Extreme Benching Project - Thoughts

Mmmm, the extreme cooling section.. niceee

So I have to admit it.. I've been tweaking my rig now for some time, and I have to say pushing components past their limit is well... deliciously addictive!

As a result I have decided to take on overclocking hardware for the sake of benchmarking as a hobby... I plan to apply to the OC Forums benchmarking team, I'm just waiting on a few things before I go ahead and submit my HWbot stuff...

Now.. the setup I have in mind is going to be a Socket 775 rig for starters, with LN2 and DICE cooling on the CPU (and possible later on GPU)... I found out that there's a supplier for both liquid nitrogen and dry ice 10 minutes away from me which makes this whole thing much more possible... Also, custom heatsink air cooling on the RAM sticks, and liquid cooling on the Northbridge, Southbridge and mosfets... Since the price of Socket 775 CPUs is quite reasonable these days, I plan to buy many CPUs (and GPUs) and see just how far I can push each one with next to no qualms about frying a chip or 2...

Anyway:

The components I was planning on using are:

Mobo: Gigabyte EP45-UD3P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358&Tpk=IGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P

RAM: G.SKILL 2x1GB DDR2 1066
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231144

CPU: ALL of them mwahahaha

The LN2/DICE pot i had in mind is the Koolance CPU-LN2-V2
http://www.koolance.com/water-cooling/product_info.php?product_id=972

The RAM sinks I had in mind are the Thermalright HR-07 (will attach 80mm fan):
http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/product_page/ram/hr07/product_ram_cooler_hr07.htm

And for the liquid cooling setup for the NB, SB and mosfets is as follows:

Radiator: MCR320QP Radiator w/ 6x Ultra Kaze 3000 push/pull
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=20090&vpn=MCR320-QP-K&manufacture=Swiftech
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185054&Tpk=utra kaze 3000

Pump: MCP355 w/ XSPC Acetal Top
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=20141&vpn=MCP355&manufacture=Swiftech
http://www.petrastechshop.com/xstopforladd.html

Reservoir: EK Multioption Res 250 Rev. 2
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=25354&vpn=3830046994028&manufacture=EK Water Blocks

Northbridge Block: EK SB 5 Intel Northbridge Chipset Acetal LC block
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7...id_Cooling_Block_Acetal_EK-NBSB_5_Acetal.html

Southbridge Block: EK Gigabyte Southbridge X38/X48 Chipset Cooling block (Yes, it is compatible with the above mentioned motherboard's southbridge)
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7...GA_X3848.html?tl=g30c89s149&id=CA7ngoaU#blank

MOSFET Blocks: EK Gigabyte Chipset Motherboard Mosfet Liquid Cooling Block Kit
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/9..._Acetal_EK-Mosfet_GA_2X_KIT-Acetal.html#blank

So.... I was wondering if anyone had any input as to my choice of motherboard/ram and the overall setup you see here in regards to extreme levels of overclocking.. Is the Koolance pot a good one? Does this overall setup even make sense?? LN2/DICE on the CPU, water on the chipsets?? Has anyone tried this before?

I'm very excited and keen to traverse into the realm of extreme cooling, so please give me your thoughts, ideas, or suggestions!!

Cheers.

P.s. There is no such word as overkill in my dictionary, just fyi...

Gomeler did a great writeup on the Koolance pot over on XS. The first version was a decent DICE pot but really lacked temp stability to be a LN2 pot. The V2 is a lot better on LN2, but it still was not the best pot out there (still a good pickup for the price). Check out http://kingpincooling.com for the what most people consider the best pot you can buy. There are a handful of people who make them in their free time, and one or two of them can rival/better the F1EE in performance. There is also a handful that make them for fun and their products are very good as well, and are usually a good bit cheaper than the F1EE.

If you are wanting to get pretty serious in benching, and you have the cash to throw at s775, I would suggest an Asus Rampage Extreme. It is one of the best, if not the best, board for s775 benching. The 3d2001 single gpu WR was just broke using one of these bad boys and a 275 Lightning from MSI.

I'm a little worried that you are spending too much $$$ on a platform that has reached EoL, and on parts that probably wont be able to be reused. With 1165 and 1366 being out for a while now, it seems wrong to dump money into a board with so many parts that are more than likely only going to work for a few boards. The MOSFET blocks for instance cost close to $80, yet the compatibility list shows only P35/45 boards from Gigabyte. If Miah doesn't mind, I would like to show you a more practical approach to ram cooling, Miahallen's Ram Cooling Fans. Two small fans lashed together and sitting on top pointing down. Saves money and will do the job. Don't forget that 1156 and 1366 don't have the chipsets that s775 had. So you would only be able to reuse one of them when you move up to i7 and beyond (if either of them fit when you upgrade). I would suggest reinvesting this money into a better pot, or towards going with an i7 compatible motherboard.

Just my $0.02 worth, and I hope some of the other guys see this too.

very cool. and come see us in at the bench team. new members always welcome. no reason to wait, all that you have to do is submit the scores and talk with one of the bench admins and you are there. if you are worried about scores, you can always better them when you can. that is a big part of the fun, setting a score and then beating it, over and over. hehe. there is also alot of good tips there and a good group of helping members.

Khemikal said:

Gomeler did a great writeup on the Koolance pot over on XS. The first version was a decent DICE pot but really lacked temp stability to be a LN2 pot. The V2 is a lot better on LN2, but it still was not the best pot out there (still a good pickup for the price). Check out http://kingpincooling.com for the what most people consider the best pot you can buy.

