Any Core I7 users yet?

Bryan Daugherty · March 3rd, 2009, 02:20 AM

Ok, I am jealous now.

Jeff Harper · March 3rd, 2009, 02:58 AM

These rendering speeds are excellent. I cannot help but imagine what the next generation of chip will bring. Intel has something in the works that will blow these i7s out of the water next year, or so I've read.

I got the chip because of the unmanageability of M2T files, but their are other benefits also.

Maybe due to the DDR3 memory, mulitple programs run simultaneously quite well. Even when rendering, I can open any program, and when there was a delay previously before in the program opening up under load, they now open up instantly, as if nothing else was running.

It's most noticeable with Adobe programs like Adobe Acrobat Pro and Dreamweaver....they just pop open like a popup window...there is no loading time. It's freaky.

Jeff Harper · March 3rd, 2009, 03:16 AM

Andy, I have read that hitting 4.0 as I had wanted to do can be problematic with this processor. In your case you have a different MOBO than I, and probably different RAM. Did you try the settings chart I referenced above to hit 3.8?

My temps under load are hitting 75C, which is as high as I want to go temp wise. I haven't found (or tried very hard to find) a better cooling solution than the stock fan. From what I've seen 75C is fine under load, but I'm still investigating what the safe temps are.

Andy Todzia · March 3rd, 2009, 05:20 AM

Jeff, I did try the settings you posted. I think I might have once gone a little higher on the CPU Voltage setting as well. Maybe if I relaxed the timings on my memory. I looked for, but couldn't find anything, about the benefits of better memory timings versus CPU speed with this processor. I am using a Monsoon cooler fan which works well. After running prime for a 1/2 hour my maximum CPU temp. is 68 C. At 3.6 my settings are 1.30 for the two settings you listed in you post.

Jeff Harper · March 3rd, 2009, 05:57 AM

Hmmm, well, the only thing I can guess is that possibly V2 of the board might be optimized slightly better for OCing. I don't know about the memory timings, I haven't touched mine, and they are not that great to begin with, I think they are 9-9-9-24. But then they only cost just over $100 for 6GB, so I got what I paid for.

Sam Renkin · March 3rd, 2009, 07:29 AM

Alistair -

Though my eSATA port doesn't smell fried, I have noticed an electrical "pop" each time I connect or disconnect the port (heard through my speakers). I wonder if there's an electrical issue here, some kind of conflict with the internal power of the PC and the external power of the eSATA drive?

Thanks Jeff for clarifying that the problem is not with Vista.

Sam

Andy Todzia · March 3rd, 2009, 05:19 PM

Jeff,

You have the deluxe board. One thing ASUS did was put some extra chipset heat sink cooling on that version. Maybe that accounts for part of it. I know some people with the same board I have are getting higher overclocks, 3.8 - 4.0. In the future I may play with settings again but for now I am more than happy with the speed of the computer. I think it may be the biggest impact upgrade that I have ever done.

Andy

Gary Bettan · March 4th, 2009, 08:16 PM

Videoguys DIY7 Update

Now that Adobe CS4, Avid Media Composer and Sony Vegas support Vista 64 we think the time has come to see how they run on the latest hardware.

Our DIY7 machine is up and running geat. THIS BABY SMOKES!!! We used the following parts:

* Intel i7 920 processor (Quad-core, hyperthreaded)
* Asus P6T Deluxe X58 based motherboard
* 6GB Corsair RAM (6GB total: 3 x 2Gb sticks) running triple channel
* Vista 64 Business
* 1TB System Drive
* G-Speed eS 2TB w/ PCIe card for media storage
* QuadroFX 1700 (we will be testing a new QuadroCX card shortly)

So far we are running Adobe Production Premium CS4 and the results are amazing. We will be installing the new Media Composer 3.5 software later this week.

We hope to have our article published in in a week or two. It will be one of the first new featured articles on the new Videoguys website! Videoguys.com

It was the new website that caused many of the delays in our DIY7 project. The same IT team that builds our DIY machines does our internal IT support and was heavily involved in the launch of our new site.

