'People treating the i7 965 like a 920?? - Overclock.net

myusernameisdumb · 07-09-09

I'm one of the few people around that decided to get a i7 965 instead of a 920 processor. I've learned a lot from overclocking it now and I'm surprised by how many people who have the 965 on this forum and many other overclock/high performance forums treat the 965 like it's a 920. I think it's because of the vastly larger number of forums posts on overclocking the 920. So people with the 965 are reading them and overclocking them like the 920 because of the lack of info on the 965?? I was actually scared away from such forum advice, realizing the difference between the two processors, so I knew I had to figure things out on my own.

I did glean some useful stuff from 920 forum posts but not a whole lot. As many people know the 965 has the unlocked multiplier and the 920/940 does not. I discovered that simply overclocking the 965 by increasing the multiplier only is the best method for moderate overclocks. I decided to find out how far I could go on multiplier only and not increase any voltages at all. The reason being that voltage increase is mostly where you get your temperature increases from and therefore the need to get advanced cooling solutions to make up the temperature difference. I also discovered that if I overclocked it like a 920 by raising the BCLK, that voltage raising was needed from the get go only after a very little overclock.

Bottom line for 965 owners from what I have learned is that unless they want to go for extreme overclocking, using only the multiplier is the best route. Since I did not want to raise voltage and am happy with a mild to moderate overclock, I found that I could go up from multiplier 24 to 29 and top out at 3.875Ghz speed. If I go to 30 I get up to 4.006Ghz but then need to raise voltages and get higher core temps as a result. But 29 gives me perfect performance and the ability to pass Prime95 ( small FFTs ) for hours on end with the core temps never going over 64C.

Your results may vary since processors vary but I'd recommend trying to do it like I did if you own a 965 or the newer 975. If you are hardcore and going for 5.0Ghz or something you'll have to raise the both multi and the BCLK and have a decent cooler. I have a fairly decent air cooler but the hot summer temps in my room are limiting me.

Dominant · 07-09-09

there is really no point in buying a 965/75 without having liquid cooling at the minimum. Most people with the 920 are running the same clock speed that you are and they have $800 more in their bank account. The extreme's were made for one purpose, extreme overclocking. They were made to be clocked as high as possible with the best cooling available.
So I am not quiet sure what you are trying to say here, that if i shell out $1000 for a processor I should just raise my multi for a mild overclock?

MCBrown.CA · 07-09-09

Who buys the 965 without the intention of extreme overclocking?

i7 920 will do 3.875GHz with ease...

Dopamin3 · 07-09-09

Well the 965 is extremely overpriced and not many people have it. Probably because 920 can be overclocked just as good as the 965 while costing much much less. I'm not familiar with i7 overclocking but I'm sure it is easy to oc your ram and get everything running almost just as good on the 920. If I had that much money to burn I would buy a 920 and extreme cooling instead of the 965.

gbrilliantq · 07-09-09

4.7ghz on my 200 dollar cpu.
http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=590816

965's are great with LN2 or Dice, with Air and even water it's a waste.

slothfish · 07-09-09

It is a COMPLETE waste of money and entirely pointless to buy a 965/975 without the intention of extreme cooling. By extreme cooling I mean at the bare minimum an insane watercooling setup or dry ice/liquid nitrogen. Considering EVERY SINGLE 920 D0 will easily hit 4ghz on air, it looks like you just wasted $800.

jam3s · 07-09-09

The OP's advice is well intended, however this thread fails.

Buy the 920, save yourself some money and spend it on good, effective cooling.

Jason4i7 · 07-09-09

And you know what $800 is, a majorly bad a** loop. Feser Monsta rad, Heatkiller blocks, FrozenQ Invers T-res, premium fittings, twin pumps, and all the fans you could fit into whats left.

tagurtoast · 07-09-09

hmm i would of chosen a cpu at 300 bucks and 800 on wcing with an oc of like 4.5ghz than a 1100 dollar processor with and oc of 3.8ghz

ridn3y · 07-09-09

c'mon guys, give the guy some slack... he just have lots of money that's all...

07-09-09	#1 (permalink)
myusernameisdumb New to Overclock.net Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 13 Rep: 0 Unique Rep: 0 Trader Rating: 0	'People treating the i7 965 like a 920?? I'm one of the few people around that decided to get a i7 965 instead of a 920 processor. I've learned a lot from overclocking it now and I'm surprised by how many people who have the 965 on this forum and many other overclock/high performance forums treat the 965 like it's a 920. I think it's because of the vastly larger number of forums posts on overclocking the 920. So people with the 965 are reading them and overclocking them like the 920 because of the lack of info on the 965?? I was actually scared away from such forum advice, realizing the difference between the two processors, so I knew I had to figure things out on my own. I did glean some useful stuff from 920 forum posts but not a whole lot. As many people know the 965 has the unlocked multiplier and the 920/940 does not. I discovered that simply overclocking the 965 by increasing the multiplier only is the best method for moderate overclocks. I decided to find out how far I could go on multiplier only and not increase any voltages at all. The reason being that voltage increase is mostly where you get your temperature increases from and therefore the need to get advanced cooling solutions to make up the temperature difference. I also discovered that if I overclocked it like a 920 by raising the BCLK, that voltage raising was needed from the get go only after a very little overclock. Bottom line for 965 owners from what I have learned is that unless they want to go for extreme overclocking, using only the multiplier is the best route. Since I did not want to raise voltage and am happy with a mild to moderate overclock, I found that I could go up from multiplier 24 to 29 and top out at 3.875Ghz speed. If I go to 30 I get up to 4.006Ghz but then need to raise voltages and get higher core temps as a result. But 29 gives me perfect performance and the ability to pass Prime95 ( small FFTs ) for hours on end with the core temps never going over 64C. Your results may vary since processors vary but I'd recommend trying to do it like I did if you own a 965 or the newer 975. If you are hardcore and going for 5.0Ghz or something you'll have to raise the both multi and the BCLK and have a decent cooler. I have a fairly decent air cooler but the hot summer temps in my room are limiting me.

		Overclock.net - Overclocking.net > Intel > Intel CPUs
'People treating the i7 965 like a 920??

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)