vapor x 7970

[imowf4ces]

Hey all new user here, so just bought a pc few weeks ago (it's a cyber power) i know i know. At the time i did not feel like building a new pc but it was a open box felt like it was a good deal for $700. It came with 3820 i7, asrock extreme4 mobo, 8 gb of ram, and 1tb hard drive and a Thermaltake CLP0579 cpu cooler on it. The only bad thing i see on it really might be the psu and the 550 ti.

Which brings me to my question. I have a vapor x 7970 coming from newegg did i just make a mistake, i was thinking msi 670 power edt. but went with the 7970 because i plan on overclocking. i think either way i went was a good choice. My monitor is a hp 2311xi @ 1920x1080 i plan on adding another or getting a deal near black fri on 2 higher rez monitors. thanks for any input.

 

[Durvelle27]

whats the pcs psu model

 

[imowf4ces]

hahah i knew someone was going to ask its a xtreme power 800w but i have a Thermaltake SMART Series 850-Watt waiting for the gpu to get here

 

[Durvelle27]

well you should be set the HD 7970 is an amazing card

 

[cmdrdredd]

The 7970 is good for a single card. If you don't see dual GPU in your future you'll be happy with it for sure. The Vapor X is one of the better models too.

 

[imowf4ces]

Any tips on how to oc. The bios on asrock had diff options for the cpu 4.0/4.5/4.7/5.0/5.2 i just went with the middle one @ 4.5 dont see the need to go any higher yet. So i still have not over clocked anything. For the most part i hear people saying to go to 3dmark and just mess with trixx or what ever its called.

 

[imowf4ces]

im not a opposed to getting another vapor, the way they are going back & forth with prices and what not. I could see it in the future willing i can squeeze it in my case.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Overclocking the GPU is pretty simple. Set voltage to something like 1.175v in Trixx or afterburner. From there increase core and memory speed and test various benchmarks. Heaven, 3dMark 11 etc. Then if you pass a bunch of runs with no issues, go up a little bit. Look for artifacts and strange things like black boxes or things looking discolored. If you outright crash you're at or very near the limit. When you start seeing artifacts or crash, back down the core or memory (memory is usually artifacts and crash is usually core) about 10Mhz and try again. When you are stable again that is your max overclock.

For overclocking your CPU, you don't have a K processor so your multiplier is locked down. You can only overclock by increasing your BCLK and you really should avoid doing that because you end up overclocking your SATA bus etc and that can lead to corrupted data and other issues.

 

[imowf4ces]

sweet thanks a bunch, So should i take the cpu down i havent had a problem with the cpu at all played skyrim for like 15 hrs, all most beat sleeping dogs, and and numerous hours of dayZ on it @ 4.5

 

[cmdrdredd]

sweet thanks a bunch, So should i take the cpu down i havent had a problem with the cpu at all played skyrim for like 15 hrs, all most beat sleeping dogs, and and numerous hours of dayZ on it @ 4.5

I don't understand how you're overclocking the CPU with a fixed multiplier. Anyway I'd test the system under prime95 etc and see if it's really stable.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2195063

 

[notty22]

Overclocking the Core i7-3820 - PC Perspective

The platform allows for base clock strap changes.

Intel addressed this on SNB-E by offering "straps" that basically act as multipliers on the base clock. So on most motherboards you will see the option for a strap of 125 MHz or 1.25x, depending on the vendor, and that is how we were able to get past the multiplier limit of 43x to see higher overall speeds.

 

[ensign_lee]

Don't get a 2nd vapor-x. I had 2. The card on top absolutely HATES life under load. 100% fan, and still at 90 celcius. One 7970 shoudl be plenty.

I lvoe mine. It's so quiet.

 

[imowf4ces]

I don't understand how you're overclocking the CPU with a fixed multiplier. Anyway I'd test the system under prime95 etc and see if it's really stable.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2195063

Not sure either, Asrock has a thing in their bios where i can choose what one i want. Now i dont know if thats like intel boost or what but i have it set to 4.5 im new to this ocing stuff. So i could be completely wrong.

Ensign_lee, sweet cant wait to get it i hope they get it to me early like pc but if not ill have it Monday. I game with headphones so really not particular about the sound of the gpu.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Not sure either, Asrock has a thing in their bios where i can choose what one i want. Now i dont know if thats like intel boost or what but i have it set to 4.5 im new to this ocing stuff. So i could be completely wrong.

Ensign_lee, sweet cant wait to get it i hope they get it to me early like pc but if not ill have it Monday. I game with headphones so really not particular about the sound of the gpu.

Apparently notty found the link that explains it. I had never heard of this, but I have never dealt with SB-E either.