4Ghz Overclocked Core i7 930 Bundle deal

[GabrielT]

Yeah, the Megahalems would have been my first choice if I was buying the parts seperately.

 

It's not an option with this bundle, but I imagine the Noctua would give similar results?

 

Overclockers UK has a generally good reputation, for actual products.

 

Reports about their RMA and technical support are mixed. Most of what I have heard about them is good though.

 

The only options for coolers that I have are either the Titan Fenrir, the Noctua NH-U12P SE2, or that watercooling unit, which I've heard some bad things about.

 

So, what should I get? Is the NH-U12P SE2 actually much better than the Fenrir?

 

My power supply is a Corsair 950 TX. It's new and there's no way I'm buying another one unless it's faulty. I can't see it being insufficient for the task with 950W!

 

So, anyone know how the coolers compare?

 

And is there a benchmark for temperatures with various heatsinks anywhere? I saw something like that but it wasn't for an overclocked Core i7.

Heat is heat, if one cooler works better than another on a core 2 quad it should do better than the other one on an i7. That being said unless the Noctua is nearly the same price the Fenrir should do fine.

[Speedway]

??? I don't get what you said. The bundle is new not used...... The company is pre overclocking it..... I would get it. It is a 930 and they overclock nicely... Check the companies reputation would be the best advise.

 

 

No matter what the company's rep or what the ad says, if you are buying a OverClocked processor, IMO it's obvious that it is used! They have literally stressed this processor for you, found a stable 4.0GHz, which on the i7 930 is VERY simple to accomplish on AIR with the right cooler, and are now selling it at a higher price because it is OCed! The only way a cpu is BRAND NEW is if it's still in a sealed Intel box! A cpu that has been opened, installed, tested, and overclocked is just plain and simple NOT new!

 

Like I said, this cpu easily reaches 4.0GHz, even on the stock cooler! I have this i7 and I had mine over 4.2GHz on the stock cooler, over 4.4GHz on my current setup! Also just for the record, my batch numer is 3001A135, which get nothing but negative feedback on most forums, and i have had nothing but GREAT luck with it!

 

I highly suggest buying an actual NEW i7 930 cpu, and learning the overclocking process yourself! You will feel much more satisfied with your setup after you know how it works 1st hand vs letting some other company open you "new" i7 and turn it into a "used" i7 just so you don't get the pleasure of learning the OCing process yourself!

 

Just my 2 cents!

[Jump4h]

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct...._source=froogle

 

I just found this while looking up Core i7 930 Prices.

 

It's a bundle deal including basically the same parts as I had intended to buy seperately (Only difference is the ram. Same amount. Same speed. Different make.). The price is almost identical to the total if I buy them seperately.

 

And the processor is apparantly pre-overclocked to 4Ghz.

 

Should I get this?

 

I have two main concerns:

 

1. Will the overclock seriously reduce the processor lifespan? When I buy a processor, I want it to last for several years. Will it be a problem? If someone could give me a general idea of how long the processor would last me without dying, it would be appreciated.

 

2. How hot will it get? They've given a list of CPU coolers to choose from, but I've found websites saying that water cooling unit can't handle high overclocks on a Core i7. Should I go for the Noctua air cooler? What temperatures could I expect with that? I've been having trouble finding temperature benchmarks for a 930 at 4Ghz.

 

I'd also appreciate any other advice you could give me. I've never manually overclocked myself. Should I expect problems? One of the comments on the reviews page (on that website) is saying that someone got BSODs due to the overclock. Why would that happen if it's been pre-overclocked and supposedly tested? Surely that's grounds to RMA the bundle and get another one?

 

My intent is to use the system for serious gaming. Should I go for it? I'm mostly worried about how much heat will be produced and what lifespan it's going to have.

