I just bought the i7-2600, which is a compromise, as I don't need the unlocked 2600k. Got it from Microcenter for $249 ($275 with tax). My board from Newegg will arrive in about 5 hours.
Whether it's the i5-2500k, i7-2600 or the i7-2600k, you can't go wrong. They're great processors.
I'm not really too fussed about SSDs at this point in time. I'd rather get a second Caviar Black HDD and RAID0 two together, which I'll most likely end up doing at one point. I'll end up getting an SSD sometime in the future.
i was thinking of getting a new i7 2600k with a Gigabyte UD7 but i think ill wait for the new Z68 & 2011. by then the price on the new i5/i7 k will have gone down and i can then see if the new tech is worth it over 1155.
what Batch is that Chip? some site's have a nice batch list going on Batch vs OC Vs Vcore max ect.
http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/...-mhz-list.html
some only go to 4.5 lol ONLY! Crazy huh.
Happy for you :)
got this info from trusted source..
Sandybridge maximum safe voltages
Core Voltage - Not recommended too exceed 1.38v, doing so could kill the CPU, we therefor recommend a range of 1.325-1.350v if overclocking.
Memory Voltage - Intel recommend 1.50v plus/minus 5% which means upto 1.58v is the safe recommended limit. In our testing we have found 1.65v has caused no issues.
BCLK Base Clock - This is strictly a NO, anyone using base clock overclocking could/will cause damange to CPU/Mainboard. (Set manually to 100)
PLL Voltage - Do not exceed 1.9v!!
Processor - Basically we recommend customers not to exceed 1.35v to play it safe, all our bundles are set at 1.3250v or lower, any competitors offering bundles above 4.6GHz you should be enquiring as to what voltage they are using as we believe anything over 1.38v will limit CPU lifespan and anything over 1.42v will likely kill the CPU or severely limit its lifespan.
Memory - Intel recommend 1.50v plus/minus 5% which means 1.60v is the ideal safe maximum, but we have found in our testing all 1.65v memory is fine. We have also found most new 1.65v like Corsair XMS3 will run at its rated timings with just 1.50-1.55v which is well within Intel specifications. So people upgrading to Sandybridge you can still use your old DDR3, but we do recommend you run it at 1.60v or less. We are shipping most of our bundles which feature Corsair XMS at 1.50v-1.55v at rated timings. We've also discussed with Asus and MSI regarding voltages for memory and they also confirm in their testing 1.65v caused no issues with reliability.
Base Clock - To put it simple if you value the life of your components, do not overclock using base clock!
PLL Voltage - Again do not exceed 1.9v!
These are just guidelines we recommend you follow, if you want to push more voltage through your CPU's then just be aware they could die on you.
Not all CPU's are as fragile as others, we have experimented upto 1.50v Vcore and 1.70v memory and had zero issues with reliability, so it seems some of fine when pushing hard
so they are just guidelines from intel. much like the i7 ect
there has been alot of problems with these new sandybridge chips, i would put it down to early Bios's ect..
Well, all the parts came in today, and it is up and running. I rearranged my watercooling loop, and it took me like 5 hours to get the pump to start (it kept stalling from bubbles).
Anyways, its running REALLY nice so far. My only concern is that Windows only uses 4 gigs of RAM (I have 8). Windows recognizes all 8, but says 4 are in hardware reserve... Any ideas?
~Lordbob
I know you must be happy with it Dave! I bought a new i5 650 rig just before Sandybridge came out ... I really wish now that I had waited, but I really like it ...
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