JD's i7 Build

[JD]

Well I don't have any creative names for my PC, so plain and simple

Components from Dazmode:


Watercool HEATKILLER® CPU Rev3.0 1366 Nickel Plated, Heatkiller Backplate, Lamptron FC4 fan controller and a bottle of Feser One UV Blue Fluid.

Components from NCIX:


Intel Core i7 920 D0, ASUS P6TD Deluxe, Mushkin Blackline 3x2GB DDR3-1600 7-9-7-24

Components being re-used:

Sapphire Vapor-X HD4890, ASUS Xonar DX, Dual Western Digital 640GB Blacks, Pioneer DVR-212D (casing painted black), Antec Quattro 850W, Swiftech MCR220, XSPC Dual-DDC reservoir, Swiftech MCP355, Silverstone FT01-BW w/ dual FM181 (180mm) and Gelid Wing 12 (120mm)

The Build:

--Steps/comments are following the order of the images--

I decided it was best to install the backplate first, then I wouldn't have to worry about getting my fingers all over the CPU. It was a bit finicky to install as I had to hold the stand off and a washer on the top-side of the motherboard, then slide the red spacer over the bolt on the backside, and finally screw the stand-off into the backplate. It was a bit of a balancing act to get it to go, but I managed. Definitely room for improvement here though.

Once the backplate was in, I put the CPU in. I was kind of surprised how loose the retention mechanism was when it was unlocked which was worrying. However once locked, it becomes solid again. Then I appiled my MX-3 and sat down the Heatkiller. I tried my best to measure the screws, but my caliper was out of batteries and it didn't really fit in there anyways. Using a trusty ruler, it was around 19-20mm on each screw and the suggested is 19.6mm.

Finally was to put the RAM in, which I later realised I used the wrong slots. Apparently you need to use the orange ones with 3 DIMMs (guess you should read the manual first eh?). One thing I wasn't aware of was that the SB heatsink has a white LED in it, which illuminates the whole bottom of my case basically. Not really too sure of it's purpose. If it was on when the PC was shutdown, that would make some more sense since it allows you to see the CMOS jumper and various connections down there.

Also the motherboard itself seems really well built, with a high attention to detail. Like all the components are squarely placed, heatsinks aren't scratched, the SB heatsink had plastic on it and the main heatsinks are screwed down rather than using push-pins.

Not pictured, but I had to fix up a bunch of cabling behind the motherboard tray. Wired up some things custom to help manage things. Not really proud of anything I did there though, so no need to show that off

Then I ran all the tubing, nothing noteworthy here. And filled it up with Feser One. No leaks either.

End results:

Post-Build Comments:

Well firstly I apparently didn't fully one of the power plugs into my GPU, so it didn't POST first go. Had me a little worried at first. Also I found out about my RAM being in the wrong slots too. After fixing that though, it fired up fine.

Decided to boot into ExpressGate first time around just to check it out. Starts nearly instantly and runs alright, though you can tell there's no GPU acceleration. It also only would run 1280x1024 rather than 1680x1050 (native res of my LCD). Has Firefox, Pidgin (instant messaging), and Skype. Nothing fancy, but it works. Obviously Linux based.

BIOS wise, standard AMI BIOS basically. Kind of miss having all the temperature and voltage readouts my Maximus Formula had, but I'll get used to it.

Fan controller sucks. Really doesn't work at all as it makes the fans (or maybe the controller) buzz loudly. Definitely not something you could pass-by as background noise. And even at half-way (just before the buzzing) it doesn't seem like the fan speed is reduced at all. Luckily the FM181s have their own speed knobs so I've reverted back to using those. And the S-FLEX "F"s are pretty quiet anyways, and the GELID Wing 12 is running on the motherboard with Q-Fan. Only real benefit is that I only need 1 molex to power 4 fans I guess.

Temperature wise, not too sure if I just have a bad mount, or LinX is really stressful, but CPU temps are on the high side. Nearing 80C under LinX. However as most people say, you'll never do anything as stressful so don't be worried. I still think I'll play with the screws, maybe tighten them some more and see if it has any effect. Also possible that there isn't enough/too much TIM as well, but that's a bit more of a pain to check into.

