I7 920 build, newbie to OC.

[thyroid]

This is a follow up to my original thread here.

Basically I've decided to go from my current system to an i7920/930 d0 build and OC that.

I'm new to OCing tho, so any suggestion for parts would be greatly appreciated. I'm pretty sure that I want a d0 chip (920 or 930) and the gigabyte UD3R but aside from that I'm not 100% on anything else.

I plan on almost maxing out the ram (up to 18g) later on so a memory brand that has 3x2g and 3x4g dimms is ideal. I'm guessing something with 1.65v and low-ish timings would be good?

And I haven't a clue about HSF stuff or what makes decent air cooling, aside from good airflow and lots of fans.

Any and all suggestions welcome!

I work in the game industry so Ill be using the system to create high poly art at home. My main resource hogs would be zbrush, photoshop, and max2011 rendering, as well as gaming and working within game engines.

Thanks for reading!


My current system:
Intel q6600
MSI p7n Platinum 750i
6Gig Muskin Ram DDR2 800 6400
8800gt x 2 SLI
Corsair 750w TX
Note: my system run pretty damn hot currently
cores and 8800gt around 60c idle :/

Upgrade:
i7 920/930 d0 OC
Gigabyte X58A-UD3R
Corsair 750w TX
xfx or gigabyte HD5850?
6gig ram (mushkin probably)
HSF?
Case?

 

[mortonww]

How big of an overclock are you looking to do? The Cooler Master Hyper 212+ is a very good value if you can find it for $30 (I know newegg just started selling it for $60 a couple of weeks ago after a looooong stint at $30). Maybe check amazon.com.

XFX has a double lifetime warranty. That could be important should you re-sell your parts in the future. Otherwise, they're the same thing.

For a case, I'd look at the HAF 922, the Cooler Master Storm Scout, the Cooler Master Storm Sniper, and the Antec 900/902. You can't go wrong with any one of those, they'll all provide excellent cooling and room for future upgrades. The current favorite around this forum is the HAF 922. I've never had the pleasure of building with one (have built with the others), but I hear the HAFs are amazing. And they're well-priced.

 

[Hereisphilly]

+1 to the haf 922 case, really nice piece of kit
I've got a scythe yasya as my hsf, really great piece of kit, the best that scythe make, can get 4ghz out of it no problem, and the slipstream fan that comes with it is fantastic

 

[Chuckles_]

I'm a big fan of the Noctua NH-D14. Yeah it's $90 at Newegg, but you can get it -$10/$15 off in a combo with the i7-920/30. It comes with 2 fans, and top shelf TIM. The i7 run very hot at 4.0GHz+, and you just can't beat the NH-D14's cooling power with air. And, if you are buying online, get the 930, so you don't have to worry about getting the 920 C0.

 

[Bartendalot]

Hey,

I just built a 930 rig 3 months ago and recently OC'd for the first time to a stable 3.8Ghz at ~68 load. I spent around $1800 and could have gone cheaper but am very happy with the build.

This is what I got from Newegg in April:

N82E16813131614 MB ASUS P6X58D PREMIUM 1366 R 1 299.99
N82E16835118054 CPU COOL ZALMAN|CNPS9900NT RT 1 68.99
N82E16820226128 MEM 2Gx3|MUSHKIN 998834 DDR3 1866 R 1 229.99
N82E16817139011 PSU CORSAIR|CMPSU-850HX 850W RT 1 169.99
N82E16819115225 CPU INTEL|CORE I7 930 2.80G R 1 289.99
N82E16826104178 MOUSE LOGITECH | MX 518 USB RT 1 42.99
N82E16822136284 HD 1T|WD 7K 32M SATA2 WD1001FALS % 1 99.99
N82E16827140042 DVD BURNER HP | 1260I SATA R 1 28.99
N82E16814103084 VGA DIAMOND 5870PE51G HD5870 R 1 419.99
COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

I should have gone with ddr3 1600mhz RAM because the you wont see much difference above that speed.
The Zalman heatsink is not as good as I could have had for the price and people swear by Noctua so that might be a better option.
The 5870 is a powerful card but you may want to consider a 5970 if you're gonna lean heavy on your GPU.
Get a good case if you are thinking about overclocking (which the 930 is a great chip for) with plenty of air flow and room for a big graphics card (or 2)

quick edit: Also know that the i7 900's run hot... IMO, up to the 80C is acceptable in prime 95 with a big overclock (the chips are within spec up to 70C but rarely will you hit 100% load in normal use)

Good luck!

 

[jsc]

60 C at idle is really hot. Load temps of my Q6600 oc'd to 3.6 GHz are 61 - 66 C in an Antec 900 case modded for cable management. I like the Antec 900 case, but nowadays, the HAF's are more practical.

And once you get your parts:
Overshocked's i7 Overclocking Guide (LGA1366)
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/253365-29-core-overclocking-guide

Just remember, when you are overclocking, YMMV.
Overshocked i7 Overclocking - What does what
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/256021-11-core-overclocking-what

 

[thyroid]

Hey everyone, thanks for the info!

I'll be doing a decent amount of OC but nothing extreme, probably around 3.6. I've heard that overclocking reduces the lifetime of a chip, any truth to that?

I'm usually more of a conservative case kind of guy but the HAF 922 looks wicked. It matches my microsoft sidewinder KB and is in my price range. Awesome!

I'll be buying local since there are a few shops here with fantastic prices so I know I'll be getting a d0.

The 5970 is just out of my budget, but I'd love it. The good thing is that a video card doesn't affect my work pipeline, only the end result of viewing my artwork after it's been imported into an engine. I think the 5850 would be perfect for this.

Yeah it's crazy hot! my temps hit over 100 per core while rendering and also 80 per gpu when playing bad company 2. I'm cracking open my case after I post this and checking to make sure everything is still running and give it a good clean.

Thanks for the links jsc!


For my new build here's what I have so far:

i7 920 d0 OC to 3.6
Edit: Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme OR Thermaltake Frío
Gigabyte X58A-UD3R
Mushkin Blackline 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC-12800
Corsair 750w TX
MSI R5850-PM2D1G-OC ATI Radeon HD 5850 (765Mhz) 1GB GDDR5 (4500Mhz) (or any other 5850 around that price.)
Haf 922
Cooler Master 200mm Blue LED Silent MegaFlow Case Fan (if i can turn off the blue light)
LG CH10LS20 Bluray Reader & DVD Writer Combo Drive 10X BD-ROM 16X DVD-RW Lightscribe


So far so good?

 

[Hereisphilly]

If you can, go for a i7 930, they should be similar prices, and give you more speed, and more OC headroom.
a 750w psu is unecessary for a dual 5850 setup, let alone a single card. Go for a 650w unit, there is enough headroom for two 5650s
The blue led in that extra fan you want cant be turned off, so it will clash horribly with the front red one. Coolermaster make a red 200mm fan, so try and get one, i have for my haf 922.

 

[Bartendalot]

My temps were hot like that for the first week or two. Make sure your heatsink is properly seated. I thought mine was then a little twist gave a "pop" and it slid into full contact. 100C will fry your cpu very quickly.

Also, in Catalyst control center you should be able to check off "manual fan speed" and raise the fans to at least 65%-70% during gaming. Its loud but will keep your GPU from getting too hot.

 

[thyroid]

Best answer selected by thyroid.