SlashGear » overclocking

iBUYPOWER Paladin Comes in Four Flavors, is Extremely Overclockable

Evan Selleck — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:02:12 +0000

We’ve got to hand it to iBUYPOWER. They know how to release the computer that just look fun to use. The Paladin series, announced today, is no difference. This is one of those products that we just want to touch. Sure, it doesn’t hurt that the innards of these things make us want to actually use them. The company has officially announced the latest in their Paladin series, and these are definitely a chip off the old block.

Each of the four different variations of the Paladin are issued with the new Intel Core i7 980X Extreme Edition Processor, which makes the system quite the healthy benchmark demolisher. As the press release reads, the new systems are “extremely overclockable, and allow unmatched multitasking capability.” We just love the word overclockable. It’s unique. In any event, iBUYPOWER is banking on the fact that gamers won’t have to worry about how many windows/browsers they have open anymore, let alone if they’re listening to their favorite music or using GameSpeak, due to their machine’s power.

The Paladin F950, F970, and XLC V3 are all equipped with 12GB of DDR3 memory, provide at least 1 TB of storage, and have Blu-Ray Disc players. They all also keep with the liquid-cooling tradition of iBUYPOWER, and offer the “upgrade” for free. Graphics wise, you can choose from an ATI Radeon card, or go with the NVIDIA GeForce variation if you wish. The F970 and XLC V3 are packed with an 80GB Solid State Drive (SSD) and have been upgraded to Windows 7 Ultimate. If you’ve got $2,159 lying around, then you can start shopping now at iBUYPOWER’s website to pick out your favorite piece. Full press release just below.

El Monte, CA – March 18, 2010 – iBUYPOWER, a leading innovator of gaming PCs, is excited to announce four new Paladin gaming systems all powered by the new Intel Core i7 980X Extreme Edition Processor. The new 6 core processors are extremely overclockable, deliver benchmark shattering performance and allow unmatched multitasking capability. Gamers need not be concerned with having multiple browsers open, team speak, or MP3s files playing while gaming due to the new processor’s revolutionary hyper-threading technology.

The four new configurations all feature the finest components available, including the newest ATI Radeon and NVIDIA GeForce high-definition video cards, which all support DirectX 11 graphics. The Paladin F950, F970 and XLC V3 all pack 12GB of DDR3 Memory, provide at least a 1 TB of storage space and a Blu-ray drive. The fully loaded F970 and XLC V3 also come standard with an 80GB solid state drive and have been upgraded to Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate. Additionally, like all iBUYPOWER desktop systems, the newest Paladin model all feature free liquid CPU cooling.

Gamers looking to get the most out of their new six core systems can take advantage of the iBUYPOWER Labs’ Power Drive Overclocking Service, which overclocks the CPU by as much as 30% and comes standard on the Paladin XLC V3. Other innovative iBUYPOWER exclusive products and services include the Harmony Sound Reduction System, the Internal USB Expansion System, and iBUYPOWER’s Specialized Advanced Packaging System with expanding foam inserts to prevent damage during shipping.

The new Paladin systems start at $2,159 and are available now at www.iBUYPOWER.com.

Customers with more specific gaming needs can configure a fully customizable system at www.iBUYPOWER.com. All iBUYPOWER systems also come standard with 1 year limited warranty and lifetime technical support.

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Digital Storm BlackOPS PC overclocks Core i7-980X to 4.44GHz

Chris Davies — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:14:16 +0000

It’s not only MAINGEAR playing games with Intel’s latest Core i7-980X Extreme processor. The new hexacore has found its way into Digital Storm’s similarly-stonking BlackOPS desktop, but they’ve not seen fit to leave its 3.33GHz alone; instead, opt for their TwisterBoost overclocking package and they’ll crank the Core i7 all the way up to 4.44GHz.

The “basic” package pairs the new six-core CPU with 6GB of DDR3 memory, dual ATI Radeon HD 5970 2GB video cards in CrossFireX configuration, and a silent 1,200W PSU. It also gets a 500GB hard-drive and a liquid-cooling system for the processor, though you can choose various combinations of HDD and SSD together with a full liquid-cooling system that covers CPU, X58 chipset and up to four video cards.

Prices kick off at a considerable $5,642 and if you want the 4.44GHz overclock then you’re looking at another $248 on top of that. After that the world can get as crazy as your wallet affords; nobody ever said performance PCs were affordable.

Press Release:

Digital Storm’ Black │OPS Gaming PC Integrates World’s Fastest CPU at 4.4GHz

Ultimate gaming PC updated with Intel’s lighting-fast Core i7 980X Extreme Edition processor

Fremont, Calif. – (March 16, 2010) – Digital Storm, the predominant name in system integration, proudly announces a hardware update to its Black|OPS gaming systems. Now gamers can configure the Black|OPS machine with Intel’s first consumer hexa-core processor, the Core i7-980X Extreme Edition.

With the addition of the 32nm Core i7-980X processor, also known as Gulftown, gamers can effortlessly run up to 12 computing threads at once, a feat that was once unimaginable. Intel’s’ new processor features an impressive 12MB L3 cache, which helps streamline operation by limiting the number of times the CPU needs to access DDR3 memory. The Core i7-980X has a clock speed of 3.33GHz, making it as fast as any processor Intel has ever created.

“The introduction of a six core processor with hyper threading capabilities is a momentous occasion for gaming enthusiasts,” remarked Rajeev Kuruppu, Digital Storm’s Director of Product Development. “With our TwisterBoost overclocking package, we can overclock the i7-980X to a record breaking 4.4GHz. The results we’ve recorded on our test bench have been nothing short of astounding. I can honestly say that our Black OPS machines with this new CPU resulted in the most impressive gaming experience I’ve ever had.”