Gary

Mark Williams · March 4th, 2009, 09:18 PM

Gary,

Nice build. I was curious why you used a 1TB drive for the system drive and external g-speed instead of internal video storage drives. All advice I have read in the past recommends a small 80 to 160 GB drive for system .

Jeff Harper · March 4th, 2009, 09:27 PM

Disregard post

Gary Bettan · March 5th, 2009, 10:20 AM

We don't recommend the skinny boot drive theory. While it's good for office computing and maybe gamers, it's not so good for video editing. You don;t ever want to have a clogged up C: drive in your NLE workstation.

- When a drive fills up past 75% capacity it gets slower, so I recommend keeping the C: drive big and lean. Lots of space, lots of unused capacity.

- We install a ton of programs. Adobe, Avid, Sony, even consumer titles like Pinnacle. All of these programs now install media, help files, even video clips. The drive fills up faster then you think.

- Sometimes with encoding you'll get faster results when you select a separate physical drive from your media drive (or RAID) for the destination drive. We set up a folder on our C: drive for these files to go. This has to do with the fact that encoding requires both reading and writing simultaneously.

- Lets face it, 1TB is HUGE, but the cost per GB is so small. At 7200RPM and around $129 bucks, why would you go smaller.

Gary

Dale Guthormsen · March 6th, 2009, 05:30 PM

Good evening,

I am using my Dell I7 with vista 64.

I have 8.0c and 8.1

2 weeks ago 8.1 would not capture but 8.0 still did; simple capture with 8.0

With 8.0 It now says that my camera is not connected. I restored my comuter to the other day when it was working. then it said preview not available even though device control worked. It only captured audio, weird.

The computer beeps when i turn the xlh1 on. I also tried my xl2 and zr 800. Nothing is working.

Can you guys save me a horrrible call to Dell!!

Frustrated to be sure!!

Alastair Brown · March 6th, 2009, 05:53 PM

The Dell eSATA still doesnt fill me with confidence. At times when I connect it up, I get the feeling that my system is bogging down.
As far as the physical eSATA connection goes, it seems VERY easy to dislodge it just enough to break the connection.

Re the firewire, I ignored others saying the same before only to find out they were right. Try a fresh firewire lead!

Also, the front firewire port for me at least appears to be so deeply recessed that I cant get my lead into it. I use the rear one. Have you tried both ports?

Dale Guthormsen · March 6th, 2009, 06:09 PM

thanks for the thought.

I had a 1394 Hub, I hooked it up to the back and low and behold, all seems well!!

that is a rip off to be sure, brand new computer!!!

At least I am in business.

I will have to check my hd link and 8.1 after i am done capturing.

thanks again!!!

I should a thunk it myself!!

Andy Todzia · March 6th, 2009, 07:42 PM

Jeff,

It turned out that my power supply was holding back overclocking more than 3.6. I was using an OCZ 520 watt and switched it with an 850 watt Corsair today. Overclocked it to 3.8 GHz and ran Prime95 for 45 minutes with no problem. Maximum CPU temp. was 65 C. Over the next few days will try to take it up to 3.9, then 4.0, depending on temperatures and stability. Upgrading the power supply was also good in case I want to add a few more hard drives in the next year or two. Although, with the recent purchase of a Thermaltake BlacX Sata docking station I am not sure if I will need to add more inside the case and have them powered up all the time.

Andy

March 3rd, 2009, 02:20 AM	#196
Bryan Daugherty Major Player Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Lexington, Ky - USA Posts: 552	Ok, I am jealous now. __________________ 3x-HD1000u - Ikan 8000HD- custom i7 PC - Vegas Pro 13 and 11 64 bit - Premiere Pro CS4 - and a whole mess of other equipment...

March 3rd, 2009, 05:57 AM	#200
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Hmmm, well, the only thing I can guess is that possibly V2 of the board might be optimized slightly better for OCing. I don't know about the memory timings, I haven't touched mine, and they are not that great to begin with, I think they are 9-9-9-24. But then they only cost just over $100 for 6GB, so I got what I paid for. Last edited by Jeff Harper; March 3rd, 2009 at 09:11 PM.

