Best GPU for an old PC (ASRock X58 Extreme)?

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Jul 18, 2022
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I have an ~10 year old system an am considering a GPU upgrade to allow for some modest more moderate gaming. It has an ASRock X58 Extreme motherboard, i7 920 CPU (mildly overclocked), 12 GB memory, and currently has a Radeon 7950.
The mobo specs list:
- 3 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots (blue @ x16 mode, orange @ x4 mode) (Double-wide slot spacing between each PCI-E slot)
(full specs: https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/X58 Extreme/)

I'm curious if modern cards (such as the RTX series) would even be compatible with my system and if so, what level should I look at? RTX 3050 maybe? I don't want to waste money buying a better GPU when other components are the bottleneck.
 
I'm sure your system will handle a modern card. But, it won't won't push one to it's fullest potential.

A lot depends on what you do with the system. If you are playing old games at 4k then the graphics card will play a much larger role. Some modern games will just struggle on the 920, period. The IPC is less than half what you find on modern processors.

Personally, I'd look at a 3060 or 3060ti, but, that's based on what I personally would prefer to spend my money on and what I'd expect to get out of it. Specifically, I'd be able to take advantage of the mid tier performance if I upgraded the CPU down the road. Sort of a tick-tock upgrade path. This tends to be a very personal decision, so, do what you think is best for you.

I don't have any 20 or 30 series benchmarks with my old 920, also with 12GB ram, but here are some 10 series I ran a while back that may give you an idea of the performance difference for that generation. I may pull a 3060 and 3060ti and try these again soon.

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Here is the CPUZ score compared to a 9900k at stock speeds.
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I'm sure your system will handle a modern card. But, it won't won't push one to it's fullest potential.

A lot depends on what you do with the system. If you are playing old games at 4k then the graphics card will play a much larger role. Some modern games will just struggle on the 920, period. The IPC is less than half what you find on modern processors.

Personally, I'd look at a 3060 or 3060ti, but, that's based on what I personally would prefer to spend my money on and what I'd expect to get out of it. Specifically, I'd be able to take advantage of the mid tier performance if I upgraded the CPU down the road. Sort of a tick-tock upgrade path. This tends to be a very personal decision, so, do what you think is best for you.

I don't have any 20 or 30 series benchmarks with my old 920, also with 12GB ram, but here are some 10 series I ran a while back that may give you an idea of the performance difference for that generation. I may pull a 3060 and 3060ti and try these again soon.

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Here is the CPUZ score compared to a 9900k at stock speeds.
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Thanks for the insight and data! It sounds like a Xeon and something like the 3060 might be the way to go! GPU prices are still a little higher than I'd like, so I may hold off on that for now and evaluate what performance is like we the CPU upgrade first before deciding exactly which GPU to go with.
 
Playing around with this calculator says that even a 1660 will bottleneck badly with an i7-920 at 1080p.

https://pc-builds.com/bottleneck-calculator/result/0ds196/1920x1080/3/graphic-card-intense-tasks/

A formerly high end Xeon would make the 1660 run reasonably well:
https://pc-builds.com/bottleneck-calculator/result/0kz13w/1920x1080/3/graphic-card-intense-tasks/

But still struggle to feed a 3060.
https://pc-builds.com/bottleneck-calculator/result/0kz185/1920x1080/3/graphic-card-intense-tasks/

A 3050 Ti would probably be unbottlenecked (but they only had the laptop model to compare with); their estimate is that this card would be just as fast with the rest of your old hardware as the more expensive 3060.
https://pc-builds.com/bottleneck-calculator/result/0kz18R/1920x1080/3/graphic-card-intense-tasks/


I wouldn't view this as the last word; the identical 3050/3060 results imply that they're using some sort of model to calculate the results not a giant benchmark database; but it would be indicative of where you'll start running into problems.
 
Thanks for the insight and data! It sounds like a Xeon and something like the 3060 might be the way to go! GPU prices are still a little higher than I'd like, so I may hold off on that for now and evaluate what performance is like we the CPU upgrade first before deciding exactly which GPU to go with.
Are you overclocking the 920? The single core IPC of these Xeons are identical to your 920. Need the higher clocks to make a difference. Most of these will hit 4 - 4.2 GHz. You'll get two extra cores and four threads. So, for most games and single threaded tasks you'll notice no difference in performance.

Just make sure your MB can handle it. Hate to push a board to hard and lose it.

If you are not overclocking anything splurge for the X5690. It's not much more cost and the base clock will get you to 3.46 GHZ.

But, if your purpose is gaming, I'd put the money towards a GPU that you can take with yo on y our next build. You'll get more performance upgrading the graphics card. Here's my old Xeons for reference. The shaded areas show CPU's with different clocks and a different platform with a single and then SLI'd 1080ti's. Bottom series of numbers show way more bang upgrading the GPU's. YMMV depending on what you're doing with your system.

