What is the best i7 Mobo for overclocking?

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Zer0Cool

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 4, 2008
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375
Hello,

I am thinking about upgrading my PC with a new MOBO, RAM, CPU & GPU in the very near future.

My current system absolutely sucks for OC and I'm having a lot of problems getting it to even 3.0Ghz.

My goal with the new i7 920 is to get to 4.0Ghz from what I hear its a great OC and 4.0Ghz is very possible. I have 8 120mm fans in my PC so cooling shouldn't be a problem. Its been more then a year since I did any good research on the current PC parts therefor I need you help to help me get a MOBO that can give me 4.0Ghz with i7 920. :)

I want to have anywhere from 4-6GB of DDR3 installed and just like the MOBO I really dont know what to go with, so if anyone have any good suggestions for RAM that can go good with my OC, please let me know.

Thank you
 
Top Tier Overclockers:
EVGA X58 Classified
ASUS Rampage II Extreme X58
Gigabyte X58 EXTREME (can't find it on newegg anymore)

Other mobos:
EVGA X58 3xSLI or LE
ASUS P6T x
other gigabyte boards UDxX series

from there, ease of overclocking will depend on what stepping core i7 you have
C0 step , decent
D0 step, from what i've seen...it's easier and gets better clocks

ramwise, you'll want at least ddr3@1600mhz

but you can set it up to run your memory really slow(though no noticeable performance decrease) if you have ddr3@1333 or lower , and still hit high freq on the CPU

So if you want to breeze through OC'ing, grab a top tier board and a i7 920 D0 stepping
 
Classified looks very sexy!

I will never use 3 way SLI so I don't know if the $400 is worth spending on this board. ASUS also looks very good but also very expensive, I mean you sad these are the best OC boards so I might think about it. Is it worth getting these boards to achieve 4Ghz+ OC even if u will not use 3 way SLI? I mean if its that good and if it makes thhat much of a difference then I will get it.

By the way in regards to the Intel i7 CPU does anyone if Intel has announce any new CPU's being released in the near future, like with in the next 9 month or so? Since il be spending a good amount of money I want this to be a top speced PC for a wile, im sure you know what I mean.
 
Most X58 boards actually overclock to similar levels unless you get into more extreme overclocking. If you'll just be using air cooling, any decent board like the ASUS P6T or P6T Deluxe, Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P or UD5, EVGA X58 3X SLI, or similar will do you fine. There's no need to spend $400 on a board unless there's a must-have feature for you.
 
4.2 ghz with my MSI X58 Eclipse... No complaints here. This is with a C0 stepping, and a Xigmatek Dark Knight cooler.
 
This...

100_6216.jpg


My advice if you get a Classified though, get a bigger case!
It barely fit into my new case.
I probably would have gone with HAF922/932 if I knew that it would be that cramped in the case.

I will admit that this is a bit of overkill if you don't plan to use SLI.
I'm planning to at least Crossfire and possibly go Quad Crossfire in the future (1+1+x2).

Definitely go with a D0 stepping cpu. You can tell if they are D0 stepping because it will say S-Spec: SLBEJ on the outside.
When you get the processor, check the label BEFORE you open it.
I got sent a C0 stepping chip by mistake the 1st time, but the seller was gracious enough to exchange it for the promised D0.
Of course it helped a lot that I didn't open the box.
 
I love my classifed, but it is more for the slot layout than the overclocking. It is not much different than the other X-58 boards if you are running on air. If you want 3x sli, that is another matter (and don't bother with the NF200 chip version)
 
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Well, it seems Asrock is starting to make competetive boards. I've used the AOD 790GX/128M on my Phenom 2 940 BE setup and it was quite good for it's price. Now I beleive they made the same thing, but for Intel. To be more accurate, Asrock X58 Extreme. I've only seen reviews, and based on them I think I might buy one to see how it goes for myself. EVGA X58 classified is a by far the best board you can find, and I beleive Asus P6T Deluxe follows in it's wake....but the Asrock cost's a LOT less, so if your budget is limited, I would recommend it. Check their web site about the memory compatible chips, so you don't buy the wrong ones. I'm gonna go for kingston hyperx CL8 1600...
 
