New system - i7 poverty build advice

[bigmouk]

This is a non-gaming rig, will be purely used for business apps (visual studio, sql sever, video encoding, custom automated apps). I've nabbed the main spec from OC, is there anything worth changing OR adding to the list below ? Will be looking to overclock to 3.0/3.4 ish.

• Intel i7 920, Socket 1366 (B), Nehalem, 2.66GHz, Cache 8MB, OEM - £229.05 (change for the retail ver ???)
• Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R, Intel X58 Express, S1366, PCI-E 2.0x16, DDR3 1333, SATA 3Gb/s, SATA RAID, ATX - £160.05
• 6GB (3x2GB) CorsairXMS3, DDR3 PC3-10666 (1333) 240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24 - £63.97
• Akasa Nero AK-967 Intel LGA 1366 (S775/1366/939/940/AM2/AM2+) , Heat Pipe cooler, 120mm PWM fan, £25.30
• 500GB Hitachi 0A35415 Deskstar P7K500, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, 8.5 ms, NCQ £41.96
• Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound for CPU and Chipset Coolers - 3.5 gram - £4.95
• 650W TX Corsair PSU, single 12V rail, energy efficient, quiet & cool, fully compatible, 5yr warranty - £80.10
• Samsung SH-S223F/BEBE 22x DVD±R, 12x DVD±R, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, SATA, Black, OEM - £15.93
• Coolermaster Elite 335 Black Mini Tower Case w/o PSU - £29.31

TOTAL - £658 delivered

Any input much appreciated !!

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

I'd be interested in the verdict on this too as I'm after a processing machine for more or less the same purpose.

 

[bigmouk]

I'm yet undecided on the OS, been using Vista Business for maybe 2 years now but still tempted to flip back to XP Pro because Vista can be so annoying.

 

[Munson]

I have been checkinkg out this mobo too. Apparently it's actually an awesome overclocker. It's one of the cheapest X58 boards available, yet it performs up there with the expensive boards in terms of stability and benchmarks. The i7 920 is also far from poverty and overclocks very well. It seems water is needed to hit 4Ghz but 3.6 should be easy on air.

I'm considering putting this kit in my machine. I'd be choosing quicker RAM for overclocking, but otherwise pretty much the same stuff. That machine, overclocked, would be far from poverty spec. In fact, with a top graphics card, it would actually be a bit of a weapon. It would certainly beat my QX9650 based setup that I have now, and that processor alone cost £800. The stuff you've listed is sensibly priced quality kit that can easily form the basis of an awesome gaming machine, especially when overclocked.

I'm far from an expert but I like to think I know a little bit about these things, and my advice is do it. Do it. Do it. Do it.

Add another £500 for a GTX295 though, and then you can play games too

 

[bigmouk]

Cheers Roy, I should rename the title to 'New system - i7 poverty build (in comparison to Adams monster) advice '

I read something about getting the retail version of the 920 because something is unlocked ?

I also looked at faster RAM for similar money. TBH I wouldnt need much more than 2Gb but will I need a different board to make use of something like ...

2GB (2x1GB) Super Talent, Project X, DDR3, PC3-16000 (2000MHz), 240 Pin, Non-ECC, Unbuffered, CAS 9 - £80

OR

2GB (2x1GB) CorsairTwinX XMS3, DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600),240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24, DHX - £40

 

[bigmouk]

found that article about the retail versions ..
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/fe...ore_i7_cpus_more_powerful_originally_reported

 

[Munson]

Retail means it will come with a HSF (heat sink fan) OEM will just be the basic processor. Ideal if you intend to use an aftermarket cooler anyway. If you're building the machine with no intention of gaming or overclocking then you're probably better off with Retail TBH.

Nothing AFAIK is unlocked in any 920. The multi is unlocked in the extreme 965.

 

[Munson]

BTW I think the artcile in your link is discussing 'retail' with engineering samples, not retail and OEM?

 

[bigmouk]

Yeah, didnt read the article fully last time so 920 OEM it is!

Do I need any extra fans on that list ? (for the RAM maybe ?)

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

So this would be a decent video editing machine for the money? I don't want to get a Mac, and it won't just be video editing that it does, but that's the most demanding task I can think of that will be required.

 

[Munson]

Nah you should be good to go as far as cooling is concerned I think. Get the retail 920 though? Otherwise you're going to have to buy an aftermarket HSF anyway.

 

[Munson]

So this would be a decent video editing machine for the money?

Core i7 should rip through video editing. Especially overclocked. In fact some would argue that it's suited more to those kinds of applications than it is gaming (in terms of relative performance benefits over and above Core 2).