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Are you overclocking the 920? The single core IPC of these Xeons are identical to your 920. Need the higher clocks to make a difference. Most of these will hit 4 - 4.2 GHz. You'll get two extra cores and four threads. So, for most games and single threaded tasks you'll notice no difference in performance.

Just make sure your MB can handle it. Hate to push a board to hard and lose it.

If you are not overclocking anything splurge for the X5690. It's not much more cost and the base clock will get you to 3.46 GHZ.

But, if your purpose is gaming, I'd put the money towards a GPU that you can take with yo on y our next build. You'll get more performance upgrading the graphics card. Here's my old Xeons for reference. The shaded areas show CPU's with different clocks and a different platform with a single and then SLI'd 1080ti's. Bottom series of numbers show way more bang upgrading the GPU's. YMMV depending on what you're doing with your system.

View attachment 495239
If overclocking, a x5680 and x5690 wont be to far off from each other in max clocks (4-4.2 is about right) the x5690 is still a bit if a premium in price over the x5680 yet they are very similar chips

I would be comfortable throwing a 3060 at the rig and efficient games capable of using 12 threads won't struggle too much. Heavily single threaded games will still pose a issue to the old arch.

May also be worth looking at older cards a 1080ti, 980ti or other old cool cards would make a neat and pretty functional gaming rig.
 
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I know this is kind of an odd thing to say given the reviews... but maybe get one of those intel cards A380/A770 on the cheap. Performance on them isn't great but if it lines up with the rest of the system and the price is right why not?
 
I know this is kind of an odd thing to say given the reviews... but maybe get one of those intel cards A380/A770 on the cheap. Performance on them isn't great but if it lines up with the rest of the system and the price is right why not?

Because they need rebar, or else they run like crap and his PC doesn't support rebar.
 
I posted this in another thread recently, and it matches what others are saying. You may find it interesting:

Original thread: https://hardforum.com/threads/upgrade-this-gaming-rig-or-gut-it-and-rebuild.2020671/

I'm probably the crazy one for posting this but I'm also the definition of frugal (my 2009 Lynnfield CPU system in signature plays the modern games I like at acceptable performance), but why not check out Tech Yes City on youtube, who still does a lot of X58 related videos on his channel. https://www.youtube.com/c/techyescity/videos

You have a classic X58 overclockers motherboard that has a lot of capability with something like a $7 six-core/12-thread Xeon X5660 or preferably a $15 six-core/12-thread Xeon X5675:
https://hardforum.com/threads/asus-rampage-iii-formula-overclock-guide.1951200/
https://hardforum.com/threads/1366-x58-xeon-enthusiast-overclocks-club.1820772/
https://overclock-then-game.com/index.php/benchmarks/1-x5660-full-review

One problem to consider is the lack of AVX instruction set on these old CPUs....

If you don't want to overclock, pick up a $35 six-core/12-thread 3.46 GHz Xeon X5690

DDR3 1600 is dirt cheap on ebay, and upgrading to 16GB dual channel or 24GB triple channel really wouldn't cost much.....or keep your 2GB sticks and pick up three 4GB sticks for 18GB triple channel.

I can't offer much suggestion on video card's, but Tech YES City can probably offer some guidance there on a card that would match the old Xeon in an X58 motherboard! Something like a 1080Ti, RTX 2070, or RTX 3060 would probably be the limit.

https://overclock-then-game.com/ind...iew-kana-s-finewine-edition?showall=&start=14

If you are really being budget conscious, upgrading what you have may hold you over awhile until Zen4, DDR5, etc really gets established!
 
SublimeHiPpOs Here are some 3060 and 3060 Ti results.

The good news - Yes, 30 series NV GPU's work fine on this older platform. You should see a substantial uplift in gaming performance compared to your current GPU. You can push the eye candy and resolution before the GPU becomes an issue.

The bad news - You can clearly see that the CPU is bottlenecking the GPU heavily. You may want look at a platform upgrade to push a newer GPU to it's potential.

Have fun on your upgrade journey!

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SublimeHiPpOs Here are some 3060 and 3060 Ti results.

The good news - Yes, 30 series NV GPU's work fine on this older platform. You should see a substantial uplift in gaming performance compared to your current GPU. You can push the eye candy and resolution before the GPU becomes an issue.

The bad news - You can clearly see that the CPU is bottlenecking the GPU heavily. You may want look at a platform upgrade to push a newer GPU to it's potential.

Have fun on your upgrade journey!

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Thanks to you and everyone else for all of the thoughtful input. I just got an x5680 off eBay for $18 delivered. I've installed it but haven't had time to mess with it at all. Out of the box it looks like it's under-clocked (guessing I had manually set a multiplier in the BIOS for my 920).
CPU-Z x5680 bench 20220802.jpg
CPU-Z x5680 CPU 20220802.jpg


I'll likely try to do some mild overclocking. I haven't really messed with that since earlier in the system's life, but would like to take advantage of whatever easy gains are available, while prioritizing stability/reliability. Any tips on what settings/values to try would be appreciated. Thanks again!
 
