Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
I sold it not long after I got it. I really don't like using gamepads.
I do own a PS3 but I don't use it for games either.
I do own a PS3 but I don't use it for games either.
Haswell Build: Thoughts?
- Thread starter Stereodude
- Start date
Stereodude
Not really a
I got my Haswell system initially put together yesterday. The ASRock Z87 Extreme 6 is a really nice mobo. I was so impressed with the BIOS, boot time, and features I went to see if the Z77 Extreme 6 was similar to replace the P67 board I have for my i7-2600k. Unfortunately, it's not really very similar from a feature set standpoint.
I got Windows 7 HP SP1 installed without any fuss from a DVD. Windows only had 77 important updates and another 33 recommended updates. :erm: I need to get the fancy TIM under the heatsink today. I just used the cheap white stuff for the initial HSF install. IMHO, the instructions on how to install the Indigo Xtreme aren't conducive for building a system from scratch since you're supposed to install it, boot into Windows, unplug the fan on the heatink, and intentionally load the CPU to 100% to get chip really hot to "flow" the thermal material between the heat spreader and the bottom of the heatsink and then reconnect the fan after the temperature has peaked.
Anyhow, with the white stuff haphazardly applied and everything running at the default settings w/ a 100% load on all the logical cores (apparently 3700MHz is the default turbo setting with all cores loaded) temps were 46-47C on two of the cores, and 50-51C on the other two cores with an ambient temp of 23.5C. It will be interesting to see what happens with the Indigo Xtreme.
I got Windows 7 HP SP1 installed without any fuss from a DVD. Windows only had 77 important updates and another 33 recommended updates. :erm: I need to get the fancy TIM under the heatsink today. I just used the cheap white stuff for the initial HSF install. IMHO, the instructions on how to install the Indigo Xtreme aren't conducive for building a system from scratch since you're supposed to install it, boot into Windows, unplug the fan on the heatink, and intentionally load the CPU to 100% to get chip really hot to "flow" the thermal material between the heat spreader and the bottom of the heatsink and then reconnect the fan after the temperature has peaked.
Anyhow, with the white stuff haphazardly applied and everything running at the default settings w/ a 100% load on all the logical cores (apparently 3700MHz is the default turbo setting with all cores loaded) temps were 46-47C on two of the cores, and 50-51C on the other two cores with an ambient temp of 23.5C. It will be interesting to see what happens with the Indigo Xtreme.
Stereodude
Not really a
Well I got the Indigo Xtreme TIM installed. It's a little nerve-racking watching the CPU cook basically at Tj (~100C) for several minutes waiting for the TIM to reflow. I followed their Application Note for the Noctua NH-D14 since the Thermalright True Spirit 140 has similar thermal efficiency. With the heatsink and fan wrapped in paper towels it took about 10 minutes to complete the ETI reflow process. I guess not too surprisingly, after powering off they system and removing the paper towels the heatsink was way too hot to touch. I'll power up the system later with the fans reconnected and see how it performs.
Adcadet
Storage Freak
I recently built a machine with an ASRock Z77 Pro4, and I too liked the plethora of SATA ports and good price. I used to be a big Asus fan, but they seem a little pricey for what you get.
Stereodude
Not really a
It seems like temps improved ~3-4C after changing to the Indigo Xtreme. Two cores were 46-48C and two were 42-44C. FWIW, the big 140mm TY-140 fan appeared to be running at the same speed as when the system is idle.
I've typically bought Gigabyte motherboards in the past (Core 2 days to present). I haven't bought an ASUS board in probably a decade. The Z87 Extreme 6 is my first ASRock. This has to be the nicest motherboard I've ever used. Maybe I think this because it's is my first exposure to a UEFI BIOS on a desktop system, but the amount of thought that went into the little things is wild. For example, you can create custom fan speed profiles nearly per fan header on the motherboard (CPU1 and 2 are grouped together). You can set 5 temperature vs. speed percentages points to create the behavior you want. If that's too much you can just pick from quiet, standard, performance, or full. It boots quickly, doesn't have the quirkiness of switching between the two BIOSes randomly that my last two Gigabyte motherboards have had when rebooting. 10 SATA ports and all the other features for $130 (with processor purchase)... You can't beat that!
jtr1962
Storage? I am Storage!
I have that feature also on my Asus F2A85-V PRO. Most of the time the CPU fan is on minimum speed. The fan on my power supply doesn't even start turning until CPU usage is fairly heavy. When I put the two mechanical hard drives in standby, the system is inaudible, even in a quiet room.
Stereodude
Not really a
Here's the graph from SpeedFan when I was reflowing the Indigo Xtreme TIM.
Stereodude
Not really a
I haven't gotten that far yet. I seem to be lacking for the time.
Stereodude
Not really a
It won't boot into Windows at 4.5gHz with default voltage (blue screen). I was able to run an hour long stress test at 4.3gHz with default voltage successfully. I really need to get it set up for x264 encoding and read up a little more on what settings to tweak for overclocking before going too much further. At 4.3gHz the hotter cores are right around 70C after the system heats up and stabilizes.
ddrueding
Fixture
Amazing. In still 80F air, with F@H running on the CPU, the CPU temp is stable at 72C and the chipset at 32C. I've since dropped the voltage by -0.042v and it is still stable and the temp is falling.
Stereodude
Not really a
Running what? AIDA64's CPU/FPU stress test got my CPU another 10-15C hotter than running 8 copies of CPU Burn-in.
ddrueding
Fixture
The F@H client.
Stereodude
Not really a
Well, after getting an updated version of CPU-Z that properly shows the VID of the Haswell CPU I was surprised to find the default settings of the ASRock motherboard were putting >1.25V Vcore to the CPU at 4.3gHz when all I did was change the multiplier in the BIOS and left everything else on auto. It was not stable at 4.3gHz with those settings using AIDA64's stress test. Looks like I got another poor overclocker like my Sandy Bridge that would only hit similar speeds. 
Right now I have it limited to 1.25V running at 4.2gHz seeing if that is stable with AIDA64's stress test.
Right now I have it limited to 1.25V running at 4.2gHz seeing if that is stable with AIDA64's stress test.Well, after getting an updated version of CPU-Z that properly shows the VID of the Haswell CPU I was surprised to find the default settings of the ASRock motherboard were putting >1.25V Vcore to the CPU at 4.3gHz when all I did was change the multiplier in the BIOS and left everything else on auto. It was not stable at 4.3gHz with those settings using AIDA64's stress test. Looks like I got another poor overclocker like my Sandy Bridge that would only hit similar speeds.
I'm not seeing much advantage to that over a 3930K OC to 4.5 for example.
Stereodude
Not really a
It seems stable at 4.2gHz at 1.251V VID running the AIDA64 stress test. I'm going to let it run overnight, but so far so good after 2 hours. If it holds up I guess I will try to push it a little further.
ddrueding
Fixture
I can't find any OC program that will work with my Gigabyte board. The "EasyTune" software won't load correctly, and the nTune software crashes the machine every time on load. Maybe I'll put in the time tomorrow to do it the old-fashioned way.
Stereodude
Not really a
The ASRock software seems to work okay in Windows 7 x64 to control the equivalent options in the BIOS.
Stereodude
Not really a
I spoke too soon. It locked up before I went to bed. I made some minor tweaks and ran it overnight without issue. I'm going to run it all day today and see what happens.