2011 cpu block testing?

[Martinm210]

So it appears I killed either my 2600k or my MSI motherboard last night and looking to upgrade to 2011. Just too many mounts finally did her in. I figure over the 18 or so blocks tested..it must have seen well over 100 mounts and the crappy 1155 retention plate just isn't very durable when most of the block backplates use a perimeter system that puts all the load on the pcb. Anyhow...it is dead..not even a screen post coming up anymore.. Thats ok though I was getting tired of my MSI board issues anyhow.

Is a 3820 going to be a worthwhile test or should I go for a 3930? which would be more popular? Seems like the 3820s will be more common considering price.

Also any motherboard recommendations? I had a lot of port troubles with my old MSI board and don't really need anything other than a com port..just want something with good stable overclock at sub $300 price. I was considering ASUS, Gigabyte, and Asrock options.

Another sacrifice for science..lol..time for an upgrade..

Thanks!
Martin

[Toolius]

Sorry to hear about the chip/board sir.. It died for a very noble cause though.
We can't thank you enough for what you do for this entire community.. Thank you tons for everything !
I vote for the 3930k though.. seems to be in the middle of the pack and is relatively popular too.
As for motherboards.. i have 2x asus x79 boards.. a R4E and a Sabertooth. Both are pretty reliable , stable and have no real issues as far as i can tell.

[Church]

If you are going to use that benchtable for something but testing as well, i'd suggest from practical viewpoint real soon to be released Z77 boards and new i7-3770K ivy bridge cpu. In games even a little bit better performance then top lga2011 cpu-s (desktop oriented loads optimised memory controller with less latency and overall architectural improvements), and probably better overclocker (SB-E IIRC had less throttling temp limits + less cores and at newer techprocess of IB potentially will go higher, if even older normal SBs like 2600K/2700Ks overclocked better then SB-E) then those at half the overall price and less the power bill.
If it's gonna be for benching only and you have the funds, then why not. 34nm SB-E lga2011 hexa core cpus will probably be able to generate bigger heatload then 22nm IB, so maybe will be better to differentiate block or TIM performance. .. at very costly premium though :/

[Martinm210]

Thanks!
I'll probably go for a 3930 and some sort of Asus board so I can at least get the larger 6 core heat signature and give me a little bit more of an upgrade. While this wasn't in my spending plan, I was looking for some new hardware to play with anyhow, I was having continued problems with the MSI board with USB and missing drives quite regularly not to mention it's unusual "Vgain" issue that made idle volts the bigger stability issue.

My CPU bench is my daily rig and also my logging rig for the radiator test bench. I game on it too, but I don't game enough to justify SLI or more on the video end. I also do a lot of photo/video rendering type stuff. I never have had a separate CPU block testing rig, whatever I use on a daily basis is what I test with.

Like gaming, testing is fun in moderation and part of what I like to do. A little loss here and there is part of the package and ok by me. These motherboards are not exactly meant to have 50lbs of loading turned on/off hundreds of times.

I like the looks of the 2011 socket system with the built in backplate. That should add some durability, protection, and consistency to testing and the larger 130W heat load should make separating blocks a little easier.

I'm without email access and pretty much completely down now on all fronts of testing since it also handled my radiator logging.

Time to order some replacement parts..

[Hondacity]

the 2011 is a not representative of the majority but it will be a good heatload

i hope thats the 3930k for unlocked goodness...

[lowfat]

I think the 3930k would be a good choice. It will throw off a lot of heat if you clock it high. Unlike Ivy Bridge.

[matari]

I think the X79 would be a good choice for mounting several blocks. Only issue is that you would have to get several mounting kits for all those blocks.

[Martinm210]

Yes, 3930K is what I'm looking at now...just still deciding on the motherboard. I do need a COM port for my crystalfontz and would prefer power and reset buttons for the bench. Sabertooth X79 looks good except for the missing power/reset buttons.

[Sparky]

I have an old set of case buttons that I use for bench testing boards.

So did all the 1155 block mounts generally suck as far as load distribution or were there a few that were better designed?

[Martinm210]

I have an old set of case buttons that I use for bench testing boards.

So did all the 1155 block mounts generally suck as far as load distribution or were there a few that were better designed?

