From W7 release candidate, it should not be problem to upgrade to the full release, however I'm only 80% sure of that.
I don't like the Kama push-pin mounts, installation is so difficult, as my hands are too large, read non-Japanese. I'm going to lap the CPU and sort out the cabling, and the thought of trying to push those pins down, makes me sweat. On the CPC test, IIRC the Titan outperformed the Kama by quite a margin.
I've updated the first post to reflect the changes, although after a little more reading I'm concerned about the BIOS version I'll be receiving with the motherboard. I don't ever plan on SLI, but how can I ensure I have the latest BIOS? Some reviewers on Ebuyer have mentioned problems with their SpinPoint drives not being properly recognised on Gigabyte boards, unless an updated BIOS is used. I'm wondering whether I should opt for the MSI X58 Pro instead. And one last question: should I bother buying Arctic Silver 5 and ArctiClean 1&2?
*Artic Silver - Yes *Arctclean - Yes, or buy some isopropyl alcohol, whatever is cheaper or more convenient. * The Gigabyte X58 UD3R can be BIOS flashed to include SLI support. * I installed a 750GB spinpoint on a P45 Gigabyte board with no problems. * You can download the latest BIOS from the Gigabyte website.
Yes boot from disk. I just installed this exact thing onto a i7 940, MSI X58 Pro this afternoon from fresh.
It's strange as Scan lists the motherboard as "Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R, SLi, Intel X58 Express", yet scrolling down to the specifications yields a contradiction. What would you personally recommend: the X58-UD3R or MSI X58 Pro? And I thought the RC wasn't released until April 30th/May 5th?
There have been various RC versions already. All a release candidate is a more finalised version of the Beta. I, too have installed RC on a brand new hard drive.
The official RC is build 7100. You can obtain the 32-bit and 64-bit versions from 'certain' sites if you so wish. The keys that are available from the Microsoft website still work, you just need a Windows Live account. As for the motherboard, I'd personally prefer the EX58-UD3R, because it overclocks better and doesn't look like poo.
Well I recently bought a DO stepping i920 and the Gigabyte X58-Extreme. Both are fantastic. I can overclock the CPU to 3885ghz (185x21) with hardly any increase the the cpu & QPI voltages. When I do push it, I can get it up to 4495ghz (214x21). This is also with HT enabled. You will see many people showing big overclocks on these cpus, a lot disable the HT to keep the temps down. The DO stepping requires a lot less voltage to hit the same overclocks, hence keeping the temps down.
That's precisely the reason why I'm choosing D0 over C0 despite only going for a mild overclock. Surely in terms of performance, disabling HT just to achieve a higher overlock would be inferior to a lower overlock with HT enabled?
that depends on the app, if they dont use extra threads it will make no difference. however running lots of apps assigned to different threads would be better with HT on rather than off.
not entirely correct. they improve the process in as many areas as they can, mostly for voltage and temps it seems on this particular stepping. intel doesn't just spend the money to improve a cpu so we can overclock better...no, it's usually down to issue improvements. and the voltage usage and thermal improvements are a benefit whether you oc or not. i'd get the d0 stepping if there isn't too much of a premium.
It was definitely the Angle - I'll ask whose PC it was. Pro/UD3R - same to me tbh. Whatever has the features you prefer. I just needed all 6 ram slots. UD3R is now slightly cheaper and just flash it with the SLI BIOS for SLI - that's all.
Thanks for all the help; I've now ordered the components. Just my luck though, the i7 920 D0 is now £242.85. That's £6.90 lost from ordering a day early
