I7 980X Stable Overclock/Anti-Bottleneck - looking for advice

[ei8htbit]

Hey Gang,

I'm looking to crossfire dual Matrix 5870s in my rig and OC my cpu. I was wondering if the community thinks I might be bottlenecking the potential based on my current stock speed system stats and if so, does anyone have any particular advice or suggestions on what I should try in terms of voltage/timings to give my cpu a little boost (I would be happy with 3.6 or thrilled with 4.0) I'm very curious to know what multipliers/voltages etc. are realistic/relatively stable and safe to achieve a minor overclock to my cpu.

Here's what's under the hood:
CPU: i7 980x @ 3.33GHz (stock) with turbo QPI enabled in BIOS will reach 3.4
CPU Cooler: Stock Intel DBX-B
MoBo: ASUS P6x58D Premium
DRAM: 3 x 2GB Corsair Dominator (stock XMP enabled 7-7-7-20/1600) with fans
GPU: 1 x ASUS ROG Matrix 5870 @900MHz/2GB GDDR5 @1225MHz (stock)
(looking to add a second identical card to dual crossfire)
PSU: Corsair 850HX
HDD: Intel x25 SSD running Wndows 7 Ultimate 64bit
HDD: 2 x 640GB WD Black Caviar @7200/32
CASE: CoolerMaster Storm Sniper Black
Case Cooling: (front/side/bottom 200mm air intakes with 200 mm chimney and 120mm rear exhaust)

and here are my CPU-Z and GPUS-Z stats for quick reference:

and for what it's worth, here is my stock TurboV settings:

Any thoughts, advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[buzznut]

Bottleneck? You have the fastest gaming cpu out there, what are you afraid of bottlenecking?

I believe 4.0 is there for the taking, but certainly 3.6-3.7ghz is a safe place to start.

 

[buzznut]

Oh, I would definitely upgrade you cooler.

 

[ei8htbit]

Oh, I would definitely upgrade you cooler.

heh, thanks. I know "bottleneck" may be a little too strong but I was wondering if it was worth increasing the stock 3.33GHz clock or not (or if the 980x has stability to OC substantially) if I have the power might as use it kind of thing...(I just don't know how)

The DBX-B cooler has been doing alright for me keeping my CPU 34-36C under load (at stock speeds of course) I hear the Noctua fan is a good choice so perhaps I explore that (or maybe even H50) but for now the stock 980X fan is very decent.

thanks,

 

[JD13]

I also have the 980x but, I dumped the stock cooler & went with a Prolimatech Megahalems Rev B as my cooler.
I have taken it up to 3.9 without any issues at all. What kind of RAM are you working with? they can also play a part in you OC.
They say the newer H70 is even better than the H50 cooler....

 

[seanny]

Yes ,the H70 is a darn good cooler you will really need to upgrade for an overclock.As for the overclock,unless you are benchmarking 3.33ghz is enough with your current set up.Of course you could go with a slight overclock but you should do as much homework on this as possible before going down that road. By the way very nice system.

 

[AllanCameron]

Hey Gang,

Any thoughts, advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

I just typed "i7-980x 5.0 ghz" into Google and apparently some have reached 5.0 GHz for the Gulftown already.

 

[JD13]

Yeah & you will need liquid Nitrogen to do it.......



JD

I just typed "i7-980x 5.0 ghz" into Google and apparently some have reached 5.0 GHz for the Gulftown already.

 

[andrern2000]

I read from Newegg reviews that 980X can be overclocked to certain extent with just air cooling, probably stock.

 

[rofl_my_waffle]

To be honest how can you buy a processor for a grand and not get watercooling if you are into overclocking

You can get really really decent watercooling for around $250. Getting 4.4Ghz on a 980X on water is like getting 3.8Ghz with a i7 920, easy as cake.

 

[AllanCameron]

Yeah & you will need liquid Nitrogen to do it.......



JD

Actually is was done with a Single Stage Vapor Change

http://www.liquidnitrogenoverclocking.com/news_08.shtml#page_top

Holds the temp at -40, not -300, so there is no way that's a Liquid Nitrogen setup.

Or did you mean the company name?

Because their name is Liquid Nitrogen Overclocking

 

[wortwortwort]

As a minimum, I would get a good air cooler like the Prolimatech Megahalems or the Noctua D-14.

For a system like that, I would really consider watercooling.

 

[sk1n5]

Don't forget that the 980x has an unlocked multiplier and doesn't require you to up the fsb to overclock. I'm running mine at 4ghz at 1.35vcore with the H70. 30c idle/68c full load, 25c ambient. You should be able to get 3.6-3.8 with acceptable temps.

 

[ei8htbit]

Best answer selected by ei8htbit.