Overclocking i7 950

[JonathanDL]

Hi guys,

 

Looking to OC my i7 950, have never OC before.

 

Just ran prime95 on stock settings and fan, according to realtemp, temps are reaching 80-85 degrees on 100% load. To me these temps seem high with no OC?

 

If i am to OC, which guide is the best to use as there are many on the web and which cooler would you recommend?

 

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

System specs:

 

CPU: i7 950 3.06ghz

GPU: GTX 770 factory OC

RAM: Corsair 1600 8gb

MB: gigabyte x58a-ud3r rev 2.0

SSD: 120gb samsung

HDD: 1TB WD

[ir_cow]

What cooler are you currently using?

[JonathanDL]

Currently using the stock fan.

[l1il]

Using the stock fan, even with a high air flow case is not recommended. The thermal design of the stock cooler is calculated to support
it at stock speed. Anything faster will draw more power. Your temperatures are high, but this means in no way that the processor is dying, just
that the fan doesn't do it's job properly.

 

I have that exact motherboard, but with a different processor, which means clocks will be different but the overclocking method is the same.

 

First thing to do is get yourself a new cooler.This involves the hassle of the installation process, but the advantage of cooler processor hence
longer life generally. I would suggest you to pick whether the Cooler Master 212 plus or the Xigmatek Gaia 1283 for good price/performance,

or for a time they have the Zalman CNPS9900ALED that is reduced of 35% if you feel like you want to

keep your CPU for a long time / overclock a bunch.

 

Only then I would suggest you to mess with clocks. Plus, maybe your case is due for a cleaning, so changing your cooler might lead you to

blow the dust at the same time. Take note that a good cooler still depends on the case airflow. If you only have one fan in the rear, I do not
guarantee you'll be able to push clocks very high either.

[wevsspot]

After you upgrade your cooling solution you can take a look here for a very comprehensive guide for overclocking Socket 1366 / X58;

 

i7 920 to i7 950 Overclocking

 

While this is an early guide and focused primarily on the 920s and 930s - the methodology is the same.  The only difference using the 950 is the available cpu multipliers.

[JonathanDL]

Hi guys thanks for reply, using antec 900 case so airflow is pretty good, not too dusty either.

 

Ive had other people recommend corsair h50 water cooler as an option?

[l1il]

It is a possibility, I doubt you would gain anything except that you would free the motherboard from the cooler's weight. This involves careful planning as most

of the time the VRM suffers a bit from lesser airflow. You do have some good VRM cooling on the UD3R tho.

 

Performance-wise, there is no difference between the suggested coolers and the H50, so depending on the price, go with the most affordable.

[wevsspot]

I wouldn't bother with the H50.  A good air cooler will net you similar overclocking head room.  If you're really in the market for self contained water cooling you should be considering the H80i or even the H100i.  Otherwise just stick with one of the very good air coolers mentioned previously.

 

If you're on a budget it's hard to beat the CM Hyper 212.Evo.  Other great air cooling solutions (not already mentioned above) depending on how much you want to invest;

 

Noctua NH-D14

Noctua NH-U12P

Enermax ETS-T40 (multiple color / finish choices too)

Silverstone Argon AR02

Phanteks PH-TC12DX

Prolimatech Megahalens

[Smiki007]

+1 for Noctua NH-D14 and NH-U12P

[Hyper]

I have a custom water loop in my antec900 at the moment with a double 120 up front and a single hanging off the back fan.. considerably more expensive then the air cooling suggestions though. but it's possible you could mount one of the double120's (H80i if I recall) up front depending on hose length.

 

 I still like that case despite it's cabble management limitations.. dont have any current pic's of mine though. The wc'ed gtx480 I had in there died so I just have an aircooled gtx285 and the water line's that would have gone to the gfx card hooked together at the moment..

[Fragsman]

Hello!

I have the same processor. Idle it runs at 38

Edited October 2, 2013 by Fragsman