Vega's *Heavyweight* display and computer; edition 2012

[Phatboy69]

Interesting. What is your VCORE to get that GHz stable?

5.118Ghz 1.56v with ultra high LLC which gives about 1.62v under max load. Max temp is still only 88c but I dont run that 24/7.
I run 24/7 @ 5Ghz at 1.52v with high LLC giving 1.56v under load with max temp of 78c under prime95 after 1hr.
Ofcourse all CPUs are different some better and some worse. Mine i think is slightly better than avg.

[l0ud_sil3nc3]

Read this review > http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu..._12.html#sect0
This is one of a few that I read that comments on the higher operating temp of the 3960X which ultimately effects your maximum headroom. Performance even at stock clocks between the CPUs is within 1-2% of each other so the 3960X just isnt worth it. If it was I would have got the 3960X in a heartbeat.

I didnt just make this stuff up you know and I do have a 3930K that does 5.1Ghz so I have some point of reference!

Performance between the two is almost identical I agree however you should know that every cpu runs different and two samples is most definitely not enough to draw the conclusion you or Xbit labs is stating.

I never said you made anything up just that the extra cache generating heat is BS and I still stand firmly behind that notion.


here is my point of reference

http://hwbot.org/submission/2236457_...in_57sec_610ms

[stren]

Read about the asrock x79 board which has a pci-e 3.0 switch in it (PLX PEX8747). So yeah no reason this couldn't be used in an IB board to give you all the lanes you need, just a question if nvidia refuse to support it, but the article claims that this board at least does support quad sli:

http://www.techpowerup.com/161780/AS...therboard.html

[Callsign_Vega]

Read about the asrock x79 board which has a pci-e 3.0 switch in it (PLX PEX8747). So yeah no reason this couldn't be used in an IB board to give you all the lanes you need, just a question if nvidia refuse to support it, but the article claims that this board at least does support quad sli:

http://www.techpowerup.com/161780/AS...therboard.html

Ya, that board looks pretty sweet. Not sure though how much performance would be gained with quad 16X speeds slots PCI-E 3.0 with the PLX chips versus native quad-8x PCI-E 3.0 with the Rampage IV Extreme.

I had hopes for the ASRock Z77 Extreme9 supporting Quad-crossfire at quad-8x PCI-E 3.0 because of a PLX chip but seeing this new picture I have my doubts (cover says 3-way SLI):



It seems nVidia will never allow Quad-SLI on anything but X79 this year.

So I basically have two options, go with the R4E which is a known quantity and good board with quad native 8x PCI-E 3.0 or wait for this ASRock Extreme11 which has quad-16x PCI-E 3.0 with PLX chips that add unknown latency and performance.

[stren]

Ya, that board looks pretty sweet. Not sure though how much performance would be gained with quad 16X speeds slots PCI-E 3.0 with the PLX chips versus native quad-8x PCI-E 3.0 with the Rampage IV Extreme.

I had hopes for the ASRock Z77 Extreme9 supporting Quad-crossfire at quad-8x PCI-E 3.0 because of a PLX chip but seeing this new picture I have my doubts (cover says 3-way SLI):



It seems nVidia will never allow Quad-SLI on anything but X79 this year.

So I basically have two options, go with the R4E which is a known quantity and good board with quad native 8x PCI-E 3.0 or wait for this ASRock Extreme11 which has quad-16x PCI-E 3.0 with PLX chips that add unknown latency and performance.

yeah - not sure why asrock went with the pci splitter on X79 to be honest. Maybe they're just look for a differentiator to compete with Asus. That Z77 pcb does say 4 way SLI though even if the heatsink says 3 way sli. Bear in mind that it also says z68 gen 3 on the south bridge, so I wouldn't trust the heatsinks - looks like they just reused the heatsink for the prototypes.

[Callsign_Vega]

yeah - not sure why asrock went with the pci splitter on X79 to be honest. Maybe they're just look for a differentiator to compete with Asus. That Z77 pcb does say 4 way SLI though even if the heatsink says 3 way sli. Bear in mind that it also says z68 gen 3 on the south bridge, so I wouldn't trust the heatsinks - looks like they just reused the heatsink for the prototypes.

Oh sweet, good catch! I didn't see the printed 4-way SLI on the PCB. That is much more reliable than the tossed on heat-sinks that say Z68 lol. I hope they also mean true 4-way SLI and not just two dual GPU cards like some guys try to advertise as "quad-sli" capable. Quad-8X PCI-E 3/0 should be plenty fast for 4x Kepler, the same speed as Quad-16x PCI-E 2.0. This is the only Z77 board I've seen yet with the PLX chip. Look's like this may be my board for my build as long as ASRock doesn't screw up the BIOS.