Digital Storm’s Black|OPS systems with Intel’s Core i7-980X Extreme Edition are currently available for purchase at www.DigitalStormOnline.com. The Extreme configuration has a base price of $5,642 & each Digital Storm system comes with a 3 year parts and labor warranty, including replacement parts, and lifetime customer support.

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Palm Pre gets 800MHz overclock [Video]

Chris Davies — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:14:17 +0000

Palm Pre not fast enough for you? The Pre Plus doubles the webOS smartphone’s RAM but leaves the processor (a 600MHz TI OMAP 3430 underclocked by Palm to 500MHz) unchanged; happily where Palm themselves seemingly fear to tread, owners themselves have no such qualms. A couple of mod-happy Pre owners have overclocked the smartphone to 800MHz, resulting in swifter performance and, surprisingly, no significant increase in power consumption.

So far they’ve only had the chance to produce the webOS 1.3.5.1 code, not the newer 1.4 build, but it’s apparently as stable as any bleeding-edge alternative firmware ever is. While battery life isn’t battered, it seems the new code turns the Pre into quite the pocket-warmer: the advice is to put the smartphone into Airplane mode periodically to give it a break.

[via Gizmodo]

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Intel overclock-friendly CPUs in near future?

Chris Davies — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:54:32 +0000

In the ongoing processor battle between AMD and Intel, some users pick their chips based on how easy to overclock they are. In recent years AMD have arguably held that crown, with only Intel’s Extreme Edition CPUs being particularly overclock-friendly (at least officially), but according to Intel chipset marketing chief Steve Peterson that could change soon. He’s said that Intel are “considering new affordable models to introduce overclocking,” likely a new Clarkdale or Lynnfield processor range.

Peterson wouldn’t give details as to which chips Intel have in mind, nor what sort of timescale their release may follow, but according to Dutch site Tweakers it’s in the reasonably short term. The Tech Report speculates that it would be in Intel’s best interest to cherry-pick models across their Core i3, i5 and i7 line-up so as to better match AMD’s dual-core and quad-core Black Label offerings.

[via The Tech Report]

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Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 claims “fastest video card” title

Chris Davies — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:51:38 +0000

My first desktop PC had a single fan; now we’re looking at video cards which tote three fans apiece. Such is the price of progress, and such is the awesome Sapphire Radeon HD 5970, based on ATI’s Radeon HD 5970 GPU and quietly brought out to play at CeBIT 2010 this week. According to Sapphire the triple-thick card is the fastest in the world.

That’s because they’ve packed it full, with 4GB of DDR3 memory and an overclocked GPU running at 850MHz. Meanwhile the memory is clocked at 1,200MHz, and that’s apparently good enough for a 3DMark Vantage score of around 22,000.

Ports include two dual-link DVI and a Mini DisplayPort, along with twin 8-pin power connectors, and the thickness is thanks to a huge heatsink and three supposedly-silent fans. No word on what this behemoth might cost nor when it will launch, but we’re guessing it’ll be very expensive.

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ASUS Republic of Gamers overclocked Radeon HD 5870 leaks

Chris Davies — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:00:06 +0000

Details of an upcoming ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) graphics card have emerged, complete with some early photos, and it seems the company have taken an ATI Radeon HD 5870 and overclocked it. The fettled card cranks the GPU from 850MHz to 900MHz and doubles RAM to 2GB of 4.9Gbps GDDR5 memory. Meanwhile ASUS are apparently making it straightforward to overclock the ROG card a little more again, with up to 1080MHz possible from the GPU and 5.2Gbps from the memory.

Connectivity is DVI, DisplayPort and HDMI, and the ports share the backplate with a Safe Mode button. Pressing this reverts the ROG HD 5870 to a stable configuration, just in case your experiments leave everything inoperable. There are also exposed contacts for multimeter voltage monitoring and a pair of eight-pin PCI Express power connectors.

So that you don’t waste any of your system grunt running an overclocking app in the background, ASUS’ software will save the settings to the ROG card and then shut down. According to Chinese site Zol the ASUS Republic of Gamers Radeon HD 5870 will be “available immediately”, though there’s no sign of a price tag.

[via The Tech Report]

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Sony VAIO P overclocked to 2.4GHz

Chris Davies — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:47:49 +0000

A page of CrystalMark benchmark results may not be the most interesting image to lead with, but when you’re showing the overclock results of pushing Sony’s VAIO P not-a-netbook from its stock 1.86GHz up to 2.3GHz, then we’ll take notice. EeeUser Forum member Cerano was responsible for the modifications, and in fact got his VAIO P cranked up to 2.4GHz (though he didn’t benchmark it at that speed).

Cerano’s VAIO P has the standard 64GB SSD and is unmodified from stock, at least as far as hardware. All he did, in fact, was prop the netbook up to allow better airflow; temperatures during the benchmarking were in the 49 to 60 degree range.

Overall, CrystalMark took the laptop from 28,685 untampered to 33,654 at 2.3GHz, and Cerano claims it was stable at that speed. Battery life would obviously take a hit if you ran it at that sort of speed 24/7, but if you need a sudden boost for A/V processing then it should work wonders.

[via UMPC Fever]

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AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition launches

Ewdison Then — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 04:02:54 +0000

AMD have officially announced their latest high-end performance CPU, the Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition. Running at 3.4GHz, the quad-core AM3 processor has 8MB cache and a 2.0GHz HT Link; in keeping with AMD’s “Black Label” chips it’s also unlocked for overclocking. In fact, the company provides their own OverDrive software, which can load either Black Edition memory profiles, for DDR3-tuned overclock presets, or more straightforward Smart Profiles which direct app-specific processes to specific cores.

The Phenom II X4 965 3.4GHz offers a 61-percent performance boost over the company’s Phenom 9950 but, at 121W under load and 9W at idle, consumes less power than that earlier chip and is the highest frequency CPU AMD has ever made up to date. Like other 45nm Phenom II chips the X4 965 can selectively set individual cores into sleep-modes, while the CoolCore technology can clock-down inactive portions of L3 cache to both save power and reduce heat output.

