are the i7 950s now the way to go ..? ~ really another "is my spec ok" too thread.

[blade148]

Hi all,

I'm a long time lurker.

Now that the 950's have the price drop, is the 950 the way to go instead of buying a 930 .?

I'm on the verge of buying a new system. I want to reach 4.2Ghz at least and keep the system for a couple of years.

spec I want to get :

i7 930 or the 950 ( only £20 difference - worth having the extra multi's for that ? )
Asus P6X58D-E Intel X58
OCZ Reaper 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 16000C9 2000MHz
Corsair Hydro H70
PALIT GTX 460 SONIC Platinum 1024MB ( will not go SLI )

Already have a corair 620HX

1. is the spec ok ...?
2. 930 or 950

I kinda think buying the 950 is like cheating as far as OC ' ing is concerned. - but it would ensure an easy overclock and prob 24/7 stable.
Any thoughts on getting the lesser known 950 ?

thanks in advance.

[Mafio]

20 GBP is nothing, i will go for 950

[Leeghoofd]

i950 here is rockstable at 4.3Ghz 1.3Vcore for daily use, but mine is a hothead...

[K404]

I think a lot of good I7 920s on a good board will match the 950. Thermals are the real limit, not the multi.

If you can afford a '950, i'd say go for it

[Sam_oslo]

The OC-headroom is more dependent on the batch# than the model#, but on a equal batch# the 950 is a much better option. Higher multi will have less requirements on RAM and MB for the same OC.

But all these 45nm are antic already. Sandy bridge is not too far away, and if you can you should wait for SB. It will be much cooler with less power-usage and would probably OC and perform better too.

[wesleys_dad]

Is it true all the 950's are CO stepping so run hotter than DO version?

[Leeghoofd]

it's the other way around I think, all 950's are DO... a hot sample is just a bit of bad karma Which I have plenty :p

[Sam_oslo]

Is it true all the 950's are CO stepping so run hotter than DO version?

All 950 are guaranteed D0 stepping.

[K404]

Sandy Bridge is looking like it *wont* OC better... but might perform better


Well... the RAM side is fairly irrelevant, just pick a lower multi

[Sam_oslo]

Sandy Bridge is looking like it *wont* OC better... but might perform better

Nobody knows how good SB will OC yet, some models seams to be good OCer too, but it is 32nm with less heat and power-usage, and will performs better too, so the choice should be easy, if you can wait.

Anyways, the time for 45nm is over now, and that's why these 950 got these big price-drop. It's dumping price for a EOL product.

RDIT:

..
1. is the spec ok ...?
...

You could consider changing the RAM to G.Skill F3-16000CL6T-6GBPID (2GBx3) , if you find this in stock. The price should be almost the same as those OCZ, but much better kits.

[Frag Maniac]

Wow, I didn't know these had been priced so low. Good that I'm still waiting for the 384 core GF104 because I was also not sure if I wanted to go with the i7-875k I was thinking of. It would limit me to 16 Pci-Ex lanes. I think I'll get one of these instead. Even without a manual OC I could slap one on an ASUS MB, set the multiplier one notch higher in the BIOS, and get close to 3.2GHz out of it.

[brightwindow]

yup, the price is so good

[Kensek]

Received my $299 i7 950 today.

[xman01]

sweet

[blade148]

Just wanted to say a big thanks for the response.

I'll get the 950 then.

I can't wait for SB - I've got buyers for my current rig now.

RDIT:


You could consider changing the RAM to G.Skill F3-16000CL6T-6GBPID (2GBx3) , if you find this in stock. The price should be almost the same as those OCZ, but much better kits.

I've tryed looking for this ram all over. Only 1 place has it on there webpage in the uk, and it's out of stock. as for the price ..... £228 ! that's alotta ouch ! ( the ram I spec'd is £150) still the cl 6 timmings would be great !

I'll give the company a call and ask when they will be getting some in, otherwise I'll have to get some ram that is in stock ( and CL 9 )

Many thanks all !

[flopper]

Had the 920 for soon 2 years, gonna get the 950 since I wait for SB to mature before I make the jump its not like I need more horsepower heh.
Plenty in the current generation.
and always good to get new equipment feels more new then

[newhit]

Had the 920 for soon 2 years, gonna get the 950 since I wait for SB to mature before I make the jump its not like I need more horsepower heh.
Plenty in the current generation.
and always good to get new equipment feels more new then

With your water cooling I can't see 4.5GHz 24/7 (if you're bothered ) being a problem (at reasonable vcore). At 4.5 my 950 runs around 1.35 vcore 24/7. It's only when I squeezed it out to 4.7+ that the vcore shot up.

[PiLsY]

Gutted I paid over £500 for mine. I got a good one, but less than half price just plain hurts.

Knew I shouldve ebay'd it last week .

[flopper]

With your water cooling I can't see 4.5GHz 24/7 (if you're bothered ) being a problem (at reasonable vcore). At 4.5 my 950 runs around 1.35 vcore 24/7. It's only when I squeezed it out to 4.7+ that the vcore shot up.

run on air now.
forgot to change my sig
I thought that water and air has so little difference so I shifted to air as it felt better.

Got the i7 950 now, run as far 4ghz without a sweat.

[newhit]

Gutted I paid over £500 for mine. I got a good one, but less than half price just plain hurts.

Knew I shouldve ebay'd it last week .

Mine was less than £500 (a whole £1 less). Of course, that's why I only got 4.6GHz

[Chrono Detector]

All 950's have a D0 stepping, mine did when I had one. And yes, I paid full price like $700 AUS back then, but oh well. Should have sold it earlier, too bad I sold it when Intel decided to drop the price, could have made a profit but it doesn't matter.

[PatRaceTin]

700-750W or more PSU will be better in term of overclocking

[MrBeer]

i950 here is rockstable at 4.3Ghz 1.3Vcore for daily use, but mine is a hothead...

Can u post your settings i just got one and want to see what it can do
I have to read sime post to see how to overclock just upgraded from a 8400 oc to 4 ghz. this i7 has a lot of more stuff to overclock

[LiveLongerDays]

Received my $299 i7 950 today.

Awesome chip, do it justice and OC that pup.

[Kensek]

Awesome chip, do it justice and OC that pup.

I've been playing with this chip on my New Dimas Bench 2.5 Table on Water with an R3E.

I tried Bioses 0878, 0011 and now 0901 and this CPU is a dog. All my Previous i7 930's on XP could do 216.5 x 21 (4.546 GHz) in 3DMArk06 CPU tests.

This 950 maxes out at 195.3 x 23 (4.492 Ghz) on the CPU Test.

Maybe the Old Batch 950s were better but this one was packed on 8/16/2010 and is a piece of junk.

Maybe I have a dog or maybe it's still better to grab an i7 930 at Microcenter for $199 and save a Benjamin