March 4th, 2009, 08:16 PM	#203
Gary Bettan Sponsor: Electronic Mailbox Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Glen Cove, NY Posts: 758	Videoguys DIY7 Update Now that Adobe CS4, Avid Media Composer and Sony Vegas support Vista 64 we think the time has come to see how they run on the latest hardware. Our DIY7 machine is up and running geat. THIS BABY SMOKES!!! We used the following parts: * Intel i7 920 processor (Quad-core, hyperthreaded) * Asus P6T Deluxe X58 based motherboard * 6GB Corsair RAM (6GB total: 3 x 2Gb sticks) running triple channel * Vista 64 Business * 1TB System Drive * G-Speed eS 2TB w/ PCIe card for media storage * QuadroFX 1700 (we will be testing a new QuadroCX card shortly) So far we are running Adobe Production Premium CS4 and the results are amazing. We will be installing the new Media Composer 3.5 software later this week. We hope to have our article published in in a week or two. It will be one of the first new featured articles on the new Videoguys website! Videoguys.com It was the new website that caused many of the delays in our DIY7 project. The same IT team that builds our DIY machines does our internal IT support and was heavily involved in the launch of our new site. Gary __________________ Check out http://www.videoguys.com 800 323-2325 We are the video editing and live video production experts! DV InfoNet members save 5%! Use Coupon Code DVINFO5OFF

March 4th, 2009, 09:18 PM	#204
Mark Williams Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Deep South, U.S. Posts: 1,526	Gary, Nice build. I was curious why you used a 1TB drive for the system drive and external g-speed instead of internal video storage drives. All advice I have read in the past recommends a small 80 to 160 GB drive for system . __________________ Mark videos: http://vimeo.com/channels/3523 Stock: http://www.pond5.com/artist/mark29

March 5th, 2009, 10:20 AM	#206
Gary Bettan Sponsor: Electronic Mailbox Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Glen Cove, NY Posts: 758	We don't recommend the skinny boot drive theory. While it's good for office computing and maybe gamers, it's not so good for video editing. You don;t ever want to have a clogged up C: drive in your NLE workstation. - When a drive fills up past 75% capacity it gets slower, so I recommend keeping the C: drive big and lean. Lots of space, lots of unused capacity. - We install a ton of programs. Adobe, Avid, Sony, even consumer titles like Pinnacle. All of these programs now install media, help files, even video clips. The drive fills up faster then you think. - Sometimes with encoding you'll get faster results when you select a separate physical drive from your media drive (or RAID) for the destination drive. We set up a folder on our C: drive for these files to go. This has to do with the fact that encoding requires both reading and writing simultaneously. - Lets face it, 1TB is HUGE, but the cost per GB is so small. At 7200RPM and around $129 bucks, why would you go smaller. Gary __________________ Check out http://www.videoguys.com 800 323-2325 We are the video editing and live video production experts! DV InfoNet members save 5%! Use Coupon Code DVINFO5OFF

March 3rd, 2009, 02:58 AM	#197
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	These rendering speeds are excellent. I cannot help but imagine what the next generation of chip will bring. Intel has something in the works that will blow these i7s out of the water next year, or so I've read. I got the chip because of the unmanageability of M2T files, but their are other benefits also. Maybe due to the DDR3 memory, mulitple programs run simultaneously quite well. Even when rendering, I can open any program, and when there was a delay previously before in the program opening up under load, they now open up instantly, as if nothing else was running. It's most noticeable with Adobe programs like Adobe Acrobat Pro and Dreamweaver....they just pop open like a popup window...there is no loading time. It's freaky.

March 3rd, 2009, 03:16 AM	#198
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Andy, I have read that hitting 4.0 as I had wanted to do can be problematic with this processor. In your case you have a different MOBO than I, and probably different RAM. Did you try the settings chart I referenced above to hit 3.8? My temps under load are hitting 75C, which is as high as I want to go temp wise. I haven't found (or tried very hard to find) a better cooling solution than the stock fan. From what I've seen 75C is fine under load, but I'm still investigating what the safe temps are.

