when to stop overclocking?

i decided to start to o/c my computer and found some surprising results;

Stock speeds;667MHz mem(4,4,4,12),3.4GHz P4 with 800MHz FSB,max temp 62C
O/C 1; 667MHz mem(4,3,3,12), 850MHz FSB, max temp 66C
O/C 2; 667MHz mem(4,3,3,12), 873MHz, max temp 67C
O/C 3; 747MHz mem(4,3,3,12), 897MHz 3.81GHz, max temp 68C
+Gfx card went from 450/1050(12%factory O/C) to 486/1080 max temp 54C

now i was surprised by this as the computer showed no adverse affect from this very big O/C apart from an extra 6C on the CPU. i have only stopped cause i can't believe how high it's managed to go and want to ensure all is fine. every time i O/C i ran 3DMark05 benchmarking test 2 times to put the computer under as much stress as possible to ensure it was stable, which it was every time.
so first of all should i keep going until i see any problems? and is this normal?
also i know the temps are quite high at 68C but they where quite high in the first place, and it does not seem to be creating any instability at all. would you be comfortable with those temps under max load?

That's exactly the same as me, I just couldn't believe how far I was getting with no problems :D In my case I decided that I was happy with the 13% O/C that I ended up with, which looks to be about the same as where you are, and I didn't go any further. But if you want to go further, it's entirely up to you, you are obviously keeping a close eye on things, so you won't hurt anything. But I would only increase the FSB in very small steps from this point on. Then just back down a bit when things start to show signs of instability.

My temps are a good deal lower than yours, but then I'm running a slower CPU. I wouldn't want to see them any more what you are maxing out at. I think you may need to think about a better HSF unit actually.

I personally would not want to see those kinds of temps. Nice OC though. I would try to control the temps before going any further.

well I’m very pleased. with my old system i could hardly O/C 50MHz without something going wrong. but this time i made sure i bought some quality parts and you can see it tells. i was thinking the same about the CPU temp and i was going to get a new HSF unit anyway. do you have any recommendations? i think these have good reviews; http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatal...alman_121.html
P.S. have any of you used an Asus utility called 'AI booster'? i have been using it and it allows you to change the FSB and loads of other things from windows without restarting, great program.

Zalman will be a good unit. I also like the Thermaltake HS & fans. Its a big plus building your own system, you know whats in it and how its put together. Using good quality parts is a bonus as you are finding out. I have had some good over clocks with both my 64bit AMD cpu's 3500 Winchester and my 3700 San Diego. I am using a Thermaltake Venus 12 E Heatsink and fan with AS5. Stock temps are between 29c and 35c depending on the room temp. If i ramp it up to 2.7 GHz (2.2 stock)(that seems to be about the best I can do with my ram) 250 MHz fsb is the best it will do. I have some to learn about overclocking.

I'd say you should stop when it starts to smoke/melt.:D Joke.

If you get any quirky bootups, or sudden decrease in speed, or if the temps go beyond what they are now, around 70 would be peak.

I'd recommend a Zalman 9500 (Top on that OC UK page) get 'em while they're cheap, it was £50 when it came out, down to £37 now inc. VAT. :)


Liam

ok just ordered a Zalman 9500 :) , next stop 4GHz ;) .
and do any of you know what voltage my memory should be running at? according to this page;http://www.crucial.com/ballistix/sto...2864AA804&cat=
it should be running at 2.2V but it's currently running at 1.8V

The lower the voltage, means a lot less power is needed to read and write for the memory, the link shows the max voltage that they can run at, as higher voltages will reduce timings.

So:

1.8v -------------2.2v
Min ------------ Max

If you up it to 1.95, your timings would reduce, and that's probably what i'd do, stick it in the middle of the scale for now.(either 1.95/2.0)

Liam

oh ok, now it makes sense, cheers for that. i currently have the timings at 4,2,3,10,3 at 2.0V. firstly if it can run at 2.2V why should i not be running at that? and secondly i know nothing much about timings, so is it ok to have the timings i have now even if they are a bit 'unbalanced'?

The RAM doesn't come at 2.2v, because that is the max, as it is like overclocking, say Intel made a CPU and they said it can be clocked from 3.2(Stock) to 3.8(Max) but it would come 3.2, as OC'ing is upto the user, and as higher voltage takes more power, they are sent at the stock voltage, with a little side note saying if you want to run them OC'd, they will go to 2.2v comfortably.

Check out these links for more info on CL/tRAS/tRP etc: http://forums.tweakguides.com/showthread.php?t=775

And also this review: http://www.tomshardware.com/2004/01/...wns/index.html

Liam

cheers for that. just a pitty my CL won't get down to 3, but it dosn't seem to matter that much anyway.

No probs.:)

Have fun messing with the fiddlers and tweakers.....how's that 7800GT-E holding up? have you used coolbits before?