Probably said in the thread but an x58 at 4ghz is pretty easy, if not 4.2ghz, and at 4k resolution the card is usually the limiter and the cou doesn't matter so much, generally. Cpu bottle necks were more 1080p.

That being said, I would shoot for an nvidia 1080, 2070, or 3060ti-3080ti and any between, or AMD equivalents rx5700 and so on. A 3090 ti would be overkill lol. I don't know how much bandwidth you need for each card for a gen2 pcie x16, but would guess those cards would fall under or be close enough. For 4K I would go for 3080 ti or not, 12gb either way being ideal unless you can get a deal on the older 10gb where it might make sense financially. Mining is ending, who knows you might snag a 3090 for cheap, I believe Woot just had a 3090 for $950, albeit likely of a questionable quality.

I haven't actually tried 20 or 30 series on x58, but I've heard they still work on that platform.

I still run my 4.2ghz xeon x5670, 6 core 12 threads. Ddr3-2000 with 3x4gb. Yeah alder lake smashes it core to core but if you do 2k-4k resolution it doesn't matter so much. Aside from nice things like bootable nvme without clover/etc, and better usb 3, if you ignore benchmarks there isn't much the venerable x58 can't still do! I'd love to find a 1tb samsung m2 drive with legacy boot for a reasonable price, and cram in 6x8gb of ddr3-2400 but probably never will because money. That and I have an x299 system, with an i9-7940x for 14c/28t and 8x8gb of ddr4, it's a great step up from x58, still lacking core to core versus alder lake but tons of power!
 
Thanks to you and everyone else for all of the thoughtful input. I just got an x5680 off eBay for $18 delivered. I've installed it but haven't had time to mess with it at all. Out of the box it looks like it's under-clocked (guessing I had manually set a multiplier in the BIOS for my 920).
View attachment 497314View attachment 497315

I'll likely try to do some mild overclocking. I haven't really messed with that since earlier in the system's life, but would like to take advantage of whatever easy gains are available, while prioritizing stability/reliability. Any tips on what settings/values to try would be appreciated. Thanks again!
What motherboard? Write up that and ram, and cooling info. If its on a signature I missed it cause I'm on mobile...

Take pics of memory, cpu, voltages before making changes so you can reference. Some motherboards had "Slots" you could save the settings to for backup, but they weren't 100% reliable usually.

Most enthusiast motherboards could hit 166, 180, or my favorite 200 easily on bus, leaving the CPU multiplier as is would net you 4ghz right now, but you'll need ~1.25V vcore give or take depending on cpu quality. You'll need to adjust memory multiplier after changing bus speeds.

Qpi link is up to you, 2400-3200 is usually fine.
 
Probably said in the thread but an x58 at 4ghz is pretty easy, if not 4.2ghz, and at 4k resolution the card is usually the limiter and the cou doesn't matter so much, generally. Cpu bottle necks were more 1080p.

That being said, I would shoot for an nvidia 1080, 2070, or 3060ti-3080ti and any between, or AMD equivalents rx5700 and so on. A 3090 ti would be overkill lol. I don't know how much bandwidth you need for each card for a gen2 pcie x16, but would guess those cards would fall under or be close enough. For 4K I would go for 3080 ti or not, 12gb either way being ideal unless you can get a deal on the older 10gb where it might make sense financially. Mining is ending, who knows you might snag a 3090 for cheap, I believe Woot just had a 3090 for $950, albeit likely of a questionable quality.

I haven't actually tried 20 or 30 series on x58, but I've heard they still work on that platform.

I still run my 4.2ghz xeon x5670, 6 core 12 threads. Ddr3-2000 with 3x4gb. Yeah alder lake smashes it core to core but if you do 2k-4k resolution it doesn't matter so much. Aside from nice things like bootable nvme without clover/etc, and better usb 3, if you ignore benchmarks there isn't much the venerable x58 can't still do! I'd love to find a 1tb samsung m2 drive with legacy boot for a reasonable price, and cram in 6x8gb of ddr3-2400 but probably never will because money. That and I have an x299 system, with an i9-7940x for 14c/28t and 8x8gb of ddr4, it's a great step up from x58, still lacking core to core versus alder lake but tons of power!
Good info, and nice rig! My goal is 1440p with reasonable quality settings.
 
What motherboard? Write up that and ram, and cooling info. If its on a signature I missed it cause I'm on mobile...

Take pics of memory, cpu, voltages before making changes so you can reference. Some motherboards had "Slots" you could save the settings to for backup, but they weren't 100% reliable usually.