AMD also reckon they’ll win sales from those buyers looking to scale their upgrades, rather than invest in one go. The Phenom II X4 965 is backward compatible with socket AM2+ motherboards, and as such can be installed into older systems if users aren’t ready to switch to newer ‘boards and faster DDR3 memory. The Phenom II X4 965 will hit the retail shelf for $245.

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Thermaltake PW880i liquid-cooling system

Ewdison Then — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:06:40 +0000

A new liquid-cooling setup from Thermaltake has been announced, the PW880i, offering more flexibility than the company’s all-in-one systems. Consisting of a copper water block, a tank, a P500 pump and a 24cm Motorsports Radiator, the PW88oi is intended for mainstream processor sockets such as the AMD AM2 or Intel’s P4 478.

Video demo after the cut

The fan housing slots into the standard mounts at the back of most full or mid-sized towers, while the pump – also at the rear – can move up to 500 liters per hour. Thermaltake claim the system fan is “silent”, a 240mm piece running at 1,000 to 2,000 rpm.

Optional extras include Thermaltake’s WB400 and WB200, which can be used to liquid-cool a graphics card and Northbridge respectively. No word on pricing, but full specifications here.

[via HEXUS]

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ASUS ROG Crosshair III Formula motherboard for Phenom II CPUs

Ewdison Then — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:59:34 +0000

ASUS‘ latest motherboard for AMD Phenom II processors has been announced. The ASUS ROG (Republic of Gamers) Crosshair III Formula uses the AMD AM3 socket platform, together with CPU Level Up real-time overclocking and bundling a SupremeFX X-Fi sound card.

The Crosshair III Formula also includes ASUS’ MemOK!, the company’s memory upgrade tool. This offers a set of failsafe settings said to work with even faulty RAM and allow the PC to at least boot:

“In the event of a boot failure after installing new RAM, all the user has to do is press an easily accessible button on the motherboard and MemOK! will automatically load the failsafe settings needed to ensure a successful system boot. MemOK! is able to rapidly detect and resolve memory issues—even if bad or unstable memory is used” ASUS

Connections are five SATA-II 3.0Gbps, one eSATA and one UltraDMA 133, gigabit LAN, four DDR3 1600 channels supporting up to 16GB, dual firewire and 12 USB 2.0 connections. The board is also ATI CrossFireX compatible, and will work with ASUS’ ROG OC Station, a bay-mounted overclocking controller with 3-inch LCD. No word on pricing or availability as yet.

Press Release:

Set Your Sights on Blazing Benchmarks with the ROG Crosshair III Formula

ASUS’ New Socket AM3 Motherboard Unlocks the Full Potential of AMD Phenom II Processors

ASUS, the world’s leading producer of motherboards, today put world record-breaking power into the hands of AMD Phenom II users with the launch of the ROG (Republic of Gamers) Crosshair III Formula. Based on the AMD Socket AM3 platform, the Crosshair III Formula harnesses its full arsenal of ROG-exclusive features and technologies to unleash the full overclocking potential of Phenom II processors—enabling budget-conscious enthusiasts and gamers to enjoy extreme levels of performance at an affordable mid-price point.

“The Crosshair III Formula motherboard will help users utilize the full potential of the AMD Phenom II processor. The motherboard is loaded with unique features like CPU Level Up to allow real-time overclocking and is a great board for enthusiasts looking for a mid range solution that is high on features and performance.” Commented Mr. Vinay Shetty – Country Head – Component Products ASUS (India).

Poised for Chart-topping Overclocking Performance

AMD’s Phenom II processors have proven capable of being pushed to incredible frequencies when backed by the right hardware—such as the ASUS M4A79T Deluxe—setting several 3DMark06 and CPU-Z world records in recent times. The Crosshair III Formula, with its comprehensive array of industry-leading ROG features, is set to take Phenom II overclocking a big step further—both in terms of benchmarks and simplicity. ASUS’ exclusive CPU Level Up feature, for example, delivers the best of both worlds, enabling gamers without much overclocking knowledge to ‘upgrade’ their existing processor’s performance to that of a better, more expensive processor with just a click or two.

MemOK! The World’s Only One-click Memory Rescue Tool

Memory compatibility issues are often the bane of system upgraders and ASUS is the only motherboard manufacturer in the world that has devised an ingenious tool solely to tackle memory-related problems. Called MemOK!, ASUS’ exclusive innovation takes the guesswork and anxiety out of memory upgrading, restoring user confidence and peace of mind. In the event of a boot failure after installing new RAM, all the user has to do is press an easily accessible button on the motherboard and MemOK! will automatically load the failsafe settings needed to ensure a successful system boot. MemOK! is able to rapidly detect and resolve memory issues—even if bad or unstable memory is used!

Supreme In-game Audio with SupremeFX X-Fi and Seamless OC Station Compatibility

The Crosshair III Formula is bundled with a SupremeFX X-Fi sound card that delivers crisp audio and incredibly realistic EAX in-game sound effects. X-Fi CMSS3D’s groundbreaking positional audio gives gamers a distinct in-game advantage, while Crystalizer enhances overall audio quality dramatically.

The Crosshair III Formula is also fully compatible with the new ROG OC Station, a pure hardware-based, bay-mounted device with a large 3-inch display that takes overclocking to a whole new level of ease, accuracy and sophistication. When used in conjunction with the Crosshair III Formula, the futuristic-looking OC Station grants users on-the-fly access to overclocking parameters, fan speeds, system information and the Crosshair III Formula’s ROG-exclusive features.

