i7 core at DVinfo.net

Jun Galinato · August 25th, 2009, 09:52 PM

I just upgraded my quadcore Q6600 and I can see a big difference. I bought it used from craigslist for $500 and looks brand new to me, not a dust or scratch. Here's the spec:

Specifications:
Antec 900 Gaming Tower
700W Rocketfish PSU
EVGA 3x-SLI Motherboard
Intel Core i7 2.66 GHz processor
Corsair Dominator 6 GB Gaming RAM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit installed (32-bit also available)
LG Super Multi DVD-RW Drive
Western Digital 500 GB Hard Drive
BFG Tech 1GB nVidia 9800 GTX+ OC graphics card
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Extreme Audio audio card
Netgear Wireless G PCI card

I added 3 x 1TB and a pioneer BDR203 burner and good to go HD!!!

Peter Moretti · August 26th, 2009, 05:30 AM

That was a crazy good deal.

Andrew Smith · August 26th, 2009, 08:39 AM

And those Core i7 CPUs handle overclocking very very well.

Andrew

Jun Galinato · August 26th, 2009, 05:11 PM

I'm still planning to replace the stock CPU Heatsink fan. It's really hot when I render an H.264, about 60-70 degrees, but idles at 35 degrees.

Jun

Jun Galinato · August 27th, 2009, 12:34 AM

I just pick up a Zalman CNPS9900LED and my CPU temperature has dropped down by 25 degrees.

Intel Stock:
Idle: 35 degrees 50% Load: 69 degrees 90% Load: 87 degrees

CNPS9900LED:
Idle: 25 degrees 50% Load: 43 degrees 90% Load: 57 degrees

It's a little bit hard to install since you have to pull out the motherboard to mount since you have to put screw at the back of the motherboard but it's worth. I re-assembled and re-route all the cables in one direction and now no more tangled wires, very clean. I'm very happy with the result.

Jun

Peter Moretti · August 28th, 2009, 06:19 AM

Another great move. I had to a Zalman cooling fan on my P4 or it would cook itself.

Jun Galinato · August 28th, 2009, 10:06 AM

Well, I have overclocked a little bit (3.2GHz) and looks like it's very stable. I encoded an H.264 blu ray 1920x1080 (about 2 hours 20 min.) and it takes 7 hours 19 min., not overclock is 9 hours 45 min. Mpeg blu ray 1920x1080 takes about 1 hour 17 min, not overclock is about 1 hour 40 min. Load is 50 t0 70 percent, CPU Temp is 41 degrees, Core Temp is between 50-60 degrees.

Jun

Robert M Wright · August 31st, 2009, 07:38 AM

I never heard of "Rocketfish" power supplies. I suggest you replace it with a Corsair power supply. Cheap PSUs (and a lot that aren't even cheap in price) can (and will) come back to haunt you. Corsair builds excellent quality PSUs, and the prices on them are very good for the quality you get.

James Park · August 31st, 2009, 02:20 PM

I got the core i7 920 back in April for about $142USD through a special employee discount purchase program. Got 12GB DDR3 memory, Vista64 and 6TB was ready to rock. This was upgrading a system from Core 2 Duo, 4GB, XP32, 2TB. Talk about huge performance leap especially with video editing. I've been able to overclock to 4Ghz but opted to keep it steady at 3.7GHz for power/performance/stability efficiency. You gotta love the hyperthreading especially during encodes and renders if your app can utilize it.

Peter Moretti · August 31st, 2009, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert M Wright

I never heard of "Rocketfish" power supplies. I suggest you replace it with a Corsair power supply. Cheap PSUs (and a lot that aren't even cheap in price) can (and will) come back to haunt you. Corsair builds excellent quality PSUs, and the prices on them are very good for the quality you get.

Probably very good advice. I've been an Enermax man in the past but am sure there are lot of good (and not so good) PSU's out there.

Jun Galinato · August 31st, 2009, 05:15 PM

For now I will keep this power supply since it's not giving me any problem. Here's a review of the Rocketfish power supply.
Rocketfish 700 W Power Supply Review | Hardware Secrets

Jun

Robert M Wright · September 6th, 2009, 08:58 AM

That's not a very impressive review - sounds like a pretty run-of-the-mill PSU. I sure wouldn't put one of those in a computer I built, other than perhaps a cheap computer for my grandkids to beat on. PSUs are probably the most overlooked and unappreciated component in a computer system. Using anything less than a top notch quality PSU essentially risks the reliability and lifespan of every other component in the system. It's well worth it to spend an extra few dollars to get a well built PSU (you save in the long run - both in headaches and repair costs).

