Building a new desktop?

[CTBlankenship 36]

Kind of unable to tell ... high end watercooling can do a lot to channel the heat from an IHS ... the problem is that the interface between the CPU thermal plate and the IHS is compromised by two things:  1) the TIM  is not that great (some discussion exists on the veracity of this statement) and 2) the black silicone adhesive they use to attach the IHS to the CPU wafer ever so slightly increases the distance between the two.  Simply put, there is a thermal barrier to getting the heat away from the CPU wafer due to these two reasons.  In the end a better watercooling solution can easily get you to 4.5 or 4.6 ... but you have to test incrementally.  Which, if you follow NickN's guidelines helps you do just that.

 

To OC properly you are going to have to learn how to read your BIOS and match those settings up with the terms that NickN talks about.  I have no experience with any boards other than ASUS Maximus boards.  Since NickN's guidelines speaks specifically to ASUS users, for me, this was easy.  For you, I'm sure it should be pretty easy to figure out which setting he is talking about ... just a little common sense and research should do the trick.

 

As for the tools of which I spoke they all serve a purpose and I'm a little rusty on which ones do what ... Aida64 100% FPU stress test is good for placing the highest load possible on the CPU ... do this for 1 hour.  Follow that by using OCCT setup for Linpack 64bit AVX ... do that for another hour.  The caution here is that OCCT allows you to setup a thermal limit where the test aborts if you exceed a specified temperature (like 88-90c ... absolutely the max acceptable) ... Aida64 doesn't ... therefore you must monitor your hardware closely using HWMonitor and another monitoring tool called Real Temp Inferno.  Finally, OCCT CPU 64-bit with Large Data Set for an hour ... for stability.  This one was the hardest for my machine to pass.  I could never get it to finish the test consistently at 4.7GHz without raising Vcore to, what was to me, unacceptable levels ... (see note below).  Finally, I also use Prime95 for an hour ... this is a bit of a throw back to olden times but I still found it useful right about the 20 to 25 minute mark ... on my original CyberPowerPC my temps shot to 90c+ at 4.2GHz.  That is when I found canned systems to be unacceptable.  After delidding and lapping my temps on Prime 95 never get out of the 60c range.  Thirty degrees of temperature difference is nothing to sneeze at.

 

So, feel free to tweak and test all you want (the above was a quick paraphrase of NickNs 4.8GHz on Air post.  However, and this is a BIG however, remember that you are running an un-modded CPU and you have to be VERY careful where your temps are concerned.  Yes, great watercooling can do a fine job ... but in the end it is up to you to notice when you have reached its limit and you are entering the unsafe zone when it comes to temps.  Big warning here ... when using Prime95 you have to manually stop the test ... if you simply exit the program the test will not stop ... you could be cooking your computer without you even knowing it is happening if you are not careful.  To that end, at the end of every test ... press Ctrl+Shift+Esc at the same time ... this brings up the Windows Task Manager ... make sure that your CPU usage is NOT 100% ... only then is it safe to let your guard down.

 

Note below:  Don't get all lost in the chase for frames per second (fps) ... Shift+Z+Z in FSX.  As everyone has now come to advise is this:  Your concern should be with smooth flight in all situations ... using the settings you think you want (AI Traffic, Scenery Add-ons, Weather, high computer power airplanes like PMDG 777, etc.) ... and also realize that an additional 100MHz only grants a fairly, and alarming, low increase in fps.  Now you must realize that the difference between 4.5GHz and 3.5GHz (stock for an i7-4770k) is really big ... but increasing clock frequency from 4.5 to 4.6 is not uber-fabulous ... 4.7 is of course better ... but you will probably not get to this level without a mod of some sort.  My point being this ... try to go from 4.3 to 4.5 ... with a North Bridge of 4100 to 4200.  This should put you in the high 70c to mid 80c range with your rig (but this is actually impossible to guess without any first hand experience with your rig).  So, before you do anything ... perform all of the stability tests indicated above on your rig at 4.3GHz.  If they sold that to you as a factory OC then you should not void your warranty by stress testing it.  As soon as you go to 4.4GHz though you are risking losing your warranty.  So, be careful.

[CTBlankenship 36]

One final thing ... since you are not 100% couched in computers (as I was when I first started this month long manic episode) ... there are two types of water cooling ... the kind that requires maintenance and the kind that does not.  The computer I got from CyberPowerPC with enhanced cooling system contained a reservoir ... from time to time this needs refilling ... if you don't know how to "check the oil" find out ... and do not let it run low ... or else.  The other kind is closed loop and maintenance free ... like the Corsair H100i ... which is what I use.  Don't do what I did in high school when the prettiest girl in 12th grade asked me to drive her home ... and my car broke down ... because I didn't fill the radiator on a 1970 Firebird Esprit ... man I still remember looking in the rearview mirror as steam was escaping from that long white hood :wub: .