Specifications

Model

ROG Crosshair III Formula

CPU

AMD socket AM3 Phenom™ II / Athlon™ X4 / Athlon™ X3 / Athlon™ X2 processors

Chipset

AMD® 790FX Chipset

System Bus

Up to 5200 MT/s HyperTransport™ 3.0

Memory

4 x DIMM, Dual Channel, up to 16GB

DDR3 1600(O.C.)/1333/1066 MHz

Expansion slot

2 x PCIe2.0 x16 slot

3 x PCIe2.0 x1( the PCIEx1_1 (black) is compatible with audio slot)

1 x PCI 2.2

Multi-GPU

ATI CrossFireX™

Storage

5 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s

1 x eSATA 3.0 Gb/s

1 x UltraDMA 133

LAN

Gigabit LAN

Audio

SupremeFX X-Fi 8-Ch. Audio with EAX4.0 support

Other I/O ports

1*PS/2, 1*eSATA, 1*IEEE1394a, 1*Clr CMOS, 1*LAN, 6*USB

USB / IEEE1394a

12 x USB2.0 / 2 x 1394a ports

Fan connector

8 (1 x CPU / 1 x PWR / 3 x Chassis / 3 x Optional)

Software (Full version)

Kaspersky anti-virus, Futuremark® 3DMark™06 Advanced Edition

Features

MemOK!, SupremeFX X-Fi, CPU Level Up, Keyboard-TweakIt, Extreme Tweaker, iROG, Loadline Calibration, LCD Poster, Voltiminder LED

Form Factor

ATX, 12”x 9.6” (30.5cm x 24.4cm)

Note: Specifications are subject to change without prior notice. Please visit www.asus.com for more details.

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Compal KAX15 MID with overclocking Atom Z515 CPU [Video]

Chris Davies — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:06:10 +0000

MIDs a failure? No no no, how could that be when this little beauty is headed to the market? Known here as the Compal KAX15 MID, but likely to find itself a variety of alternative brands including Gigabyte and Aigo, it’s based on Intel’s existing Menlow platform and packs an 800MHz Atom Z515 processor, a 4.8-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

Video hands-on after the cut

That processor is actually quite clever, because despite the relatively low billed clock speed it also supports 1.2GHz bursting. While running at 1.2GHz would generally produce too much heat and have too great an impact on battery life, bursting-compatible applications will be able to poke the Z515 into running at the faster speed until the CPU’s controller decides things are getting too hot.

There are also dual cameras, front and back. Squinting at the product spec in the video below (courtesy jkkmobile), it looks like the KAX15 has 512MB of RAM, runs Windows XP (though the press shots have an Android-esque status bar across the top) and have WiFi and Bluetooth. No word on specific launch dates or pricing, but at least the Compal KAX15 will land before Moorestown.

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Graphene may be used for 1,000GHz chips

Brenda Stokes — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:49:26 +0000

Graphene might be the next material of choice for making processor chips, according to an MIT report. In fact, Graphene, a substance discovered in 2004 that consists of pure carbon, could allow for faster speeds than ever thought possible.

The current research shows that a frequency multiplier could be created, which works to double a signal and likewise doubles a processor’s clocking speed. Color me impressed! This idea is not new, but it is certainly new when applied to Graphene, which possesses only an atom’s thickness.

So, what’s so exciting about this? Well, Graphene chips could make for processors that run between 500GHz and 1,000GHz. That’s quite a leap from the current 5GHz chips, wouldn’t you say? We should see a commercial version of this technology within two years, according to MIT.

[via PC Pro]

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AMD Phenom II X4 995 in wild: easy 4GHz overclock

Chris Davies — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:58:14 +0000

Screenshots confirming the existence of an unannounced AMD Phenom II processor have turned up on the XtremeSystems Forums. The images confirm the AMD Phenom II X4 995, overclocked from 3.2GHz to 4GHz and used in a system running the Windows 7 beta.

According to the screenshots, the standard X4 995 hits 3.2GHz at 1.25V, but when pushed up to 1.45V – with standard air cooling, rather than anything fancy like water-cooling – and HyperTransport cranked to 250MHz from 200MHz, it reached an easy 4GHz. No word on when AMD might be officially announcing the chip.

The chip is believed to be the replacement to AMD’s planned 3.1GHz Phenom II X4 950, which was expected to arrive in Q2 2009. According to rumors, AMD canceled that unreleased processor after “better-than-expected yields”.

If the link to XtremeSystems above doesn’t work (as it didn’t at time of writing), Google’s cache shows the benchmarking results.

[via The Tech Report]

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Team Finland score 45,474 3DMarks with Phenom II X4 overclock

Chris Davies — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:14:04 +0000

Team Finland have scored a world record 45,474 3DMarks with their liquid-nitrogen cooled Dragon PC, based on a heavily overclocked AMD Phenom II X4 processor. The system also uses ATI Radeon HD 4800-series graphics, in the shape of two 4870 X2 GPUs.

Video demo of the Team Finland super computer after the cut

Other specs include the ASUS M4A79T Deluxe motherboard with the AMD 790FX chipset, 2GB of Corsair DDR3-1800 memory and a Thermaltake Toughpower 1,200W power supply. The graphics were cooled with the standard heatsink and fan, but the CPU used a full-copper Dragon F1 Extreme Edition setup.

Of course, this isn’t something you’d want to be replicating at home under your desk – you’d probably knock over the pail of liquid nitrogen and shatter all your wall-warts – but it goes to show how tweak-happy the AMD processors are. Click through on the video below to see the high-definition version.

[via Blosmo]

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5.5GHz from overclocked Intel Core i7 965 Extreme

Chris Davies — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:55:09 +0000

Japanese overclocker “duck” has cranked an Intel Core i7 965 Extreme processor up to 5510.09 MHz, more than 2GHz faster than the chip’s stock 3.2GHz speed. The process paired the chip with an ASUS ROG Rampage II Extreme motherboard, which allows for hardware-based changes to their systems’ core frequency, voltage and other parameters in real-time.