Most enthusiast motherboards could hit 166, 180, or my favorite 200 easily on bus, leaving the CPU multiplier as is would net you 4ghz right now, but you'll need ~1.25V vcore give or take depending on cpu quality. You'll need to adjust memory multiplier after changing bus speeds.

Qpi link is up to you, 2400-3200 is usually fine.
ASRock X58 Extreme: https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/X58 Extreme/ (it does offer 3 slots in the OC menu to save/load settings.)
12 GB RAM: OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK : https://www.newegg.com/ocz-6gb-240-pin-ddr3-sdram/p/N82E16820227365

ZALMAN CNPS9900ALED 120mm 2 Ball Low-noise Blue LED CPU Cooler: https://www.newegg.com/zalman-cnps9900aled/p/N82E16835118046?Item=N82E16835118046

850 watt Corsair PSU.

Here are my specs, via Speccy:

Summary
Operating System
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
CPU
Intel Xeon X5680 @ 3.33GHz 28 °C
Westmere-EP 32nm Technology
RAM
12.0GB Triple-Channel DDR3 @ 533MHz (7-7-7-18)
Motherboard
ASRock X58 Extreme (CPUSocket) 30 °C
Graphics
Generic Non-PnP Monitor (1600x768@32Hz)
3072MB ATI AMD Radeon HD 7900 Series (Sapphire/PCPartner) 42 °C
Storage
931GB SAMSUNG HD103SJ ATA Device (SATA ) 25 °C
465GB Samsung SSD 840 EVO 500GB ATA Device (SATA (SSD)) 34 °C
149GB Western Digital WDC WD1600JB-00GVA0 ATA Device (ATA ) 29 °C
Optical Drives
PIONEER BD-RW BDR-207D ATA Device
PLEXTOR DVDR PX-880SA ATA Device
Audio
AMD High Definition Audio Device
Operating System
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Computer type: Tablet

