i7-930 advice

[zetahammy]

Hi all,

I found this at the local Micro Center...

Micro Center - Intel Core i7-930 Processor Boxed 582759

it's on sale selling for $199.00.

Currently, the i7-920 is out of stock.

I plan on OC the cpu, I know on the forums there's a lot of debate between the two and the most recommended is the 920 due to better OC results. But with the price so low, should I go with the 930 and make the attempt to OC to 4.0ghz?

Financially I know it's a no-brainer, but i just want your guys blessing .

Thanks in advance.

 

[Sean W.]

is this going in the rig in your sig? ( rhyme )

and for the price, a 930 is a no brainier.

 

[Slaymate]

The 930 is a Good cpu and it should reach 4 GHz, it's when you want to push it even higher that the 920 starts shining brighter. But that's not say your 930 won't go higher, there all slightly different.

 

[zetahammy]

@sean Hah Nope.. The rig in my sig (u got me saying it like that now ) is gonna be dismantled and salvaged!!

@slayer Yea don't think i'll have a need to push ne further than 4 ghz.

I'm going for the 930... Happy I found the deal on Microcenter. I never knew place like that existed and its only down the street from me -___-;

I gave in and put in the order today for a whole new PC! I think I spent a little more than what my budget was, but I couldn't help it. I have a feeling SC2 beta is coming around the corner, which is the first of the many games I want to play. And now I have something fun to do during the holiday weekend. Build my super doooper PC!

But here is what I ordered:

CPU: i7-930 ($199) from microcenter

Case: Cooler Master HAF X (extra case fans 200mm (top) + 100mm (for the other spot in the case)) Oh and I got them blue LED cuz I plan on buying the razer Tron edition keyboard. I want to be Tron out!

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58

GPU: XFX HD-587X-ZNFV Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB (Plan on adding another for crossfire maybe at end of year)

PSU: CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-850HX

HDD (Boot drive): Intel X25-V SSDSA2MP040G2R5 2.5" 40GB

RAM: OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

HSF: Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm

 

[Sean W.]

lol i was gunna say, there is no way that processor is going to go in the rig in your sig

with that said, nice build, the only gripe i have about it is the gigabyte mobo, i just personaly have heard some horror stories about their parts and customer service, i will never buy a gigabyte product. but i wish you the best, and i demand pictures!

good luck brother!

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

I would think that the i7 930 could go just as high as the 920 if you set the multiplier down to 920 levels. Most of the 930 problems I've heard about are from the higher multiplier not letting you increase BCLK as much.

 

[zetahammy]

Well... I picked up the 930 earlier today along with HAF X (was last one in stock) at Micro Center... and must I say that it's HUGE!! I'm super excited now...

@sean you have me double guessing about the mobo i purchased. I read some reviews that mentioned some of the gripes you were mentioning, but I had confidence in it because it was recommended by Toms Hardware. Now you're making me second guess again. Hah! Should i second guess and maybe return it and go with the Asus p6x? or Just stay with the UD3r?


And yes pictures will definitely go up! Newegg said by thursday everything should come in!


*edit*

@calcprogrammer I just noticed your sig and the rig you have! It's basically what I will be having the 930 and ud3r... can you share some of you're experience with it overall and with OCing? Oh and the RAM is the same too

 

[Sean W.]

awe man im so jealous! my HAF X is coming tomorrow! i got the 230mm, 200mm and 140mm blue LED fans today to replace the red and regular fans that come with the HAF X, and the case comes tomorrow!

as far as the motherboard goes, its all a matter of what you want to do, ive heard enough horror stories to convince me to completely avoid any GIGABYTE product all together, if they made fans, i wouldnt buy one of their fans, let alone something that processes information, not only that, but their customer service is garbage. if i were you i wouldnt use their board. thats just my 2 cents on the subject.

 

[Slaymate]

I would think that the i7 930 could go just as high as the 920 if you set the multiplier down to 920 levels. Most of the 930 problems I've heard about are from the higher multiplier not letting you increase BCLK as much.

No, not really. You can lower the Multiplier but still be limited.

Here's an overclocking guide, http://www.techist.com/forums/f10/i7-overclocking-guide-224693/
If you have any questions just ask

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

I haven't had a whole lot of experience overclocking my i7 yet as I didn't have the money for a nice heatsink. I'm running the stock cooler right now and slightly undervolted at 3.0GHz is running solid. The only problem I'm having is heat, it runs at 70C constantly (under load as I run Folding@Home SMP on it 24/7). I'd go higher but I don't want to run any hotter than 70 because I need this build to last a long time. However, this isn't a fault of the 930 but rather the stock heatsink, it isn't really that great and your overclocking will be limited if you use it. I plan to buy a better one when I get my next paycheck.

As far as the Gigabyte motherboard, I personally love mine. Some people have bad experiences with things. I for one will never buy another HP product because my laptop fried from overheating. Sure it was a problem with a single model but it ruined my trust in HP. That's not to say everyone who owns an HP is going to have their system fail though. I like the quality of Gigabyte's motherboards and mine feels solid, looks nice, and has good quality components. I especially like the status LEDs which indicate high temperatures, high voltages, CPU and RAM load, and Northbridge load using bars of LED's on the board. If you have a windowed case it is a useful status tool. I also found clock control and voltage settings to be easy to use.