Robert M Wright · September 6th, 2009, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Moretti

Probably very good advice. I've been an Enermax man in the past but am sure there are lot of good (and not so good) PSU's out there.

Things change quickly in the computer industry and there are certainly other manufacturers making top notch power supplies. That said, presently I don't think any other manufacturer matches the quality offered by Corsair, across their entire line of PSUs. If you look at feedback on Newegg's site, you'll see that every single power supply from Corsair, without exception, receives downright excellent feedback (no other manufacturer is currently nearly that consistent, across their entire lineup). Pricing is currently very competitive also. You can easily spend quite a bit more, yet wind up with an inferior PSU.

Jun Galinato · September 6th, 2009, 11:44 AM

Thanks for the suggestions. I also see some topnotch corsair power supply review at newegg that after 3 months it's dead or getting noisy, or DOA. I still keep the RF, not giving me any problem and it's very cool even in a full load of my system, very quiete too. I 'm not telling you that this is a good psu, but i will monitor how it performs and will inform you.

Jun

Robert M Wright · September 7th, 2009, 08:37 AM

Obviously, there's no such thing as a zero failure rate, but with power supplies it's a good idea to get as close as you can to that (within reason). When most computer components malfunction, damage is almost always limited to the malfunctioning component. That's not true with power supplies. When a power supply malfunctions, it can (and often does) damage just about any other component(s) in the system (often without warning). Also, a marginal power supply can imitate other problems. For example, if you experience occasional crashes that might seem like software glitches, it can often simply be due to a marginal power supply.

August 25th, 2009, 09:52 PM	#1
Jun Galinato Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Auburn, Washington Posts: 231	i7 core I just upgraded my quadcore Q6600 and I can see a big difference. I bought it used from craigslist for $500 and looks brand new to me, not a dust or scratch. Here's the spec: Specifications: Antec 900 Gaming Tower 700W Rocketfish PSU EVGA 3x-SLI Motherboard Intel Core i7 2.66 GHz processor Corsair Dominator 6 GB Gaming RAM Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit installed (32-bit also available) LG Super Multi DVD-RW Drive Western Digital 500 GB Hard Drive BFG Tech 1GB nVidia 9800 GTX+ OC graphics card Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Extreme Audio audio card Netgear Wireless G PCI card I added 3 x 1TB and a pioneer BDR203 burner and good to go HD!!! __________________ Sony Z7U, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 F4L, Canon 70-200 F2.8L, Canon 580 EXII, Zoom H2.

August 26th, 2009, 05:30 AM	#2
Peter Moretti Trustee Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Sherman Oaks, CA Posts: 1,259	That was a crazy good deal. __________________ Avid Media Composer 3.1.3. Boris Red and Continuum Complete. Vegas 8.0c. TMPGEnc Xpress Pro 4.0

August 26th, 2009, 05:11 PM	#4
Jun Galinato Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Auburn, Washington Posts: 231	I'm still planning to replace the stock CPU Heatsink fan. It's really hot when I render an H.264, about 60-70 degrees, but idles at 35 degrees. Jun __________________ Sony Z7U, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 F4L, Canon 70-200 F2.8L, Canon 580 EXII, Zoom H2.

August 27th, 2009, 12:34 AM	#5
Jun Galinato Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Auburn, Washington Posts: 231	I just pick up a Zalman CNPS9900LED and my CPU temperature has dropped down by 25 degrees. Intel Stock: Idle: 35 degrees 50% Load: 69 degrees 90% Load: 87 degrees CNPS9900LED: Idle: 25 degrees 50% Load: 43 degrees 90% Load: 57 degrees It's a little bit hard to install since you have to pull out the motherboard to mount since you have to put screw at the back of the motherboard but it's worth. I re-assembled and re-route all the cables in one direction and now no more tangled wires, very clean. I'm very happy with the result. Jun __________________ Sony Z7U, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 F4L, Canon 70-200 F2.8L, Canon 580 EXII, Zoom H2.