Device Tree
ACPI x64-based PC
Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System
ACPI Fixed Feature Button
ACPI Power Button
Intel Xeon CPU X5680 @ 3.33GHz
Intel Xeon CPU X5680 @ 3.33GHz
Intel Xeon CPU X5680 @ 3.33GHz
Intel Xeon CPU X5680 @ 3.33GHz
Intel Xeon CPU X5680 @ 3.33GHz
Intel Xeon CPU X5680 @ 3.33GHz
Intel Xeon CPU X5680 @ 3.33GHz
Intel Xeon CPU X5680 @ 3.33GHz
Intel Xeon CPU X5680 @ 3.33GHz
Intel Xeon CPU X5680 @ 3.33GHz
Intel Xeon CPU X5680 @ 3.33GHz
Intel Xeon CPU X5680 @ 3.33GHz
System board
PCI Express Root Complex
Intel ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A34
IO Hub to ESI Port Bridge
Microsoft Windows Management Interface for ACPI
Motherboard resources
PCI Express Root Port
PCI Express Root Port
PCI-to-PCI Bridge
Registers
Registers
Registers
Registers
SM Bus Controller
System board
PCI Express Root Port
AMD Radeon HD 7900 Series
OMEN by HP 32 Display
SyncMaster T260HD(Digital)
High Definition Audio Bus
AMD High Definition Audio Device
Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A37
USB Root Hub
USB Composite Device
USB Input Device
HID Keyboard Device
USB Input Device
HID-compliant consumer control device
HID-compliant system controller
HID-compliant vendor-defined device
Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A38
USB Root Hub
Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A39
USB Root Hub
Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 3A3C
USB Root Hub
USB Mass Storage Device
XM-35U CF PRO Reader USB Device
XM-35U MS PRO Reader USB Device
XM-35U mSD PRO Reader USB Device
XM-35U SD PRO Reader USB Device
XM-35U XD PRO Reader USB Device
High Definition Audio Controller
High Definition Audio Device
Digital Audio (S/PDIF) (High Definition Audio Device)
Speakers (High Definition Audio Device)
PCI Express Root Port
Standard SATA AHCI Controller
PCI Express Root Port
VIA 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller
Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
ATA Channel 1
ATA Channel 0
WDC WD1600JB-00GVA0 ATA Device
PCI Express Root Port
Realtek PCIe GbE Family Controller
Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A35
USB Root Hub
Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A36
USB Root Hub
USB Input Device
HID-compliant mouse
HID-compliant vendor-defined device
Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 3A3A
USB Root Hub
Realtek RTL8811AU Wireless LAN 802.11ac USB 2.0 Network Adapter
Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter
Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter #2
LPC Controller
Direct memory access controller
High precision event timer
Legacy device
Motherboard resources
Motherboard resources
Motherboard resources
Motherboard resources
Numeric data processor
Programmable interrupt controller
System CMOS/real time clock
System speaker
System timer
Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
ATA Channel 0
PIONEER BD-RW BDR-207D ATA Device
Samsung SSD 840 EVO 500GB ATA Device
ATA Channel 1
PLEXTOR DVDR PX-880SA ATA Device
SAMSUNG HD103SJ ATA Device
Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
ATA Channel 0
ATA Channel 1
CPU
Intel Xeon X5680
Cores 6
Threads 12
Name Intel Xeon X5680
Code Name Westmere-EP
Package Socket 1366 LGA
Technology 32nm
Specification Intel Xeon CPU X5680 @ 3.33GHz
Family 6
Extended Family 6
Model C
Extended Model 2C
Stepping 2
Revision B1
Instructions MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, Intel 64, NX, VMX, AES
Virtualization Supported, Enabled
Hyperthreading Supported, Enabled
Fan Speed 1086 RPM
Rated Bus Speed 3200.1 MHz
Stock Core Speed 3333 MHz
Stock Bus Speed 133 MHz
Average Temperature 28 °C
Caches
L1 Data Cache Size 6 x 32 KBytes
L1 Instructions Cache Size 6 x 32 KBytes
L2 Unified Cache Size 6 x 256 KBytes
L3 Unified Cache Size 12288 KBytes
Cores
Core 0
Core Speed 1600.1 MHz
Multiplier x 12.0
Bus Speed 133.3 MHz
Rated Bus Speed 3200.1 MHz
Temperature 23 °C
Threads APIC ID: 0, 1
Core 1
Core Speed 1600.1 MHz
Multiplier x 12.0
Bus Speed 133.3 MHz
Rated Bus Speed 3200.1 MHz
Temperature 26 °C
Threads APIC ID: 2, 3
Core 2
Core Speed 1600.1 MHz
Multiplier x 12.0
Bus Speed 133.3 MHz
Rated Bus Speed 3200.1 MHz
Temperature 31 °C
Threads APIC ID: 4, 5
Core 3
Core Speed 1600.1 MHz
Multiplier x 12.0
Bus Speed 133.3 MHz
Rated Bus Speed 3200.1 MHz
Temperature 29 °C
Threads APIC ID: 16, 17
Core 4
Core Speed 1600.1 MHz
Multiplier x 12.0
Bus Speed 133.3 MHz
Rated Bus Speed 3200.1 MHz
Temperature 26 °C
Threads APIC ID: 18, 19
Core 5
Core Speed 1600.1 MHz
Multiplier x 12.0
Bus Speed 133.3 MHz
Rated Bus Speed 3200.1 MHz
Temperature 31 °C
Threads APIC ID: 20, 21
RAM
Memory slots
Total memory slots 6
Used memory slots 6
Free memory slots 0
Memory
Type DDR3
Size 12288 MBytes
Channels # Triple
DRAM Frequency 533.4 MHz
CAS# Latency (CL) 7 clocks
RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRCD) 7 clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 7 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS) 18 clocks
Command Rate (CR) 2T
Physical Memory
Memory Usage 40 %
Total Physical 12 GB
Available Physical 7.14 GB
Total Virtual 14 GB
Available Virtual 7.87 GB
SPD
Number Of SPD Modules 6
Slot #1
Type DDR3
Size 2048 MBytes
Manufacturer OCZ
Max Bandwidth PC3-8500F (533 MHz)
Part Number OCZ3G1600LV2G
Timing table
JEDEC #1
Frequency 381.0 MHz
CAS# Latency 5.0
RAS# To CAS# 5
RAS# Precharge 5
tRAS 12
tRC 19
Voltage 1.500 V
JEDEC #2
Frequency 457.1 MHz
CAS# Latency 6.0
RAS# To CAS# 6
