What's your latest tech purchase?

[Deleted member 24505]

Got the board. Has 3 sticks of corsair dominator DDR3 1600 in it, and a i7 920 in it.

Cas 8 ram is this ram any good?

 

[QuietBob]

Picked up this monstrosity:



The fan design is quirky. They feel heavy and look capable, and the fan bracket has integrated rubber pads. A pair of spare clips is included, as well as two low speed adapters. It's also good to see a magnetic tip screwdriver and a sizable syringe of thermal paste in the bundle. These will definitely come in handy. And although I am not one for trinkets, the complimentary case badge/key tag is thick and well made:



The overall build quality is very good, my only gripe is that the mounting backplate isn't metal. I've never seen cooler mounting hardware made of plastic. I've included a standard 120mm fan for comparison:



Now all I need is a 5800X3D to pair it with. Do your worst AMD

 

[lexluthermiester]

Cas 8 ram is this ram any good?

Sure is. Those are solid timings.

and a i7 920 in it.

Defininately get yourself a Xeon 6core. X5675, X5680 and W3680 are all excellent choices. With the W3680, you can bump the multi as it's unlocked. If you want to do some bclk overclocking, an X5650 or X5660 would do well also.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Sure is. Those are solid timings.


Defininately get yourself a Xeon 6core. X5675, X5680 and W3680 are all excellent choices. With the W3680, you can bump the multi as it's unlocked. If you want to do some bclk overclocking, an X5650 or X5660 would do well also.

I'll have a look on flea bay.

Edit

X5675 is £12
X5680 is £25

What's the difference?

 

[lexluthermiester]

I'll have a look on flea bay.

Edit

X5675 is £12
X5680 is £25

What's the difference?

X5675 = 3ghz
X5680 = 3.33ghz
Otherwise identical specs.

While it's twice the price, it's only 25. Did you find any W3680's? Same as the X5680, but unlocked.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

X5675 = 3ghz
X5680 = 3.33ghz
Otherwise identical specs.

While it's twice the price, it's only 25. Did you find any W3680's? Same as the X5680, but unlocked.

About 30 quid

I'll see if i can nab a 3680 this week

 

[lexluthermiester]

About 30 quid

If you want to multiplier OC, it's worth it. If you want to bclk OC, an X5675, X5660 or X5650 might be a better choice, though in reality, the W3680 can easily do bclk and multi OCing so it's really up to you what you want to do.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

If you want to multiplier OC, it's worth it. If you want to bclk OC, an X5675, X5660 or X5650 might be a better choice, though in reality, the W3680 can easily do bclk and multi OCing so it's really up to you what you want to do.

It's only £30 i may as well nab the W3680

Be a good old board to play with. I have a spare 280mm rad and pump/tank too just need a CPU block

 

[lexluthermiester]

It's only £30 i may as well nab the W3680

While Silicon Lottery is always a thing, the W3680s were well binned and as such, you are very likely to get one that will give you smooth sailing tweaking and tinkering.

 

[Muck Muster]

developer on an intel that too with a stock cooler??

hmmmmmmm, you should introduce him to TPU

That's the final destiny of your 2080 super. Well, he can join me as we run down the street on fire.. .

 

[MachineLearning]

It's only £30 i may as well nab the W3680

Be a good old board to play with. I have a spare 280mm rad and pump/tank too just need a CPU block

My suspicion is that with X58 especially, the year of the chip and Xeon vs i7 denotes the silicon quality far more severely than the actual SKU. I have a i7-980X (2010 mfg date) that just barely holds 4.4GHz @ 1.4v. But also a couple of Xeon X5675's (sister CPUs mfg in 2012), both of which will do 4.5GHz+ stable (one does 4.5GHz @ 1.375v). Then I have a Xeon W3680 that tops out around the same as the 980X, also mfg 2010. My theory is that with Intel 32nm being so damn new in 2010, there were major silicon quality strides to be made. And as for the unlocked multiplier, it doesn't matter too much, I have two ASUS X58 boards and they both can do 220MHz+ BCLK. So honestly, it may make more sense to buy two X5675's preferably made in late 2011 or 2012 and do some binning that way you also have one you can throw voltages at and not really care... just my 2c.

That P6T is a very nice board, I was looking at one of those not too long ago. I think that was one of the last motherboards to have an Analog Devices audio codec. And also looks like some nice RAM, wonder what IC's lay beneath!

~

Speaking of RAM, with DDR4 production winding down and my go-to brand going away (Ballistix ), I decided to pick up a couple 16GB kits:

Spec'd for 3000MHz CL15, happy to get SR 8Gbit rev.E on an A2 PCB (according to Thaiphoon)

Then of course a kit of BZ's recommended cheap high-bin overclocking Sammy B-die from Patriot, this is spec'd for 4400MHz CL19. I only have Ryzen DDR4 systems but I think I can still find those tight timings

Now this one isn't DDR4 of course, I found that Patriot still sells brand new DDR3 for about the same as a used equivalent kit in the USA. I was pretty curious so I bit, and what shocked me the most is that these were manufactured 2nd wk/2022, more recently than the other two kits (both early-mid 2021). This one is 1866MHz CL10. Unfortunately no Thaiphoon IC readout, but I think at this point it's gotta be Samsung or Hynix? I reckon current production DDR3 is either total garbage since there isn't a high demand for high-performance kits, or it's great because everything has matured massively. I have no idea which way things have gone, time to try and find out!