I ordered an ASrock X79 Extreme 7+3930K it had the com port, power buttons, and seemed to have pretty good cooling. I had an ASrock many moons ago and the Extreme4 got pretty good reviews that I looked over.

Anyhow, order is in with the Egg, should have new hardware toys by the weekend..

As far as the 1155 backplates, there are pros/cons to each. I think they were all fine for regular use.

The perimeter style backplates with standoffs provide better compatibility, but in the end they don't really provide much PCB support. Most of the blocks use this sort of design.

A few of the block have full cover backplates that do provide a little support over the 1155 socket, but a few of those also had either conflicts with the retention plate screws or conflicts with back side surface mount components or solder pins. I didn't experience any of the electrical surface type conflicts, but some folks have made comments about it on certain boards.

In the end, I think they all work fine for normal use. I just don't think any motherboard is really beefy enough to handle hundreds of repeated mounts. They are more durable than VGA cards, but have their limits as well I guess.

My favorite 1155 backplate would probably be either the Supreme HF TRUE backplate or XSPCs backplate. The TRUE being a bit more work where the XSPC backplates are sticky back, but both bridge over the socket center providing a bit more motherboard support than backplates that have an open hole and run around the perimeter with standoffs.

That's where I'm liking the idea behind the 2011 socket having it's own motherboard reinforcement built in. Most blocks are only providing the M4 screws without any sort of backplate. Havn't used it yet, but it looks like a more durable retention systems than 1155.

[Kayin]

So are you saying that you would modify vendor's retention setups to use either the EK TRUE backplate or the XSPC one? I own the TRUE backplate, but I wasn't sure if I needed it over some of the supplied ones by Swiftech and such. I think I'll be modding my Sabertooth with it tomorrow.

[basserdan]

Sorry to hear about the breakage Martin! I'm pleased that you are able to rebuild your only rig in a somewhat timely manner.

I would just like to add my appreciation for the information you've been able to provide for us all over the years. Seriously, it's easy to appreciate the effort you have put into all of your methodical testing and very detailed analysis. I guess it's most easy to appreciate how much simpler it would have been for you to not be such a valuable source of information so, thanks!

As for the rest of us, how many of us here can say we weren't spared some measure of agonizing decision making or haven't learned something that upped our wc'ing game a little from the efforts of this XS member? I don't think it's so much a measure of how dumb I am as it is of just how valuable his rigorous testing regime has been, that I have gained as a result of his effort. He might say it's been fun but, I can't help but feel a little bit like his mobo died that my proc might run just a tad cooler, my loops a little less restrictive....

If anybody has what they believe is a current paypal address for Martin, I would like to start a "show a brother some love" thread here to contribute a little to Martin's new parts. Just $5 or $10 (or even $2), from a few folks to show our appreciation. This isn't charity or anything (for all I know, he's rich), just thanks.

Actually, I don't want to embarass/offend Martin or anything so maybe payments could be sent to a senior member here at XS (volunteer?) who could then send it on to Martin. This would allow for anonymity for all. Of course this thing would have to "time out" to know when to send it so, say a couple of weeks? Maybe a two week "sticky" for the official post, eh?

If this kind of thing is frowned on here, I apologise. I just thought; for someone who always responds to questions in such a way as to be as helpful as possible, never says anything smartassed to anyone and has made signifigant contributions to the benefit of many, seems like a special situation.

[basserdan]

Oh yeah, I am generally away from my pc all during the day and early eve, so if anybody would like to get the ball rolling, please do!

[Martinm210]

So are you saying that you would modify vendor's retention setups to use either the EK TRUE backplate or the XSPC one? I own the TRUE backplate, but I wasn't sure if I needed it over some of the supplied ones by Swiftech and such. I think I'll be modding my Sabertooth with it tomorrow.

I wouldn't change anything for regular use. I think the factory plates do ok, but you do get some bending in the pcb which with enough mounts and remounts isn't the best thing. Can't hurt improving upon existing systems though...anytime you can make a project out of something for the better..why not.. I did have a 1/4" thick copper backplate I made myself to test the Supreme V1 when I didn't have any other 1155 backplate to use that was probably the most rigid support.

