Intel LGA2011 CPU gets water-cooled
LGA2011-based systems are known to run quite hot under load, especially when overclocked.
Forum user Coolmiester, also known as Paul Edwards, who has several high-profile projects already to his name, has built the PC around a Cooler Master ATCS 840 case and used the latest water-cooling hardware to deal with the heat from the graphics card and Sandy Bridge E CPU. It was on show at the recent Multiplay Insomnia 44 LAN event.
Using what appears to be an EK CPU waterblock, Paul has managed to overclock the CPU to 4.8GHz using an Intel DX79SI motherboard. The PC also sports Kingston DDR3 memory and HyperX SSDs, along with a Cooler Master PSU.
From our own testing with Intel's new CPUs and X79-equipped motherboards, we know that they're prime targets for water-cooling as the VRMs and CPU generate a lot of heat. As such, we suspect that we will see plenty more water-cooled LGA2011-based projects over the coming months.
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
You can see more of Paul's project here, and you can see what we thought of Intel's new LGA2011 CPUs here. Are you planning to build an LGA2011-based PC? Are you also going to water-cool it? Let us know in the forum.
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Discuss in the forums ReplyThink I will be waiting for the next stepping before I decide fully if I should get one or not.
Got to say though the mod looks great and well done.
WTF.
You would be surprised when you are looking at using it for video encoding etc where the speed help's quite abit if you are doing allot of encoding.
Not to mention water cooling when done properly look's excellent compared to a great big hoofing HSF.
I am just waiting for the 12 month warranty to run out on the pre overclocked bundle I have in my pc, before I watercool it if I have not upgraded by then simply because I want to increase the overclock which I have done but only from 4.6 to 4.8ghz on air, but with water I know I can take the chip to 5.0ghz plus as it will do it on air now but the temp's are to high for me.
Normally also watercooling is quieter than air cooling, as you can use low rpm fans on the rad's and get lower temp's as well there are benefit's to it but it does cost more.
NOT gaming! Stick with the i7-2500, 2600 or 2700 K-models for gaming. You'll save money over the way more expensive E-Models. That "E" is for Enterprise, not Enthusiast. You'll save money through using a lot less electricity, (Sandy Bridge E=130 Watts vs. Sandy Bridge K=95 Watts), and also you can use air-cooling or a closed loop watercooler instead of having to invest in a full-loop watercooling system. Even if you can find adapters for present day cpu waterblocks. I looked. EK Waterblocks has them on their site but they cost a fortune for shipping to the U.S. just to get an adapter kit. Not to mention the extreme prices that E-Model motherboards cost.
You'd do better to just wait a few more months or so for IvyBridge.
Exactly. Check the benchmarks and OC results - you'll be better off with an i5 2500K or possibly an i7 2600K. For the average enthusiast applications, SB-E is not what you want. If you're looking to build a workstation for massively-threaded software, by all means. But most of the numbers I've seen, you'll get a handful of fps out of the SB-Es, at nearly double or nearly quadruple the cost (of the i5, at least)
It's a new age, people - Intel has blessed y'all with an embarrassment of riches. Just don't go for SB-E unless you need what it actually does, or you need a boost to your e-peen :P
I think the build looks awesome and Coolmiester needs recognition for his excellent work he has done here. Well Done dude!
This +1000
The best cpu for gaming is the I7 2500K as the hyperthreading on the 2600K and 2700K in some games will make it perform worse than the 2500K, as I saw when I ran a 2600K and 2500K but it's not allot of difference.
The 6 core's and faster speed will help if you have the software to utilise it but I don't think there is much available, that is cheap enough for the average person to buy.
I like the build and I like the Sandy Bridge E chip's but at the moment I cannot justify the cost of them, but maybe when the next stepping is released they will be worth it for me.
Again really nice and clean build respect to you for that.
J.
what is this i7 2500k people keep speaking about!?
The I5 2500K is what I meant.
Truly amazing in person and a cut above almost all other mods I have seen, its the last 2% that makes Paul's mods seem like they were an off the shelf case and setup.
why are people talking about the failings of SB-E for gaming here? anyone can read the bit-tech review its still on the front page
I did. That article is what got a company that refuses to give refunds for any cpu for any reason, to refund my money for this cpu.
Thanks bit-tech! You saved me over $600.00 for an i7-3630K, plus the rest of the equipment.
Damn you, all you manufacturers, for your NDA! The consumer deserves to be better informed, earlier than whenever you say we can. You've lost face, in the eyes of the world and also in the eyes of your ancestors for putting innocent consumers in this position to begin with. You've shamed your fans and families. For money. Now, you know what you have to do.
He tested the 2500k out of existence on lcs @ 4.8 Ghz using prime 3dmark11 and lots of stress testing, no problem. When we loaded up games on a network the 2500k wasn't stable in company with the latest NHC mod. Everyone else has overclocks on lcs using the sabertooth x79 and they all worked. I could mention all the tests that the 2500k was slower in compared to the 3930k even at default but i suspect that I would be wasting my time.
In a nut shell the littler k's are slower in everything compared to the big K as far as High end gaming is concerned, thankyou and goodnight