Liam

it's all going amazingly well :) . if you look at the attached file you can see what i am using to O/C and what settings i currently have it on. 'AI booster' is a great Utility and is so much easier than constantly going into the bios and re-starting the computer. for my 7800GT i have used RivaTuner, which then unlocks a 'Clock settings' option in the Nvidia control panel. the 'detected' maximum for the card is 511/1180 but i have not got round to testing that yet, seems mighty high for me considering the default clock for a standard 7800GT is 400/1000. also managed to get my timings down to 4,2,3,8,2. that’s the lowest i can have for them all apart form the '8' and i haven’t taken that down any further yet. I also think 4.0GHz is enough for now until I get my new HSF.
also 3Dmark05 score has gone from 6990 stock to 7898

Cool! I use a similar app called coolbits, it opens up the clock frequency in the CP too, so you can manually adjust, then test, then use.....i also see those game shortcuts = Jealous Liam. :D


Liam

ran BF2 today, which has to be the most power hungry game i have ever seen! and it was running at 70+ FPS constantly on single player with max settings and 4xAA, often at 100! makes you wonder why people buy 2 7800GTX's for SLI, a bit of overkill i feel.

Quote:

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makes you wonder why people buy 2 7800GTX's for SLI, a bit of overkill i feel.

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I think they call that futureproofing for BF3. :D

If 2gb of RAM is recommended for BF2, imagine how power hungry the next game will be.:eek:

Liam

Quote:

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Originally Posted by liam858

If 2gb of RAM is recommended for BF2, imagine how power hungry the next game will be.:eek:

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looks like i might need the max 8GB that the mobo supports then ;) .

Good luck finding 4 x 2gb DDR2 sticks that cost less than your complete build per stick.;)


Liam

i think i would have trouble trying to find one! let alone paying for it.

I found one from a Yahoo shop, 533Mhz, for $900......WOW


Liam

:eek: think i would rather have my 800MHz $200 stuff!
that price is just stupid.

time to revive an old thread. as you can see by the first post in this thread i O/C my P4 3.4 to 4.1GHz but had to stop as the temps where getting to high. well the other day i bought a Zalman (CNPS9500-LE) CPU cooler;
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...uct_uid=103639
and a new case to improve cooling and reduce noise. so i have decided to see just how far the CPU will O/C. when i try it at 4.16GHz it runs all the benchmarking tests fine and the max temp is 60C. however when i increase this to 4.2GHz it will crash every time giving me a memory error. i have reduced the memory speed to 700MHz and something and put the timings back to default but it still crashes. so the only thing i can think to possibly do is increase the V.core. i changed it from 1.3625 to 1.3875 and it didn't crash quite as quick. but when it did i got the blue screen :( . so is there anything else i can do, and how much can you increase the V.core relatively safely?

Increasing the Vcore is where things get decidedly dangerous. Remember that power consumption goes up with the square of the voltage, so you can send the temps through the roof very quickly. Only ever increase the Vcore in the minimum increments available and keep a very close eye on temps after each increase. Only increase it by the barest minimum amount to achieve stability.

yeah i know that it gets a bit risky round Voltages and that’s why i asked. is there any warning when i have gone too far apart from temp? like if i O/C the memory or CPU to far it will crash and i know to stop, will the same thing happen with the V.core or will it just break :eek:

I think there is a risk that it could just break. The main problem is temps, but there is also the risk that a high enough voltage could cause the tiny amount of insulation between components to break down, if that happens you'll kill the CPU for sure.

Personally I've never overclocked further than the standard Vcore would let me. I'd be sweating buckets to even take it up as much as you have :D

lol. i think I’m just being greedy! i'll keep it at 4.16GHz and be happy with that. i also wasn't sure about O/C at first and was really happy with 3.5GHz, but then it just kept going and going up with no trouble at all. so I’m already amazed at the results :) . and the benefit of the current speed is that i can keep the V.core at standard. the only other thing i was going to try was increasing the Multiplier. but if i remember correctly it's locked and can't be changed unless your a cleverer person than me.

It's locked on most CPU's, though either the AMD FX series or the Pentium Extremely Expensive Edition (or maybe both) has unlocked multipliers.

One thing I would say, is that although the machine may be stable, you may encounter problems with some software that isn't particularly stable. My Hauppauge TV tuner software was forever crashing on an OC'd machine. I turned off the OC and it only crashes once or twice a week now :rolleyes: I just thought I'd mention that in case you find you have problems with a particular program.

well that’s a coincidence. i also have a Hauppauge TV tuner. i don't use it at the moment as i am at home, but i will try it out when i get back to uni. i have been running the comp O/C at 3.7GHz for some time now with no problems, only crashes about once a month, lol. i ran 3 consecutive 3DMark05 tests and the temps where stable with no problems. i also ran 3DMark06 with no problems. so i will keep an eye on everything and hope it all goes well. as I’m at home i am doing quite a bit of gaming so i assume any problems will come out when playing. also my new case has an LCD display with temp monitoring so i can keep an eye on everything.

On all P4 Prescott 3ghz and over you can lower the multiplier down to 14. The P4 EE is totally unlocked.

Since I got my 550 3.4ghz, is always have ran it 24/7 at 3.73 at 14*266mhz (default vcore). The only thing I wanted is to have my memory running at 1066mhz. My cpu is cooled with a Thermaltake Silent Tower and never went over the mid 55c. This cpu is installed on an Asus p5ad2 premium.