DNAB... Definitely Not A Banana Intel Core i7 950 ( yay! )

[BenchZowner]

I can't believe this is true, but fortunately ( for me : ) it is
A few days ago... ok, ok! 2 days ago, I tested a Core i7 950 that did 4.8GHz SuperPi 32M on ice ( the regular one, not dry ice ) [ CoreTemp 37C/35C/36C/33C ] and the results were very encouraging ( 5.4GHz-something SuperPi 1M, 5.3GHz AquaMark 3, 5.16GHz Pi32M @ -58Cpot_temp, wPrime at 5.05GHz ).
Today I had a few liters of LN2 ( 12 to be precise ).
Yesterday I started preparing some Windows images with Norton Ghost ( something that made me waste a lot LN2 today :shakes: ) and then recovered the HDD to an all-around Windows XP Pro SP3 installation.

I wanted to test the CPU, but I got tempted to do some AquaMark 3 with a LN2 cooled 5870, so I prepped both the mobo & the VGA for LN2.
I started with CPU on LN2 and an empty Tek-9 3.0 "Fatbody"-cooled 5870 @ stock to check the overclocking capabilities & the "coldbug/coldboot" of the CPU.
I didn't try hard, neither really paid any attention ( I had an old friend here and we had some good laughs during this benching session ) so there might be more or even more than a lot of OC headroom left ( we shall find out soon )

After fooling around in Windows XP I decided to load the Windows 7 x64 image to get some higher AquaMark 3 & 3D Mark03 numbers, but that wasn't the best of ideas I must admit :

Norton Ghost 14 had problems restoring my image, and after 2 tries and lots of waiting, I decided to give Windows Backup a go.
Finally, after 3 minutes or so the image was finally restored and we were ready to go.

Well... that's when I realized that I lost a few scores & screenshots because I forgot to transfer them from the HDD to my USB stick...

I was bored and didn't mod the 5870, so it was SmartDoctor & Afterburner.
Well, the result was 1287MHz / GDDR5-5224 AquaMark 3 @... -179C ( -180C = coldbug : ) @ 1.45Vsomething.

I didn't push the UnCore, nor the RAM ( slacky 8-8-8-28 80 tRFC and 2/8 divider, B2B 12(!) ) just the CPU clock

I lost a nice 393k AQ3 with the card at 900/1200 and 5.54G CPU while saving the screenshot ( damn GPU-z lol and lack of LN2 ).

I also benched SuperPi 1M @ 5.5GHz / DDR3-2400 8-8-8-28 Triple Channel just for fun

I really need a cascade to spend some time testing the CPU and finding the best clocks/timings & settings

I'll leave you with a few screenshots ( well... some of the saved ones )

One of the cb lost screenies


A cr*ppy AQ3 ( full screenie, yay )


A... not so tweaked ( just LSC ) SuperPi 32M on dice


5.57GHz 4cores/8threads CPU-z validation ( pending, x86-secret is down )

I shall be back soon

[chispy]

Nice going Bill , push that uncore a little harder and mem higher next time and you will be in the 400K zone bro. Nice scores.


Regards: Angelo.

[Kriztoffer]

Nice scores!

Unfortunately to hear about the lost results, but you could do them again!

How much uncore is could you actually push?

[sofos1990]

Finally you got a good cpu Bill
Congrats

[BenchZowner]

Here's the CPU info in case you guys want to hunt down the same batch of 950s:

[r1ch]

You've had your fair share of hdd problems over the years eh Bill? How about getting a usb stick and saving them on there so you don't lose them on your hdds?

When you getting more LN2? I should have my first personal delivery in a week or two.

[BenchZowner]

Only lost a few, but I've lost 4 drives while benching the last 1 1/2 years.
Recently I had an HDD on fire for no apparent reason during live OC show in Athens Digital Week 2009

I have a USB stick ( well... used to have 3, but 2 of them died out of sudden ) but it's a small SuperTalent pico-something drive that is very hard to insert/remove, so I save the scores/screenshots to the HDD initially and then ( if everything works out : ) I transfer them to the USB stick before ending the session or switching through OSs.

I need to take care of a few... lots of things this week, but hopefully I'll have some spare time to bench during the weekend ( you know I can't resist, especially now that I have a good CPU to begin with ).

Make sure you're prepared to be ready for your bench session

[r1ch]

Originally Posted by BenchZowner

Only lost a few, but I've lost 4 drives while benching the last 1 1/2 years.
Recently I had an HDD on fire for no apparent reason during live OC show in Athens Digital Week 2009

I have a USB stick ( well... used to have 3, but 2 of them died out of sudden ) but it's a small SuperTalent pico-something drive that is very hard to insert/remove, so I save the scores/screenshots to the HDD initially and then ( if everything works out : ) I transfer them to the USB stick before ending the session or switching through OSs.

I need to take care of a few... lots of things this week, but hopefully I'll have some spare time to bench during the weekend ( you know I can't resist, especially now that I have a good CPU to begin with ).

Make sure you're prepared to be ready for your bench session

I'll be ready, not my first session or LN2 for that matter - just my first batch of LN2 to my house.

Talking about being ready - grab a cheapo USB stick from somewhere, I'd hate for you to waste yet more time, LN2 and even more importantly - all your best scores, by not spending a couple of bucks on a USB stick!

PS. Maybe go easy on the PCI-E overclocking if you've got hdd's dropping like flies.

[BenchZowner]

Had a short session today ( didn't went really well, stupid kneaded eraser insulation on the VGA didn't work well : ), the scores aren't tweaked at all, so don't give me a lecture about the efficiency.
I had to tweak the CPU settings from the beginning since I can't remember the settings I used the other time :
I'm BCLK limited ( and NB temp limited probably, 69C @ boot lol ) and got lots of stuff to check ( ideally on a -130C cascade : ) to see if I can get past that stupid BCLK wall, check the settings & stuff affecting the CBB & CB ( Cold Boot Bug & Cold Bug ) and tweak the RAM sub-timings & cool the RAM with LN2 as well.

The CPU can do 5300+ 3D Mark06, 5500+ AquaMark 3 & Pi 32m, so unless someone can hook me up with a 5.7GHz+ 32m / AquaMark 3 - 5.5GHz 3D Mark06 chip, I'm fine ( somebody ?! )
Will come back soon with proper scores with CPU + VGA/s + RAMs @ LN2 ( maybe LN2 on teh chipset too )