March 3rd, 2009, 05:20 AM	#199
Andy Todzia Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Enfield, CT Posts: 34	Jeff, I did try the settings you posted. I think I might have once gone a little higher on the CPU Voltage setting as well. Maybe if I relaxed the timings on my memory. I looked for, but couldn't find anything, about the benefits of better memory timings versus CPU speed with this processor. I am using a Monsoon cooler fan which works well. After running prime for a 1/2 hour my maximum CPU temp. is 68 C. At 3.6 my settings are 1.30 for the two settings you listed in you post.

March 3rd, 2009, 07:29 AM	#201
Sam Renkin Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 211	Alistair - Though my eSATA port doesn't smell fried, I have noticed an electrical "pop" each time I connect or disconnect the port (heard through my speakers). I wonder if there's an electrical issue here, some kind of conflict with the internal power of the PC and the external power of the eSATA drive? Thanks Jeff for clarifying that the problem is not with Vista. Sam

March 3rd, 2009, 05:19 PM	#202
Andy Todzia Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Enfield, CT Posts: 34	Jeff, You have the deluxe board. One thing ASUS did was put some extra chipset heat sink cooling on that version. Maybe that accounts for part of it. I know some people with the same board I have are getting higher overclocks, 3.8 - 4.0. In the future I may play with settings again but for now I am more than happy with the speed of the computer. I think it may be the biggest impact upgrade that I have ever done. Andy

March 4th, 2009, 09:27 PM	#205
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Disregard post

March 6th, 2009, 05:30 PM	#207
Dale Guthormsen Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 3,048	Good evening, I am using my Dell I7 with vista 64. I have 8.0c and 8.1 2 weeks ago 8.1 would not capture but 8.0 still did; simple capture with 8.0 With 8.0 It now says that my camera is not connected. I restored my comuter to the other day when it was working. then it said preview not available even though device control worked. It only captured audio, weird. The computer beeps when i turn the xlh1 on. I also tried my xl2 and zr 800. Nothing is working. Can you guys save me a horrrible call to Dell!! Frustrated to be sure!! __________________ DATS ALL FOLKS Dale W. Guthormsen

March 6th, 2009, 05:53 PM	#208
Alastair Brown Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Glasgow/Scotland Posts: 626	The Dell eSATA still doesnt fill me with confidence. At times when I connect it up, I get the feeling that my system is bogging down. As far as the physical eSATA connection goes, it seems VERY easy to dislodge it just enough to break the connection. Re the firewire, I ignored others saying the same before only to find out they were right. Try a fresh firewire lead! Also, the front firewire port for me at least appears to be so deeply recessed that I cant get my lead into it. I use the rear one. Have you tried both ports?

March 6th, 2009, 06:09 PM	#209
Dale Guthormsen Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 3,048	thanks for the thought. I had a 1394 Hub, I hooked it up to the back and low and behold, all seems well!! that is a rip off to be sure, brand new computer!!! At least I am in business. I will have to check my hd link and 8.1 after i am done capturing. thanks again!!! I should a thunk it myself!! __________________ DATS ALL FOLKS Dale W. Guthormsen

March 6th, 2009, 07:42 PM	#210
Andy Todzia Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Enfield, CT Posts: 34	Jeff, It turned out that my power supply was holding back overclocking more than 3.6. I was using an OCZ 520 watt and switched it with an 850 watt Corsair today. Overclocked it to 3.8 GHz and ran Prime95 for 45 minutes with no problem. Maximum CPU temp. was 65 C. Over the next few days will try to take it up to 3.9, then 4.0, depending on temperatures and stability. Upgrading the power supply was also good in case I want to add a few more hard drives in the next year or two. Although, with the recent purchase of a Thermaltake BlacX Sata docking station I am not sure if I will need to add more inside the case and have them powered up all the time. Andy