evga sr2 | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Sun, 01 Aug 2010 19:46:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png evga sr2 | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 OMG (Part 2): Proper scientists optimise the set up for EVGA SR2 https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/faith/omg-part-2-proper-scientists-optimise-the-set-up-for-evga-sr2/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/faith/omg-part-2-proper-scientists-optimise-the-set-up-for-evga-sr2/#comments Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:21:49 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=10382 Serious speed is something you build up slowly. Especially when the mainboard presents you with more options than Subway has fillings for its 12″ sub.  For the Oh My God series, we've been making adjustments, monitoring progress, up-ing the ante, checking for stability and then repeating all over again. For those with a penchant for watching evil …

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Serious speed is something you build up slowly. Especially when the mainboard presents you with more options than Subway has fillings for its 12″ sub.  For the Oh My God series, we've been making adjustments, monitoring progress, up-ing the ante, checking for stability and then repeating all over again. For those with a penchant for watching evil scientists at work, here are the latest entries from Dr Zardon's notebook.

Clocking a mainboard, no matter how expensive, is never going to compete with the gut-churning adrenaline rush that you'd get from, say, tanking the latest Bugatti Veyron SuperSport past 267 MPH. Try the latest episode of Top Gear, 17 minutes and 30 seconds in, and you'll see what we mean.

OK, we don't have £1.7m lying around.

Bugatti's latest SuperSport version of the Veyron comes in KitGuru colours. Unfortunately, KitGuru pockets don't come in Bugatti sizes. Damn.

But we do have access to the latest EVGA Turbo-Nutter SR2 mainboard, along with a pair of Xeon 5680 processors. We also have an unlimited supply of cool components to surround this phenomenal engine – and plenty of time to get it right.

When this whole project started, we didn't think time was going to be an issue. As it turns out, that's a good thing. It's taken far longer than we imagined to get everything right. We're now confident that OMG (Part 3) will contain the real meat & potatoes that KitGuru readers demand. For now, we're going to update you on the options we've been evaluating on the open test bed.

We'll also give you an insight into the way experts turn initial thoughts into final delivery along a path which includes trying some of the dumbest and smartest ideas you've ever seen.

With this kind of ‘amazing first ever build', there are so many components being used together (each with unique electrical, chronological and thermal properties), that it's only after a lot of trial and error that you end up with the final solution. Here are the some of the questions we asked and, where possible, answered. This is the exam equivalent of showning your working out – just in case you get extra points.

How many graphic cards is enough?

Come on Makedon, where are the SexFire drivers you promised?

Best boots ?

What's the best boot mechanism? Always start simple. Intel's X25 provide a good starting point.

We'll change memory and PSU half a dozen times while preparing for final assembly. Many lies and half-truths from the various marketing spinners will be horribly exposed during this process. Also, some genuine mis-understandings will get cleared up. For example, memory companies that quote ‘the fastest DDR3 on the planet' only seem to supply in pairs. We're after triple channel loving. Most of the memory company's web sites only want to push stories of amazing DDR3 performance for 2 modules. Makes picking memory to test a little more time consuming than we'd wished.

Fastest DDR3 memory modules and a big, phat PSU provide a solid foundation

The cooler's connected to the, radiator; the fan is connected to the PSU; the mainboard's connected to the, well, almost everything (with FurMark in the background). Each variation of hardware runs and runs – gets monitored and all of the data copied down.

At the start, cabling is purely functional - let the spaghetti explode!

So many options, so little time.

Water, water, everywhere - but not a drop to drink. is LC the best for this?

You don't have to test in serial. And (liquid cooling or not) we definitely would not recommend testing in cereal.

With dual CPUs, it's actually possible to test two different coolers at the same time. Nice.

So how long should you test with each option?

Test until a fine coating of dust builds up on the northbridge cooler. That should do it.

Lastly, in addition to the built-in temperature sensors for the mainboard etc, it's important to use 3rd party instruments – to ensure accuracy.

Proper measurement depends on calibration.

Having discussed the issue with serious scientists, we decided to utilise an EVGA expert's butt to calibrate our main temperature sensor.

Ex-Military, Commander Relic assured us that his butt maintains a constant external temperature of 25 degrees celsius. And who are we to argue with the military.

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KitGuru says: Battle has now been well and truly joined. The next installment of OMG will see the final kit selection, some of the intricate steps involved in the assembly, as well as numbers. Those precious numbers that tell you exactly how Bugatti-like the dual Xeon 5680 experience will be. We can't wait!

Quick chat below. In-depth on the KitGuru forum. Remember to let us know if you have any suggestions for the final assembly!

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OMG (Part 1): Intel Xeon 5680 Chips Served on eVGA SR2 https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/faith/omg-part-1-intel-xeon-5680-chips-served-on-evga-sr2/ https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/faith/omg-part-1-intel-xeon-5680-chips-served-on-evga-sr2/#comments Wed, 07 Jul 2010 07:46:41 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=7101 Fast is all a matter of degrees. Roll the clock back 10 years and Intel was happy to supply you with a 1GHz processor. These days, 1GHz is reserved for phones and cheap netbooks. Given that real/raw performance relates more to clock speed and cores than anything else, what if you cranked the GHz score …

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Fast is all a matter of degrees. Roll the clock back 10 years and Intel was happy to supply you with a 1GHz processor. These days, 1GHz is reserved for phones and cheap netbooks. Given that real/raw performance relates more to clock speed and cores than anything else, what if you cranked the GHz score way past 400% up from the CPUs of yesteryear and allowed a PC to run 24 threads. KitGuru today begins a journey of wonder.

OMG ranks alongside MEGA LOLs as one of our favourite text-speaks of the 21st century. Literally OH MY GOD. KitGuru gets its hands on a lot of kit that makes us smile. Sometimes grin. But the most recent hands-on experience produced a serious stream of OMGs, MEGA LOLs and a twitchy desire to sell random possessions in order to buy some of this kit.

You don't need it. But you really do want it.

So what has reduced KitGuru's white-coat-wearing army of combat benchmarking veterans into a gang of giggling school kids staring at the lingerie pages of a home delivery catalogue?

Simple.

Opening these packages.

Xeon 5680 chips arrive
Open, arrange, shoot, flip, shoot. Then realise you're grinning like an idiot. A very happy idiot.
Xeon 5680
No doubt. These are the Kray Twins of the CPU world. You'd pay them NOT to hurt you.
Xeon 5680
Intel Xeons are knitted by grannies. Ultra hardcore punk grannies with implants and plasma rifles.
They look big enough when you shoot them next to the picture of the SR2 on the back of the box

The really fun part was putting the chips on top of the mainboard box.

Anyone remember 2010 when the Russian chap takes a space walk near the monolith ?

Even mighty Xeons get a little nervous in the presence of EVGA's mental SR2

OK. So the OMG series has begun.

Work will commence on the kit in question and we'll be following it all carefully, camera at the ready.

KitGuru says: Can't wait to see how this thing overclocks and benches! Discuss in our forums.


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