 

1. It will. However, unless you're planning on owning the processor 10 years, it most likely wont matter as you will only keep it 3-5 years. Just dont go over 4 Ghz

2. My 930 runs quite cool, I have the thermaltake v8 CPU cooler

[Drdeath]

No matter what the company's rep or what the ad says, if you are buying a OverClocked processor, IMO it's obvious that it is used! They have literally stressed this processor for you, found a stable 4.0GHz, which on the i7 930 is VERY simple to accomplish on AIR with the right cooler, and are now selling it at a higher price because it is OCed! The only way a cpu is BRAND NEW is if it's still in a sealed Intel box! A cpu that has been opened, installed, tested, and overclocked is just plain and simple NOT new!

 

Like I said, this cpu easily reaches 4.0GHz, even on the stock cooler! I have this i7 and I had mine over 4.2GHz on the stock cooler, over 4.4GHz on my current setup! Also just for the record, my batch numer is 3001A135, which get nothing but negative feedback on most forums, and i have had nothing but GREAT luck with it!

 

I highly suggest buying an actual NEW i7 930 cpu, and learning the overclocking process yourself! You will feel much more satisfied with your setup after you know how it works 1st hand vs letting some other company open you "new" i7 and turn it into a "used" i7 just so you don't get the pleasure of learning the OCing process yourself!

 

Just my 2 cents!

 

 

Its not used. Yes they overclock it and stress it just like a person who buys the hardware, installs it and overclocks it. The OP wants to buy it and the company is giving a warranty. I don't think we want to argue semantics on this one Speed. It is obvious the company unboxes it and overclocks it. If you read the ENTIRE thread, the 930 deal is off from the company but they have a 920 bundle deal. The OP does not want to overclock it and he feels comfortable buying it. We have already been though trying to convince him to overclock it himself.

 

That's my 5 cents

Edited May 1, 2010 by Drdeath

[dennis.resevfan]

Its not used. Yes they overclock it and stress it just like a person who buys the hardware, installs it and overclocks it. The OP wants to buy it and the company is giving a warranty. I don't think we want to argue semantics on this one Speed. It is obvious the company unboxes it and overclocks it. If you read the ENTIRE thread, the 930 deal is off from the company but they have a 920 bundle deal. The OP does not want to overclock it and he feels comfortable buying it. We have already been though trying to convince him to overclock it himself.

 

That's my 5 cents

 

Actually, if you check my last post, I said I'm not entirely against the idea of overclocking myself. The overclocked bundle is simply cheaper than buying the parts myself.

 

That said, I've now discovered the motherboard in the bundle won't let me use the PCI-e slots in x16/x16/x8 configuration. With three cards in the board, it would be running at x16/x18/x8.

 

Not terrible, but annoying. I'd appreciate it if someone could direct me to a relatively cheap motherboard (with some USB 3.0 ports if possible), that would allow me to use two graphics cards in x16/x16 Crossfire and also a PhysX card in a x8 slot.

 

And if I did buy the motherboard and other components myself, I'd be wanting to make sure I had the best possible heatsink for a reasonable price. What should I go for? Fenrir? Megahalems? Something better?

[dihartnell]

Actually, if you check my last post, I said I'm not entirely against the idea of overclocking myself. The overclocked bundle is simply cheaper than buying the parts myself.

 

That said, I've now discovered the motherboard in the bundle won't let me use the PCI-e slots in x16/x16/x8 configuration. With three cards in the board, it would be running at x16/x18/x8.

 

Not terrible, but annoying. I'd appreciate it if someone could direct me to a relatively cheap motherboard (with some USB 3.0 ports if possible), that would allow me to use two graphics cards in x16/x16 Crossfire and also a PhysX card in a x8 slot.

 

I dont think there is a cheap option that would do that. You would need 2 NT200 chips I think if your board also had USB 3 etc.

 

This upcoming board can do it but its going to cost.

 

http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/Review/172001,...e-x58a-ud9.aspx

 

A rampage II extreme board has the option of 2 x x16 and a x4 for the physics card but also a price premium.

Edited May 1, 2010 by dihartnell

[dennis.resevfan]

Wow, that is a lot of PCI-e slots.

