help with a lga1155 benching build?

[Bobnova]

SS runs anywhere from -30 to -50 depending on the SS and the load.
DIce runs -78c.
That temp difference can be important on some stuff.

Most SS units will be overloaded and warm up if faced with a 7970, DIce won't.

SS for the CPU and DIce for the GPU is a decent combo.

 

[funsoul]

yeah...saw those...thanks again ivanlabrie!

 

[funsoul]

Thanks Bobnova

Ugh...head is swimming...was so sure about great watercooling but now SS. Not sure which way to go :/ Now leaning toward SS for cpu and water for mobo/gpu. Can't help but feel that setup would be better than water with a few rads.

No idea which are the best SS units, whether customs are better than commercials, which commercial one(s) are the best, where to get a good custom one.

 

[Bobnova]

The thing to do is ask yourself one question:

1) How serious am I about top end globals?

If the answer is anything less than "Very", I would skip the 7970 entirely. Either go for GPU HW points with the CPU on DIce or water(if it's a SB) or SS, or go for CPU points with older stuff.
Older stuff is more fun IMO as there isn't nearly the terror of killing parts when the entire cpu/mobo/ram setup cost $90 or the GPU cost $30.

 

[Janus67]

The thing to do is ask yourself one question:

1) How serious am I about top end globals?

If the answer is anything less than "Very", I would skip the 7970 entirely. Either go for GPU HW points with the CPU on DIce or water(if it's a SB) or SS, or go for CPU points with older stuff.
Older stuff is more fun IMO as there isn't nearly the terror of killing parts when the entire cpu/mobo/ram setup cost $90 or the GPU cost $30.

solid advice here.

HW Boints can give you a huge boost, and are a great way to get some real points and experience.

The lack of fear of killing something that cost you $50 is nice as well.

 

[funsoul]

The thing to do is ask yourself one question:

1) How serious am I about top end globals?

If the answer is anything less than "Very", I would skip the 7970 entirely. Either go for GPU HW points with the CPU on DIce or water(if it's a SB) or SS, or go for CPU points with older stuff.
Older stuff is more fun IMO as there isn't nearly the terror of killing parts when the entire cpu/mobo/ram setup cost $90 or the GPU cost $30.

You're a good man Bobnova...thanks for helping put things in perspective. Answer is less than "Very" (more like "that'd be awesome but having a lot of fun benching stuff and just picking up more points and trying to rise through the ranks would be fun").

So...run SS for the cpu and put graphics on water or air. That way, as you pointed out, can shoot for some 2d or 3d points benching every cpu/gpu in the house (starting with this 2700k build) then picking up older, cheaper cpu/mobo/ram combos and vga cards for whatever points can be had. Would of course, with experiences and confidence, have to use the SS on the 3930 and re-bench it and the 680's again

Ditching the 7970 (and going with?) and cutting back the watercooling setup would significantly offset the price of the SS (depending on how much an actually good yet still decent form factor one costs (the one I linked earlier is $800)).

Looping back to the original objective...would the SS(cpu) / Water setup get more overall points than the water setup (parts listed in post1)? The SS would take me out of the enthusiast class.

Any thoughts on what folks think would be a good graphics card that still has some decent boints to be had? Also.....additional SS thoughts very welcomed

Thanks again...I know this thread's getting long and drawn out :/

 

[Bobnova]

That 5770 has some very good boints to be had. The classifieds almost always has 2+ cards that give good boint and cheap.

 

[funsoul]

Took a poke at the 5770 last night...unfortunately it's a sapphire, non-reference so no voltage unlocking whatsoever Shame because load temps at 960MHz hold steady around 53C.

Researching a vmod for it is another one of those things added to the unending "to be researched" list. UPDATE: Found this... http://www.overclock.net/t/1161296/sapphire-5770-vmod-needed-d-hd-pics-datasheet-included not just a simple pencil mod...need soldering and variable resistor. Don't think my eyes are in good enough shape for these kind of mods anymore :/

 

[moocow]

Thanks EarthDog. So...when you say 'several hundred' what kind of ballpark we talking about? The unit I posted is $800. Thought SS would take things down to around -50C (vs -100 for DI).