Just got my Classified installed into my HAF932 case today.
Wow, after less than 15 minutes of tweaking I've got my i7 920 D0 stepping air cooled to 4.2 Ghz no sweat.
Granted, I haven't done any stability tests yet but that's very awesome, trouble-free overclock.

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=711581

Here are the initial OC results validated by CPU-Z.
 
Very insightful thread. I impusled on the i5 750, did more research on the p55 vs x58 like I should have before hand, i'm going back to MC to return my 750 and I am getting a 920. With the 2 hr window that I had i pretty much nailed it with the recommendations given in this thread. I am planning to get a P6T Deluxe v2, or if by some miracle and I am able to dish out some extra dough, I am gonna go with the classified.

I am not too sure what's a good ram and what kind to get though, I like a little headroom with an OC. I plan to take the 920 to 4.0 with atleast 1:1 so what kind of ram with a little bit of headroom left would be good?

By headroom I mean, for example right now my e8400 is 4.0 1:1 with my 1066 gskill, it's really running at 445, 900 mhz. I don't stomach well of OCing my ram over the rated spec. Just my personal preference.
 
It all depends on your memory divider. Choose 2000 mhz if you want that headroom and if you can afford it. Also think about xeon w3520 instead of 920, unless you have a microcenter nearby and can get 920 cheaper
 
Igneos79 said:
It all depends on your memory divider. Choose 2000 mhz if you want that headroom and if you can afford it. Also think about xeon w3520 instead of 920, unless you have a microcenter nearby and can get 920 cheaper
Click to expand...

I thought the w3520 was designed to be a server type chip, not a pc chip?
 
vjcsmoke said:
I thought the w3520 was designed to be a server type chip, not a pc chip?
Click to expand...

well it was, but there is still no mobo that supports two of them. They have the qpi to talk to another cpu though. It's almost the same as 920 but is a guaranteed d0, comes from a better yield, and is higher binned. Simply put, it overclocks better then 920. I've seen people hit 4.0 with no voltage increase, and 4.9 on air cooling. Check hwbot.org for records.
 
What do you guys think about this GSkill trident?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231254

it's the same price as the Corsair XMS3 1600, except it's rated at 2000 but also has higher timings, 9-9-9-24 as opposed to 7-7-7-20. Both run at the same voltage at their max speed.

Is the timings here really a deciding factor for gaming? I am also thinking maybe if I run the speed lower for the gskill I could tighten up the timings as well.
 
BETA. said:
What do you guys think about this GSkill trident?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231254

it's the same price as the Corsair XMS3 1600, except it's rated at 2000 but also has higher timings, 9-9-9-24 as opposed to 7-7-7-20. Both run at the same voltage at their max speed.

Is the timings here really a deciding factor for gaming? I am also thinking maybe if I run the speed lower for the gskill I could tighten up the timings as well.
Click to expand...

for gaming, no, but then again you wont notice the difference between 1600 and 2000. Latencies are only important for benchmarks and a few business applications
 
They aren't as popular around these parts as they used to be. But this is my 2nd DFI board in a row, and I can't help but love how deep you can drill down into their BIOS.

If you wanna tweak, consider them. I paid $200 for mine, and I don't consider the Classified worth 2x more than what I paid for mine.

Its doing 3.6 now and it doesn't feel like its even breaking a sweat. I'll be shooting for 4.0, and if I fall short I'm gonna reapply the HS with a bolt through kit, as I really think that'd be the only issue, nothing else really feels like there's any weak spots at this point.

I'm running a D0, 20 x 180 with 1.26v. No problems whatsoever, passes all the stress tests and does so w/o a gripe. Temps haven't went above 70.
 
Wazooty said:
If you want 4.0Ghz, the "high end" x58 mobos are not required at all.
Click to expand...

Agree. I'm still in disbelief that the OP isn't even fully utilizing his current DFI board...
Seems he's more suited for a Gigabyte or low-end Asus.
 
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