Questions baout overclocking i7-950.

[spenceryuan]

I am new to this and I am planning to overclock my CPU and wanted to know what is safe to overclock to and what I need to get in order to do it.


Heres what I have:
Corsair 600T case
i7-950 3.06 GHZ
Asus sabertooth X58 Mb
650 watt antec earthwatts power supply
EVGA GTX 460 SE
8 GB Kingston RAM
1 64 GB Crucial SSD
1 TB Hitachi HDD.

I was thinking maybe overclock to about 3.8 GHz, sandybridge type speeds. Can i go higher and be safe?

I know that I need a new heatsink. Any recommendations? I was looking at the Corsair H50 or H70. H50 is alot cheaper, does H70 justify the 40 dollar price hike? Any as effective and cheaper solutions?

Also would I need to get a new Powersupply or will 650 watts be enough?

How much extra power do you need when you overclock? They said I need a minimum of 500-550 watts with my setup now. I am also going to upgrade to GTX 570 in a few months which takes about an extra 50-100 watt than what I have now.

Am i forgetting anything else when overclocking?

Thanks in advance,
Spencer

 

[baddad]

Download Intel Extreme Tuning Utility from their site and install it open it up and set the Host clock Frequency to 175MHz and you'll be at 4GHZ without doing anything else. You can try the 650W PSU and it may be ok, if not I would get at least a 750W PSU.

 

[jprahman]

I would advise against the H50 or H70 because I haven;t heard alot of great things about them. It's mainly an issue of the H50 and H70 just not giving much if any of an advantage over a high quality air cooler in terms of reducing heat. If you go with a mid-range heatsink like a Hyper-212+, Nocturna DH-14, Megahalem, or any other "big air" heatsink you'll get the same results as the H50 or H70 at a lower price.

Your current PSU is good enough for both an overclocked i7-950 and a GTX 570. Take a look at the Antec PSU calculator here: Antec PSU Calculator.

I have to recommend against the use of software overclocking tools like Intel Extreme Tuning Utility, if possible. Software overclocking tools often set voltages higher than strictly necessary for stable operation. Careful manual overclocking will allow for the same overclocks as a software utility, but with lower voltages.

 

[jprahman]

Also, why do you have 8GB of RAM. The only way you could have 8GB is if you installed modules in pairs. You do realize that X58 uses triple channel RAM, right? Meaning that you would have to install modules in matching triples.

 

[spenceryuan]

Also, why do you have 8GB of RAM. The only way you could have 8GB is if you installed modules in pairs. You do realize that X58 uses triple channel RAM, right? Meaning that you would have to install modules in matching triples.

I guess i didn't realize it. I installed 4 2 gb Kingston Hyperx Genesis 1600 MHz CL9 DIMMs. It shows up in windows as 8 gb of RAM, and in my passmark testing it also says 8 gb or RAM.

So what does that mean?

What do I do now?

 

[jprahman]

Running matched pairs in dual-channel on x58 won't cause any types of malfunctions, it just means that you're not achieving the maximum RAM bandwidth that you could've gotten if you were running in triple channel mode. If you want you could remove one stick and install the other three sticks in the correct slots to enable triple channel operation. Your motherboard manual should have more information on which RAM slots must be populated.

 

[spenceryuan]

Running matched pairs in dual-channel on x58 won't cause any types of malfunctions, it just means that you're not achieving the maximum RAM bandwidth that you could've gotten if you were running in triple channel mode. If you want you could remove one stick and install the other three sticks in the correct slots to enable triple channel operation. Your motherboard manual should have more information on which RAM slots must be populated.

So if I just remove one DIMM it will solve the problem? Or is there a special type of triple channel RAM i need to use to get the most out of it?