With DI...I know myself well enough to know that I'd likely not set aside the time and effort to actually do it with some frequency. That's the big appeal of phase for me...more or less plug n' play and can run for extended benching periods without having to manually maintain.

Just trying to check out alternatives to water. Chillers seem ok but from what I've read aren't really worth it as they don't give a huge advantage over water?

Well, he meant buying a cheap phase that is a couple hundred bucks.

People often sell old Promy mach II units for that kind of price.

Once you get into the $300+ range is where you can find quality units 2nd hand but they don't exactly pop up often.

If you don't mind forking out the cash for a new one, Ron (RunMC at XS) makes solid units in the $800-900 range and he can be contacted at his store
http://www.under-the-ice.com/index.php

Sdumper also makes real nice units. He's the US guy for coolerexpress. My unit is pretty much like the coolerexpress, but is supposedly tuned to go a little colder.
The thing to keep in mind about getting a SS with a case is that you're pretty much going to have to take the sides off of it and get some air on the compressor.
After a few hours of running the compressor will literally burn you if you touch it. The larger open units don't get quite as hot since they have a big fan that cools the condensor and compressor at the same time. 120mm fans don't exactly do a great job at cooling 300w of constant heat.


Dice can be alot cheaper if you don't bench as often. Even ln2 can be cheaper than phase if you buy at retail. But if you want to bench all the time it can end up being cheaper in the long run. Just don't expect to max out your CPU on it.

 

[funsoul]

Awesome info moocow! So...any good places you recommend to stalk for a quality 2nd hand unit? $300-400 would make this a (more or less) no-brainer, once in the $800+ range it's a bit tougher.

Definitely need to be somewhat realistic...I know that less cold will never do better than really cold hehe Still a lot to learn before I even think of pulling the trigger on phase.

 

[moocow]

Check around the various forums classifieds sections if you feel like checking for a bit every day. But keep in mind that these things pop up for sale once every few months so its not like they are constantly for sale.

 

[funsoul]

Thanks moocow

 

[funsoul]

What do ya'll think of this one (thanks out to xsuperbgx for the lead)? http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1708702

Other than 'which gas?' and 'cooling wattage?', what other questions should I be asking? Slowly making my way up the learning curve but still early days so appreciate everyone's thoughts on this.

EDIT: Says 300watts...that should definitely be sufficient for cooling any single cpu, correct?

 

[Bobnova]

Temperature at wattage load is the key thing, really.
300w will do you fine for CPU usage.
GPU wise, you'd need a lot more.

 

[funsoul]

Temperature at wattage load is the key thing, really.
300w will do you fine for CPU usage.
GPU wise, you'd need a lot more.

Thanks again Bobnova. Will use air or water for the gpu (depending on the card)

 

[ivanlabrie]

If you get that thing you'll be pleased!
Looking forward to your results/pics.

 

[funsoul]

Sent him a couple pm's with questions and such. Figure jump if it's the right one. It'll suck to have it sitting around until i learn enough to run it without bad things happening hehe.

First test subject will be the "main" setup in my sig. See if the mobo can get past it's current wall of 486.

I'm kinda excited actually Only downside is I'll go from being decent in the enthusiast league to likely sucking in the pros :/

 

[Janus67]

You won't go to the pro league. Just the overclockers league. The pros is for people that are sponsored or get a lot of free hardware. Or those that get high end review samples (hokie is the only one on our team).

 

[funsoul]

You won't go to the pro league. Just the overclockers league. The pros is for people that are sponsored or get a lot of free hardware. Or those that get high end review samples (hokie is the only one on our team).

Yeah..thanks Janus...took the time to re-read the info at hwbot. OK...so...will go from decent in enthusiast to sucky-but-still-fun in overclockers hehe

 

[Janus67]

lol, but remember, a lot of points will carry over, and it is a LOT easier to get boints with sub-zero