 

[bigmouk]

For me, this machine will pay for itself in no time at all. I did an encoding job a couple of weeks back and it took up my current machine for around 2 hours (core 2 duo E6400). With this i7 machine it will surely half that or even quarter that time based on the benchmarks ive seen.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Yum!

Hopefully get this over the next month with plenty of time to try the Windows 7 beta.

 

[Munson]

Will you cnuts PLEASE stop making me read all this stuff. I've got an itchy trigger finger for i7 as it is. I don't actually need it, I just want it, and these threads aren't helping

 

[bigmouk]

Roy - do it , Do it, Do It, DO IT !!!!! , hehe, ...

http://www.cpu3d.com/review/6265-11/intel-core-i7-920-nehalem-processor/overclocking.html

Look about half way down here with the 'Multi-core efficiency', overclocked i7 920 vs stock E6600. I might actually run a few comparisons myself once its up and running. Be very helpful to know exactly how much money can be saved in time vs what machine i have now. I know my boss will be happy.

 

[Munson]

Roy - do it , Do it, Do It, DO IT !!!!! , hehe, ...

http://www.cpu3d.com/review/6265-11/intel-core-i7-920-nehalem-processor/overclocking.html

Look about half way down here with the 'Multi-core efficiency', overclocked i7 920 vs stock E6600. I might actually run a few comparisons myself once its up and running. Be very helpful to know exactly how much money can be saved in time vs what machine i have now. I know my boss will be happy.

Yeah. The tern of hyperthreading helps the i7 immensely. they are seriously quick in those applications. less of an advantage in current games apparently but still slightly better clock-for-clock.

PS. I don't know much about the i7 at all, but the voltage they're putting into that one to get 4Ghz strikes me as a rather high? EDIT: maybe not.

 

[bigmouk]

OC are selling them overclocked to 3.4 so will stick with that me thinks.

 

[Adam]

That certainly isnt no pov spec system. Get it bought dude...

 

[Adam]

Spec that up from Scan if you can. I saved over £70 with all my bits.

 

[Nigel]

That very similar to what I'm speccing at the moment.

As for you Roy, i'd hold fire, there is only 2/3 fps difference from what you have now to an i7 based system!

 

[bigmouk]

Spec that up from Scan if you can. I saved over £70 with all my bits.

Prices are from Scan mate. I remember Scan when they were based about 100 metres from my house in a small office building. Massive now.

 

[Adam]

Prices are from Scan mate. I remember Scan when they were based about 100 metres from my house in a small office building. Massive now.

Yeah should have figured as you are from Bolton lol.

Nice one

 

[Munson]

As for you Roy, i'd hold fire, there is only 2/3 fps difference from what you have now to an i7 based system!

Yeah I know. TBH my system is still stupidly fast and plays everything stupidly smoothly. But more is more. I want MORE!

In all seriousness I think it will last another year to 18 months in its current trim TBH

 

[Adam]

Yeah I know. TBH my system is still stupidly fast and plays everything stupidly smoothly. But more is more. I want MORE!

In all seriousness I think it will last another year to 18 months in its current trim TBH

Your just as bad as me lol.

 

[wozzaa]

What GPU are you going to use? Guessing you have a spare PCI-E based GPU lying around? Otherwise you aren't going to be running anything on it.

And definitely don't go for 2gb of ram. Keep it 4GB+ now. New OS's require more memory and 4GB is now getting to be the standard of what is needed. More memory is better than 1/3 that is faster as in the real world faster memory really doesn't offer massive performance increases.

 

[Munson]

^^The list in the OP shows 6GB? You're right about the speeds though, up to a point.

 

[Gareth]

Yeah I know. TBH my system is still stupidly fast and plays everything stupidly smoothly. But more is more. I want MORE!

In all seriousness I think it will last another year to 18 months in its current trim TBH

what are you running at the moment Roy? I'm still Q6600 with 4GB, 8800GTX

 

[Munson]

what are you running at the moment Roy? I'm still Q6600 with 4GB, 8800GTX

QX9650 @ 3.8 (420x9)
4GB Black Dragon @ 840 (1:1 with the bus)
Evga GTX295
Samsung T260 26" 1920x1200 :evil:

 

[bigmouk]

Finally ordered! :evil: ..

