Overclockers UK 8Pack Systems Preview and Interview
October 2, 2013 | 12:39
Companies: #hwbot #ocuk #overclockers #titan
Bit-tech: The Supernova uses the Core i7-3930K, is there a reason you didn't pick the i7-3960X or Ivy Bridge-E instead?
8Pack: The systems launched before Ivy Bridge-E so even though we had engineering samples here I couldn't pick it. I'm not going to jump on the latest gen of hardware until I've not just proven it's better, but made sure everything's stable within the system. I haven't tested enough i7-4930K or i7-4960X yet to pass the grade. Plus, I'd want a new motherboard and we can't get hold of them in retail yet so it didn't make sense to upgrade the systems. I've chosen the i7-3930K because it overclocks better than the i7-3960X and the memory controller is stronger as well. I also need to know that I've got volume in case I get 5 or 6 orders in a month I want to be able to fulfil exactly what I said. There's no point having one or two CPUs that make the grade. I've got 10 3930Ks that all make the grade, 11 including my benching chip. That's a very, very good chip, one of the top six in the world.
Bit-tech: What about the decision to have one system with Haswell and one with Sandy Bridge?
8Pack: The i7-3770K is still in there because there was all the stuff about Haswell and USB 3.0 and other stuff when it first came. I didn't want to put all my eggs in one basket, and I'll never do that.
Click to enlarge
Bit-tech: Do you have any statistics on power consumption or temperature?
8Pack: I've never tested but it's going to be a lot. Power consumption isn't something I'm really bothered about. I can say that the systems run very cool though, even under full load. The Haswell one runs at around 60°C or less, for example.
Bit-tech: You mentioned that you've got a 7990 in your home system, any reason that wasn't in any of the systems?
8Pack: Originally there were going to be four systems including a micro-ATX one, which was going to have an HD 7990. The build got postponed because we couldn't find a reliable case manufacturer with the case that we wanted, but that's changed recently so it's coming for sure. I'm now undecided on the graphics card - I need to test a bit more. The HD 7990 will be superceded, but how soon will AMD have a dual GPU card? How well will the new cards overclock against Titan? I won't do anything until I know it's the best option.
Bit-tech: The mATX one certainly sounds interesting, is there any hardware for that that's been nailed down?
8Pack: Yeah, the Gigabyte G1.Sniper M5 will be in there for sure and the colour scheme will be green and black at a guess. The memory will be Samsung, 2,666MHz, CL10. The CPU will be 5GHz Haswell. You haven't got a lot of room to play with for multiple cards, so you need to nail it in a single card, but it still needs to be up to what I'd call an 8Pack build. That's why I need to test these new cards. Maybe in the future a new AMD card would be a good idea, but it's speculation because I really don't know how good the new cards are.
Click to enlarge
Bit-tech: Will it be fully water-cooled as well?
8Pack: Yeah, dual loop. I'll put water-cooling on the RAM in that one as well.
Bit-tech: Will the systems continue being updated as even faster hardware emerges?
8Pack: Of course. Ivy Bridge E will be on the Supernova as soon as it's tested; end of October I'd suggest, because the boards will be in the retail channel. I've already got a board but I need enough OEM chips to bin. At the moment I've only got two, one of which I need for benching.
Bit-tech: So once you've got enough good chips they'll be integrated straight away?
8Pack: Yeah, of course - enough chips and enough RAM. And that'll be the same forever. The world's fastest systems need to be the world's fastest systems so if there's more efficient architecture it needs to be updated as soon as I know we can do it stably and supply demand.
Bit-tech: Would you ever think it possible to take the systems even smaller, for example a mini-ITX build?
8Pack: In terms of motherboards it is. The Asus Impact is really good, but a case that would accommodate enough water-cooling is where you start to hit the roadblocks. Because for the hardware you want to put in and the overclocks and noise levels you want to attain, it becomes very difficult to go even smaller. I'm not saying it's not possible but the case would have to be heavily modded. We'd need a supplier who's going to be completely reliable to do so. We could pull in someone like Lian Li, who can design us whatever we want through Caseking, but at the moment no.
Click to enlarge
Bit-tech: Now that 8Pack is a brand, are you looking to expand that beyond the systems?
8Pack: Yeah, there's other 8Pack products coming from our partner companies. For example, there's an 8Pack bench table coming which has totally been designed by me with all the features that extreme overclockers want but aren't on current bench tables, like the opportunity to insulate from beneath the board, more spot cooling fans and more space for radiators in the base.
Bit-tech: Finally, anything else you'd like to add?
8Pack: Just that we're aiming to have not only the fastest but the most efficient systems, so that clock for clock they're faster. But they've also got higher clocks...
