X79 and/or rampage IV OC'ing thread for those of us still left....

[k_9virus]

thinking of water cooling my 3960x got some spare parts for it ill post it soon....

 

[dalekdukesboy]

thinking of water cooling my 3960x got some spare parts for it ill post it soon....

Definitely would like to see this.

Also on the subject of water cooling...I have my frankenstein setup I have here which I think I had pictures of at one point but ambient temperature seems to be a real biggy with water cooling, I remember when I was air cooled and of course room temperature being lower is better and it mattered but it seems like with water cooling it makes a very large difference the temperature the water and system is surrounded by...now...I've never seen anyone really talk about it but you can't do much with the hoses and the plate attached to the CPU other than get it all tight and don't kink lines and get good pressure/contact/TIM on the cpu...but to me it seems you've got this fairly large plastic reservoir where water "hangs out" for a short time as it's pumped through the lines and wondered if finding a way to cool that reservoir would be a good idea? Considering it's plastic/water I'd think putting a good fan or two on it and really blasting the outside of it with air would help keep it cool. At least for me what I notice is the temps generally start fairly low and eventually the temps creep up and I can actually feel that reservoir getting fairly warm after a time of stress/use etc. I'm just thinking if I could keep it even a few degrees cooler in that one spot where water gathers it could make a difference?

 

[k_9virus]

Definitely would like to see this.

im kinda scared some people might jump in to this thread and will say off topic because of water cooling lol

anyway what would you like to see? my 3960x is currently in aio "corsair H100" made by Coolit not asetek.

 

[Aquinus]

im kinda scared some people might jump in to this thread and will say off topic because of water cooling lol

anyway what would you like to see? my 3960x is currently in aio "corsair H100" made by Coolit not asetek.

The only thing that would push me to switch out the H100i on my 3930k would be to get the GPU cooled since the Vega 64 can run hot when you push the power limit beyond the stock 220w (for reference designs.)

 

[preparado]

Hi, just registered and straight to the point.

Anyone ever tried to compare overclocking capabilities of Rampage IV Black Edition and Big Bang XPower II? Searching for days and no luck to get any kind of info on that. I have e5-1680v2 and RIVBE, but seriously considering switching to Big Bang since Xpower II got 8+8 cpu power delivery and additional 6pin for graphic cards or for a power-hungry one.

I have no need in better audio and included wi-fi, and that's the only better side of RIVBE. 8+4 for cpu, nothing in terms of gpu hook, 9+2 phase system.

And what about 22 phases marketing thing on Msi board? I suspect it got 9+2 doubled using some kind of digital technology. Though I can't judge, I'm no tech expert and only rely on tons of reviews and scratches of data I'm getting from the web.

 

[agent_x007]

There is no point in 8+8 pins on VRM as means of OC (unless you do LN2 OC).
Both air and water cooling won't be able to keep up with 1680 v2 if it ever needs anything over what 8-pin and one 4-pin RIVBE has.
Same goes for 6-pin/Molex power for PCIe devices.
RIVBE has single molex, BUT both 6-pin and Molex on those boards are only needed in three or four GPU configurations.
It MIGHT get you a slightly better OC on some RX 480 CrossfireX (with it's broken PCIe power usage), but for normal stuff they may as well be decorations.

As for phase count :
Like with any other Intel 22nm CPU, when you try to push it past certain point (usually 4,3-4,5GHz in 1680 v2 case [depending on die quality]) - it will need A LOT more Vcore AND will get VERY hot VERY fast under load. There isn't anything wrong with "just" 8-phase VRM RIVBE has, for both water and air cooling OC.

If you like MSI board more than ASUS one - go for it.
Better use something you want versus something others THINK is better.

 

[preparado]

There is no point in 8+8 pins on VRM as means of OC (unless you do LN2 OC).
Both air and water cooling won't be able to keep up with 1680 v2 if it ever needs anything over what 8-pin and one 4-pin RIVBE has.
Same goes for 6-pin/Molex power for PCIe devices.
RIVBE has single molex, BUT both 6-pin and Molex on those boards are only needed in three or four GPU configurations.
It MIGHT get you a slightly better OC on some RX 480 CrossfireX (with it's broken PCIe power usage), but for normal stuff they may as well be decorations.