In fact, the ROG Rampage II Extreme has a small joystick and other controls physically built onto the motherboard itself, which allow each of the different parameters to be tinkered with. It also includes an external LCD display to report system frequency and other stats, again in real-time.

As for duck, he’s responsible for overclocking a Pentium 4 631 CPU to 8180.4MHz in 2007, for which he holds the record for the world’s highest frequency. This Core i7 test setup included 3GB of DDR3 triple-channel RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 graphics card.

[Thanks Pete!]

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Atom CPU overclocked to 2.385GHz with liquid nitrogen

Chris Davies — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:22:48 +0000

Netbook mods to date have been impressive enough. Touchscreens, integrated GPS and Bluetooth, even full slate Tablet PC setups, we’ve seen them all. Team Australia have gone a little further with their MSI Wind, though: taking advantage of the official MSI bios overclocking tool and a plentiful supply of liquid nitrogen, they’ve overclocked the Wind’s 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor to 2.385GHz.

A basic Wind U100 donated its mainboard, and that was modified with a jury-rigged liquid nitrogen pot, some new thermal grease and 2GB of Kingston DDR2 667Mhz RAM. MSI’s own software did the rest, driving the processor up to a 12x multiplier.

Of course, while technically impressive, the bench setup isn’t exactly conducive to throwing into your netbook bag and taking down to the nearest Starbucks. Next up is some improved mounting of the nitrogen flash to the CPU.

[Thanks Alex!]

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AMD Phenom II Shanghai to reach 4GHz with fan-based cooling

Brenda Stokes — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:25:43 +0000

AMD is working hard to make their clock speed relevant again with their latest Shanghai architecture for their Phenom II processors. In fact, these quad-core desktop processor chips bring official clock speeds up to 3GHz and make it so 4GHz is possible overclocking while just using fan cooling alone.

Extreme cooling methods improve performance even more. Dry ice as a cooling method provides for about 5GHz and liquid nitrogen provided 6.3GHz. These are some seriously impressive improvements, if you ask me.

Apparently, they were made possible by decreasing the size from 65nm to 45nm, which reduced heat and power usage. You can expect the Phenom II to be released early next year. It should be interesting, because this will definitely relight the flame beneath the AMD/Intel competition. AMD has the whole budget thing on it’s side, too.

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MSI Wind BIOS update offers easy overclocking

Brenda Stokes — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:38:55 +0000

If you’re the type that’s a bit shy when it comes to getting more out of your computer than what the manual says it can do, you’re in luck. It looks like MSI is working hard to bring more people over to the dark side where overclocking is made super easy.

MSI released their latest update for the MSI Wind today, v1.09 BIOS. This update brings overclocking down from it’s spot on high and let’s people like you and me use it quickly and easily. All by just pressing a button or two. Really.

Once installing this update, all you have to do is press down Fn and F10 at the same time. Then, voila! Your Wind is now able to push beyond it’s standard capacity. You can only progress in stages, however, in degrees of 8%, 15% and 24%. Still pretty cool, if you ask me. And allows MSI Wind users, that want to get more out of it than just surfing the web, a little more wiggle room.

[via Ubergizmo]

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Palit Radeon HD 4870 1GB Sonic Dual Edition: overclocked bargain

Chris Davies — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:14:07 +0000

Palit have released a quad-output graphics card based on ATI’s Radeon 4870 HD. The Palit Radeon HD 4870 1GB Sonic Dual Edition consists of an overclocked ATI chipset with a sizable dual-fan cooler and switchable dual-BIOS for ’sonic’ and ‘turbo’ modes. The output options are twin HDCP-compliant DVI and a DisplayPort socket, with included converters for DVI-to-VGA and DVI-to-HDMI.

The sonic/turbo switch – which requires a reboot to take affect, so no on-the-fly changeovers possible – flips between two BIOS settings. Sonic leaves the CPU at 750MHz but boosts the 1GB GDDR5 RAM speed to 3800MHz; Turbo takes the core to 775MHz and the memory to 4000MHz.

HardwareZone have been testing out the Palit card, and rated it highly: 4.5 out of 5, in fact. Their main criticism appears to be their test unit’s 512MB of RAM, and how the card could do with more – something Palit seems to have taken on board, as a 1GB version is available. Where it really scores is the price: the Sonic Dual Edition benchmarks better than the standard Radeon HD 4870, but costs around the same.

Look to pay around €230 or $270 for the card, which is available now.

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CoolIT demo overclocked liquid-cooled HD 4870 X2 on video

Ewdison Then — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:11:29 +0000

Back when they announced their Dual Drive Bay VGA cooling system for ATI’s storming HD 4870 X2, CoolIT CEO Geoff Lyon told us that by using the liquid-cooled setup they’d managed to overclock the video card by over ten percent. We’re sceptical by nature here at SlashGear, though, and so CoolIT have released a video demonstrating their setup.

Check out the CoolIT demo video after the cut

CoolIT took the stock HD 4870 X2 from its 750MHz GPU and 900MHz memory, and overclocked it to 880MHz on the GPU and 1000MHz on the memory. That was enough to see the Xtreme Vantage score jump from X7090 to X8162.

Even more impressive (and important, you could argue), the GPU temperature of the test rig never exceeded 39 degrees during benchmarking. CoolIT are yet to release pricing details for the Dual Drive Bay VGA cooling system, but it’s expected in September

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Lian-Li MAXIMA Force PSUs for gamers & overclockers

Chris Davies — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:54:32 +0000

Lian-Li have announced a new range of high-performance PSUs under the name MAXIMA Force, promising improved power regulation and safety features. Each meeting 80 Plus certification, the supplies will be available in 470W, 650W and 750W versions each promising over 80-percent efficiency; Lian-Li have also included an overclocking mode, capable of providing an extra 100W for an hour.

