DNAB... Definitely Not A Banana Intel Core i7 950 ( yay! )

[BenchZowner]

I can't believe this is true, but fortunately ( for me ) it is
A few days ago... ok, ok! 2 days ago, I tested a Core i7 950 that did 4.8GHz SuperPi 32M on ice ( the regular one, not dry ice ) [ CoreTemp 37C/35C/36C/33C ] and the results were very encouraging ( 5.4GHz-something SuperPi 1M, 5.3GHz AquaMark 3, 5.16GHz Pi32M @ -58Cpot_temp, wPrime at 5.05GHz ).
Today I had a few liters of LN2 ( 12 to be precise ).
Yesterday I started preparing some Windows images with Norton Ghost ( something that made me waste a lot LN2 today ) and then recovered the HDD to an all-around Windows XP Pro SP3 installation.

I wanted to test the CPU, but I got tempted to do some AquaMark 3 with a LN2 cooled 5870, so I prepped both the mobo & the VGA for LN2.
I started with CPU on LN2 and an empty Tek-9 3.0 "Fatbody"-cooled 5870 @ stock to check the overclocking capabilities & the "coldbug/coldboot" of the CPU.
I didn't try hard, neither really paid any attention ( I had an old friend here and we had some good laughs during this benching session ) so there might be more or even more than a lot of OC headroom left ( we shall find out soon )

After fooling around in Windows XP I decided to load the Windows 7 x64 image to get some higher AquaMark 3 & 3D Mark03 numbers, but that wasn't the best of ideas I must admit

Norton Ghost 14 had problems restoring my image, and after 2 tries and lots of waiting, I decided to give Windows Backup a go.
Finally, after 3 minutes or so the image was finally restored and we were ready to go.

Well... that's when I realized that I lost a few scores & screenshots because I forgot to transfer them from the HDD to my USB stick...

I was bored and didn't mod the 5870, so it was SmartDoctor & Afterburner.
Well, the result was 1287MHz / GDDR5-5224 AquaMark 3 @... -179C ( -180C = coldbug ) @ 1.45Vsomething.

I didn't push the UnCore, nor the RAM ( slacky 8-8-8-28 80 tRFC and 2/8 divider, B2B 12(!) ) just the CPU clock

I lost a nice 393k AQ3 with the card at 900/1200 and 5.54G CPU while saving the screenshot ( damn GPU-z lol and lack of LN2 ).

I also benched SuperPi 1M @ 5.5GHz / DDR3-2400 8-8-8-28 Triple Channel just for fun

I really need a cascade to spend some time testing the CPU and finding the best clocks/timings & settings

I'll leave you with a few screenshots ( well... some of the saved ones )

One of the cb lost screenies


A cr*ppy AQ3 ( full screenie, yay )


A... not so tweaked ( just LSC ) SuperPi 32M on dice


5.57GHz 4cores/8threads CPU-z validation ( pending, x86-secret is down )

I shall be back soon

[Gautam]

Nice Bill, about time you get a good one.

[crio]

Boy that is something new.Bill and a good rig?
Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.It's a Christmas Miracle.....

Congrats mate.I can;t wait to fill my dewar + urs (30+lts of LN2) and bench that i7 out...

[EnJoY]

Nice numbers bill, sorry to hear about your software troubles. I really hate it when poor software gets in the way of good hardware.

[chispy]

Nice Bill , great little session bro. it was a lot f fun huh , next time try Acronis it works better for me . Go Bill Go Go Go ...



Regards: Angelo

[Aerou]

hey buddy, seems we have similar misfortunes. My wicked self had a "DNAB" 950 too, but with only 5-6L LN2. Ran out of it shortly, in the middle of a nice SPi 32M run. 5,45G at 1,52V at -80°C. Hope more luck for both of us next time. Promising numbers u have there

[Oliver]

wicked, congrats with the chip man..

As stated, ACRONIS is the bomb you will diff not recret going ACRONIS instead of ghost

keep pushing it

[Aerou]

beware of partition alignement with SSD and Acronis! Only the latest version (2010) has partially fixed the issue.

[sofos1990]

Gogogo Bill
400k in AQ3 is possible IMO

[Expat GriZ]

Nice 950 BZ....waiting for more results!!

[aslanwas]

wow, thats a good cpu

[BenchZowner]

Nice Bill, about time you get a good one.

So damn true, hope it lasts

Boy that is something new.Bill and a good rig?
Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.It's a Christmas Miracle.....

Congrats mate.I can;t wait to fill my dewar + urs (30+lts of LN2) and bench that i7 out...

I was thinking of 60+ lt of LN2 and some additional dry ice for the VGAs.
New years eve benching ?

Nice numbers bill, sorry to hear about your software troubles. I really hate it when poor software gets in the way of good hardware.

