, i'd rather go that route.

Well, these things just launched around a week ago. Not really enough "trial time" around the net yet. But I do think that this is the best 45nm is going to get. After these guys, it's 32nm.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Originally posted by: garyttu
I'm looking to rebuild a P55 system with a i7 860. I plan on getting a nice HSF combo (thermalright true or something similar performing).

I'm used to running my E6600 @ 3.2 pretty much 24/7 and its time for an upgrade....

Will i7-860 using a good HSF let me run a stable 4.0ghz 24/7 on air?

The only answer anyone can give you at any point in time will be "maybe". Anandtech hit 3.99 ghz with thier i7-860 and a Thermalright MUX-120 + plenty of ventilation for the case. I'm sure you could help yourself out quite a bit with a good lap job, top-notch TIM, and a strong fan for the HSF (maybe a Sanyo Denki or something, assuming Thermalright doesn't ship something awesome with the HSF already), but in the end, there's no way to tell for sure. The integrated PCI-E controller will be your main stumbling block, so it all boils down to how much voltage it wants/needs before it will function properly at 4 ghz.

Originally posted by: Keysplayr

Well, these things just launched around a week ago. Not really enough "trial time" around the net yet. But I do think that this is the best 45nm is going to get. After these guys, it's 32nm.

Thanks to the integrated PCI-E controller, I don't know that I can agree with you there. Any given chip's overclockability will be limited by how much voltage the integrated controller wants at any given temperature range to operate at the desired frequency. Maybe that's only going to be an issue at stock vcore, but I have to think that LGA-1366 processors will still have an edge, even when overvolted.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: DrMrLordX

Originally posted by: garyttu
I'm looking to rebuild a P55 system with a i7 860. I plan on getting a nice HSF combo (thermalright true or something similar performing).

I'm used to running my E6600 @ 3.2 pretty much 24/7 and its time for an upgrade....

Will i7-860 using a good HSF let me run a stable 4.0ghz 24/7 on air?

The only answer anyone can give you at any point in time will be "maybe". Anandtech hit 3.99 ghz with thier i7-860 and a Thermalright MUX-120 + plenty of ventilation for the case. I'm sure you could help yourself out quite a bit with a good lap job, top-notch TIM, and a strong fan for the HSF (maybe a Sanyo Denki or something, assuming Thermalright doesn't ship something awesome with the HSF already), but in the end, there's no way to tell for sure. The integrated PCI-E controller will be your main stumbling block, so it all boils down to how much voltage it wants/needs before it will function properly at 4 ghz.

Originally posted by: Keysplayr

Well, these things just launched around a week ago. Not really enough "trial time" around the net yet. But I do think that this is the best 45nm is going to get. After these guys, it's 32nm.

Thanks to the integrated PCI-E controller, I don't know that I can agree with you there. Any given chip's overclockability will be limited by how much voltage the integrated controller wants at any given temperature range to operate at the desired frequency. Maybe that's only going to be an issue at stock vcore, but I have to think that LGA-1366 processors will still have an edge, even when overvolted.

I agree. classic i7 will most likely o/c better, or easier than new i7/i5 because of that integrated PCI-e controller. But like I mentioned, we need some more "trial time" in the field so to speak with these new chips. You know, we need those unbearably long "Official i7860/870 overclocking results" threads. XS would most likely be the ones to push to the max.

 

[DrMrLordX]

True, more information would be desirable. Maybe 4.5-5 ghz 860s on air are possible . . . after all, Anandtech's review hit 4.25 with the 870, and a good selection of air cooling for lga-1156 isn't even available yet. Well not really. With some lapping and good TIM, who knows what is possible?

 

[michael19]

I've got a 860 and with a Prolimatech MegaShadow and some Shin-Etsu X23 on the way in about a week : )) maybe i'll have to test it out. imo it should be able to hit 4ghz fairly easy with great air cooling.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Interesting HSF. I would like them to review that here at Anandtech sometime, though they haven't done any HSF reviews recently.

Is the unpainted Megahalems available for lga-1156? Or is only the new MegaShadow available for that socket? The MegaShadow costs $80 without even a fan, ouch!

edit: oh I get it, the MegaShadow has extra clips built-in so you can mount dual fans without modding. Neat.

 

[alyarb]

the noctua is the best deal you can find. TRUE-like performance if not better with two fans, voltage adapters and TIM included in the price, universal compatibility.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Eh, if you're talking about the NH-U12, I wouldn't say that it beats a TRUE at all. It's nice and quiet, but I've seen the TRUE beat it in several benches.