Your watercooler is cool but this LN2 pot is downright cold

Subject: Cases and Cooling | February 3, 2012 - 12:40 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: LN2, Kingpin, F1 Extreme Dark Cooling Pot

Kingpin's F1 Extreme Dark Cooling Pot is not for the faint of heart or for that matter for the lazy.  The price you pay for exotic cooling is evaporation which unfortunately is also the key to how this type of cooling works so well.  You will constantly need to top off the Extreme Dark Cooling Pot with LN2 but for the extreme overclocker that is just part of the drill.  OC3D shows off the new pot and adds a small tutorial on setting up your CPU and motherboard for this type of cooling as insulation is important to target the heatspreader on the CPU as well as ensuring that condensation does not interfere with other components near the CPU socket.  If you need a cool looking new pot or are interested in just how this type of cooling is done then head to Overclockers.com and take a look at Kingpin's latest product.

"Overclockers have always been a bit extreme – we take hardware many people are perfectly satisfied with and then push every last MHz we can out of it within our cooling limits. Some choose air cooling, some choose water cooling. There are a few brave souls that use water chillers, but mostly those are benching operations only."

Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:

CASES & COOLING

• Danger Den DD-M6 Waterblock Review @ Ninjalane
• Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler Review @ ITShootOut
• Glacialtech Igloo H58 Heatsink Review @ Frostytech
• Xigmatek Prime @ OC3D
• NZXT Havik 120 Review @ OCC
• Noctua NH-C14 CPU Cooler Review @ circuitREMIX
• Xigmatek Prime SD1484 Review @ OCC
• Noctua NF-F12 Focused Flow Fan Review @ Ninjalane
• Cooler Master GeminII M4 @ XSReviews
• SilenX Effizio EFZ-120HA5 CPU Cooler @ SSD Review
• Kingwin 120mm Fan Review @ OCC
• Noctua NF-F12 Focused Flow Fan Review @ Ninjalane
• Sharkoon T9 Green Value Edition Case @ Kitguru
• Thermaltake Chaser MK-1 Full Tower @ Bjorn3D
• Raidmax Viper Case @ TechwareLabs
• Sharkoon T9 Value Edition (Red) Case Review @ HardwareHeaven
• Cooler Master Silencio 450 Mid-Tower Case Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• NZXT Switch 810: When Too Much Isn't Enough @ AnandTech
• Fractal Design Define XL Computer Case Review @ Benchmark Review
• Prolimatech Genesis CPU Cooler @ TechwareLabs
• NZXT Phantom Enthusiast Full Tower Case @ Real World Labs
• NZXT Phantom 410 Chassis @ Tweaktown
• Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus @ Overclockers Online
• ARCTIC Alpine 11 Plus @ Funky Kit
• Corsair Carbide 500R Arctic White Edition Review @ Madshrimps
• Bitfenix Raider @ KitGuru
• MSI Nighthawk Case Review @ TechwareLabs
• Thermaltake Commander MS-I Mid Tower @ Pro-Clockers

... and the winner is Shamino with a world record 3DMark11 score on an HD7970

Subject: Graphics Cards | January 4, 2012 - 05:47 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: ROG, overclocking, LN2, HD 7970, asus, amd

ASUS' Republic of Gamers is off to an incredible start this year with the release of the HD7970, though there are always those who cannot leave their GPUs at reference speeds.  For instance Shamino, who is not just a ranger in the Ultima series, but is also now the ultimate champion of extreme GPU overclocking.  Taking a brand new HD 7970, removing the stock cooling and replacing it with LN2 cooling has netted him the record for single GPU performance.  He scored 15,063 on 3DMark11 and 54,725 on 3DMark Vantage with an 84% overclock, the GPU was running at 1700MHz when he hit the record.

It can certainly be hard to get into a game when you need to constantly replace the evapourating LN2 cooling the GPU but for overclocking purposes you simply cannot beat the cooling ability of LN2.  His record may not stand for long, they never do in OCing competiton, but for now he is king of the ring and is looking to move onto bigger and better things ... in this case a quad-CrossFire system which he intends to use to take the grand title of fastest graphics performance on the planet.