As for phase count :
Like with any other Intel 22nm CPU, when you try to push it past certain point (usually 4,3-4,5GHz in 1680 v2 case [depending on die quality]) - it will need A LOT more Vcore AND will get VERY hot VERY fast under load. There isn't anything wrong with "just" 8-phase VRM RIVBE has, for both water and air cooling OC.

If you like MSI board more than ASUS one - go for it.
Better use something you want versus something others THINK is better.

Well, thanks for clarifying that. Is this stays relevant for, let's say, 6\12 i7-3970x? No chance of getting it to the 4.8 or 4.9?

 

[agent_x007]

With 32nm, it's still more the question of how much your cooling can handle, and how much Vcore is actually needed for 5GHz to be honest...
CPU's are capable of 5GHz (and they can do it more easily than any 22nm chip).

 

[preparado]

With 32nm, it's still more the question of how much your cooling can handle, and how much Vcore is actually needed for 5GHz to be honest...
CPU's are capable of 5GHz (and they can do it more easily than any 22nm chip).

So, if cooling will be sufficient and I'll win silicon lottery, 4.9 ghz is a reality with i7-3970x? Could it be ran 24\7 without exceeding 1.4 volts? More likely 1.35 - 1.39 max to be sure.

 

[agent_x007]

I don't know how good a silicon lottery goes for 32nm hex core, so I can't accurately anwer how low you can go.
Still, I wouldn't count on getting one that needs much less than 1,5V on Vcore for 5GHz though.

 

[dalekdukesboy]

There is no point in 8+8 pins on VRM as means of OC (unless you do LN2 OC).
Both air and water cooling won't be able to keep up with 1680 v2 if it ever needs anything over what 8-pin and one 4-pin RIVBE has.
Same goes for 6-pin/Molex power for PCIe devices.
RIVBE has single molex, BUT both 6-pin and Molex on those boards are only needed in three or four GPU configurations.
It MIGHT get you a slightly better OC on some RX 480 CrossfireX (with it's broken PCIe power usage), but for normal stuff they may as well be decorations.

As for phase count :
Like with any other Intel 22nm CPU, when you try to push it past certain point (usually 4,3-4,5GHz in 1680 v2 case [depending on die quality]) - it will need A LOT more Vcore AND will get VERY hot VERY fast under load. There isn't anything wrong with "just" 8-phase VRM RIVBE has, for both water and air cooling OC.

If you like MSI board more than ASUS one - go for it.
Better use something you want versus something others THINK is better.

This was my experience, 4.75 ghz was my limit with the 32nm and I don't think anything higher would happen without a ton of voltage and a lot of cooling, because after that it just wigged out under any kind of stress beyond basic tasks. The 22nm is much the same but you just need less voltage to get there, but speedwise I don't know what the 4930 or 4960 would do but 1680 definitely tops out at 4.5 ghz -4.7 and most samples are on lower end of that from all the threads I've seen including this one...this is one of best stable 1680 OC's with my current sample I've ever seen, particularly without crazy voltage thrown at it.

 

[bobbybluz]

My old 3930K was good for slightly over 5GHz and I posted the CPU-Z from December 2012 a few months back. It also held the highest Passmark score for a 3930K for over a year. That was @1.45 core volts. It ran at that speed for over 4 years before core degradation showed up. I backed it down to 4.8 then finally 4.5 before putting the 4960X in it.

 

[Aquinus]

Hi, just registered and straight to the point.

Anyone ever tried to compare overclocking capabilities of Rampage IV Black Edition and Big Bang XPower II? Searching for days and no luck to get any kind of info on that. I have e5-1680v2 and RIVBE, but seriously considering switching to Big Bang since Xpower II got 8+8 cpu power delivery and additional 6pin for graphic cards or for a power-hungry one.

I have no need in better audio and included wi-fi, and that's the only better side of RIVBE. 8+4 for cpu, nothing in terms of gpu hook, 9+2 phase system.

And what about 22 phases marketing thing on Msi board? I suspect it got 9+2 doubled using some kind of digital technology. Though I can't judge, I'm no tech expert and only rely on tons of reviews and scratches of data I'm getting from the web.

So just for reference, my P9X79 Deluxe has a 16+4 phase setup for CPU power, but the RIVE with half as many power phases can overclock better than my board. The number of power phases alone does not say how good a board is. With that said, I think my board is a champ and has served me well for many years.

 

[preparado]

So just for reference, my P9X79 Deluxe has a 16+4 phase setup for CPU power, but the RIVE with half as many power phases can overclock better than my board. The number of power phases alone does not say how good a board is. With that said, I think my board is a champ and has served me well for many years.