Worry not, the software only managed to get in between me and the LN2 dewar
Next time I'll just toss in some more HDDs and have a Windows installation ready on each HDD, no more Symantec/Norton ( sigh )

Nice Bill , great little session bro. it was a lot f fun huh , next time try Acronis it works better for me . Go Bill Go Go Go ...

Thanks Angelo, it was fun indeed
Next time it'll be serious business

hey buddy, seems we have similar misfortunes. My wicked self had a "DNAB" 950 too, but with only 5-6L LN2. Ran out of it shortly, in the middle of a nice SPi 32M run. 5,45G at 1,52V at -80°C. Hope more luck for both of us next time. Promising numbers u have there

I recovered a few screenshots, including a CPU-z validation with Turbo mode on at 242MHz BCLK
Too bad I was out of LN2 when I tried that, I really wanted to check if it can run 3D at 24x

Good luck with your chip on your next session bro

wicked, congrats with the chip man..

As stated, ACRONIS is the bomb you will diff not recret going ACRONIS instead of ghost

keep pushing it

Thanks Oliver
I think I'll switch to my old solution to all software issues, multiple HDDs with various Windows installations ready
Else, I'm gonna stick to the 100% functional solutions ( Norton Ghost 14 for Win XP / 2k3 / Vista ) and Windows Backup for Win 7

beware of partition alignement with SSD and Acronis! Only the latest version (2010) has partially fixed the issue.

Thanks for the warning & the info bro

Gogogo Bill
400k in AQ3 is possible IMO

400k ? I think easily.

Nice 950 BZ....waiting for more results!!

Next week or so, if I can stick to my plans

wow, thats a good cpu

Thanks man, I think it has more to give, and I'll be more than happy if I can get to squeeze every single MHz out of it ( and keep it alive in the meantime )

[Olivon]

What a session BenchZowner !

You will remember next time

[BenchZowner]

What a session BenchZowner !

You will remember next time

Hopefully I will, I didn't take any notes of the settings that made the chip fly ( I think I remember using 1.5V CPU & IOH PLL, 1.4V IOH and +475mV VTT )
Cleanup and review time now

- FYI guys here's the CPU info in case you want to hunt down the same batch of 950s:

[saaya]

rofl and all that with only 12 liters

[BenchZowner]

Next time I'll get 60+ Lt of LN2, and I'll also have a clue about the CPUs coldboot/coldbug & benching clocks, and unless something radically changes or goes wrong I shall be back with scores for all the 3D benchmarks & the 2D ones except PC Mark ( maybe not )

One thing's for sure, K|ngp|n's pots are awesome and allowed me to bench for more time than I could in the past with other pots and 12 lt again.
No kidding, with just 12lt I benched for 6 or 7 hours [ and I wasted some LN2 to find the coldbug for the card & the CPU ]

[Vivi]

disable that HT man :P.

i use prioaff to only run 2 cores for am3, so 8 is not needed ^_^. Excellent stuff tho, glad to see your bannana curse is BROKEN!

[Hampti]

Nice clocks on your GPU. CB @-180 C° lol^^

[George_o/c]

disable that HT man :P.

i use prioaff to only run 2 cores for am3, so 8 is not needed ^_^. Excellent stuff tho, glad to see your bannana curse is BROKEN!

We can't be entirely sure about that

Way to go Bill, at last you'll enjoy proper overclocking potential

[BenchZowner]

HWbot #1 i7 950 CPU-z grabbed
http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=895835
Wish I had some LN2 to test if it can bench at those BCLKs with Turbo Mode on ( none of my rest i7 950s can bench or even clock at all above 210MHz BCLK with T.M. enabled )

I've got a feeling that this chip can run AquaMark 3 @ 5600MHz, I guess we'll find out soon

[cowie]

whoa...i see you got the ball rolling in the right direction now

[N3RO]

Well done bro

[BenchZowner]

Had a short session today ( didn't went really well, stupid kneaded eraser insulation on the VGA didn't work well ), the scores aren't tweaked at all, so don't give me a lecture about the efficiency.
I had to tweak the CPU settings from the beginning since I can't remember the settings I used the other time
I'm BCLK limited ( and NB temp limited probably, 69C @ boot lol ) and got lots of stuff to check ( ideally on a -130C cascade ) to see if I can get past that stupid BCLK wall, check the settings & stuff affecting the CBB & CB ( Cold Boot Bug & Cold Bug ) and tweak the RAM sub-timings & cool the RAM with LN2 as well.

The CPU can do 5300+ 3D Mark06, 5500+ AquaMark 3 & Pi 32m, so unless someone can hook me up with a 5.7GHz+ 32m / AquaMark 3 - 5.5GHz 3D Mark06 chip, I'm fine ( somebody ?! )
Will come back soon with proper scores with CPU + VGA/s + RAMs @ LN2 ( maybe LN2 on teh chipset too )

[madmax999]

Sick 950 you have... Nice results m8

[zalbard]

Congrats on a nice chip. Looks like you've had some good fun!