Core i7 920 overclock to 5848 MHz: Luumi set 5 records

Back in 2008, the Core i7 900 series processors were Intel's first CPUs to feature an integrated memory controller directly on the die, alongside the cores. The 900-series Core i7 was also the first to implement Turbo Boost technology, now a ubiquitous feature.

These processors belonged to the LGA1366 platform, which was quite expensive at the time. Upgrading to it required a triple-channel DDR3 RAM kit, a powerful (and compatible) power supply, a cooler for the power-hungry CPUs (or buying/ordering mounting brackets for an existing one, if available), and a decent motherboard. The latter was for this:

Every CPU on the LGA1366 platform could be freely overclocked via the bus, and the top-tier "Extreme Edition" chips also had unlocked multipliers. This effectively made processors above the Core i7 920 less appealing. Hexa-core models were an exception, of course, but that's another story entirely.

Finnish overclocker under the nickname Luumi set five records using the LGA1366 platform's most popular processor, the Core i7 920.

The first, and in my opinion, most significant achievement for the enthusiast was overclocking the processor to a staggering 5848 MHz — an incredible frequency for a 45nm CPU with a locked multiplier:

Achieving such a result clearly required liquid nitrogen. It's also worth noting that Luumi pulled ahead of his closest competitor, T.Rex, by an impressive 105 MHz. This is a truly remarkable feat, showing that even 11 years after its release, some Core i7 920 processors are still conquering new heights!

The Finnish enthusiast's next first-place finishes came in both SuperPi disciplines, as 1M, and 32M. Of course, given its relatively low performance by modern standards, these are for model-specific leaderboards only:

Unfortunately, the processor couldn't maintain stable operation at 5848 MHz during the benchmark runs.

Luumi's final achievement was gold in both wPrime - 1024m and wPrime - 32m:

Thanks Ground1556!!! I'm dominating the X58 platform with the world's fastest 920 this time :). This CPU is an absolute monster, pushing the Uncore to almost 6 GHz. VRM (CPU power delivery) load is really high, but with T-REX + KPx (liquid nitrogen pot), it's easy to keep temps under control. Video coming soon :).

— Luumi, in the comments on his result.

The record-breaking test bench consisted of the following components:

Motherboard - ASUS Rampage III Black Edition
RAM - Corsair Dominator GTX2 3x2GB
Power Supply - Super Flower Leadex 2000W

The Finnish overclocker delivered an incredible benchmark session. Honestly, it's been a while since I wrote about anything like this. We can only congratulate Luumi and thank him for these amazing records on the aging LGA1366 platform.