Guess I need an advice about getting cheaper, but as capable for overlocking motherboard. RIVBE paired with Xeon E5-1680v2 still worth a lot, I'm thinking of selling those and check market for a solid 6\12. Current setup is too much for me.

What about Msi and Gigabyte boards? Any worth mentioning or Asus is the way to go? ECS, Biostar, Intel?

 

[bobbybluz]

My only experiences with the X79 platform have been the Asus Sabertooth X79 motherboards and I love them. Overclock great, fantastic build quality and no drawbacks in the 8 years I have playing with them.

 

[Aquinus]

Guess I need an advice about getting cheaper, but as capable for overlocking motherboard. RIVBE paired with Xeon E5-1680v2 still worth a lot, I'm thinking of selling those and check market for a solid 6\12. Current setup is too much for me.

What about Msi and Gigabyte boards? Any worth mentioning or Asus is the way to go? ECS, Biostar, Intel?

The P9X79 Deluxe is the only X79 board I've used. I can't speak to over vendors for modern motherboards. In the past prior to X79, I had owned several MSI motherboards and they were alright. No complains and decent service. Going way back, I didn't particularly like ASRock, but that was a very long time ago, back when I had a Pentium 4 630 on LGA775 before the Core 2 series came out, before I had switched to an MSI board with a 975x chipset and an E6600 just days after it came out.

 

[preparado]

Keeping my eyes on lower-end boards, particularly curious how EVGA x79 Sli and Gigabyte x79 UD-3 treats overclocked six core CPU. Are they even up to the task? EVGA doesn't covered in any kind of a detailed review, at least I wasn't able to find one.

According to numerous tests, UD-3 is quite a power saver. I'm trying to balance overall usage in my system, of all things. Discussing energy cost may sound ridiculous here, but I'm building more of a all-in-one home workstation with several ODs, card reader, jacks and stuff.

 

[Aquinus]

Keeping my eyes on lower-end boards, particularly curious how EVGA x79 Sli and Gigabyte x79 UD-3 treats overclocked six core CPU. Are they even up to the task? EVGA doesn't covered in any kind of a detailed review, at least I wasn't able to find one.

According to numerous tests, UD-3 is quite a power saver. I'm trying to balance overall usage in my system, of all things. Discussing energy cost may sound ridiculous here, but I'm building more of a all-in-one home workstation with several ODs, card reader, jacks and stuff.

I wouldn't overclock with the UD-3. IIRC, power delivery isn't very good and the amount of Vdroop it introduces is absolutely huge.

 

[preparado]

I wouldn't overclock with the UD-3. IIRC, power delivery isn't very good and the amount of Vdroop it introduces is absolutely huge.

Guys from Anandtech were rather impressed by the board during testing in late 2011. They checked it with 3960x and x2 Radeon 5850 and tried to overlock. Easily reached 4.6 ghz under 1.4v is pretty solid result for such a entry level mobo. Better TIM on chipset, mosfets and CPU paired with proper air cooling & CPU heatsink should potentially improve results or simply reduce overall motherboard stressing.

Some high-end cases from the same time period were designed with a place for backplate fan and at least for a couple more on another side to direct cool air to CPU and GPU.

Edit: turned out UD3 have two revisions and they look identical apart from launch date and number in the left lower side of PCB. Either it have something to do with bios update making mobo Ivy-E ready or Gigabyte improved something in their product to stay relevant.

The ones marked as 1.0 were produced starting from late 2011, the earliest 1.1 exemplars I've found happened to appear in 2013. I may be wrong, so I'm hoping there are some x79 veterans around to get things the right way.

More: rumor is UD3 comes with a bit of a unpleasant surprise: unreliable Ethernet port. I was told at least 1.0 revision suffers from it.

 

[k_9virus]

Guys from Anandtech were rather impressed by the board during testing in late 2011. They checked it with 3960x and x2 Radeon 5850 and tried to overlock. Easily reached 4.6 ghz under 1.4v

yup pretty much same as my last overclock results http://valid.x86.fr/eeeg9y

forgot to mention i think someone posted a link to modded bios here... mine is a modded bios

 

[preparado]

yup pretty much same as my last overclock results http://valid.x86.fr/eeeg9y

forgot to mention i think someone posted a link to modded bios here... mine is a modded bios

Anything specific on it? Does it improve board performance?

