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

[blade148]

test - having problems posting

[l0ud_sil3nc3]

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

well supposedly Microcenter will carry the 950 as well for $250 or $260

Also what batch number was yours so we can avoid it like the plague

[Frag Maniac]

well supposedly Microcenter will carry the 950 as well for $250 or $260

Yeah, they are, but as usual it's in store only, and I live nowhere near one. http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0346210

Fry's ran the 950 for $260 thru 9/9, but it was in store only too and wouldn't you know it they were out of stock by the time I found out.

Well at least I'll be buying mine for no more than $300 I guess. Waiting for the 475 has had it's benefits, but I'm SO tired of this dinosaur PC I'm using.

[Johnny87au]

i5 950 + h55 giga board= ownage!

[l0ud_sil3nc3]

i5 950 + h55 giga board= ownage!

huh?

i7 950 + X58 board = ownage

[dctokyo]

i5 950 + h55 giga board= ownage!

sorry don't you mean a X58 board as there is no i5/950..........i7/950 yes

[kill_a_wat]

Assuming identical chips, 950 would be better due to multi. But if you plan to keep it for a while and overclock perhaps try to find a bloomfield from a known good batch if possible.

[taurus_g4]

i5 950 + h55 giga board= ownage!

what ay marriage!

[Aedubber]

Just picked one up from newegg to replace my 940CO :/ .. Gonna see what I can do linX stable under water once I figure out which bios to use for my damn MB .

[DashTrash]

Assuming identical chips, 950 would be better due to multi. But if you plan to keep it for a while and overclock perhaps try to find a bloomfield from a known good batch if possible.

How are the newer batches of the 950's? I was thinking about doing one of the Microcenter deals next time I'm near one. What are the best sources for finding the good batches?

[docwhom]

How are the newer batches of the 950's? What are the best sources for finding the good batches?

As DashTrash has mentioned, PLEASE can anyone who currently owns an i7 950 cpu, let us know which batch number is available for good-reliable overclocking?

On this site, there are heaps of good 920/930 batch numbers, but none for the i7 950.

[PiLsY]

Just so people know, my 950 is a dog with turbo and HT on. Without its awesome. If youre struggling with clock speed try going to 23x plain multi and turning off HT. If you gain enough clock speed its usually worth it. 192bclk limit with turbo and ht on, 226 without. 4.3ghz ht on, 4.45ghx turbo on and 4.811ghz 4core 23x. Same vcore/vtt.

[babalouj]

I just bought a 3003B871 950 from Microcenter a week ago. I have been able to get it to 4.41ghz 1.38V 23x191 HT off. Its not anywhere near golden but its better than my 920.

[DashTrash]

Thanks for the responses! How are they for clocking the ram compared to the 920? About the same? I seem to need lots of qpi to go over 1920 with my 920. Was wondering if the 950's do better? Which batches are the golden ones?

[Frag Maniac]

Just so people know, my 950 is a dog with turbo and HT on. Without its awesome.

None of the 1366 i7s have a TB worth a damn anyway. It's only a .133 boost and limited to single core calculations.

...try going to 23x plain multi...

The i7 950 has a locked multi though doesn't it? Are you talking about stepping it up one notch in the BIOS as per ASUS MBs allow?

[PiLsY]

TB is 1 x bclk, not .133 .

23x multi is stock for the 950. Turbo takes it to 24x. I found 23x, 19x and 18x to be the best multi's for core clocking (allowing either higher mhz or lower vcore).

My batch is 3910A470 - not much chance of finding one now though as it was an early one.

[Frag Maniac]

I meant TB yields a .133 GHz boost, (though it's actually .266 with one core active). The stock 3.067 plus .266 = 3.33GHz max TB, it's simple math. TB on all 1366 i7s does barely anything at all while 2 or more cores are active though (.133, like I said). This is how Intel designates TB stepping for all 1366 i7s...1/1/1/2,... which means the only slightly significant boost is with one core active (.266).

The mulit is also locked, but you can bump it up one step via an ASUS MB BIOS. I wish they'd make an affordable unlocked quad CPU for 1366. Bottom line, you don't buy an i7 950 for it's TB or multi, you buy it because it's a fairly well binned chip, is given a fairly good stock speed because of it, and has just had a significant price drop. Otherwise there'd be no point to it.

[PiLsY]

Actually I disagree - binning is minimal, you buy it purely for the higher multi compared to the 920/930.

TB is not .133ghz, its 1 x bclk. If youre at 200bclk thats 200mhz. 133bclk, 133mhz. These are not unlocked chips so you arent going to be at 133bclk.

There are many reasons why you may not want to run high bclk yet keep a high cpu speed.

Dont buy a 950 under the belief theyre binned better - theyre not.

[sch010]

Actually I disagree - binning is minimal, you buy it purely for the higher multi compared to the 920/930.

TB is not .133ghz, its 1 x bclk. If youre at 200bclk thats 200mhz. 133bclk, 133mhz. These are not unlocked chips so you arent going to be at 133bclk.

There are many reasons why you may not want to run high bclk yet keep a high cpu speed.

Dont buy a 950 under the belief theyre binned better - theyre not.

this. there's every bit as much variation between 950s as there is between 920s/930s. i've seen people with dogs of 950s that barely go above 4 ghz, even with fairly high voltages.

[Enzo78]

so if you can run 4.2 easy with a 920 and able to push it to 4.7 with minimal tweeking. going to the 950 is pointless and may as well wait for sb?