RAS# Precharge 6
tRAS 14
tRC 23
Voltage 1.500 V
JEDEC #3
Frequency 533.3 MHz
CAS# Latency 7.0
RAS# To CAS# 7
RAS# Precharge 7
tRAS 16
tRC 27
Voltage 1.500 V
JEDEC #4
Frequency 533.3 MHz
CAS# Latency 8.0
RAS# To CAS# 7
RAS# Precharge 7
tRAS 16
tRC 27
Voltage 1.500 V
Slot #2
Type DDR3
Size 2048 MBytes
Manufacturer OCZ
Max Bandwidth PC3-8500F (533 MHz)
Part Number OCZ3G1600LV2G
Timing table
JEDEC #1
Frequency 381.0 MHz
CAS# Latency 5.0
RAS# To CAS# 5
RAS# Precharge 5
tRAS 12
tRC 19
Voltage 1.500 V
JEDEC #2
Frequency 457.1 MHz
CAS# Latency 6.0
RAS# To CAS# 6
RAS# Precharge 6
tRAS 14
tRC 23
Voltage 1.500 V
JEDEC #3
Frequency 533.3 MHz
CAS# Latency 7.0
RAS# To CAS# 7
RAS# Precharge 7
tRAS 16
tRC 27
Voltage 1.500 V
JEDEC #4
Frequency 533.3 MHz
CAS# Latency 8.0
RAS# To CAS# 7
RAS# Precharge 7
tRAS 16
tRC 27
Voltage 1.500 V
Slot #3
Type DDR3
Size 2048 MBytes
Manufacturer OCZ
Max Bandwidth PC3-8500F (533 MHz)
Part Number OCZ3G1600LV2G
Timing table
JEDEC #1
Frequency 381.0 MHz
CAS# Latency 5.0
RAS# To CAS# 5
RAS# Precharge 5
tRAS 12
tRC 19
Voltage 1.500 V
JEDEC #2
Frequency 457.1 MHz
CAS# Latency 6.0
RAS# To CAS# 6
RAS# Precharge 6
tRAS 14
tRC 23
Voltage 1.500 V
JEDEC #3
Frequency 533.3 MHz
CAS# Latency 7.0
RAS# To CAS# 7
RAS# Precharge 7
tRAS 16
tRC 27
Voltage 1.500 V
JEDEC #4
Frequency 533.3 MHz
CAS# Latency 8.0
RAS# To CAS# 7
RAS# Precharge 7
tRAS 16
tRC 27
Voltage 1.500 V
Slot #4
Type DDR3
Size 2048 MBytes
Manufacturer OCZ
Max Bandwidth PC3-8500F (533 MHz)
Part Number OCZ3G1600LV2G
Timing table
JEDEC #1
Frequency 381.0 MHz
CAS# Latency 5.0
RAS# To CAS# 5
RAS# Precharge 5
tRAS 12
tRC 19
Voltage 1.500 V
JEDEC #2
Frequency 457.1 MHz
CAS# Latency 6.0
RAS# To CAS# 6
RAS# Precharge 6
tRAS 14
tRC 23
Voltage 1.500 V
JEDEC #3
Frequency 533.3 MHz
CAS# Latency 7.0
RAS# To CAS# 7
RAS# Precharge 7
tRAS 16
tRC 27
Voltage 1.500 V
JEDEC #4
Frequency 533.3 MHz
CAS# Latency 8.0
RAS# To CAS# 7
RAS# Precharge 7
tRAS 16
tRC 27
Voltage 1.500 V
Slot #5
Type DDR3
Size 2048 MBytes
Manufacturer OCZ
Max Bandwidth PC3-8500F (533 MHz)
Part Number OCZ3G1600LV2G
Timing table
JEDEC #1
Frequency 381.0 MHz
CAS# Latency 5.0
RAS# To CAS# 5
RAS# Precharge 5
tRAS 12
tRC 19
Voltage 1.500 V
JEDEC #2
Frequency 457.1 MHz
CAS# Latency 6.0
RAS# To CAS# 6
RAS# Precharge 6
tRAS 14
tRC 23
Voltage 1.500 V
JEDEC #3
Frequency 533.3 MHz
CAS# Latency 7.0
RAS# To CAS# 7
RAS# Precharge 7
tRAS 16
tRC 27
Voltage 1.500 V
JEDEC #4
Frequency 533.3 MHz
CAS# Latency 8.0
RAS# To CAS# 7
RAS# Precharge 7
tRAS 16
tRC 27
Voltage 1.500 V
Slot #6
Type DDR3
Size 2048 MBytes
Manufacturer OCZ
Max Bandwidth PC3-8500F (533 MHz)
Part Number OCZ3G1600LV2G
Timing table
JEDEC #1
Frequency 381.0 MHz
CAS# Latency 5.0
RAS# To CAS# 5
RAS# Precharge 5
tRAS 12
tRC 19
Voltage 1.500 V
JEDEC #2
Frequency 457.1 MHz
CAS# Latency 6.0
RAS# To CAS# 6
RAS# Precharge 6
tRAS 14
tRC 23
Voltage 1.500 V
JEDEC #3
Frequency 533.3 MHz
CAS# Latency 7.0
RAS# To CAS# 7
RAS# Precharge 7
tRAS 16
tRC 27
Voltage 1.500 V
JEDEC #4
Frequency 533.3 MHz
CAS# Latency 8.0
RAS# To CAS# 7
RAS# Precharge 7
tRAS 16
tRC 27
Voltage 1.500 V
Motherboard
Manufacturer ASRock
Model X58 Extreme (CPUSocket)
Chipset Vendor Intel
Chipset Model X58
Chipset Revision 13
Southbridge Vendor Intel
Southbridge Model 82801JR (ICH10R)
Southbridge Revision 00
System Temperature 30 °C
BIOS
Brand American Megatrends Inc.
Version P2.80
Date 12/30/2010
Voltage
CPU CORE 0.848 V
MEMORY CONTROLLER 0.048 V
+3.3V 3.280 V
+5V 5.000 V
+12V 11.968 V
-12V -12.096 V
-5V -8.704 V
+5V HIGH THRESHOLD 5.053 V
PCI Data
Slot PCI
Slot Type PCI
Slot Usage Available
Bus Width 32 bit
Slot Designation PCI1
Characteristics 3.3V, Shared, PME
Slot Number 0
Slot PCI
Slot Type PCI
Slot Usage Available
Bus Width 32 bit
Slot Designation PCI2
Characteristics 3.3V, Shared, PME
Slot Number 1
Slot PCI-E
Slot Type PCI-E
Slot Usage Available
Data lanes x1
Slot Designation PCIE1
Characteristics 3.3V, Shared, PME
Slot Number 2
Slot PCI-E
Slot Type PCI-E
Slot Usage In Use
Data lanes x16
Slot Designation PCIE2
Characteristics 3.3V, Shared, PME
Slot Number 3
Slot PCI-E
Slot Type PCI-E
Slot Usage Available
Data lanes x1
Slot Designation PCIE3
Characteristics 3.3V, Shared, PME
Slot Number 4
Slot PCI-E
Slot Type PCI-E
Slot Usage Available
Data lanes x16
Slot Designation PCIE4
Characteristics 3.3V, Shared, PME
Slot Number 5
Slot PCI-E
Slot Type PCI-E
Slot Usage Available
Data lanes x4
Slot Designation PCIE5
Characteristics 3.3V, Shared, PME
Slot Number 6
Graphics
Monitor
Name Generic Non-PnP Monitor on Microsoft Remote Display Adapter
Current Resolution 1600x768 pixels
Work Resolution 1600x738 pixels
State Enabled, Primary, Remote
Monitor Width 1600
Monitor Height 768
Monitor BPP 32 bits per pixel
Monitor Frequency 32 Hz
Device \\.\DISPLAY1\Monitor0
ATI AMD Radeon HD 7900 Series
Manufacturer ATI
Model AMD Radeon HD 7900 Series
Device ID 1002-679A
Subvendor Sapphire/PCPartner (174B)
Current Performance Level Level 0
Current GPU Clock 500 MHz
Current Memory Clock 1250 MHz
Current Shader Clock 1250 MHz
Voltage 0.950 V
Current Performance Level Level 0
Voltage 0.950 V
GPU Clock 925.0 MHz
Temperature 42 °C
Core Voltage 0.950 V
Driver version 27.20.20912.1002
BIOS Version 113-1E207200P2-S4C
Memory Type GDDR5
Memory 3072 MB
Bandwidth 240.0 GB/s
Count of performance levels : 2
Level 1 - "Perf Level 0"
GPU Clock 300 MHz
Shader Clock 150 MHz
Level 2 - "Perf Level 1"
GPU Clock 925 MHz
Shader Clock 1250 MHz
Count of performance levels : 1
Level 1 - "Perf Level 0"
Generated with Speccy v1.32.803
 