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Nice, this is exactly what I was looking for.. I wasn't sure if the koolance pot was that good, and while it seems to be alright (according to the review you suggested), I like the look of Kingpin's line of pots better...

Khemikal said:

If you are wanting to get pretty serious in benching, and you have the cash to throw at s775, I would suggest an Asus Rampage Extreme. It is one of the best, if not the best, board for s775 benching. The 3d2001 single gpu WR was just broke using one of these bad boys and a 275 Lightning from MSI.

Click to expand...

Yeah I was thinking about the Rampage... the only problem is I can't find anywhere that still sells it!

Khemikal said:

I'm a little worried that you are spending too much $$$ on a platform that has reached EoL, and on parts that probably wont be able to be reused. With 1165 and 1366 being out for a while now, it seems wrong to dump money into a board with so many parts that are more than likely only going to work for a few boards. The MOSFET blocks for instance cost close to $80, yet the compatibility list shows only P35/45 boards from Gigabyte.

Click to expand...

The price of the actual components for the computer only comes out to be around $400, which for me is a good starting point for me.. I know those water blocks are expensive and don't have great compatibility, so i've been looking for some replacements... So far I have nothing but I'll keep on looking and post back here after I've revised everything a bit...

Khemikal said:

If Miah doesn't mind, I would like to show you a more practical approach to ram cooling, Miahallen's Ram Cooling Fans. Two small fans lashed together and sitting on top pointing down. Saves money and will do the job.

Click to expand...

Lol, you just saved me $50

Khemikal said:

Don't forget that 1156 and 1366 don't have the chipsets that s775 had. So you would only be able to reuse one of them when you move up to i7 and beyond (if either of them fit when you upgrade). I would suggest reinvesting this money into a better pot, or towards going with an i7 compatible motherboard.

Click to expand...

I've solved part of this problem by deciding against the Northbridge water block and instead buying the Kingpin northbridge pot.. That way not only will it be compatible with later sockets, but I actually save money because I don't have to buy a new block when I go to upgrade

Thanks for your help, this information is really making me think which is a good thing!

dejo said:

very cool. and come see us in at the bench team. new members always welcome. no reason to wait, all that you have to do is submit the scores and talk with one of the bench admins and you are there. if you are worried about scores, you can always better them when you can. that is a big part of the fun, setting a score and then beating it, over and over. hehe. there is also alot of good tips there and a good group of helping members.

Click to expand...

Hehe, alright then I'll get everything sorted and submit my scores later on today...

welcome, we love new members. team security. we love our benching, hopefully you will too. If you have any issues or questions the guys are great and super knowledgable. So make yourself at home

Can always cool ram with a 120mm ducted down to ram size with cardboard

Bobnova said:

Can always cool ram with a 120mm ducted down to ram size with cardboard

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It always amazes me just how many things one can use an empty box of frosted flakes for... I've actually stopped throwing away all my cereal boxes since I started building computers XD

Out of interest, would you have the fan pushing air over the RAM or pulling air from them?

dejo said:

welcome, we love new members. team security. we love our benching, hopefully you will too. If you have any issues or questions the guys are great and super knowledgable. So make yourself at home

Click to expand...

Thanks, there does seem to be a pretty awesome community of benchers on this forum as far as i can tell

And.. I submitted my HWbot stuff and sent a PM... so let's see what happens....

d4rkst4r said:

It always amazes me just how many things one can use an empty box of frosted flakes for... I've actually stopped throwing away all my cereal boxes since I started building computers XD

Out of interest, would you have the fan pushing air over the RAM or pulling air from them?

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i would opt for pushing as you will get colder air over them as apposed to pulling warmer air over them from the board area.

then again if you have enough air flow it shouldn't make a huge difference.

Spawn-Inc said:

i would opt for pushing as you will get colder air over them as apposed to pulling warmer air over them from the board area.

then again if you have enough air flow it shouldn't make a huge difference.

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Pushing it is then.. I was originally thinking that pulling would be better, but I didn't take into consideration the heat from the mobo and nearby components..

And for what I'm planning the more cooling the merrier.. plus it'll be a purely testing rig, so too much fan noise or anything is not an issue at all since it will be setup in my basement and only on when i'm benching..

Donno, depends on what you're up to.
If there is a wash of nitrogen flowing out of the pot and down to the mobo then a fan sucking from the ram area would pull that nitrogen past the ram and out the fan. Good cold stuff, that.

If the nitrogen is going elsewhere, i would have the fan blow air down onto the ram. Ideally getting it's air from where ever the nitrogen is going.

Bobnova said:

Donno, depends on what you're up to.
If there is a wash of nitrogen flowing out of the pot and down to the mobo then a fan sucking from the ram area would pull that nitrogen past the ram and out the fan. Good cold stuff, that.

If the nitrogen is going elsewhere, i would have the fan blow air down onto the ram. Ideally getting it's air from where ever the nitrogen is going.

Click to expand...

good point, but if there is a wash of nitrogen, it would likely be sucked into the fans pushing on the ram.

maybe even cut a sheet of cardboard (again cereal boxes come in handy) so it can only go to the fans for the ram.

Bobnova said:

Donno, depends on what you're up to.
If there is a wash of nitrogen flowing out of the pot and down to the mobo then a fan sucking from the ram area would pull that nitrogen past the ram and out the fan. Good cold stuff, that.

If the nitrogen is going elsewhere, i would have the fan blow air down onto the ram. Ideally getting it's air from where ever the nitrogen is going.

Click to expand...

Oh man, I totally forgot about the liquid nitrogen right next door to the ram.. in that case yeah it would be great for the ram to have a fan blowing over them to snatch up all that delicious cold air