the powerc blog

the Core i7 chip

Following the huge success of Intel’s Quad Core i7 range of CPUs, two new lines have been added to the list - the 950 and the 975 Extreme Edition. The Core i7 950 replaces the Core i7 940 (the previous mid-range i7 chip), increasing the clock speed and bandwidth, without increasing the price.i7 processor cpu chip

The Core i7 975 Extreme Edition replaces the high-end Core i7 965 Extreme Edition. Both the i7 940 and the i7 965 Extreme Edition are to be discontinued to make way for the two new CPUs.

The Core i7 950 is clocked at 3.06GHz with 8MB of shared L3 cache and the Core i7 975 Extreme Edition is clocked at 3.33GHz with 8MB shared L3 cache. Not a huge difference from the 940 at 2.93GHz and the 965 at 3.2GHz, but I’m sure it will make quite a significant difference in demanding applications such as games, 3D rendering and number-crunching. So, if you’re looking for an i7 machine, now is a good time to buy.

Intel’s Core i7 range use the new 45nm Nehalem silicon which features a built-in memory controller, allowing for increased speeds in communication between the CPU cores and the system memory, greatly improving the overall performance of the system. And, with Intel’s Hyper Threading (HT) technology, the Quad core processors effectively have 8 cores, allowing for improved multi-tasking and better performance during heavy usage, such as gaming and rendering.

The integrated memory controller enables three channels of DDR3 memory, resulting in up to 25.6 GB/sec memory bandwidth. This memory controller’s lower latency and higher memory bandwidth delivers amazing performance for intensive applications. The three DDR3 channels allow systems to include memory in quantities of 3GB, 6GB or even 12GB, which really boosts performance at high resolutions when coupled with a high-end graphics card.

To see just how much “bang for your buck” you can get out of an i7 system, follow the link below:

http://www.powerc.com/uk/ps/i7%20Systems%20Gaming/1/code/cs-i7-exi/act/gpage

If you’re looking to upgrade your gaming (or any high performance) system and want liquid cooling, you will normally be looking to spend 100s of pounds, which really increases the price of the system. These expensive systems also require a fair bit of maintenance to top up and keep them running efficiently. You could also have to choose a different case to house these often-bloated cooling systems. All this puts many people off going for a liquid cooled system.

the Domino liquid cpu cooler

Introducing the new Domino liquid cooling solution from CoolIT; this unit will give you liquid cooling for your CPU for around £80! It’s an all-in-1 piece which consists of a radiator, fan, pump and reservoir all of which is very compact, taking up practically no room whatsoever in your case. The Domino will fit into almost any case (it requires 120mm fan mounting holes at rear of case therefore, unfortunately, it does not fit into an Antec 900 case).

Fitting the Domino

The Domino in a typical PC case

To install the system all you need to do is replace the CPU fan mounting plate/bracket on your AMD (socket AM2, AM2+ or AM3) or Intel (socket 775 or 1366 [i7]) motherboard with the new mounting plate/bracket supplied with the CoolIT Domino, then fix the unit to the rear of your case using the supplied rubber fixing (to ensure minimal noise and vibration). Then screw the CPU block to the newly fitted mounting plate/bracket.

Once fitted this liquid cooling unit requires no maintenance as it is completely sealed and uses special materials to ensure that no liquid is lost during use. It also allows you to easily adjust the speed settings using the integrated speed controls on the side of the main unit itself and monitor all of the speeds and temperatures using the inbuilt LCD screen.

The Domino gives better cooling performance than standard air cooling systems and is comparable to the high-end air cooling systems from top manufacturers such as ThermalTake and CoolerMaster, which would cost you around the same, if not more, and will be a fair bit louder than the Domino.  The unit does not boast the kind of performance given by high-end liquid cooling systems, which can cost up to around £600, but is a much cheaper and a worry-free solution to getting a liquid cooled system that guarantees you at least 50,000hours of maintenance-free cooling performance.

The informative status panel

The Domino automatically adjusts its speeds according to the temperatures ensuring that your CPU does not overheat and gives an audible alarm to alert you of any problems. The unit creates a great environment to over-clock your CPU, providing your other hardware can sustain the increased speeds. This allows you to push your CPU further than you might have done on air cooling, whilst still maintaining a good running temperature.

At Power Computing we have been using this new cooling system on some of our i7 gaming PCs and find it very easy to install and also reliable. If you would like to try customising one of our i7 Machines to see how cheaply you can get a liquid cooled monster PC, please click here.

Here’s a video of how the Domino works:

With our ever increasing sales of custom gaming and performance machines, we need a constant supply of quality cases that we can rely on. The CoolerMaster Elite case, which we previously used for our machines, has been difficult to get hold of recently and so we needed to find a replacement.

The new gaming case

Searching around for a new case that we’d be happy to supply we found the perfect replacement for our gaming systems. With stylish looks and a premium build quality, our new case looks very similar to the CoolerMaster Centurion 5 case. So, with this fantastic new case, we can offer our systems without a price increase but with a case that is equivalent to the Centurion 5 case, which would cost around £30 more.

The Premium Case itself is black and boasts a stylish black mesh front with brushed aluminium edges and a matching top panel in a sturdy raised block; this houses the power button, reset button, power and activity indicator LEDs and all of the connections you could ask for that are normally found on the front of a case – microphone & (high definition) headphone jacks plus USB-2 and Firewire. All of these factors make this case perfect for any position on or under your desk.

A view of the inside of the case

Building inside this case is made easy for us by screw-less assembly bays for all the optical drives and hard drives and also includes screw-less clips for your PCI and PCI-Express cards and thumb screws to remove the side panel. The inside of the case is spacious and allows for all of the latest ATX motherboard and graphics card (we all know how big they can be now). The hard drives are held in with screw-less clips and are facing toward the outside of the case for easy access, rather than the standard backward facing bays which can be fiddly to get to, especially with expansion cards installed.

Cooling options for this case are also good allowing for an extra 120mm fan to be fitted at the front as well as the standard 120mm fan at the rear. There is a duct on the side panel above the CPU to ensure that the CPU draws in cool air from the outside of the case, providing good airflow throughout ensuring a cool and quite environment. All in all it is a joy to work with.

For full specifications and more images of the case follow the link below: http://www.powerc.com/uk/ps/search/1//code/CME330PSU/act/gpage