OC Aftermath

Not as bad as it sounds really, I just wanted a cool title...


My PC is based on the 790i Ultra platform, and as you can see I've got an E8400 CPU. Cooling methods are achieved solely by air (no liquid cooling).

I tried forever to get my RAM to a stable OC above 1400MHz, but I just couldn't seem to get the right combination. I figure the first thing I'll upgrade is my memory to 1800MHz EPP 2.0 SLI RAM. It's still expensive, so I'm holding out on that.

So far, I am very happy with the results. The 790i is a very versatile board, and as far as I'm concerned it is THE enthusiast platform to use at the moment.

 

Very nice. Those chips are known to run stable at such clock speeds.

 

I thought you fried your chip after reading the title!

I can probably OC mine, but I haven't yet. One reason being I'm not sure what to set the speed to, since I've never OC'd anything before and I don't have the experience.

I do wonder how much of a performance increase I'd get if I did OC my PC though. Especially after I get my new Video card. I'm kicking myself right now, it seems like the only way to play newish games on 22 inch monitors on the highest possible quality with non crappy frame rates is to go SLI, and my board doesn't support it. I'm wondering how well my PC could play Fallout 3...even with a 9800 GTX. Lets just hope Bethesda better optimized the gamebryo engine than Oblivion was optimized this time around.

BTW, you need to get Crysis or something, I want to see how well your RIG can run it. Especially at the snow levels. FPS rates drop to 10-15 even on medium quality there on my machine. Or maybe that was high?

 

Not too familliar with Nvidia motherboards, how well they OC or the E8400's since i'm running a P35 with a E2180 @3.0Ghz but that looks like good overclock on your setup.

I really should try an learn a bit about RAM overclocking since i've never done it before and don't know anything.

 

I didn't bother OCing because theres no reason for me too. It was probably a mistake to build my PC, but I love it. There just isn't shit to play on it vs. other stuff.

 

I found out how to OC my stuff when browsing the BIOS the other day, not sure what to set my stuff to though. It said the max was 9x, and mine was on 6x.

 

lol when i read the title to this thread i was expecting pics of a fried mobo.:lol:

 

That's a nice oc, but what are your temps? I presume your using a top end air coller - something like the thermalright ultra??

With such a high oc on air, how stable is it? have you benchmarked it with orthos? or prime?

 

Yeah, I did that on purpose

Actually, I'm using a 9700NT to cool my CPU. RealTemp usually shows it at around 38 on idle and 47 on load. Those are just averages though, as they tend to fluctuate about +-2 on idle and load.

It's 100% Orthos Stess Prime stable, and in case you are wondering it's also Memtest86+ stable as well, which is important even though my RAM isn't OC'd much beyond its original rating. I haven't BSOD'd once, and I'm using Vista 64-bit! I never have random crashes or other weird problems either, and I've marathon gamed with these ratings on several system intensive games (Crysis, Gears of War, Lost Planet, etc...). I've left it on for days at a time (I usually turn my computer off every night, sometimes I'm lazy), and still no issues. I imagine it's as stable as it's going to get. I've even reset the BIOS to original settings, flashed the BIOS, then OC'd back to my previous OC settings with NO ISSUES AT ALL! I have been nothing but impressed with the E8400 and the 790i Ultra so far.

 

I'm not sure about the 790i but the E8400 is a good for its price and from what I've seen on other websites is its not a bad overclocker and thats good that you have it as stable as can be on a nice OC.

I really should get my E2180 overclocked again, had it a 3.0ghz for a while but since i reset my bios i've not bothered to do any overclocking on it.

 

Alright, so I'm bumping my semi-old thread. Since I've posted these last results, I've upgraded my RAM, PSU, and GPU. Here are my current specs:

XFX 790i Ultra SLI
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
Zalman CNPS9700 NT
OCZ DDR3 1800 SLI edition 2x2GB
XFX GTX 285 XXX Edition
Corsair HX1000W PSU
Cooler Master Ammo 533
Windows Vista Business 64

The single GTX 285 actually outperforms the two 8800GT's I had before. I plan on getting a second one not too much longer down the road. This time, I just want to upload pictures of stress test results. Currently I'm running my CPU at 4050GHz on air, with my FSB and RAM Linked and Synced at 1800MHz.

My testing method was first, run Prime95 Small FFT's overnight, then follow up with HCI memtest to 1000% coverage of my RAM to ensure both CPU and RAM were stable on their own. Then I ran Prime95 Blend overnight and Intel Burn Test for 20 passes to make sure my CPU and RAM were working together correctly. Here are the results:

Prime95 Small FFT test:


HCI memtest:



Prime95 Blend:



Intel Burn Test:


For IBT, since my CPU-Z window covers up part of the IBT window, it looks as if the message at the bottom of the screen says "has failed Linpack testing", but what that message is really saying is, paraphrased, make sure all the Residual Norm values are identical or your computer has failed Linpack testing. As you can see from the picture, all my Residual Norm values are indeed identical.

Enjoy :dance:

 

What do you do with this beast?

I might get that card sometime...still lovin the e8400.

Why Vista business? I thought it had some features out like Aero and stuff?