Why not just go for X79 you may ask? Generally the 1155 chips like IB will overclock higher, be a lot cheaper, be faster in games clock for clock, run cooler, use less energy, and more than four cores is not used for any game that I know of.

[stren]

Oh sweet, good catch! I didn't see the printed 4-way SLI on the PCB. That is much more reliable than the tossed on heat-sinks that say Z68 lol. I hope they also mean true 4-way SLI and not just two dual GPU cards like some guys try to advertise as "quad-sli" capable. Quad-8X PCI-E 3/0 should be plenty fast for 4x Kepler, the same speed as Quad-16x PCI-E 2.0. This is the only Z77 board I've seen yet with the PLX chip. Look's like this may be my board for my build as long as ASRock doesn't screw up the BIOS.

Why not just go for X79 you may ask? Generally the 1155 chips like IB will overclock higher, be a lot cheaper, be faster in games clock for clock, run cooler, use less energy, and more than four cores is not used for any game that I know of.

Yeah it makes sense, clock speed matters for ultra high performance and the higher refresh rates you'll be pushing. I believe Civ 5 can use more than 4 cores, but that's the only game I've heard of that can.

[Callsign_Vega]

Sweet! This ASRock guy confirmed the Z77 Extreme9 can do Quad-SLI at Quad-8x PCI-E 3.0 with the PLX chip in the video below. Me excite!

[stren]

Looks like evga are doing a similar board too, you'll have better chance of a waterblock being made for evga too.

[Callsign_Vega]

Looks like evga are doing a similar board too, you'll have better chance of a waterblock being made for evga too.

Ya, I was just thinking about that. Virtually all the big MB manufacturers are coming out with Quad-SLI capable Z77 boards now. The Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3 looks interesting as I could do Quad-SLI and keep the Killer 2100 NIC. This Lucid MVP software that is bundled with most high-end boards also looks promising. It will be interesting which MB's get a water block from companies like EK (who like Asus). Like you said, maybe even EVGA will have their own block available for the Z77 FTW.

[Callsign_Vega]

Ambient radiator fans all mounted and wiring soldered. These things push some serious air and pretty darn quiet to boot.

[owikh84]

Ya, I was just thinking about that. Virtually all the big MB manufacturers are coming out with Quad-SLI capable Z77 boards now. The Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3 looks interesting as I could do Quad-SLI and keep the Killer 2100 NIC. This Lucid MVP software that is bundled with most high-end boards also looks promising. It will be interesting which MB's get a water block from companies like EK (who like Asus). Like you said, maybe even EVGA will have their own block available for the Z77 FTW.

did u mean 4-way SLI?

[Callsign_Vega]

did u mean 4-way SLI?

Are you referring to four individual card SLI being called 4-way SLI and two dual GPU cards being called Quad-SLI?

[Levesque]

The 3930k + Rampage IV is a beastly duo. You should really consider it. It makes my 4X 7970 Quad-Fire set-up fly. Easy to OC, rock-stable combo.

Curiosity. Why post old pictures of the set-up you sold a long time ago? Why still put 4X 580 in your sig since you sold them, and now using AMD cards? Why pictures of your silicon sugar-coated mobo since you don't own it anymore?

What are you using now? Could you update your sig and pictures? It's confusing to know what is real, and what is not. Just curious.

[Callsign_Vega]

The 3930k + Rampage IV is a beastly duo. You should really consider it. It makes my 4X 7970 Quad-Fire set-up fly. Easy to OC, rock-stable combo.

Curiosity. Why post old pictures of the set-up you sold a long time ago? Why still put 4X 580 in your sig since you sold them, and now using AMD cards? Why pictures of your silicon sugar-coated mobo since you don't own it anymore?

What are you using now? Could you update your sig and pictures? It's confusing to know what is real, and what is not. Just curious.

R4E is a great MB but I will wait and see how much faster performance clock for clock IB will bring to gaming. Those photos in the original post are setups of the past as stated, not current.

In reply #23 I have pictures of some of my equipment. Using EVGA Ultra Classified 580's until Kepler releases. 7970's are good cards but they cannot do 3x FW900 as all monitors have to connect to card #1 and a single 7970 does not have the output/RAMDAC capability to do that. With nVidia each monitor get's its own GPU and RAMDAC to plug into, a superior method IMO. Plus Kepler is most likely going to be faster anyway.

I just hope they don't screw it up and come out with low VRAM cards.

On another note:

Testing custom mounts/stands for the portrait FW900's. These things are harder than you think to securely portrait mount and hold 100lbs!

[stren]

Have you considered those catleap monitors everyone is going crazy about - some of them are hitting 100hz at 1440p?