 

I wonder which ones you actually have to put the graphics cards into for the correct crossfire setup though. It's hard to tell which are running at the high speed, and I doubt there's enough space to use all of them with standard sized graphics cards. Not that anyone sane would even try.... I just wonder why they bothered putting in that many slots. I can't imagine needing more than... let's see... 5. That would get you a quad crossfire and a sound card too.

 

Hmm. Well, I'll keep an eye out for that board, and see what the price turns out to be like.

 

I wonder... Apparantly there's a 2 percent drop in performance if you use x8 instead of x16 speed with a graphics card. I think that was with a HD5870.

 

But how much drop in performance would I get with my overclocked 925Mhz HD5870 Toxic?

 

I wonder if maybe I should just sell the 9500GT on ebay and put the money towards my new system, while leaving PhysX to my processor. It seems not all that many games support GPU based PhysX anyway...

Then pretty much any X58 motherboard will be fine with x16/x16.

 

What do you guys think?

 

Will I miss out on anything special by sticking to CPU based PhysX? How about Metro 2033? I heard it has settings for both basic and advanced PhysX. I don't know if advanced needs a GPU...

Edited May 1, 2010 by dennis.resevfan

[dennis.resevfan]

Noone else has any input on the motherboard question?

[GabrielT]

Well honestly ditch the 9500GT, not worth the small physx gains. Any decent motherboard with crossfire support should do ya fine. I mean really, the difference between the boards is negligible as far as FPS goes IMHO.

[dennis.resevfan]

Well honestly ditch the 9500GT, not worth the small physx gains. Any decent motherboard with crossfire support should do ya fine. I mean really, the difference between the boards is negligible as far as FPS goes IMHO.

 

Yeah, the only reason I was thinking of a different motherboard was because of the slot speeds dropping. Which won't be a problem unless I use the PhysX card.

 

Just checking, but do games ever demand GPU based PhysX to activate certain options, or is it simply a matter of better frame rates if you use the GPU rather than the CPU?

 

If it's just frame rates, then I shouldn't think a 4Ghz Core i7 should struggle too much.

[Speedway]

I know that having a mobo the will run x16 Crossfire is much more sexy looking! However the performance difference is TINY. I used to feel the same way about the x8 CF, however, once you do a little research you find that the performance increase on 2 slots @ x16 vs a x8 CF setup is not usually worth even close to the price increase that the mobo's will have!

 

But Dr. New to me is NEW, and although they are giving a warranty with the OC cpu, that really doesn't take away from the fact that they have "used" it which IMO makes it Used. But, when I get something, I want to unbox it, install it and tweak it myself. Just how I feel

 

dennis, I would really think about doing the OCing yourself! I think you will appreciate the whole learning process after you have gone through it! Not to mention the cool points you get from it,

Edited May 2, 2010 by SpeedwayNative

[dennis.resevfan]

also, I know that having a mobo the will run x16 Crossfire is much more sexy looking! However the performance difference is TINY. I used to feel the same way about the x8 CF, however, once you do a little research you find that the performance increase on 2 slots @ x16 vs a x8 CF setup is not usually worth even close to the price increase that the mobo's will have!

 

Yeah, I know.

 

I'm just thinking that losing 2 percent of the performance would basically mean I was losing quite a lot of the added benefit of my overclocked graphics card.

 

It's running at 925Mhz instead of 850Mhz.

 

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/sa...oxic_2gb/16.htm

 

According to this very website, it outperforms the GTX 480 in most games.

 

The performance increase of the Toxic vs the normal HD5870, in Crysis Warhead, is about 4 percent. So if I lose 2 percent of the total performance, that is quite a chunk of my overclock benefit being lost.

 

 

I think I have a plan though. I'll get the Gigabyte motherboard, and keep just the one HD5870 for now. I'll see if I can get it working with the 9500GT, and see how well that works in games vs CPU based PhysX. If there's not much difference, then I'll just get rid of the 9500GT and get a second HD5870 later on.

 

Metro 2033 is the game that worries me. I could always complete that using the 9500GT then get rid of the card afterwards.

Edited May 2, 2010 by dennis.resevfan