Sorry to hear about the breakage Martin! I'm pleased that you are able to rebuild your only rig in a somewhat timely manner.

I would just like to add my appreciation for the information you've been able to provide for us all over the years. Seriously, it's easy to appreciate the effort you have put into all of your methodical testing and very detailed analysis. I guess it's most easy to appreciate how much simpler it would have been for you to not be such a valuable source of information so, thanks!

As for the rest of us, how many of us here can say we weren't spared some measure of agonizing decision making or haven't learned something that upped our wc'ing game a little from the efforts of this XS member? I don't think it's so much a measure of how dumb I am as it is of just how valuable his rigorous testing regime has been, that I have gained as a result of his effort. He might say it's been fun but, I can't help but feel a little bit like his mobo died that my proc might run just a tad cooler, my loops a little less restrictive....

If anybody has what they believe is a current paypal address for Martin, I would like to start a "show a brother some love" thread here to contribute a little to Martin's new parts. Just $5 or $10 (or even $2), from a few folks to show our appreciation. This isn't charity or anything (for all I know, he's rich), just thanks.

Actually, I don't want to embarass/offend Martin or anything so maybe payments could be sent to a senior member here at XS (volunteer?) who could then send it on to Martin. This would allow for anonymity for all. Of course this thing would have to "time out" to know when to send it so, say a couple of weeks? Maybe a two week "sticky" for the official post, eh?

If this kind of thing is frowned on here, I apologise. I just thought; for someone who always responds to questions in such a way as to be as helpful as possible, never says anything smartassed to anyone and has made signifigant contributions to the benefit of many, seems like a special situation.

Really appreciate it, but it's the thanks and simply knowing I'm helping that's plenty thanks enough. I'm very fortunate to have a good job and could have just ordered a replacement 1155 motherboard. I wanted 2011, and this just helped me justify the change. It's all good.. I'm just excited for the new parts on their way now...

[stren]

Glad you're going with the 3930 - the extra heat makes it a good choice for testing imo. Surprised there are no motherboard manufacturer's who would be willing to sponsor such an upstanding member of the community a mobo.

[Martinm210]

Hope so, I think I saw some charts at Tomshardware showing the 3930K drawing around 185 watts at 4.5Ghz. I had a really hard time differentiating between blocks on the 2600K so more heat should help. Also a much much large die size which should be less picky about block bowing I would think and turn the focus more on internal thermo rather than mechanical contact. We will see..time for hexacore benching..

I probably could have rounded up a hardware sponsor, but I have zero contacts needed a quick fix on being down.

[OldChap]

That surely is still worth a try.... Having an alternate board even if only as a backup can only be good.

I've seen a lot of people saying there is a need to force cool the chipset and especially the vrm's on 2011 boards...Hope that does not get in your way when testing.

[Raul-7]

I can donate my X58 LE. Finally got a Rampage III, so it's of no use to me.

Moreover, if a block handle a properly overclocked i7 920 it should be able to handle any other CPU just fine.

[basserdan]

Really appreciate it, but it's the thanks and simply knowing I'm helping that's plenty thanks enough. I'm very fortunate to have a good job and could have just ordered a replacement 1155 motherboard. I wanted 2011, and this just helped me justify the change. It's all good.. I'm just excited for the new parts on their way now...

I was a little worried people might think I was under the impression that you needed help. I sure did not want to embarass anybody! I just thought it was a fitting way to show some appreciation for the answers you've provided to all of our benefit. I'm just impressed by the amount of time and effort you put into often incredibly laborious, repetitive yet thoughtfully investigative, testing (Skinnee too, as well as many others who've made great informative contributions).

I'm glad you'll be up and testing again soon! I'm having a "6-core" debate with myself recently. My girlfriend tells me it's not the number of cores...

I hope you can solve your Aquaero problems. I've got an "LT" and 2 x PA2's in the pipe for my next build. I hope this system will get a fastrack toward a final, successful debugging. Still no final, non-beta software, geez!

[Kayin]

Glad to see you getting back to work so soon.

The aquaero issue was so fscked up, I just went with ESA. I'm working on being able to tell people how to set up one themselves, but as for cost it'll top the Aquaero. I happened to get mine free in a deal. Why, oh why did this not take off?