Okay so I recently put together a new system, with much help from my fellow aD members, and have an interest in some mild overclocking. Being as I really know nothing about it I have been doing a lot of reading, some I understand and some I don't. My biggest question is ion regards to the well being of my system. For instance, if run the FSB up on my CPU until it becomes unstable and then back it off some and don't alter the voltage at all and keep a very close eye on temps of course, what will the dangers and long term durability effects be? I can't afford to replace parts because I got stupid with it. And also is it really worth it for what I do,mostly video back-up and editing, other than just being able to say that I did it. As you can see from the pic, I have it slightly oc right now but I was unsure whether to go farther or not. Also I don't understand anything regarding the RAM. It is slightly underclocked due to the multiplier selections available on my board and I didn't want it overclocked until I understand more. Sorry for the length of the post.
I have basically the same question. If a chip can be "overclocked" and function correctly, "Why does the manufacture not ship them overclocked, and advertise a faster speed?" ...doesn't make since to me. I am interested in what you pro's have to say on this subject.
Here is a pretty good explanation to your question of why it is possible to overclock your processor.
Thanks. Now I have a little better understanding, and that does make good business since. **EDIT** Also, ferguj1, it looks like you would not hurt your computer or cpu by overclocking. Because the chip is built better than the specs.
I don't think you will encounter that much of a temperature increase if you change your settings minutely. I'm betting that you can go to 1.3v (core voltage) with ease and see very little or no change in temp for your cpu. Be sure to run your RAM at recommended voltage, that is if the manufacturer says 2.1v then run it at least 2.1v. If you want to kick your RAM a bit that's ok too. I would try 0.05v increments at first if it's needed at all. Where you're likely to run into issues will be with the mobo. NOT a bad mobo but I don't see a 100% OC with it. lol. As most won't. But you should be looking at something around 20%-50% w/o a lot of voltage changes. Of course this is me talking w/o experience with your mobo. On the longevity or "well being" of your system the more you OVERVOLT the more you "jeopardize" the "life" of that system. I slight voltage increase will not shorten the lifespan of your cpu but going from 1.232v to 1.55v prolly will. Again it's up to the individual chip and how well your system is cooled. Knowing what cooler you're running and the limits of air cooling I would stay below 1.5v fo sho!!! So bump up some speeds and see what happens. ...gm
Thanks GM for the thoughts. As of right now I am at 3.0 GHz on stock voltage. I left my RAM very close to stock, it is slightly over due to the multiplier. It was either be a little over or way under. What concerns me, and I meant to ask in my first post, is something that you mentioned was very important and that is my RAM voltage. The manufacturer list it at 1.8 volts yet even with my BIOS settings at normal or default it stays at 1.92 volts. My BIOS does not have anywhere that I can find to undervoltage the RAM. Should I be concerned about this? The one thing that I found that I could do was run EasyTune and change the voltage down with that program but you guys said that software clocking was not desirable. Plus when I tried just experimenting with it, it was hard to predict, so I would rather just leave it out of the equation. So right now my RAM voltage is my biggest worry as I am happy at 3.0 GHz for now as it is stable ( 2 hrs of Prime95, hadn't took the time to run it longer yet) and still nice and cool. Any thought s would be much appreciated.
FERGIE try this progie for a different look. Everest Free You might give PCMonitor a look too. Just google it. It should with CPU-Z. Both are good monitoring programs so either will do. Speedfan has a tendency to get some things wrong but they all do so it's the one that best matches the BIOS hardware monitor that I would use. Your RAM running at 1.9v is fine. As long as it's staying nice and cool. Do you have a Motherboard Tweaker or something like that?? You should have something you can go into with a CTRL/F1 push of the buttons or something like that and play with all the settings manually. I'm not at home right now so I can't get to my settings to help you out. I have a Gibabyte MOBO and they have "similar" BIOS tweaks. good luck for now playing with the goodies on your mobo.. maybe someone can stop by and help you out now or I can give you some assistance later. Oh try the Intel Burn Test as well. It's a good FAST way to check you system for stability and your cooling abilities as well. ...gm
When I get home I will download and try the programs you suggested. I have noticed that Speedfan shows some odd figures sometimes, but the 1.9 is what it shows in my BIOS as well so I would guess that it is correct there. I did finally manage to find the additional settings in my BIOS by pressing Ctrl/F1 about a week ago, after a long spell of being frustrated because I couldn't find them. (A good case of RTFM on my part ) But I still do not see a way to undervolt the RAM, if you say it is fine then I am good with that. Is this the Intel Thermal Analysis Tool? I do have that program and have used it to check things as well. Once again thanks for the words of wisdom.
Go here and d/l the Intelburntest and give it a try. 5-10 times will be enough to give you a proper "reading". Be sure to use Core temp or Real temp to insure a "real" reading on the cpu temp. Google the temp progies and this page should help you with the burn test. Some googling might be of use too. good luck... ....gm
I have done quiet a bit of googling and reading, but I always try to post back and ask here before I get to carried away with what I read elsewhere. I have a pretty good idea where you guys stand and tend to trust what you say over what I read in other places. Alright, hopefully I have done my share to help your ego, now I am off to play with the settings some more.
My EGO means nothing to anyone here and actually doesn't mean much to me. I just want you to get what you need and that machine running like a high dollar puter should. Hope all is well buddy..... ....gm
I know that, that be why I like you so much. But I definately want to give credit where credit is due. Once again I am very appreciative of all the help you have given me here and in the past. BTW: How those TYG02's work out? Or have you used any yet?
Worst media I've ever used!!! Where did you get that fodder?? ...gm NOT REALLY!!! hehehehe. They're 100% TY and work like a charm!! I think every disc I've used is a 95 and has less than 1000 PIF's.