Each PSU has Power Failure Detection with OVP/OCP/OLP/SCP/UVP/OTP, plus support for multi-core CPU and Multi GPU/graphics cards, and comply with the newest Intel standard ATX 12V V2.3 & EPS 12V rail systems. The PCI-E connector has bead-core protection to reduce EMI interference, and uses Japanese capacitor components which are apparently more durable and of better quality.

In terms of build, the PSU casings have honeycomb venting, the cables are all specially sleeved and a ball-bearing cooling fan works in combination with rippled-surface heatsinks. Pricing is expected to be around $104, $144 and $177 for the 470W, 650W and 750W versions respectively.

Press Release:

Lian Li launches the all new MAXIMA Force PSU’s
Enthusiast performance durable PSU series

21 August 2008, Keelung, Taiwan – Lian Li Industrial Co. Ltd has launched the MAXIMA Force series of Power supply units (PSU). The MAXIMA Force offers exceptional power regulation and safety features with 80 Plus certification showing Lian Li’s commitment to quality, while exemplifying Lian Li’s attention to detail through craftsmanship. MAXIMA Force complies with the newest Intel standard ATX 12V V2.3 & EPS 12V rail systems, while the environmentally friendly design for energy saving with Active PFC (>0.9) / High efficiency (>80%) complies with the best standards and allows additional full rated power draw during overclocking sessions. Hosting a complete range from 470Watts, 650Watts and 750Watts, the MAXIMA Force PSU’s are designed with the enthusiast gamer in mind.

The features include Power Failure Detection with OVP/OCP/OLP/SCP/UVP/OTP, plus support for multi-core CPU and Multi GPU/graphics cards systems, additional support for over-clocked CPU, GPU, and RAM System hardware with a maximum 100W overpower capability for one hour. The superior Japanese capacitor components bring long lasting durability and quality for the ultimate in stable power output.

The PCI-E connector has bead-core protection to minimized electromagnetic interference (EMI) for a cleaner output. Unlike some PSU’s out in the market, the MAXIMA Force can support its FULL rated power output. The cables have special sleeves to improve airflow through your case. The universal input accepts between 100V-240V and has a power switch at the back for added safety. The ball bearing fan gives consistent and quality airflow across specially designed heatsinks that have a special rippled surface to improve the surface area for superior thermal cooling performance. The uniquely coated outer casing has honeycombe d venting for excellent air-flow and ventilation.

With clean and stable power driving your PC via the MAXIMA Force PSU and the multi 12V rails output and bead core protection for the PCI-e connectors, failsafe safety protections, and 80 Plus output all combine to give the MAXIMA Force PSU superior durability than anything else you are likely to get. MAXIMA Force PSU’s have today what PC gamer’s need tomorrow!

For more details on features for the MAXIMA Force PSU’s please go here:
http://lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product04.php?cl_index=10&sc_index=36&ss_index=88

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MSI GX620 & GX720 gaming notebooks with Turbo overclock control

Chris Davies — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:58:11 +0000

MSI have announced two new gaming notebooks, the 15.4-inch GX620 and the 17-inch GX720. Both run Intel’s Core 2 Duo processor and have MSI’s own Turbo Drive Engine technology that instantly overclocks the CPU by as much as 15-percent. It, and the ECO Engine Management system that cycles through gaming, movie, presentation, office and turbo battery modes, are controlled by touch-sensitive buttons above the keyboard.

Graphics are courtesy of NVIDIA’s GeForce 9600 GT 3D video card with 512MB of DDR3 memory, running the onboard LCDs at WSXGA+ resolution or outputting via the HDMI and D-sub ports. System RAM is 4GB, storage 320GB SATA and there’s a Blu-ray and DVD-burning optical drive.

Connectivity includes WiFi b/g/n, gigabit ethernet, Bluetooth and a modem. Otherwise there’s an eSATA port, three USB 2.0 ports and a 4-in-1 card reader. The GX620 has stereo speakers while the GX720 has four speakers and a subwoofer; both have a 2-megapixel webcam.

MSI is yet to announce pricing for the new notebook, which won a Best Choice Award at COMPUTEX 2008.

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Overclockers push Q6600 to 5.1GHz

Chris Scott Barr — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:33:58 +0000

I’ve been known to dabble in the art of overclocking from time to time. I wouldn’t describe myself as a “hardcore” overclocker though. You know the types, the ones that are dumping liquid nitrogen on their CPU so they can squeeze out every last drop of speed. Well a group of such people recently managed to push their Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 to a whopping 5.1GHz.

I’ve gotten some pretty decent performance gains from my various OC experiences, but they actually managed to double the speed of their Q6600, which normally runs at 2.4GHz. This marks the fastest clock speed for this particular processor, though certainly not the highest for any CPU.

You have to wonder just how much money is spent on liquid nitrogen when undertaking something like this. To be honest, I’m not even sure where I’d go to purchase liquid nitrogen. I think I’ll just stick to my basic liquid cooling setup when overclocking.

[via CrunchGear]

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ASUS ARES CG6155 gaming PC: armor inspired, 4GHz Core2 Extreme powered

Chris Davies — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:37:33 +0000

It’s not all mini PCs and budget notebooks from ASUS – though you’d be excused for thinking it. The company has just announced a new gaming PC, the ARES CG6155, and while it may not have a killer-name it does have all the usual hyperbole manufacturers seem to lapse into when launching these sort of systems. For instance, ASUS are keen to point out that the ARES’ case design was inspired by battle armor:

“The unique exterior design is inspired by ancient and modern armor with both Eastern and Western influences, and presents an aesthetic appeal that exudes pure power!” ASUS press release

Whether that ticks your gaming boxes or leaves you cold, at least it’s a whole lot less orange than Acer’s Predator PC (and the front panel is less articulated-codpiece in appearance). Inside is where it counts, though, and ASUS have stashed an Intel Core2 Extreme QX9650 CPU, NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI chipset, up to 8GB of dual channel DDR3 1333MHz RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX280 3-Way SLI graphics card.