 

I like playing games at their highest settings at large resolutions. Also, I just like overclocking... to me it's like a challenge. Also, running my CPU at 4GHz pretty much ensures that my video card(s) will never be limited by my CPU, and running my FSB and RAM Linked and Synced at 1800MHz also minimizes the bottleneck between my RAM and CPU. My goal is to get the best performance that I can with what I have, essentially. Once I get my GTX 285 SLI setup, I'll start overclocking my video cards. Hence, the 1000W PSU.

The E8400 is damn amazing. For all intents and purposes, the Core 2 is basically the "Athlon64" of its time. An architecture so amazing, so leaps and bounds ahead of its competition that it's not even funny. As much as I hate to say it, AMD is in the crapper right now... they need a miracle to get them out, especially with Intel threatening to pull their x86 license for outsourcing manufacturing.

Vista Business 64 because I got it for free, legally, through the MSDN Academic Alliance. As you can see from the screenshots, it's got Aero and the windows games are still there, you just have to change one setting to make them show up. Basically, Business is the same as XP Professional.

 

Doh, stupid me, I guess the screenshots could have given it away, lol.

I'm still just whiny because I haven't been too into the PC games coming out. I know there's the Resolution thing but honestly I like playing the multiplatformers on my 360 vs. my PC, unless it's a huge difference; i.e. if I got Fear 2 I'd probably it on PC, stuff like that, but Dead Space and such goes on my 360. The last thing I played that took advantage of my decent PC was Crysis Warhead when it came out. Fallout 3, though I haven't played too much into it, just isn't my kind of game and I haven't had any problem running it on max, but I'm only at 1440x900. The Unreal Tournament 3 Titan pack is pretty cool though. Bring on SC2 and....stuff!

 

From what I've read, you've been into PC gaming a lot longer than I have. To me, it's really been a recent switch. I've always been a computer hardware nut, but as far as gaming was concerned I was strictly console. However, I've been kind of burned out on console gaming lately, so I decided to focus on PC gaming, and even though a lot of people say PC gaming is dead or dying, it seems to offer a lot more to me than console gaming does at the moment. I'm actually gaming more than I have in years since I've started PC gaming. I've also been getting into the community a lot more, going to LAN Parties, playing more online, etc... So I guess to someone like me, who hasn't been PC gaming for a long time, the new stuff offers a lot more than to a veteran PC gamer, such as yourself.

 

Yep, that is a good point. For a long time I was nuts about computers, and around the time I started getting bored was when the 360 started interesting me and the LAN parties stopped around here. If anyone plays PC they play WoW. I'd roll up to a LAN party and people played fucking wow the whole time. I would really love to play some Unreal 3 with a bunch of people, really, nothing beats the fun of a LAN. I love playing my computer and consoles, I couldn't do it without both, I just pick and choose stuff for each platform, the one I think would handle it the best. Nothing beats the fun of putting together a PC though!

Since you have the killer setup and stuff, I was wondering this and I bet you'd know: I need a new mouse, and wanted to get a decent one. I have an okay Saitek gaming mouse (it was 20$...I've never bought a badass mouse because the price bugs me, but I did buy a Eclipse keyboard), but the scroll wheel is busted and I figured I might as well nab a good one. What do you suggest? I was checking out MS Sidewinders for 35$, MS Habu and Razors. The Razors are pricey but I wonder of there worth it.

Ahhh, I miss LANs. Maybe we should all play some shit sometime.

 

Aw shit, I hate it when people play WoW at LAN parties OH: LAN parties are not for MMORPG's dammit!

Anyway, rant off and to answer your question... Personally, I use a Razer DeathAdder, and I love it. It's so precise and sensitive, that I actually have trouble using those standard Dell or Microsoft mice when I work on other people's computers or use the computers in my university library It feels like it's taking AGES to just get across the screen. You really can't go wrong with Razer. Also, I've read a lot of good things about Microsoft's SideWinder, but have never used one personally.

BTW, good choice on the Eclipse. Those keyboards are damn near indestructible. I have an Eclipse II and I love it. It's so heavy and solid, I just don't see it breaking any time soon.

 

Yeah, I have a red Eclipse 1. Rock solid and awesome. LED's are still good, my friend years ago bought a crappy backlit keyboard and it was burned out within a month. The paint has kind of rubbed off but it's sweet.

Maybe I'll splurge for the Razor. I'd hate paying that for a mouse but those are useful for stuff other then just games. Supposedly theres special mouse pads too, any experience with those? I was going to get a Duke Nukem one...lol. I'm using one with an Adelphia Cable logo for years now.

 

I don't use one of those special, crazy $30 Razer mousepads because I just think that's ridiculous money to pay for a mousepad I use a Micro-Thin mousepad that I bought at staples. It's a lot smoother than those thick, cloth like mouspads you usually see. Here's what I'm talking about:

http://www.staples.com/office/suppl...s-Large_133548_Business_Supplies_10051_SEARCH

My best suggestion would be to go to your local Staples and check them out. Some people like them, others prefer those thick, cloth like ones.

 

I wonder if those special mouse pads really do anything?

I see Razor also had wristwrests and junk. Razor actually does make pretty decent stuff even if it's pricey. I had some really badass clip on headphones by them.

Oh yeah! Speakers! What do you have/are yours good etc. I have an Xfi but never ended up getting good speakers...I think I'm going to end up getting some 5.1's from logitech or something. I don't need badass ones now, I have badass ones on my HDTV and stuff. But yeah, these suck and wires are literally hanging out of them, lol.