[Ray Proudfoot 8,925]

Sportsfan23,

 

You haven't said in any of your posts where you live so I felt unable to help you. If you're based in the UK I would have recommended Scan computers as I'm picking mine up from them on Monday and it includes many components recommended to you by others.

 

Of course if you don't live in the UK then such advice would be useless. So it's in your interest and everyone's to include their location in their profile. I fail to understand why people don't do it.

[Sportsfan23 2]

 

 

To OC properly you are going to have to learn how to read your BIOS and match those settings up with the terms that NickN talks about. I have no experience with any boards other than ASUS Maximus boards. Since NickN's guidelines speaks specifically to ASUS users, for me, this was easy. For you, I'm sure it should be pretty easy to figure out which setting he is talking about ... just a little common sense and research should do the trick.

 

I am actually getting the exact type of computer an Alienware one the guy in the guide said to stay away from haha because I guess I could have built the same type of computer or even a better one on my own for a bit less money. Since I don't know much about computer hardware I figured it would be best to go through a company I have gotten products from before so I was content with paying the extra money and having somebody else set it up and put it together. 

Sportsfan23,

 

You haven't said in any of your posts where you live so I felt unable to help you. If you're based in the UK I would have recommended Scan computers as I'm picking mine up from them on Monday and it includes many components recommended to you by others.

 

Of course if you don't live in the UK then such advice would be useless. So it's in your interest and everyone's to include their location in their profile. I fail to understand why people don't do it.

 

Yea sorry I am in the USA. I need to go update that on my profile.

[CTBlankenship 36]

No worries ... as expected ... a person can always look at a decision and listen to someone else and become dissatisfied because one aspect or other of the choice is not the "best one possible" ... I'm sure the machine you bought will do just swimmingly.  Now that you have made the decision don't bother second guessing yourself ... get to flying and enjoying yourself!

[Sportsfan23 2]

No worries ... as expected ... a person can always look at a decision and listen to someone else and become dissatisfied because one aspect or other of the choice is not the "best one possible" ... I'm sure the machine you bought will do just swimmingly.  Now that you have made the decision don't bother second guessing yourself ... get to flying and enjoying yourself!

 

Exactly, now I just need to figure out which order to install and tweak things haha.

[Dominique_K 10,133]

Exactly, now I just need to figure out which order to install and tweak things haha.

Tweaking is like a strong alcohol. It's great to have a sip ot two, drink more and get wasted .Useful tweaks are very limited in numbers. 

[Sportsfan23 2]

Tweaking is like a strong alcohol. It's great to have a sip ot two, drink more and get wasted .Useful tweaks are very limited in numbers. 

 

Yea I think I read there was like 3 or 4 major tweaks you need to do and the rest are purely based on preferences.

[Sportsfan23 2]

Just turned on my new desktop and everything seemed ok except for the speed that I see when I look at my computer specs. I ordered one that was OC'd to 4.3 GHZ but in the PC specs area it shows a I4960 at 3.6 GHZ. How can I tell if my computer is actually running at 4.3 GHZ and not 3.6?

[CTBlankenship 36]

Use CPU-Z ... notice that my core speed is 4600.00 MHz.  Use this same program to test your CPU under load.  Fire up CPU-Z ... and then run a program like Prime95 (old and dated but it gets the job done) ... when Prime95 ramps up ... keep an eye on CPU-Z ... what you will see is that when your CPU comes under load ... your MHz responds accordingly.

[Sportsfan23 2]

Use CPU-Z ... notice that my core speed is 4600.00 MHz.  Use this same program to test your CPU under load.  Fire up CPU-Z ... and then run a program like Prime95 (old and dated but it gets the job done) ... when Prime95 ramps up ... keep an eye on CPU-Z ... what you will see is that when your CPU comes under load ... your MHz responds accordingly.

 

Yup I remember you mentioning that program. Well when I get the whole monitor thing figured out I will try that and see what happens.

[ant_1984 20]

If your PC is an Alienware as you mentioned earlier it's quite possible that the predefined OC hasn't been loaded. One of my previous PC's was an Alienware.

 

Alienware OC their PC's using a profile saved in BIOS which is the same for all their PC's (So I hate to say it but if you paid extra for the OC then you wasted some money there because it can be set yourself via BIOS). 

 

Take a look in BIOS and somewhere there should be a setting like "Load Level 1 OC" or "Load Level 2 OC".

 

My guess is "Level 2" will be your 4.3Ghz.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Edit:

 

Here's a pic from the R4 Bios

 

[Sportsfan23 2]

I will go and try to find that thank you.