[Frag Maniac]

If that were the case people wouldn't bother paying for the more expensive locked chips. They do in fact pass thermal testing better. That's why they're clocked higher and given higher multis. And no matter how you cut it, a max turbo speed of 3.33GHz on 3.067GHz chip with a 1/1/1/2 stepped TB config renders a .266GHz boost on single core, and .133 on 2-4 core at stock speeds. It only changes once you change the BLCK, and many don't even leave TB on when OCing externally. I mean what would even be the point of leaving TB on whilst externally OCing on a chip that has such a lack luster TB to begin with?

You also can't go by what results random users get on given chips because due to their different specs, OCing methods and chip variance, it's never the same.

[PiLsY]

950's are not binned, infact id say its highly likely no i7's are speed/voltage binned. Yields are high enough that whatever comes off the line they can use as any part.

If you want binning get Xeons.

I mean what would even be the point of leaving TB on whilst externally OCing on a chip that has such a lack luster TB to begin with?

TB is an extra multiplier. The point in leaving TB on when ocing is that it allows you to reach a higher cpu clock at a lower bclk. If you cant grasp this you shouldnt be on xs - . Issue arises when your chip prefers odd multi and your tb multi is even. Most i7's prefer odd multis. On the 960 the TB multi would likely be more useable.

[Frag Maniac]

950's are not binned, infact id say its highly likely no i7's are speed/voltage binned. Yields are high enough that whatever comes off the line they can use as any part.

If you want binning get Xeons.




TB is an extra multiplier. The point in leaving TB on when ocing is that it allows you to reach a higher cpu clock at a lower bclk. If you cant grasp this you shouldnt be on xs - . Issue arises when your chip prefers odd multi and your tb multi is even. Most i7's prefer odd multis. On the 960 the TB multi would likely be more useable.

First off, I don't know where you heard no i7s are binned but it's absurd. Even architecture that has consistent high yields varies in thermal handling properties from chip to chip, and so do OC results. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever to give one chip a higher clock and multi than another if they are exactly the same.

Second, most whom OC are not looking to get a performance boost just with single core use. Anyone that knows 1366 i7s at all knows they're lackluster in TB and give you next to nothing for 2-4 core activity. You act like you know it all but you're the one whom can't even grasps the simplest of facts about these chips.

Third, and perhaps most significant, this wouldn't have even come up if you had any real skill at OCing. Otherwise you wouldn't be grasping at straws trying desperately to make up for a lack of skill by using TB on a chip that has very little to begin with for 2-4 core operation. If it were the same chip as say a 920 and you had any decent OCing skills, you would save the money and buy a 920. Usually the best OCs are achieved by using a multi BELOW the stock setting.

It's noobs that don't know how to OC that buy the chips with a higher multi. And to even mention TB, my God just buy a non enthusiast platform i7-875k CPU and be done with it. It's priced the same and has a much better TB and an unlocked multi. Clearly you need something like that, the 875 is more your speed. You're biting off more than you can chew trying to get an extreme OC on a 950 the way you're going about it. You'll probably fry the chip in a yr or less.

Sounds to me like you shouldn't even be messing with BLCK and vCore if you require a higher multi to manage a halfway decent OC. It's ironic that the member designation "Technician" appears under your name, clearly it doesn't fit. LOL Your analogy makes no sense, and I'm done feeding your troll mouth.

[fordf250]

First off, I don't know where you heard no i7s are binned but it's absurd. Even architecture that has consistent high yields varies in thermal handling properties from chip to chip, and so do OC results. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever to give one chip a higher clock and multi than another if they are exactly the same.

Second, most whom OC are not looking to get a performance boost just with single core use. Anyone that knows 1366 i7s at all knows they're lackluster in TB and give you next to nothing for 2-4 core activity. You act like you know it all but you're the one whom can't even grasps the simplest of facts about these chips.

Third, and perhaps most significant, this wouldn't have even come up if you had any real skill at OCing. Otherwise you wouldn't be grasping at straws trying desperately to make up for a lack of skill by using TB on a chip that has very little to begin with for 2-4 core operation. If it were the same chip as say a 920 and you had any decent OCing skills, you would save the money and buy a 920. Usually the best OCs are achieved by using a multi BELOW the stock setting.

It's noobs that don't know how to OC that buy the chips with a higher multi. And to even mention TB, my God just buy a non enthusiast platform i7-875k CPU and be done with it. It's priced the same and has a much better TB and an unlocked multi. Clearly you need something like that, the 875 is more your speed. You're biting off more than you can chew trying to get an extreme OC on a 950 the way you're going about it. You'll probably fry the chip in a yr or less.

Sounds to me like you shouldn't even be messing with BLCK and vCore if you require a higher multi to manage a halfway decent OC. It's ironic that the member designation "Technician" appears under your name, clearly it doesn't fit. LOL Your analogy makes no sense, and I'm done feeding your troll mouth.

So you are saying I should get a cpu with a lower multiplier and use a higher bclk?

With a 920 and a 21x multi my mini atx MB maxes at a 200bclk so I can get a cool 4.2G overclock? Cool! Thats Extreme. Could probably get that with all settings on auto no skill needed. I also didnt know the i7 875 came in socket 1366 like the i7 950. I will look for it in the stores.

[Leeghoofd]

Chill guys. First up : Intels binning CPU's is a bit different then how we like to bin CPU's. I bought a 950 coz I would have a higher multi to bench on it. Too bad I got a mediocre one and was limited at 5.05GHz. Many 920's did a lot better than my 950. Though it was a cool running CPU at 4.3GHz for 24/7.

If daily stability is ya game then you could easily do with a 920. But lately, these are getting quite hard to get and the 930 is the only option.

I would rather take a 950 then a 930... the price difference is minimal (this ofc in case you want to buy a new CPU) If you can hunt down one of them golden 920's that can do 4.5Ghz 24/7, then I would say go for it...

The i875 is socket 1156 mate...