I've been having next to no luck overclocking. I'm admittedly not very experienced, but have read through a few guides on the X58. The most luck I've had was using the ASRock OC Tuner Windows app. If I change the CPU Multiplier to "TURBO" (which isn't an option in the BIOS), it'll bump the multiplier up to 27 under load. Other than that, I've been unable to make it to Windows on boot with pretty much any OC with a BCLK any higher than maybe 139. I'm just sure if I'm totally missing some

Here are the options I have in my BIOS (this isn't an actual setup I've tried, I just set random values to give an idea of the type of options available, most default to "AUTO"). Any suggestions of where to start would be much appreciated. I'd really like to get to around 4-4.2 GHz if I can without sacrificing reliability/longevity.

20220803_213227~2.jpg


20220803_213244~2.jpg

20220803_213259~2.jpg

20220804_121441.jpg

20220804_121547.jpg
 
it's been a long time, but I think I just increased the multiplier and voltage on my 920/930 systems.
 
If you keep everything at auto and adjust the bclk while keeping memory speed similar to its rated you should be able to do 160-180 without too much effort by just bumping up vcore. Fancier tuning obviously requires more effort.

I have an old pic of a 5660 I have at 4600/2000 at 1.5v but I'd not crank it over 1.35/1.4v for a daily system lol. I've never used an asrock x58 so I don't know any quirks they may have. overclock.net still has a good x58 thread to read through if you hop over there, most of our old threads here got jacked during upgrades.
 
If you keep everything at auto and adjust the bclk while keeping memory speed similar to its rated you should be able to do 160-180 without too much effort by just bumping up vcore. Fancier tuning obviously requires more effort.

I have an old pic of a 5660 I have at 4600/2000 at 1.5v but I'd not crank it over 1.35/1.4v for a daily system lol. I've never used an asrock x58 so I don't know any quirks they may have. overclock.net still has a good x58 thread to read through if you hop over there, most of our old threads here got jacked during upgrades.
I think he needs to lower dram timings to get to a similar memory clock. There is alot of really good and really bad ddr3.


