• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Intel i7 C0/C1 Stepping?

T

TheOrangeJuicer

Gawd
Joined
Jun 12, 2009
Messages
731
I am starting to get the funds together to purchase a new rig and I plan on doing an I7 build. I see posts about getting an i7 with C0/C1 stepping and this is where I have no idea what the difference is. I know it has to do with how easy it is to overclock but what is the other kind and should I worry that much about it? I was planning on overclocking it to whatever I can achieve with air so this is a concern for me. If I go to Fry's and buy this I7 920 processor should I be asking which stepping it has or should I just not worry? Can someone explain the difference or what I should watch out for?
 
I believe the D0 version is the better one because its easier to overlock. This is because the C0 version will run hotter then the D0 version at the same overclocks. If you want to get the most out of the CPU and dont mind looking around or waiting for it, you should go for the D0 version.

This is what you need to look for if you want to find one. If you look at the below image you will see that on the side of the box on the label there is something called the S-spec. If the S-spec is SLBEJ then you have a d0 stepping i7. (Note: the image below shows a box that does NOT contain a D0 i7)

corei7_920_12.jpg
 
fyi I just got mine(June 17th) from Amazon and its D0
 
hhara said:
I believe the D0 version is the better one because its easier to overlock. This is because the C0 version will run hotter then the D0 version at the same overclocks. If you want to get the most out of the CPU and dont mind looking around or waiting for it, you should go for the D0 version.

This is what you need to look for if you want to find one. If you look at the below image you will see that on the side of the box on the label there is something called the S-spec. If the S-spec is SLBEJ then you have a d0 stepping i7. (Note: the image below shows a box that does NOT contain a D0 i7)

corei7_920_12.jpg
Click to expand...

Sweet thanks for this. I was going to just pick one up at the local Fry's because its the same price as NewEgg or Tiger but I don't have to pay for shipping so its a little cheaper. I will just look at the box when they hand it to me then.

If it doesn't matter that much then I probably won't worry about it but thanks for the info!
 
It seems to me that the striking difference between the D0 and C0/C1s are the amount of volts required to hit 4.0GHz. If you're going to watercool, the D0 tends to yield higher clocks using less voltage. From what I've learned in the past few weeks with my D0 heat is still the greatest limiting factor for an OC. Other than that OC'ing is the luck of the draw, there are people with bad D0s out there.
 
Hmm then I am not too concerned. I plan to overclock a little bit but just on air. I do not want to water cool. From what I have read its easy to achieve a 3.8 GHz overclock on air with a good heatsink so that is what I am going for. Hopefully I get lucky.
 
dont worry about it. there is no difference. there is a legend about the d0 being "easier" to overclock, but there is no hard data, even after several months.
 
Here's the way I look at it. If you're going to OC, and don't get a miracle chip, you can still get to 3.4-3.8GHz comfortably. At this speed, the 920 at 200-260 bucks is running at an equivalent speed of a $1000 EE series chip. Clock for clock you're going to be alot quicker than anything from the C2D/C2Q architecture. Given that DDR3 prices are so low and that affordable x58 board are showing up, there's no reason not to go i7 right now. For the knuckeheads that are paranoid about the 920 being discontinued, that's all the more reason to get them now.

You might save $100 or so getting an i5 or i3 rig, but it's just not the same. Most folks on this forum aren't going to use integrated graphics anyway, and triple channel kits for DDR3 are dirt cheap. So that double channel/triple channel crap doesn't really fly. You're talking 60-70 bucks for a dual channel and $70-100 for a triple channel kit.

Regarding the Holy Grail OCs. Running at 4.0Ghz all day long is no joke. Though it may be great for bragging rights, make sure you've got enough money in your energy budget, because you might be shocked at how much power you're drawing. Luckily, I've tinkered around and found some EIST settings that'll let my proc clock down when it's idling.

My journey with the i7 D0 has led me to reseating my Heatsink 3 times, and finally giving up on aircooling. I'm now going to spend $300+ on a mountainmods case that'll handle a double thickness 360 radiator. I've spent $300+ on watercooling gear and getting that new case, with mobo, ram and all, I'm going to be hitting over $1300 for this upgrade. But this is what happens when people get bored, old and don't party anymore. hehehehe....

To the OP, you're going to get alot of performance for the dollar on the i7 architecture, but you're going to hit a limit with aircooling, if you want to squeeze the most out of this chip, then get ready to shell some $$$$$.
 
Last edited:
I owned both the c0 (3843A) and now the d0 (3849A). Both hit 3.8ghz (19x200) at 1.160v (BIOs) with no vdrop. As far as I can tell the only difference was the load temperature. The c0 was around 5-6C higher, making it dangerous to test 4.0ghz with any vigor. I'd go for the d0 merely for the higher thermal headroom.
 
So one d0 is 5-6C lower than one c0 and that instantly makes you think d0 has a higher thermal headroom?
 
Well, I didn't mean to sound like an authority figure on the issue. But I did do a lot of testing to conclude on my experience. The temperature range (difference between core 0 and core 3) I was getting for the c0 running LinX was 87-93. It ran mildly cooler on Prime, 81-88. I've tried resetting the cpu and heatsink four times but to no avail. Running the same tests, I got 74-82 and 70-78, respectively, on the d0. Prime usually takes 24 hours (12 blend/12 small) and Linx makes 20 passes. I use the S1283 with 1366 bolts so it may be less efficient than more modern coolers.
 
Its all luck of the draw with the processor. There are fantastic overclocking C0 chips and fantastic overclocking DO chips. There are also dogs from each stepping as well. Even the dogs generally will overclock to at least 3.4 GHz with 1.30 - 1.35 volts (well within spec for the chip). Even at stock speeds the 920 is going to meet your needs for years to come. Don't be overly concerned about the stepping, just find the best price and buy one.
 
Same price, might as well look for D0 stepping...no point in swaying the OP toward a C0/C1 stepping as the D0 a better chip overall.
 
Haha I appreciate everyones input on the subject. As of now I am getting mixed reactions when it comes down to which is "better." I do not plan to overclock it past maybe 3.8 GHz. If 3.8 is not stable then I will go down. I do not want to fork out an extra $300 to $400 to go to watercooling. Maybe down the road but for now I just want a bad ass system to replace my old bad ass system. It has been 8 years for my old rig and it is really time to upgrade. I am going for top of the line again so it will last me. From what I have read the i7 is the ultimate chip on the market right now so that is what I am going for. Money is not an issue for me but I see no reason to buy a 975 for $1000 when I can buy a 920 for around $300 and achieve almost the same clock speed. Coming from a Pentium 4 with an AGP 8x graphics card to an i7 with a bad ass GTX 280 will be such a big improvement. I am excited to finally play some of these new games that my computer can't run.

Thanks for all the input people!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top