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Asus overclocks Core i7 to 5.4GHz
The R&D guys at Asus show the potential of Intel’s new architecture when using liquid nitrogen cooling
We have to admit that we were pretty chuffed after getting a Core i7 to run at 4.27GHz using just air cooling, but the research and development (R&D) guys at Asus have just shown us what the chip can do if you cool it with LN2, with which they managed to achieve an incredible clock speed of 5.4GHz.
Using a 3.2GHz Core i7 965 Engineering Sample, Asus achieved the overclock using its own X58-based P6T Deluxe motherboard, along with 3GB of OCZ triple-channel RAM. However, the real star of the show appears to be the CPU itself, as the overclock was achieved with a huge 27x multiplier and a 200MHz QPI base clock. While this is a decent enough overclock over the 133MHz default, we overclocked the QPI to 210MHz on the P6T Deluxe in our own tests, and we even managed to get 220MHz out of the Asus Rampage II Extreme (reviewed in Issue 65 of Custom PC), so this isn’t an exceptional achievement for the motherboard.
On a side note, we’re also slightly confused about the 3,600MHz Rated FSB reported in the CPU-Z screenshot (see below), but we assume that this is a quirk of using the current version of CPU-Z on new technology.
While we’re pretty sure that this overclock wouldn’t be stable enough to run through our benchmarks, it’s still a great achievement for an overclock, and just goes to show the potential of the Core i7 architecture for achieving sky-high clock speeds with the right equipment, so hats off to the chaps at Asus.
Have you bought yourself a new Core i7 setup yet and, if so, have you tried overclocking it? Let us know in the comments section below.
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as i understand it the sales drop off for the pc industry is only a small at the moment BUT if intel keeps this current price policy it might soon hit the industry very hard carefull intel greed at a time of finantial stress is not a ggoood idea .jj7
Comment by kingjohn721 at 7:21pm 25th November 2008
I helpted a m8 today build 2 computers & as he couldnt wait for another Q6600 he paid £250+ for a Q9450 and [from another shop] a Q6600 SLACR steping for £149.99 from pc.world,So in 2 weeks the Q6600 has dropted £16 so surely the prices will fall on these a bit by say Jan - Feb 09?! But i like the look's of the i7s :P but after reading on this thread about the price of the motherboard's i may hold of for a good few weeks..Looks like a realy sweet cpu though from the great review in the CPC-Mag :) GJ guys.
Comment by BLAKIE33 at 9:56pm 24th November 2008
why are you moaning to me about the price of the CPU. they are about 250 pounds for the 920 and it beats down EVERYTHING else except its more expensive brethren. so thats 250 pounds, for a CPU faster than every AMD product AND the entire core 2 quad range - which is basically made obsolete including the 900 pound extreme models. how is that not a bargain? for the CPU itself, it just is. its only the PLATFORM that is comparitively expensive to previous generations at the moment. i paid 210 pounds for a E6600 in january 2007, and at that time it wasnt even the third fastest chip, it was behind the newly released quads and the two dual models above it. so 250 pounds for the third fastest chip on the market is definitely cheap, especially if you had plans to buy a Q9400 or better. this thing demolishes the better core 2 quads for another 50 quid or so. its only the boards that make it look expensive, and they will expand and cheapen rapidly into next year
Comment by vulcanproject at 1:42am 20th November 2008
Hopefully prices will come down a little after xmas.
Comment by CPTDallas at 8:05pm 19th November 2008
OH MY GOD!!!.....(ok i got nothing else to say now geuss i have to leave...)
Comment by ahadihunter1 at 7:35pm 19th November 2008
In 12 month tie the Westmere 32nm Core i7's will be out so a signifigant drop in price of the standard Core i7's should be seen...still trying to decide if i should wait for westmere...
Comment by PyrO_PrOfessOr at 1:15pm 19th November 2008
As with any new tech you have to pay through the teeth to be an early adopter. The more savvy cusotmer will wait a little longer for prices to come down a little, especially the mobos. I'm suprised that someone would think a Q6700 'long in the tooth' though. Is it overclocked? I have a Q6600@3.2GHz and DDR2@1140MHz and right now I dont think I need anything more (ok... a GTX280 might be nice but still......)
Comment by pveater at 12:55pm 19th November 2008
of the boards without the SLi chipset? I thought they would have been a bit cheaper. As will all initial releases, the prices will come down anyway.
Comment by crazyceo at 10:04am 19th November 2008
I don't think many will agree with your statement that i7 920 is a bargain. £266+ is quite expensive for a cpu and of course the motherboards are equally overpriced. There are no user reviews yet at overclockers. Probably has something to do with the fact that mobo and CPU will cost £600 and add to that the cost of triple channel mem. I have just upgraded to DDR3 and Q6600. My Q6600 cost £130. When it was first released it cost more than £300 (I guess you probably regarded that as a bargain then as well? :) I'm not averse to spending money on a good motherboard. I now have an asus max extreme which cost me £190 but I would not pay that price for a cpu.
Comment by feathers633 at 12:30pm 19th November 2008
Right now the price is prohibitive really, compared to what I have now it is just not worth it. However that is always the case when new tech comes out. Maybe in 12 months time it will be worthwhile looking to upgrade, and also looking at SSD's again.
Comment by DraigUK at 9:47am 19th November 2008
What confuses me is that when the cheaper versions are easily overclockable to the same levels as their grossly overpriced "extreme" versions why anyone would pay up to three times as much for the higher end chip?
Comment by bogbrain at 9:23am 19th November 2008
What confuses me is that when the cheaper versions are easily overclockable to the same levels as their grossly overpriced "extreme" versions why anyone would pay up to three times as much for the higher end chip?
Comment by bogbrain at 9:18am 19th November 2008
What confuses me is that when the cheaper versions are easily overclockable to the same levels as their grossly overpriced "extreme" versions why anyone would pay up to three times as much for the higher end chip?
Comment by bogbrain at 9:18am 19th November 2008
I'm in the same boat as akoli in that it would be too expensive just now. My q6600 and gtx 280 runs all games at full settings (1680x1050)and iv'e got no more dvd's to rip and encode. So it just doesnt make financial sense to replace the mb, ram and cpu just now.
Comment by Dave_Lister at 8:18am 19th November 2008
core i7 is a bargain. the 920 is a steal for its performance. its the boards that are currently steep. 920 plus board plus 3GB DDR3 would be about 600 pounds minimum. if the boards were below 150 pounds and still OC nice i would jump on it in a hearbeat. im overdue for an upgrade, my Q6700 and DDR2 feels a little long in the tooth.
Comment by vulcanproject at 11:10pm 18th November 2008
Currently way too expensive and upgrade... few months ago I replaced E6600 with E8500 and new faster memory so in order to upgrade I will require , processor + memory + Board so not much change from 1k at current prices ... once the prices drop and I have some spare cash to blow on me then maybe ... I am most interested in this upgrade though as think once the price drops you will get good bang for buck ... think I will start a rumour about a new I9 processors and see if prices drop !!! ... As to core2 duo any change in prices there now the I7 is out ...
Comment by akoli at 11:00pm 18th November 2008
Is it possible for you to review the following PC's as I am looking to purchase a Core i7-965 Extreme PC. I think the Alienware PC's are far too expensive but would be grateful if you can compare these PC's so that I know which is the better one: Mesh Xtreme Pro i7 965E Stealth Pro i7 965E Alienware Area-51 X-58 ALX X-58 Regards Mr Dipendra Darbar
Comment by dipen at 6:23pm 18th November 2008
Sorry, Custom PC comments are now closed.
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