• Intel CPU Core i7-920 2.66GHz Retail
• Gigabyte motherboard EX58-UD3R Intel Core i7 X58 LGA1366 DDR3 ATX
• Corsair memory 6GB XMS3 1600MHz DDR3 9-9-9-24 Kit (3x2048MB) RAM
• Maxtor 500GB hard disk drive Diamondmax2 SATA II 7200rpm 32MB
• Coolermaster case Elite 330 Black NO PSU
• Corsair PSU 650W CMPSU-650TX ATX12V v2.2 5 year manufacturer's warranty
• Samsung DVD RW SH-S223F/BEBE Speed Plus black 22x SATA oem (no software)

Just gonna go with the stock cooler for now and see what the temps come out at.

Total cost delivered - £676

 

[Adam]

Finally ordered! :evil: ..

• Intel CPU Core i7-920 2.66GHz Retail
• Gigabyte motherboard EX58-UD3R Intel Core i7 X58 LGA1366 DDR3 ATX
• Corsair memory 6GB XMS3 1600MHz DDR3 9-9-9-24 Kit (3x2048MB) RAM
• Maxtor 500GB hard disk drive Diamondmax2 SATA II 7200rpm 32MB
• Coolermaster case Elite 330 Black NO PSU
• Corsair PSU 650W CMPSU-650TX ATX12V v2.2 5 year manufacturer's warranty
• Samsung DVD RW SH-S223F/BEBE Speed Plus black 22x SATA oem (no software)

Just gonna go with the stock cooler for now and see what the temps come out at.

Total cost delivered - £676

Do you want to buy my Noctua NH-U12P ...

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Noctua-NH-U12P-SE1366-Exclusive-Dual-Fan-CPU-Cooler-LGA1366-only

 

[bigmouk]

Possibly mate, was actually looking at one of those earlier! Going to see whats what with the stock cooler first.

Its probably going to be next week sometime before i get chance to build it. If im not happy with the temps I will give you a shout if you still have it.

Been keeping track on your build, your cooling bits turned up yet ?

 

[Adam]

Possibly mate, was actually looking at one of those earlier! Going to see whats what with the stock cooler first.

Its probably going to be next week sometime before i get chance to build it. If im not happy with the temps I will give you a shout if you still have it.

Been keeping track on your build, your cooling bits turned up yet ?

Sweet

Yeah no probs, have fun with your build first and see how things go. I never bothered to re-seat this cooler as you know Im going to watercool the CPU but it is one of the best, if not the best air cooler for the i7 range

Its all being delivered today, well hopefully lol :approve:

 

[bigmouk]

Now built! ...

A couple of small changes from the original spec .. went for the 550w supply instead as I'm not running any serious graphics and only running 4gb of RAM (2 sticks). Also, there is no onboard video so had to dig out an old pci card for the moment.

Motherboard firmware updated to version F5. XP Pro installed and fully updated.

Initial temps seems to be 45 deg idle and 77 deg (each of the 4 cores) .. full load with prime95

SuperPi 1m calc comes in at 14.5 secs (my Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13ghz manages 32.1 secs)

The RAM was initially running at 1033 for some reason by default ??, tweaked around in the bios and now running at 1600 as it should be.

Tried some low initial overclocking with the gigabyte software (just upto 2.8ghz) but it doesnt like it at all. I think the easytune software isnt too great to be honest. I'm no expert when it comes to overclocking so will need to have a look at other users settings i think.

Adam - Still got the Noctua ?

 

[Munson]

Sweeet. Get some graphics in there. Overclock in the BIOS only IMO.

 

[bigmouk]

Just looking at a few posts now re overclocking with this motherboard.

No graphics needed Roy, just need processing power :evil:

 

[bigmouk]

Overclocked to 3.4ghz, individual core temps max out at around 81 deg now. Def need a better cooler to bring those down a bit. Seems pretty stable though!

SuperPi coming in at 11.3 secs now (from 14.5 secs at stock)

Oh yeah, and this thing is ULTRA QUIET! You really cant hear it all. Very very impressed! :approve:

 

[Darren S]

Just looking at a few posts now re overclocking with this motherboard.

No graphics needed Roy, just need processing power :evil:

Feeble excuse. Didn't you know that its a criminal offence to have an i7 with decent memory and not have a decent graphics card too?



D.

 

[bigmouk]

Even more criminal to have a sh*t hot graphics card and not use it

Just for work this Darren, encoding, compiling etc.

Just ran SuperPi on a 6 month old quad core server we have for comparison (Intel Quad Core Xeon E5420 PASSIVE CPU 2.50GHz FSB 1333MHz 12MB L2 ...), that took 19 secs !!

These i7 cpu's really are something else.

 

[Munson]

Feeble excuse. Didn't you know that its a criminal offence to have an i7 with decent memory and not have a decent graphics card too?

Even more criminal to have a sh*t hot graphics card and not use it

No no. Darren got it right the first time.