August 28th, 2009, 06:19 AM	#6
Peter Moretti Trustee Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Sherman Oaks, CA Posts: 1,259	Another great move. I had to a Zalman cooling fan on my P4 or it would cook itself. __________________ Avid Media Composer 3.1.3. Boris Red and Continuum Complete. Vegas 8.0c. TMPGEnc Xpress Pro 4.0

August 26th, 2009, 08:39 AM	#3
Andrew Smith Equal Opportunity Offender Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 3,064	And those Core i7 CPUs handle overclocking very very well. Andrew

August 28th, 2009, 10:06 AM	#7
Jun Galinato Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Auburn, Washington Posts: 231	Well, I have overclocked a little bit (3.2GHz) and looks like it's very stable. I encoded an H.264 blu ray 1920x1080 (about 2 hours 20 min.) and it takes 7 hours 19 min., not overclock is 9 hours 45 min. Mpeg blu ray 1920x1080 takes about 1 hour 17 min, not overclock is about 1 hour 40 min. Load is 50 t0 70 percent, CPU Temp is 41 degrees, Core Temp is between 50-60 degrees. Jun __________________ Sony Z7U, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 F4L, Canon 70-200 F2.8L, Canon 580 EXII, Zoom H2. Last edited by Jun Galinato; August 28th, 2009 at 11:01 AM. Reason: add more

August 31st, 2009, 07:38 AM	#8
Robert M Wright Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Minnesota (USA) Posts: 2,171	I never heard of "Rocketfish" power supplies. I suggest you replace it with a Corsair power supply. Cheap PSUs (and a lot that aren't even cheap in price) can (and will) come back to haunt you. Corsair builds excellent quality PSUs, and the prices on them are very good for the quality you get.

August 31st, 2009, 02:20 PM	#9
James Park Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Hillsboro, Oregon Posts: 58	I got the core i7 920 back in April for about $142USD through a special employee discount purchase program. Got 12GB DDR3 memory, Vista64 and 6TB was ready to rock. This was upgrading a system from Core 2 Duo, 4GB, XP32, 2TB. Talk about huge performance leap especially with video editing. I've been able to overclock to 4Ghz but opted to keep it steady at 3.7GHz for power/performance/stability efficiency. You gotta love the hyperthreading especially during encodes and renders if your app can utilize it.

August 31st, 2009, 05:15 PM	#11
Jun Galinato Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Auburn, Washington Posts: 231	For now I will keep this power supply since it's not giving me any problem. Here's a review of the Rocketfish power supply. Rocketfish 700 W Power Supply Review \| Hardware Secrets Jun __________________ Sony Z7U, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 F4L, Canon 70-200 F2.8L, Canon 580 EXII, Zoom H2.

September 6th, 2009, 08:58 AM	#12
Robert M Wright Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Minnesota (USA) Posts: 2,171	That's not a very impressive review - sounds like a pretty run-of-the-mill PSU. I sure wouldn't put one of those in a computer I built, other than perhaps a cheap computer for my grandkids to beat on. PSUs are probably the most overlooked and unappreciated component in a computer system. Using anything less than a top notch quality PSU essentially risks the reliability and lifespan of every other component in the system. It's well worth it to spend an extra few dollars to get a well built PSU (you save in the long run - both in headaches and repair costs).

September 6th, 2009, 11:44 AM	#14
Jun Galinato Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Auburn, Washington Posts: 231	Thanks for the suggestions. I also see some topnotch corsair power supply review at newegg that after 3 months it's dead or getting noisy, or DOA. I still keep the RF, not giving me any problem and it's very cool even in a full load of my system, very quiete too. I 'm not telling you that this is a good psu, but i will monitor how it performs and will inform you. Jun __________________ Sony Z7U, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 F4L, Canon 70-200 F2.8L, Canon 580 EXII, Zoom H2.

September 7th, 2009, 08:37 AM	#15
Robert M Wright Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Minnesota (USA) Posts: 2,171	Obviously, there's no such thing as a zero failure rate, but with power supplies it's a good idea to get as close as you can to that (within reason). When most computer components malfunction, damage is almost always limited to the malfunctioning component. That's not true with power supplies. When a power supply malfunctions, it can (and often does) damage just about any other component(s) in the system (often without warning). Also, a marginal power supply can imitate other problems. For example, if you experience occasional crashes that might seem like software glitches, it can often simply be due to a marginal power supply.