Intel X79 testing it all - 3930K - 3960X - 3820 and 3x ASUS Matrix Platinum + RIVE

[SoF]

Hi,

thanks to ASUS I could bench the probably best custom design of GTX 580 in tripple configuration (again).
7970 is still not that well available (at reasonable prices) and I wait for some real good custom PCBs to appear.
Finding a good chip wasn't exactly easy...5.5 GHZ CPUs are not easy to get "out of the retail box"...
Additionally I needed 14cm SLI-bridge which was nowhere in the boxes...ebay saved the day




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during selection I went through all chips available for socket 2011:

1st Core-i7 3930K @"minimal h2o" (corsair h50)

Seriously Intel, a 500€ CPU without a boxed - cooler...hoped to get something nice like with GT

So my old Corsair H50 had to do the job...



Results were not really satisfying...

5166 max boot
~5130 benches
~4800 vantage

results and screens...

2nd chip - Core-i7 3960X

So I went for a 3960X retail, I think it is C1...



didn't liked warm temperature and crapped out around
5100 boot / 1m on the corsair cooling

but on singlestage it showed some potential

5460 max boot
5450 6 cores single-threaded benches + old 3D marks
5450 3dm 06 cpu test 6/6
5100 vantage (with LN2 maybe 5400?)

Core i7-3820

Only to check if 3820 might be a chip for 01, 05 and 06 tripple-card but serious fail

5072 max boot
~5040 benches
4500 @1.3V prime with h50...

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So I ended up benching the 3960X at mostly 5450-5455...Vantage / 3DM11 due to high temps on singlestage only at "low" speed:





24313 - 3D Mark 2011 Entry 2nd global / 2st hw 3x GTX 580

7742 - 3D Mark 2011 Extreme 3rd global 3x GPU/ 2nd hw 3x GTX 580

7221 - Unigine Heaven DX9 - 2nd global 3x GPU/ 1st hw 3x GTX 580

41773 - 3D Mark 2006 19th global 3x GPU / 2nd hw 3x GTX580

61583 - 3D Mark Vantage - 23rd global / 11th hw 3x GTX 580

some basic screens - no high vtt/vccsa needed until DDR3-2380...mainly depends on IMC...can do it or not:




more pictures from the setup...





One pin decided to give up, so I will bench socket 2010 from now on (still working fine)...




All who are not addicted to 3 or 4 cards can skip X79 and wait for Ivy - will be much more fun CPU-wise. Everything is still heavily CPU-bound...
SB-E is just Sandy with more PCI-E lanes, 2 additional cores and 125 BCLK...same binning process ^^

Ivy will be much more fun, we all know already - see you in ~6-7 weeks


best regards
SoF

[FlanK3r]

Its hard to find good SB-E. With limited possibility most of us "normal" users and enthusiast...F*ck, again I have not good x79 CPU, only average (53x max at Ln2). Last lucky choice I had with 1100T BE .

I like at SB-E Vantage and 3D11 score. Cinebenchs are impressive too! Hehe, IB will be great fun...but what about IB-E few months later ?

[Viss]

Stepping 6 in cpuz = C1

[SoF]

Thanks for that info - so I can say for sure that C2 is NOT the way to high mhz, just the same crap as before now called "C2"...

Oh dear I really can't wait for Ivy...Sandy had so much fail in it for me, binned as many chips as never before, got unlucky as never before...

...not to talk about the cascade I bought half a year ago, which was only used for GPU testing so far because no CPU seemed to like it until now...

[owikh84]

I have a bad luck on me as well
Until im willing to fork out $700usd to buy a used 57x 2600K from forumer.
I dont think i will choose this way to buy luck for SB-E as it degrades faster than SB.
my current 3930K was able to clock 5Ghz @ 1.45v, now 1.6v also wont stable. ruined by the infamous BSOD 101 & 124.

[DStealth]

....
One pin decided to give up, so I will bench socket 2010 from now on (still working fine)...



...

Having same issue here, yesterday my board refused to power and i replaced the CPU....and what to see - 3 pins looking worse than yours...
IMO It's Intel fault, to put double closing system and the pressure on the edges is always different , when you close it. I only mounted my Proc once before some months and now...i don't know what to do ?

[SoF]

Thanks to give me that as a start - I think we have some socket issues back!

Nobody said something until now, maybe to less people really pushing X79 due to the high price.

Today I prepared my system for a little oc-show during an internal LAN the company I work for will make during week-end.

What can I say - the 3960X CPU looked REALLY ugly on the downside, some contacts (4-5) had a nice black shade on them.

Also whenever I looked under the CPUs (either my 3930K after initial water session or even the used 3960X I recieved) they show visible indications of burning in either one of the edges.

Unfortunatly I have not made high-res pictures of the downside of my CPU today before cleaning it, but I am really afraid to push X79 for a longer time.

That also would explain the degrading issues - it is not that simple to say it is only VTT or Vcore...the different experiences I read during the last weeks are having to less factors together to make a voltage responsible for that. At the moment I have the feeling it is a socket issue...either mass pins or voltage pins get overloaded quickly, iirc I had a Pin-Plan for S1155 but not for 2011...I would like to look up wich pins are mainly affected after the next tests...

...I already (literary) smell at least 1k € of loss in my pocket just because of that

[GeneralDeath]

@SoF Those pins are crazy damm shame there was no pics Of the Downside of you're CPU though and don't blame u for being really afraid to push x79 for a longer time. Time will tell wheather it's a socket issue my guess is you're right and more then likely a socket issue.

[tom1]

veru good start sof