Testing and benchmarking @ 4000 MHz

Core i7 965 processor @ 4000 MHz

We wanted to include one more test result, for our final stress test the Core i7 965 processor will be clocked at an astonishing 4000 MHz where we again apply 100% CPU load on all cores:

• Processor clocks at 4000 MHZ.
• Processor voltage 1.4v

We now see the CPU cores idle at roughly 43 Degrees C / 109 F. That's okay. Our overclock now however reaches a risky temperature at just over 80 Degrees C / 176 F.

So at 4000 MHz we finally reach a temperature that I am uncomfortable with. Mind you that again we have all power saving features disabled, our Zalman Reserator XT still set at LOW, inaudible and that we stress the four CPU cores 100% at maximum. The chances in real-life PC usage for this to happen for a long timeframe is exceptionally rare, unless you are into encoding movies or something similar.

So that makes our test procedure a little extreme. Should we forfeit for a tiny bit of airflow and set the Reserator XT at medium (slightly noticeable. Like a soft breeze) the temperatures will drop toward roughly 75 degrees C / 166 F fairly quickly with those cores stressed out so much. Now while that is a compromise .. I say it's a very good one at a performance level this elevated.

High or not, the results are pretty astonishing. The combination of all components in this new system seems to be very well balanced and meets my personal stringent requirements in terms of sound pressure. This year I will test graphics cards on this system based on a 3.75GHz core clock frequency on the processor, with exactly this water-cooling setup.