 

[HammerON]

It's only £30 i may as well nab the W3680

Be a good old board to play with. I have a spare 280mm rad and pump/tank too just need a CPU block

I would look for a i7 970 for a good price. I had a couple back in the day and found they easily overclocked to 4.2 GHz.

 

[mstenholm]

My suspicion is that with X58 especially, the year of the chip and Xeon vs i7 denotes the silicon quality far more severely than the actual SKU. I have a i7-980X (2010 mfg date) that just barely holds 4.4GHz @ 1.4v. But also a couple of Xeon X5675's (sister CPUs mfg in 2012), both of which will do 4.5GHz+ stable (one does 4.5GHz @ 1.375v). Then I have a Xeon W3680 that tops out around the same as the 980X, also mfg 2010. My theory is that with Intel 32nm being so damn new in 2010, there were major silicon quality strides to be made. And as for the unlocked multiplier, it doesn't matter too much, I have two ASUS X58 boards and they both can do 220MHz+ BCLK. So honestly, it may make more sense to buy two X5675's preferably made in late 2011 or 2012 and do some binning that way you also have one you can throw voltages at and not really care... just my 2c.


~

View attachment 237750

Then of course a kit of BZ's recommended cheap high-bin overclocking Sammy B-die from Patriot, this is spec'd for 4400MHz CL19. I only have Ryzen DDR4 systems but I think I can still find those tight timings

The Viper Steel 4400 CL19 will do 3800/CL14 x 4, at least @jesdals do that on a GB Master with a 5950X.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

My suspicion is that with X58 especially, the year of the chip and Xeon vs i7 denotes the silicon quality far more severely than the actual SKU. I have a i7-980X (2010 mfg date) that just barely holds 4.4GHz @ 1.4v. But also a couple of Xeon X5675's (sister CPUs mfg in 2012), both of which will do 4.5GHz+ stable (one does 4.5GHz @ 1.375v). Then I have a Xeon W3680 that tops out around the same as the 980X, also mfg 2010. My theory is that with Intel 32nm being so damn new in 2010, there were major silicon quality strides to be made. And as for the unlocked multiplier, it doesn't matter too much, I have two ASUS X58 boards and they both can do 220MHz+ BCLK. So honestly, it may make more sense to buy two X5675's preferably made in late 2011 or 2012 and do some binning that way you also have one you can throw voltages at and not really care... just my 2c.

That P6T is a very nice board, I was looking at one of those not too long ago. I think that was one of the last motherboards to have an Analog Devices audio codec. And also looks like some nice RAM, wonder what IC's lay beneath!

~

Speaking of RAM, with DDR4 production winding down and my go-to brand going away (Ballistix ), I decided to pick up a couple 16GB kits:

View attachment 237748
View attachment 237749
Spec'd for 3000MHz CL15, happy to get SR 8Gbit rev.E on an A2 PCB (according to Thaiphoon)

View attachment 237750
View attachment 237751
Then of course a kit of BZ's recommended cheap high-bin overclocking Sammy B-die from Patriot, this is spec'd for 4400MHz CL19. I only have Ryzen DDR4 systems but I think I can still find those tight timings

View attachment 237752
View attachment 237753
Now this one isn't DDR4 of course, I found that Patriot still sells brand new DDR3 for about the same as a used equivalent kit in the USA. I was pretty curious so I bit, and what shocked me the most is that these were manufactured 2nd wk/2022, more recently than the other two kits (both early-mid 2021). This one is 1866MHz CL10. Unfortunately no Thaiphoon IC readout, but I think at this point it's gotta be Samsung or Hynix? I reckon current production DDR3 is either total garbage since there isn't a high demand for high-performance kits, or it's great because everything has matured massively. I have no idea which way things have gone, time to try and find out!

Any way to tell the manufacture date by looking at the chip?

 

[GoldenX]

An used Arctic Accelero Mono Plus for my Dell 1660 Super. https://www.arctic.de/en/Accelero-Mono-Plus/DCACO-V430001-BL

With the stock cooler, piece of trash really reaches over 100° on VRAM (pic is showing 95° on the opposite side of the PCB), so a cooler that allows for VRAM heatsinks was needed, and I refuse to use an AIO on a 1660S.
Temps went from 85 to 50, and I don't have a FLIR to test right now, but at least all VRAM chips and VRM have their own heatsinks now, with plenty of airflow.

 

[MachineLearning]

Any way to tell the manufacture date by looking at the chip?

Yes, and for your reference and anyone else's I'll include AMD's date decode as well.

My two Xeon X5670's. The date code is found within the serial number, in this case 3212B730. The first digit denotes where the chip was made, although Intel and AMD usually list this in print on the chip as well. The second digit is the year, and the third & fourth digits are the week. In this case, production date is week 12 of 2012 for both CPUs.