1.4 sounds reasonable and take a look at other x58 overlooking threads. We have one here as well. Lots of info available for these chips.
 
I'd just push the multiplier to whatever it'll hit at 1.3v.

But what do I know, I don't cook chips..
 
I've been having next to no luck overclocking. I'm admittedly not very experienced, but have read through a few guides on the X58. The most luck I've had was using the ASRock OC Tuner Windows app. If I change the CPU Multiplier to "TURBO" (which isn't an option in the BIOS), it'll bump the multiplier up to 27 under load. Other than that, I've been unable to make it to Windows on boot with pretty much any OC with a BCLK any higher than maybe 139. I'm just sure if I'm totally missing some

Here are the options I have in my BIOS (this isn't an actual setup I've tried, I just set random values to give an idea of the type of options available, most default to "AUTO"). Any suggestions of where to start would be much appreciated. I'd really like to get to around 4-4.2 GHz if I can without sacrificing reliability/longevity.

View attachment 497827

View attachment 497828
View attachment 497829
View attachment 497830
View attachment 497831
Your qpi is way too high, get it mid2-3ghz

I'll take some pics of mine soon
 
IIRC, one of my old X58's dialed in 22 multi with a 191 bclk @ 1.31ish on any of those xeons from the 60-90. Pushing any to 4.3+ was doable but not 100% stable. Your motherboard may do better or worse.

 
There was an unbelievable x58 xeon thread at overclock.net dedicated to this.

Not trying to get you to leave our epic forum but I had this setup with a xeon on a gigabyte board. I had mine maxed out and was great!

https://www.overclock.net/threads/official-x58-xeon-club.1489955/page-808#post-29003618

Things to note I had 4 titans back then on mine and upgraded to my X99 which provided a HUGE upgrade for 4k.

If your going to do 4k the new technology really helps.

If your in love with x58 xeon is the only pure upgrade path as it stands now (without a chipset change).
 
You definitely have to change the memory multiplier (memory speed) before you adjust your BCLK. If you want to see what it'll do, set it to 400 (DDR3 800 in the screenshot). As you crank up the BCLK that will also increase. If you left it at DDR3 800 and then doubled the BCLK to 200 instead of 100, you'd have DDR3 1600 speeds. I had a X5660 that would do 4.2Ghz just by setting the memory divider and changing the BCLK to 200. You might also have issues with BCLK holes at certain places. The 139 you put in won't take, but if you put in 166, it will.

Also, X58 is PCIe 2.0. You're starting to get a little long in the tooth there. I ran one with a Samsung 950 Pro on an adapter card (one of the few NVMe drives with a legacy bios) but was limited by PCIe 2.0. Your GPU is going to be limited to the equivalent of PCIe 4.0 x4 give or take. I also needed to get a USB 3.0 adapter card for better speeds and to use the front panel on my case.

Overall, I had a fun time with X58 and IMO, it's one of the last great overclocking platforms before boost algorithms took all the guesswork out of it, BUT it's old now. A 12400 setup will use a lot less power, have a much more modern platform, won't cost you too much, and will run circles around a highly overclocked X58 system.
 
X299 is another fun path, but that intel 12400 or 12600 would still walk circles around it core to core...

Only reason I bring it up is because you can get a good deal on x299 sometimes, which gets you ddr4, usb 3, and other amenities but alder lake is so fast. 7940x has 14c/28t for cheap, and quad channel is fun with 8x8 or so but still.
 
The clear path is simply to move to something like a Ryzen 5 2600, B450 / X570, and 16GB DDR4 3200 CL16. With an OEM cooler all of the above can be had for:

CPU + HSF: $89
Motherboard: $100
Ram: $45
Total: $234

i7 920, X58, + 12 GB DDR3: -$75

You'd be net out pocket for $159, have a major upgrade path in AM4 as the CPU get less expensive, and move into way more energy efficient platform that also happens to have way newer capabilities. You could buy something as mentioned above like a 1080 for about $200 or there was even a guy on here selling a GTX 970 for $65. That 970 has a 60% higher Firestrike score than the 7950. Buying that 970 and selling your 7950 would add another $40 to your build. Basically meaning you could build an almost entirely new PC for $199 and it'd blow your old machine out of the water in every sense. There becomes points where it makes more sense to replace what you have as it's hit it's almost maximum depreciation and move into something newer, but not brand new. This is it for you.
 
I still like the spend $18 on a new CPU and overclock it choice. Its more fun and realistically still results in a capable pc.

Else am4 platforms are pretty reasonable but if I already had a nice x58 platform onhand I would absolutely grab a decent GPU and see how long I could run the system for
 
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