I was freaking out because I thought I would have to buy all new RAM

 

[jprahman]

No, DDR3 RAM is DDR3 RAM. There isn't such a thing as triple channel RAM modules, vs. dual channel RAM modules, the difference between the two is how the memory controller access the sticks. RAM installed in triple channel mode can access data at higher bandwidth, latency isn't affected. I wouldn't call it a problem, it's just that you won't get the absolute maximum performance possible. You probably won't see much of a performance boost by swapping out the one stick and enabling triple channel mode. If you want to you could run some benchmarks with all four sticks installed in dual-channel mode and then run some other benchmarks with one stick removed and the other sticks installed so as to enable triple channel operation. You can review the difference in performance to see if it is worth losing 2GB of RAM. You can use CPU-Z to check what mode your RAM is running in, dual-channel mode vs. triple channel mode.

 

[spenceryuan]

Thanks. That was very helpful. Yea this was my first build and I really knew nothing and am just learning through making mistakes. Appreciate it!

 

[spenceryuan]

No, DDR3 RAM is DDR3 RAM. There isn't such a thing as triple channel RAM modules, vs. dual channel RAM modules, the difference between the two is how the memory controller access the sticks. RAM installed in triple channel mode can access data at higher bandwidth, latency isn't affected. I wouldn't call it a problem, it's just that you won't get the absolute maximum performance possible. You probably won't see much of a performance boost by swapping out the one stick and enabling triple channel mode. If you want to you could run some benchmarks with all four sticks installed in dual-channel mode and then run some other benchmarks with one stick removed and the other sticks installed so as to enable triple channel operation. You can review the difference in performance to see if it is worth losing 2GB of RAM. You can use CPU-Z to check what mode your RAM is running in, dual-channel mode vs. triple channel mode.

Do you know if I buy another 2 2 gb sticks and put them in the remaining 2 slots to fill up ALL six on my MB, if that would bring me to triple channel config or would it only be dual?

 

[jprahman]

Yes, adding two more sticks for a total of 12GB should allow for triple channel operation, and since RAM is so cheap that may not be a bad idea. Try to buy RAM that is identical to what you currently have, because that would reduce the possibility of a compatibility problem.

Here's a link to the manual for the motherboard that has some good information: Sabertooth manual. Page 28 and 29 have some especially good information about your motherboard and memory configurations.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The best OC guide for the 950 is here:

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=20081220191040237&board_id=1&model=P6T+Deluxe&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

The H70 can't quite keep up with the better air coolers. The Antec Kuhler 620 w/Delta fan beats the H70 by about 6C and beats all but one of the top air coolers

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=694&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=4

Thermaltake Jing 69.7 +11.0
Corsair H50 68.1 +9.4
Coolit Vantage A.L.C. 67.8 +9.1
Corsair H70 64.7 +6.0
Coolit ECO A.L.C. 64.3 +5.6
Cooler Master V6 GT 59.5 +0.8
Prolimatech Super Mega 59.4 +0.7
Antec Kühler H2O 620 58.7 +0.0
Thermalright Venomous X 58.0 -0.7


Priced to compete with high-end air coolers, the Kühler offers similar performance and a lower noise level. It's the first compact liquid cooler I've tested that can honestly be considered as competition for the likes of the Cooler Master V6 GT, Prolimatech Megahalems, and Thermalright Venomous X.

The performance of the Antec Kühler H20 620 was excellent, exceeding that of every other water cooler I've tested and encroaching on the performance range of the very best air coolers.

But I'm not going to get hung up on the Kühler's minimalist aesthetic. The Antec Kühler H2O 620 is the best-performing water cooler I've tested....

Im not quite sold on these "faux water coolers" but if I do try one, it would be the Antec Kuhler, tho I'll prolly wait fir the new 920 version.

http://store.antec.com/Product/cooling-cpu_cooler/kuhler-h2o-620/0-761345-77085-9.aspx

How'd you wind up w/ 8 GB of RAM in a triple channel MoBo ? Yes, I drop on module or add 2 more. If it has tall heat sinks, a water type cpu cooler may be ya only option w/ 12 GB