[Callsign_Vega]

Have you considered those catleap monitors everyone is going crazy about - some of them are hitting 100hz at 1440p?

No, those are still IPS screens with very slow pixel response times. Last time I tested a monitor with similar response times ~12ms Apple 27" Cinema display, the ghosting was horrendous. Also, speeding up the internal electronics will not lessen the pixel response ghosting. Even my 2ms 120Hz TN panel setup had too much ghosting for me. Have you ever used a FW900 before? The difference is night and day between it and LCD. Glass or bust!


(or until OLED becomes mainstream and/or Sony Crystal direct-view surface LED).

[stren]

No, those are still IPS screens with very slow pixel response times. Last time I tested a monitor with similar response times ~12ms Apple 27" Cinema display, the ghosting was horrendous. Also, speeding up the internal electronics will not lessen the pixel response ghosting. Even my 2ms 120Hz TN panel setup had too much ghosting for me. Have you ever used a FW900 before? The difference is night and day between it and LCD. Glass or bust!


(or until OLED becomes mainstream and/or Sony Crystal direct-view surface LED).

Nope I haven't, the last crt monitor I had was a 21" sony and it weighed a ton, I was glad to move to something lighter. I'm intrigued by all you hardcore monitor types and it has retro appeal that's for sure, similar to those still buying music on vinyl I haven't noticed ghosting on my U3011, although I do feel the lag a bit. I don't have the room for the kind of thing you're doing though!

[Callsign_Vega]

Nope I haven't, the last crt monitor I had was a 21" sony and it weighed a ton, I was glad to move to something lighter. I'm intrigued by all you hardcore monitor types and it has retro appeal that's for sure, similar to those still buying music on vinyl I haven't noticed ghosting on my U3011, although I do feel the lag a bit. I don't have the room for the kind of thing you're doing though!

It's just one of those things that you don't notice until you put it right next to something. If you were to put a FW900 next to your current LCD, I guarantee you would notice instantly.

Below is the Skyrim AFK camera spinning with the FW900 in the middle which is fairly clear and two Samsung 2ms 120Hz on either side. Look how bad the blur is now just imagine much slower IPS panels at 60Hz.





I played Starcraft 2 on a Apple 27" cinema display @ 12ms 60Hz and when you scrolled, you literally couldn't see anything. It was a complete blur scrolling around the map and you had to completely stop to discern objects.

Then I loaded up SC2 with the FW900 and fast scrolling around was absolutely crystal clear. The difference was phenomenal and jaw dropping.

[Callsign_Vega]

Monitor supports done, testing setup before working on the Fresnel lens frames/brackets. New keyboard tray mounted to desk.

[defect9]

so, the fresnel lenses is how you're going to get that seamless screen effect, right.

[Callsign_Vega]

so, the fresnel lenses is how you're going to get that seamless screen effect, right.

Yup. The bezel gaps right now are at 4.4 inches and will go down to less than .1 inch (near seem-less) with the Fresnel lens setup installed.

[Manicdan]

i was out of town for 2 weeks and when i got back i saw you list the FW900 monitors. when i googled it i did not expect to see CRTs, but i must say that is the way to go when you have the fresnal lenses since you get the best of both worlds.

epic idea!

[hello im sean]

wow, pretty extreme with the CRT's haha i'm going to have to check out this fresnel lens.

Serious question though, i'm actually considering running a very similar set up to your old build with the AC in the window. Now Id use arduino with a relay board to cycle the temp within a few degrees of dew point to prevent condensation but i'm wondering about a few thing. I want to run this 24/7 and it looks like that res that your evap is in is a few gallons max. When you gamed did that AC unit run 24/7 to keep the res water cold since it didn't hold much? cause 24/7 AC use is a lot of electric. thanks and good luck with your new project!

[Callsign_Vega]

wow, pretty extreme with the CRT's haha i'm going to have to check out this fresnel lens.

Serious question though, i'm actually considering running a very similar set up to your old build with the AC in the window. Now Id use arduino with a relay board to cycle the temp within a few degrees of dew point to prevent condensation but i'm wondering about a few thing. I want to run this 24/7 and it looks like that res that your evap is in is a few gallons max. When you gamed did that AC unit run 24/7 to keep the res water cold since it didn't hold much? cause 24/7 AC use is a lot of electric. thanks and good luck with your new project!

No, it did not run 24/7. It chilled down the water real fast (15,000 BTU window unit). The total volume of liquid was ~7 gallons. I had modified the on-board window A/C circuitry to keep a constant -.5 C liquid temperature and the compressor only had to kick on every 5-10 minutes or so for 1 minute run times.