Overclockers Achieve Impressive Llano Overclocking Results, Come Close to 5GHz

Subject: Processors | July 18, 2011 - 11:15 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: superpi, overclocking, LN2, llano, APU, amd, a8-3850

In a feat of overclocking prowess, the crew over at Akiba have managed to push the AMD Llano A8-3850 to its limits to achieve a Super PI 32M score of 14 minutes and 17.5 seconds at an impressive 4.75GHz. Using a retail A8-3850 APU, a Gigabyte GA-A75-UD4H motherboard, and a spine chilling amount of Liquid Nitrogen, the Japanese overclocking team came very close to breaking the 5GHz barrier.

Just how close did they come? 4.906.1GHz with a base clock of 169.2MHz to be exact, which is mighty impressive. Unfortunately, the APU had to undergo some sever electroshock therapy at 1.792 Volts! Further, the 4.9GHz clock speed was not stable enough for a valid Super PI 32M result; therefore, the necessity to run the benchmark at 4.75GHz.

The extreme cooling ended up causing issues with the motherboard once the team tried to switch out the A8-3850 for the A6-3650; therefore, they swapped in an Asus F1A75-V PRO motherboard. With the A6-3650, they achieved an overclock of 4.186GHz with a base clock of 161MHz and a voltage of 1.428V. The overclockers stated that they regretted having to swap out the Asus board as they believed the Gigabyte board would have allowed them to overclock the A6-3650 APU higher due to that particular motherboard’s ability to adjust voltage higher.

Although they did not break the 5GHz barrier, they were still able to achieve an impressive 69% overclock on the A8-3850 and a 61% overclock on the A6-3650 APU. For comparison, here are PC Perspective’s not-APU-frying overclocking results. At a default clock speed of 2.9 and 2.6 respectively, the A8-3850 and A6-3650 seem to have a good deal of headroom when it comes to bumping up the CPU performance. If you have a good aftermarket cooler, Llano starts to make a bit more sense as 3.2GHz on air and 3.6GHz on water are within reach.  How do you feel about Llano?

The MSI N580GTX Lightning Once Again Breaks Three Graphics Card World Records

Subject: Graphics Cards | July 15, 2011 - 02:20 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: overclocking, N580GTX Lightning XE 3GB, msi, LN2

CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA – July 15, 2010 – Since releasing its Lightning series graphics cards, world-renowned mainboard and graphics card manufacturer MSI has received universal praise from media and gamers alike for their outstanding design, rich use of components, powerful performance, and infinite overclocking potential. With the release of the N580GTX Lightning that follows in the footsteps of previous generation Lightnings, graphics card world records were sure to fall. Overclocking enthusiasts from all over have been running the N580 GTX Lightning with LN2 for some extreme overclocking and once again broke 3DMark 11, 3DMark Vantage, and Unigine Heaven (DX11) single-card, single-core world record scores. These considerable achievements demonstrate once again that only a Lightning can outshine a Lightning!

The triple world record king－N580GTX Lightning
At the beginning of June, US overclocker Splave put the N580GTX Lightning under LN2 cooling and effortlessly set a Unigine Heaven (DX11) single-card, single-core world record with a high score of 2501.6. Then, he topped that score this week with a new world record score of 2562.51! Russia's overclocking ace Smoke also paired a N580GTX Lightning with LN2 for some extreme overclocking as well. In the past few days, with scores of 11,390 and 46,546 respectively, he broke both 3DMark 11 and 3DMark Vantage single card single core world records! This proves the superlative performance of the Lightning series is its best spokesman.

Most advanced design and Military Class II components create a king amongst record-breakers
The N580GTX Lightning, whether in terms of specifications or design, belongs in the highest class of products. The exclusive Power4 power supply architecture and triple overvoltage function strengthens overclocking stability and potential. Additionally, the Extreme OC Function, specifically designed for overclocking, ensures the graphics card can still function normally under extreme overclocking conditions. Adoption of materials has also undergone careful consideration. High quality, second generation Military Class components provide the most stable user experience and optimum durability. In all aspects, MSI Lightning graphics cards demonstrate design and development capability and infinite overclocking potential.