Anyways that's about it. I'm quite happy with the way it all ended up turning out.

[JD]

Currently running 4.2GHz with Turbo/SpeedStep/HT all enabled. So Turbo speed ends up being 4.4GHz, which seems to run until the temperature hits 75C, then it backs down to 4.2GHz.

The BIOS settings are as follows:
BCLK: 210MHz
DRAM: 1683MHz
CPU Voltage: 1.38125V
PLL: 1.96V
QPI/DRAM Core: 1.3V
IOH: 1.3V
ICH: 1.1V
DRAM Bus: 1.64V
Load-Line Calibration: Enabled
CPU Differential Amplitude: 900mV
RAM Timings are stock, so 7-9-7-24-1N


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3DMark06


ORB - Compare

And to compare to my old X3350 @ 3.4GHz, and the HD4890 at the same clocks:



Summary: SM2.0 went up ~1000 points, SM3.0 went up ~1500 points, CPU went up ~1300 points. Now of course the drivers are different too, and my X3350 benchmark was done under Windows 7 RC. So some of the point differences could be from that as well.

SuperPi



Summary: 1M came in at 9.295s and 32M came in at 8m 32.571s. Unfortunately all I have to compare to my X3350 is 1M, which was 13.730s, so it's a fair bit faster now. Don't have any saved 32M runs though.

wPrime 2.00



Summary: 32M came in at 5.891s compared to my X3350 which did 11.520s. And for 1024M the i7 did 178.915s (~2m 58s 54ms) compared to my X3350 that did 6m 4s 90ms. Quite the difference here.

[SugarJ]

Originally Posted by jdrom17

The fan controller also looks quite well built and the black aluminum should go fine with my Silverstone FT01-BW. Kind of wish it didn't say FAN1, FAN2, etc on it though.

You could try using some Goof-off to remove the printing. That's how I took the logos off my TJ-07.

[AmuseMe]

JD, what fan is that?

[JD]

Originally Posted by SugarJ

You could try using some Goof-off to remove the printing. That's how I took the logos off my TJ-07.

Interesting. I'll give it a go and see then. I guess it would be wise to tape off the rest though?

Originally Posted by AmuseMe

JD, what fan is that?

The one in the background? That's the Silverstone FM181 which is to replace the stock FN181 in the top of my case. I've already swapped out the front one, just that the top needs the motherboard to be pulled. Got them since they run from 500-1300RPM where as the stock fans are fixed at 750RPM. With the fan controller, I'll be able to boost up the airflow or make it silent depending what I'm doing.

[ImmaPC]

(NVM)

That heatkiller looks sweeeeet. I dunno, this and the Apogee XT are hella close.\

It's about time we get a nice straight-up build around here. All these paintjobs people do, and all these other mods and stuff aren't bad, but this is a nice refresh.

[TokeR]

Looking good, I really like that CPU block the Heatkiller, is there a full name for it or something I would really like to put one in my build and can not find any CPU called Heatkiller that looks like that one lol.

[JD]

Originally Posted by ImmaPC

That heatkiller looks sweeeeet. I dunno, this and the Apogee XT are hella close.\

Doesn't Swiftech have some QA issues though? German engineering/production FTW

Originally Posted by TokeR

Looking good, I really like that CPU block the Heatkiller, is there a full name for it or something I would really like to put one in my build and can not find any CPU called Heatkiller that looks like that one lol.

It's a nickel-plated Watercool HEATKILLER® CPU Rev3.0, or as Dazmode listed it: DAZMODE LIMITED EDITION HEATKILLER Rev3.0 1366 VERNICKELT

[SugarJ]

Originally Posted by jdrom17

Interesting. I'll give it a go and see then. I guess it would be wise to tape off the rest though?

Absolutely, if you don't want to remove the other markings. Just pour a small amount on a cloth and rub gently. If it doesn't come off easily, then the markings are epoxy based, and you'll need to find another remover. Do it outside, the stuff reeks, but evaporates quickly. It's xylene based IIRC.

[lesterc]

the heatkiller looks sweet