Foxconn Flamingblade GTI and the i7-950?

[occupant]

My wife has a whitebox system with the following bits:

Foxconn Flamingblade GTI Motherboard
Scythe Katana3 CPU Fan and Heatsink
Intel Core i7-920 2.66GHz CPU
Antec p182 OMG BEST CASE EVAR
Corsair TX Series 850W PSU

Here's the deal. I want to build a computer. She as always wants MOAR POWAH and the local MicroCenter has the Core i7-950 3.06GHz CPU for $249 including sales tax. So I set up a wishlist on NewEgg with some cheapa$$ parts and figured for about $394 plus a power supply (700W Ultra) and a video card (Diamond HD4870 512MB) that I already have, I can build an X58 system and use her i7-920 in it.

I'm not really asking for tips on how to build the i7-920 system since I already built hers back in the day. I would like to know from owners of i7-950 CPU's who use it on a Foxconn Flamingblade motherboard (GTI or other, they're pretty similar), if they were able to get 4.0 out of their setup and what it took to get there?!! I'm thinking 21x191 would be sufficient and I'm wondering if this runs fairly cool and comfortable and stable and all that?

 

[Shadow703793]

First off let me tell you that there are virtually no people on the Forums who use the Flamingblade.

Second, you already have a i7 920? If so, why not OC that? Why do you absolutely need 4Ghz? Most people don't need this much power.

And PLEASE do not get the Ultra PSU. They are not very good. Here is a review of the 1200W Ultra: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=174

If you want a quality LGA1366 board on a budget, get the X58A-UD3R or the P6T SE.

 

[occupant]

It would be pretty stupid to buy another motherboard for her computer if she already has the Foxconn unit in hers running good. Besides, if we change out her motherboard, we have to pony up another $99 to buy another copy of Windows. OEM OS's are tied to the motherboard. Good luck getting around that. So the motherboard stays. The hard drive stays. It's the processor I'm swapping out. I don't care for Windows anymore so I'm putting Ubuntu on the one I'm building. It doesn't matter what motherboard *I* buy. That's not part of this thread, anyway. Moving on...

We already have an i7-920. It is overclocked to 3.6 and room to move up. I'm buying another processor to build my computer. If I get another i7-920, fine, so be it, but it'll probably be used if so. i7-930 is $199, i7-950 is $229. Why not get the i7-950, give it to her, and run the i7-920 in what I'm building? Seems cost-effective to me and this way I can finally run something fast and the wife stays happy because she will know she is faster. Are you married? If you are, then you'd understand why the wife gets the better part of the deal. My wife has a nice truck. I drive a twenty-year-old Cutlass Ciera. My wife has her fast $1050 system, I have a $249 Black Friday Blue Light special with a processor swap. that's the way things work when you're married and unemployed. Wifey gets what she wants. Keep the planet rotating in the right direction...

I am not BUYING a PSU. I already have the 700W Ultra sitting here. Ran her computer with the i7-920, Flamingblade, Katana3 cooler, and the HD4870 512MB video card for the first few months we had it running. When we upgraded to the HD4890 video card because she wanted a full GB of video memory, I explained it would be wise to get a higher rated, higher quality power supply. So we did. The 700W Ultra PSU and 512MB HD4870 have been sitting in boxes since. I intend to put them to use in the new build. There's a $150 video card in a box and maybe a $75 power supply in another box. It's a waste to let them sit. If I could get that kind of money for them on CL I would and I would pick up one of the many combo PSU's offered with the Antec Three Hundred I intend to use for my computer. Right now the combo is for a DVD drive. I can always change that. Again, I'm rambling about my build. That's not what this thread is about...

The P6T and X58A-UDR3 are on the top of my list for a board already. This thread is not about my build, anyway. I don't really have any questions on my build, and if I did, I would have put it in the New Build forum where it would belong.

***I'm just wondering who else has put an i7-950 on a Flamingblade and what if anything did they attempt to do with it. Shadow here evidently would choose not to do that. No problem, he likes his P6T Deluxe and i7-920. I'm going a different direction with this. So anyone else have experience with the Foxconn board and the i7-950?***

 

[Shadow703793]

Ah... I see what you meant now. I thought you were rebuilding a PC lol.

As far as the CPU compatibility goes, don't see why a i7 950 won't work considering that it could run the 980X: http://www.foxconnsupport.com/cpusupportlist.aspx?type=mb&socket=Socket+1366&model=FlamingBlade+GTI&cputype=Intel

Again, there are no people (AFAIK) that use the Flamingblade to begin with. The chances of you getting a reply from an owner of that board is very very low.

 

[wolfram23]

I bought Win 7 64bit OEM version (they didn't have the normal version in stock) and have replaced the mobo because the first one burned out (MSI P55GD65 to ASUS P7P55D Pro). The key activation won't work but if you do the automated call in it will work just fine. Takes a bit longer and it sucks when the machine doesn't understand "Continue!" but otherwise it works. I also have reinstalled the OS on a SSD from the original RAID 0 HDDs, and the phone thing worked yet again.

As for the CPUs, I suppose if you're buying a new i7 anyway then it's not a bad idea to get the 950. However, ultimately the only difference between the CPUs is their stock clocks... you can OC either one to 4ghz if you want, and they'd have identical scores in benchmarks.

I don't have a clue what a Flamingblade mobo is, sorry.