The processor may not quite be Alienware’s Extreme QX9770, but ASUS claim it’s still overclockable to the same 4.0GHz. Liquid cooling and twin power-supplies putting out up to 2 kilowatts share space with up to 4TB of storage, a Blu-ray drive, HD audio and gigabit ethernet.

No sign of a release date or even a hint of a price, but unless ASUS have picked some ill-advised cock-up glue to fit the whole thing together, the ARES could be an impressive gaming contender.

Press Release:

ASUS ARES CG6155–The Ultimate Gaming Powerhouse

Delivering Functionality and Style for the World’s Most Demanding Gamers!

Taipei, Taiwan, June 19, 2008 – Catering to gamers who require only the best equipment, ASUS, world-leading producer of desktop PCs, has unveiled the new ASUS ARES CG6155 Desktop PC. This powerful piece of gaming hardware comprises an array of top-notch components to provide gamers with the performance and stability for their every gaming need. The unique exterior design is inspired by ancient and modern armor with both Eastern and Western influences, and presents an aesthetic appeal that exudes pure power!

Inspired by Armor, Designed to Dominate the Battlefield
Conceived from the outset as the ultimate gaming powerhouse, ARES combines performance with ASUS’ legendary quality and reliability. From its armored surfaces to its Dual Power supply units, ARES has been designed to deliver both functionality and style to those who demand the best. Inspired by ancient and modern armor from both Eastern and Western cultures, ARES opens a new chapter in gaming hardware design. ARES not only looks bullet proof; but also incorporates an arsenal of features which make it one of the most stable and secure gaming PC systems ever.

Extreme System Performance for the Gaming Edge
ARES is equipped with the most advanced Quad-core CPUs, 3-way SLI graphic cards and extreme factory over-clocking that boosts CPU performance by up to 33%. Additionally, gamers will be able to enjoy cutting-edge technologies such as a Blu-ray optical disc drive, high-definition audio and DDRIII memory. With such powerful computing performance and great support for a variety of technologies, ARES easily conquers the most performance-intensive PC games and provides the highest level of excitement to all gamers.
* The overclocking performance changes are subject to different setups and conditions.

Dual Power and Liquid Cooling Ensures Ultimate Stability
Due to its unique Dual Power and customized liquid cooling modules, ARES offers excellent stability. This Dual Power design supports up to 2 kilowatts of power – providing greater stability and non-stop sustainability for intensive gaming demands than competing solutions that average only 1 kilowatt in power. At the same time, the built-in liquid cooler ensures that system stability is maintained for cooler operations. Because of these design considerations, gamers can fully immerse themselves in their gaming environments without any interruptions.

Specifications

OS Microsoft Vista Ultimate

CPU
Intel Core2 Extreme QX9650 (Overclockable up to 4.0GHz)

Chipset
NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI

Memory
Dual Channel DDR3 1333MHz up to 8G

Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GTX280 3-Way SLI

HDD
Up to 4TB

ODD
Blu-ray DVD

LAN
2 x LAN 10/100/1000

Power Supply
2 Kilowatts (Dual Power)

Accessory
Gaming Keyboard, Mouse, Mousepad, Headset

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MSI GeForce N9600GT Diamond graphics with overclock button

Chris Davies — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:23:23 +0000

Deep down, in my geeky heart of hearts, I know the one thing that can turn a good piece of tech into a kick-ass gadget is a big red button. Thankfully MSI know that too, which is obviously why they’ve added a bright red overclock button to their GeForce N9600GT Diamond graphics card that they demonstrated at its ECOlution press conference in Taipei. When pressed, the graphics core and memory clock speeds are overclocked, and the voltage increased.

The Diamond has 2GB of GDDR3 memory and a brace of connectivity: HDMI, DisplayPort, dual DVI and optical audio output. In fact the company has fitted all of their current and upcoming VGA tech onto the card. It’ll be bundled with the Dr.MOS software, that monitors real-time performance and fan speed.

Right now the N9600GT still needs some work: in SLI dual graphics mode the button won’t work, but MSI are keen to point out that it’s definitely on their to-do list. They’ve also kept quiet on exactly how far the overclock pushes the card. As for price, it’s set to be more affordable than you might think; MSI are aiming for an RRP of $250 when it launches at the end of June.

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Alienware Area-51 ALX gets 4GHz Core 2 Extreme overclock

Chris Davies — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:23:10 +0000

If Acer thought rivals Alienware would take one look at their new Predator gaming PC and run for the hills, they’ve another thing coming. Alienware have dragged their already-incredible Area-51 ALX back into the lab and subjected it to some serious surgery. We’re not talking mere botox, either: how about a 3.2GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 overclocked to 4.0GHz, 4GB of DDR3 RAM and dual ATI or NVIDIA graphics cards.

Alienware are describing the 4GHz overclock as the chip’s “maximum stable output”, and they’ve slapped liquid-cooling in there to stop the whole rig from melting down and dripping through the cracks in your desk. Graphics options are an NVIDIA Quad SLI featuring dual NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 cards or an ATI CrossFireX configuration with dual ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 cards. Blu-ray is an option, as is a 2TB 7,200rpm RAID-0 array; dual gigabit ethernet comes as standard.

If you’re looking to join Alienware in sticking two fingers up at Acer, however, there’s an expensive entry fee. The 4GHz overclocked ALX is priced starting from $5,549, but it’s ridiculously easy to get to $7,679+ when you start maxing out the RAM, picking the NVIDIA Quad SLI graphics and Blu-ray. That’s before you start considering SSD storage and monitors!

[via Business Wire]

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OCZ Technologies intro 4GB DDR3 2kMHz RAM kit

Chris Davies — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:27:36 +0000

The world of high-performance RAM takes no prisoners, and Super Talent Technology’s previously top-of-the-line memory has now been eclipsed by OCZ Technology. The company has announced their own 4GB DDR3 kit, the PC3-16000, which features two 2GB sticks running at 2,000MHz (compared to STT’s 1,800MHz). OCZ are positioning their RAM as ideal for overclockers and intensive gamers.