This one of my Phenom II 960T's, its date code is the last cluster on the line below the part number (in this case, 1144APM). So week 44 of 2011. APM as far as I know serves the same purpose as the first digit on Intel CPU serial numbers, it's the factory/country the chip was made.

If you want to be most certain of what precise chip you're buying, try single CPUs sold by a private seller on eBay. IMO your best bet.

 

[lexluthermiester]

It's only £30 i may as well nab the W3680

Be a good old board to play with. I have a spare 280mm rad and pump/tank too just need a CPU block

Oh, forgot to mention, and I suspect you likely already thought about this but it's worth saying, make sure you have the latest BIOS for that board so you have all the proper CPU microcode.

I would look for a i7 970 for a good price. I had a couple back in the day and found they easily overclocked to 4.2 GHz.

While a good idea if a good deal can be had, the 1366 i7's tend to be much more expensive than the Xeons, at least stateside..

The date code is found within the serial number, in this case 3212B730. The first digit denotes where the chip was made, although Intel and AMD usually list this in print on the chip as well. The second digit is the year, and the third & fourth digits are the week. In this case, production date is week 12 of 2012 for both CPUs.

Hmm, learn something new everyday. I didn't know this, or a least had forgotten.

 

[MachineLearning]

Oh, forgot to mention, and I suspect you likely already thought about this but it's worth saying, make sure you have the latest BIOS for that board so you have all the proper CPU microcode.


While a good idea if a good deal can be had, the 1366 i7's tend to be much more expensive than the Xeons, at least stateside..


Hmm, learn something new everyday. I didn't know this, or a least had forgotten.

100% agree on those first two points. @Tigger if you're comfortable using a modded BIOS (albeit tested, and generally regarded as safe) make sure you check out Regeneration's Spectre/Meltdown patched Xeon BIOSes. I use them, no issues whatsoever personally and you may validate protection in windows with the program InSpectre.

As for the Xeon vs i7 debate, it's really no contest in my eyes, Xeons are always the way to go unless you need an i7 to flash a modded Xeon BIOS. They're binned higher, most likely from a server environment so were never overclocked / overvolted in their life. It's as close as you can get in my eyes to a brand new chip, often with perfect IHS because they've been installed once, and for much lower price than i7 equivalents as you say...

Date codes have always fascinated me and I tend to look for them on every product, the production of things and the path they take to my hands is a focus. Consider looking at tech reviewer's chips as new CPUs come out, you can try and tell if everyone got the same couple batches, and also guess when Intel/AMD started making them.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Yes, and for your reference and anyone else's I'll include AMD's date decode as well.

View attachment 237761 My two Xeon X5670's. The date code is found within the serial number, in this case 3212B730. The first digit denotes where the chip was made, although Intel and AMD usually list this in print on the chip as well. The second digit is the year, and the third & fourth digits are the week. In this case, production date is week 12 of 2012 for both CPUs.

View attachment 237760
This one of my Phenom II 960T's, its date code is the last cluster on the line below the part number (in this case, 1144APM). So week 44 of 2011. APM as far as I know serves the same purpose as the first digit on Intel CPU serial numbers, it's the factory/country the chip was made.

If you want to be most certain of what precise chip you're buying, try single CPUs sold by a private seller on eBay. IMO your best bet.

Thanks. Been looking at a few xenons on flea bay so i can check the date codes now and get the best ones.

Some are really funny. £15 for CPU +£128 for postage from the US

 

[jesdals]

.

The Viper Steel 4400 CL19 will do 3800/CL14 x 4, at least @jesdals do that on a GB Master with a 5950X.

With 1.52 mem voltage on both Gigabyte x570 Master and MSI B450 Tomahawk and Mortar, as well as Asus board

 

[heky]

With 1.52 mem voltage on both Gigabyte x570 Master and MSI B450 Tomahawk and Mortar, as well as Asus board

Care to share the complete timings with subs and all voltages. Have the same sticks as yours, but am currently going easy on them. 3800 CL16, @1.38v

 

[tabascosauz]

Still patiently waiting on that Gigabyte RMA......but for real, don't need that much stuff to make a decent computer these days

 

[Shou Miko]

Still patiently waiting on that Gigabyte RMA......but for real, don't need that much stuff to make a decent computer these days

View attachment 237852

I hope Gigabyte RMA treats you well and get another replacement to you soon @tabascosauz

 

[Sybaris_Caesar]

Still patiently waiting on that Gigabyte RMA......but for real, don't need that much stuff to make a decent computer these days

View attachment 237852

That power supply alone would've wowed me. At first I thought since it's just 200W maybe that's the only circuitry. But looks like there's another AC-DC part that's needed. At almost $140 combined, why not Silverstone FX500? It's a flex psu and 500 watts to boot. And it's $150 on Amazon.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Got me a touch to turn on lamp for my desktop, did need one.

Also, these, as i am making a Linear power supply for my USB DAC, want to see if it will actually be better than with the wall wart.