8Pack is not only truly passionate about overclocking and proud of his systems (and rightly so), but also a genuinely lovely guy. We'd like to thank him for his time and wish him the best of luck with his future endeavours.
8Pack: The systems launched before Ivy Bridge-E so even though we had engineering samples here I couldn't pick it. I'm not going to jump on the latest gen of hardware until I've not just proven it's better, but made sure everything's stable within the system. I haven't tested enough i7-4930K or i7-4960X yet to pass the grade. Plus, I'd want a new motherboard and we can't get hold of them in retail yet so it didn't make sense to upgrade the systems. I've chosen the i7-3930K because it overclocks better than the i7-3960X and the memory controller is stronger as well. I also need to know that I've got volume in case I get 5 or 6 orders in a month I want to be able to fulfil exactly what I said. There's no point having one or two CPUs that make the grade. I've got 10 3930Ks that all make the grade, 11 including my benching chip. That's a very, very good chip, one of the top six in the world.
Bit-tech: What about the decision to have one system with Haswell and one with Sandy Bridge?
8Pack: The i7-3770K is still in there because there was all the stuff about Haswell and USB 3.0 and other stuff when it first came. I didn't want to put all my eggs in one basket, and I'll never do that.
Click to enlarge
Bit-tech: Do you have any statistics on power consumption or temperature?
8Pack: I've never tested but it's going to be a lot. Power consumption isn't something I'm really bothered about. I can say that the systems run very cool though, even under full load. The Haswell one runs at around 60°C or less, for example.
Bit-tech: You mentioned that you've got a 7990 in your home system, any reason that wasn't in any of the systems?
8Pack: Originally there were going to be four systems including a micro-ATX one, which was going to have an HD 7990. The build got postponed because we couldn't find a reliable case manufacturer with the case that we wanted, but that's changed recently so it's coming for sure. I'm now undecided on the graphics card - I need to test a bit more. The HD 7990 will be superceded, but how soon will AMD have a dual GPU card? How well will the new cards overclock against Titan? I won't do anything until I know it's the best option.
Bit-tech: The mATX one certainly sounds interesting, is there any hardware for that that's been nailed down?
8Pack: Yeah, the Gigabyte G1.Sniper M5 will be in there for sure and the colour scheme will be green and black at a guess. The memory will be Samsung, 2,666MHz, CL10. The CPU will be 5GHz Haswell. You haven't got a lot of room to play with for multiple cards, so you need to nail it in a single card, but it still needs to be up to what I'd call an 8Pack build. That's why I need to test these new cards. Maybe in the future a new AMD card would be a good idea, but it's speculation because I really don't know how good the new cards are.
Click to enlarge
Bit-tech: Will it be fully water-cooled as well?
8Pack: Yeah, dual loop. I'll put water-cooling on the RAM in that one as well.
Bit-tech: Will the systems continue being updated as even faster hardware emerges?
8Pack: Of course. Ivy Bridge E will be on the Supernova as soon as it's tested; end of October I'd suggest, because the boards will be in the retail channel. I've already got a board but I need enough OEM chips to bin. At the moment I've only got two, one of which I need for benching.
Bit-tech: So once you've got enough good chips they'll be integrated straight away?
8Pack: Yeah, of course - enough chips and enough RAM. And that'll be the same forever. The world's fastest systems need to be the world's fastest systems so if there's more efficient architecture it needs to be updated as soon as I know we can do it stably and supply demand.
Bit-tech: Would you ever think it possible to take the systems even smaller, for example a mini-ITX build?
8Pack: In terms of motherboards it is. The Asus Impact is really good, but a case that would accommodate enough water-cooling is where you start to hit the roadblocks. Because for the hardware you want to put in and the overclocks and noise levels you want to attain, it becomes very difficult to go even smaller. I'm not saying it's not possible but the case would have to be heavily modded. We'd need a supplier who's going to be completely reliable to do so. We could pull in someone like Lian Li, who can design us whatever we want through Caseking, but at the moment no.
Click to enlarge
Bit-tech: Now that 8Pack is a brand, are you looking to expand that beyond the systems?
8Pack: Yeah, there's other 8Pack products coming from our partner companies. For example, there's an 8Pack bench table coming which has totally been designed by me with all the features that extreme overclockers want but aren't on current bench tables, like the opportunity to insulate from beneath the board, more spot cooling fans and more space for radiators in the base.
Bit-tech: Finally, anything else you'd like to add?
8Pack: Just that we're aiming to have not only the fastest but the most efficient systems, so that clock for clock they're faster. But they've also got higher clocks...
8Pack is not only truly passionate about overclocking and proud of his systems (and rightly so), but also a genuinely lovely guy. We'd like to thank him for his time and wish him the best of luck with his future endeavours.
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