“It is no myth that higher memory densities make it harder to push higher clock frequencies. OCZ Technology pulled off this seemingly impossible task with the release of the world’s fastest high-density memory solution. The new OCZ DDR3 PC3-16000 Platinum Edition kits combine two 2GB modules for 4GB system density running at 9-9-9 latencies and a record-breaking 2GHz data rate. All of this is achieved at only 1.9V which falls well within the voltage tolerances of any DDR3 memory controller currently on the market” Dr. Michael Schuette, VP of Technology Development, OCZ Technology

The RAM can be either passively or water cooled, though OCZ recommend the latter if it’s going to be overclocked. Aluminium fins take care of the passive cooling. All of the necessary water-cooling clips, barbs and hoses are included in the package.

It’s unclear what the company will be charging for the high-performance memory. However, given STT’s rival RAM carries a $499 tag, don’t expect it to be cheap!

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SlashGear Review – CoolIT PURE

Chris Scott Barr — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:38:21 +0000

When you want to get the most performance out of your gaming rig, you’ll naturally want to try and overclock it. However, you have to deal with the excess heat put off by your CPU (or whatever component you’re overclocking). One option is to get a bigger heatsink and throw in some extra fans, which while it may do the trick, it can make your computer sound like a small hurricane. That’s when you should start thinking about a liquid cooling system. They’ll keep your computer running ice cold without creating all of that noise.

Of course if you’ve never actually set up a liquid cooling system, it probably looks a bit overwhelming. There are several different components you’ll need to carefully assemble, not to mention the cost of actually acquiring said parts. To the novice, it can seem like much more work than it’s worth. That’s why this PURE from CoolIT can be quite appealing. It’s a self-contained liquid cooling system that is supposed to be simple install. I’ve had a chance to test one out, and I’ve shot a video of the installation process. Hit the jump to see the results.

You can see from the video that there isn’t a ton of work required. Sure, you’ll need to remove your motherboard, but if you’re even thinking about overclocking, or have assembled your own computer, it won’t be anything you can’t handle.

The total time for installation was just under 20 minutes. That’s not too bad considering that I now have a liquid cooling setup. If I chose, I could easily disable the rest of my fans (save for the GPU) and have an almost completely silent system. However, for the sake of testing purposes, I left everything in tact, which included a single 120mm fan in the front, and the twin fans over my Corsair Dominator memory.

It should be noted that while the PURE can easily be used for good overclocking, its primary function is to provide a mostly silent PC. With that in mind, I’ve decided to not do any overclocking to my system this time around. However, I will be putting together a special OC piece sometime in the near future where I’ll push this to the limit.

For those wondering, here is my configuration for the test system:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz
OS: Windows Vista Ultimate
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L
RAM: Corsair Dominator 2GB TWIN2X2408-8500C5DF
GPU: VisionTek Radeon HD 3870 512MB
HDD: Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB SATA
Case: Ultra Products m998 Mid-Tower

You can see that with the computer sitting at idle it knocks a full four degrees off of both the system and CPU temperatures.

This is where a CPU cooler is really going to show its true colors, the load test. The PURE managed to keep the CPU temperature at a nice 36 degrees under load, which is a full 6 degrees under the stock cooler. It didn’t do much for the overall case temperature, but since it’s only cooling a single component, that’s to be expected.

Overall, this is a great product for someone that wants either a silent PC, or just needs it to run a bit cooler. The installation is a bit more complicated than just removing the heatsink and slapping on a new one, but far easier than any liquid cooling setup I’ve ever used. The price is another great factor here. The CoolIT PURE is going to run just under $100 at most places I looked. Honestly, I’ve seen regular fan/heatsink combos that go for only a little less than that.

There are a couple of minor downsides. One is that due to the size of the unit and length of the hoses, you may have some difficulty getting it situated while attaching the cooling block to the CPU. The other is really minor, which is that the nice metal cover that hides the radiator is a pain to clean once you’ve handled it. It took me a few minutes of trying different things to get rid of my fingerprints and such. It’s not a huge deal because once the installation is complete, you won’t have to mess with it again.

In the end, I give the CoolIT PURE 4 out of 5 Gears.

Rating:

4 out of 5 gears

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AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ “Black Edition” hand picked for over clockers

James Allan Brady — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 13:54:24 +0000

Consider yourself handy when it comes to overclocking and cooling? AMD just hooked you up then, I mean how often does a processor manufacturer release a 64 bit dual core processor that has unlocked multipliers?

Sure there is a bit of a premium over the regular processor, about $11, but for an unlocked processor, I’d say its probably worth it. In case you don’t remember the specs on the X2 5000+ it has 2×512KB cache and operates at 2.6GHz.

Too bad they didn’t make the 5200+ the “Black Edition” same processor, but double the cache. The Black Edition is available now, for as low as $136 now, and since it matters a little, its not 90nm it’s a 65nm process.

The Dark Side is AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ “Black Edition” [via NordicHardware]

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ABIT overclocks Core 2 Extreme to 5GHz with liquid nitrogen

Chris Scott Barr — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 18:43:20 +0000

If you like overclocking, and you have some spare liquid nitrogen just sitting around, why not just overclock a Core 2 Extreme to 5GHz?

That’s exactly what Universal ABIT did at this year’s Computex. They took a Core 2 Extreme X6800 (2.93 GHz) and strapped it to one of their AB9 QuadGT motherboards and throttled it all the way up to 5 GHz while cooling it with liquid nitrogen.

They were able to keep it running continuous Pi calculations for some time without any issues. This isn’t exactly the greatest achievement in the history of overclocking, but it’s still pretty cool.

CPU Cooled with Liquid Nitrogen; 5 GHz Overclock [via ministryoftech]

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