 

[dalekdukesboy]

Just a note of information not sure it applies to most/all X79 boards but if you own an Ivy bridge E processor and somehow your voltage is set on "auto" for your cpu after you had to reset or something for example and you somehow missed putting in the value you usually use....if you got a 4.75 ghz OC like me at least this mobo decided 1.568 volts was a good idea to automatically use. NOT good obviously. That literally is about the voltage I need to get 5 ghz or more and is only good for benches and screenshots not for any length of time whatsoever. Anyway I found out when my pc did a random shut off during a game and a program crashed. The program crashing was unrelated for it still does it now but the shutoff almost always seems to mean something is far off in your settings or the system is very unstable for some reason. Anyway I luckily had that happen and I just so happened to pull up CPUZ and saw the voltage and immediately rebooted and put in 1.4 which is what I use with ultra high llc.

I assume this is because board is not smart enough to account for 22nm vs 32 nm and it tends to shoot on the very high side when on auto for some reason but worth mentioning because with so many settings in bios it's easy to miss one like I did and this is only time that happened but even for short time it was like that is too much and unnecessary obviously.

 

[Aquinus]

Just a note of information not sure it applies to most/all X79 boards but if you own an Ivy bridge E processor and somehow your voltage is set on "auto" for your cpu after you had to reset or something for example and you somehow missed putting in the value you usually use....if you got a 4.75 ghz OC like me at least this mobo decided 1.568 volts was a good idea to automatically use. NOT good obviously. That literally is about the voltage I need to get 5 ghz or more and is only good for benches and screenshots not for any length of time whatsoever. Anyway I found out when my pc did a random shut off during a game and a program crashed. The program crashing was unrelated for it still does it now but the shutoff almost always seems to mean something is far off in your settings or the system is very unstable for some reason. Anyway I luckily had that happen and I just so happened to pull up CPUZ and saw the voltage and immediately rebooted and put in 1.4 which is what I use with ultra high llc.

I assume this is because board is not smart enough to account for 22nm vs 32 nm and it tends to shoot on the very high side when on auto for some reason but worth mentioning because with so many settings in bios it's easy to miss one like I did and this is only time that happened but even for short time it was like that is too much and unnecessary obviously.

One of my biggest complaints about overclocking with an offset on my P9X79 Deluxe is that I don't know what voltage I'm really going to end up with since it's an offset based on the CPU's VID which changes depending on the multiplier (higher multiplier yields higher VID.) I never liked having to guesstimate to get close on the first attempt, but I don't like using a manual voltage because then it doesn't scale voltage to clocks when SpeedStep is on.

All in all, I try to strike a good balance between usability and my overclock as I really don't like sacrificing power saving at low load situations just to gain a higher overclock, particularly since the 3930k is one of the most power hungry CPUs I've ever owned.

 

[Kanan]

So, if cooling will be sufficient and I'll win silicon lottery, 4.9 ghz is a reality with i7-3970x? Could it be ran 24\7 without exceeding 1.4 volts? More likely 1.35 - 1.39 max to be sure.

3970X is even better binned than a 3960X. I had a "golden" 3960X that would easily do 5 GHz and even 5.1 GHz -- I couldn't push further due to limited cooling, had no water cooler at hand. So if you get lucky, you can basically get it as high as 5.1-5.2 GHz, maybe even more.

 

[dalekdukesboy]

One of my biggest complaints about overclocking with an offset on my P9X79 Deluxe is that I don't know what voltage I'm really going to end up with since it's an offset based on the CPU's VID which changes depending on the multiplier (higher multiplier yields higher VID.) I never liked having to guesstimate to get close on the first attempt, but I don't like using a manual voltage because then it doesn't scale voltage to clocks when SpeedStep is on.

All in all, I try to strike a good balance between usability and my overclock as I really don't like sacrificing power saving at low load situations just to gain a higher overclock, particularly since the 3930k is one of the most power hungry CPUs I've ever owned.

It ain't nothing compared to an 8 core 1680 though, yeah better process but more cache and 2 cores equals a whole lotta juice if you use say Linx to check stability...at the current settings which are lowest I can manage and keep it stable it crosses the 250 watt mark, and I'm pretty sure that is the max TDP allowed for this processor so after the turbo boost time is up it will throttle back for a second or two every so often to stay under that limit. This is the first time I've had a CPU that throttled because of TDP. Every other time it hit the temp barrier or stability barrier first and wouldn't stay stable.