How do I know I've reached the limit of my overclock?

[actng]

I'm running at about 140% of stock speeds... the max CPU temp is 69C and averages around 60-65 with a low of 50C.

vCore is set at ~1.425V... bios hardware monitor is reporting 1.4V and CPUID is reporting 1.34V max.

All this running on stock cooling...

Will I be able to overclock anymore if I upgrade any components from stock? I actually pulled back from my max overclock cuz I noticed some weird stuff like my network card wouldn't be able to detect/connect to my wireless n network until I decreased the FSB.

Otherwise, everything is running great. It's been 6 days since my last reboot and I think that reboot was a windows update reboot so the system hasn't crashed for over a week.

CPU is E6600
Mobo is P5N32-E SLI PLUS

Any other info I need to provide to help you help me? Thanks!

[xalex0]

Can you increase the multiplier?

[Justification]

Are you stressing with something like prime95? That will tell you when you've reached your OC limit in term of CPU. Keep increasing in small increments until prime95 encounters errors or gives bluescreens, then lower it a bit until you can run prime95 for 24 hours with no errors. That's the limit.

With stock cooling you'll prob run into overheating issues before you reach OC limit...

[xalex0]

Are you stressing with something like prime95? That will tell you when you've reached your OC limit in term of CPU.Which test?

[george__]

Run prime95 -
Run coretemp -

If the system is stable for ~2 hours and coretemp says your temperatures are okay then your oc is fine...

You might also want to look @ playing around with the memory timing... I was able to lower the voltage on my i7 after I played around with my memory timing.

[Jimboski]

Which test?

Prime95 Is what It's called.. Stresses your computer at full capacity or something like that.

[Justification]

Which test?
Small FFTs for the cpu with prime95.

intelburntest is good too -- maximum setting will really put your cooling to test.

[actng]

Prime95 Is what It's called.. Stresses your computer at full capacity or something like that.

the last time i ran some hardcore stress test it crashed my comp right away.

in some ways, i don't expect it to run hardcore tests for extended periods... because i KNOW i'm sacrificing reliability for performance. if the cpu was capable of better performance without sacrificing reliability, intel would've sold the cpu as that higher level chip. so i've accepted and am under the belief that as soon as i overclock i'm losing reliability... so it comes down to a trade off / balance.

like... what if my system runs fine for what i need it to do but fails the prime95 right away? does that mean i've reached the limit or not?

[Justification]

the last time i ran some hardcore stress test it crashed my comp right away.

in some ways, i don't expect it to run hardcore tests for extended periods... because i KNOW i'm sacrificing reliability for performance. if the cpu was capable of better performance without sacrificing reliability, intel would've sold the cpu as that higher level chip. so i've accepted and am under the belief that as soon as i overclock i'm losing reliability... so it comes down to a trade off / balance.

like... what if my system runs fine for what i need it to do but fails the prime95 right away? does that mean i've reached the limit or not?
It is already past its limit if it fails right away. Why do you need to OC the cpu? It will give you performance gains in running calculations/models, video encoding, and gaming -- but if you were taking advantage of those gains you would be loading the processor and it would likely crash...

I would lower it until it can run prime95 small FFTs for an hour and go through 10 cycles of intelburntest on maximum. The whole point of doing these tests is to find the point where reliability degrades. If you can successfully run these stress tests, you will have an OC with no sacrifice in reliability.

I guess if it runs fine for you then its OK -- however it is not a stable OC and you have gone beyond its limit. You probably will encounter some crashes.

[Jimboski]

the last time i ran some hardcore stress test it crashed my comp right away.

in some ways, i don't expect it to run hardcore tests for extended periods... because i KNOW i'm sacrificing reliability for performance. if the cpu was capable of better performance without sacrificing reliability, intel would've sold the cpu as that higher level chip. so i've accepted and am under the belief that as soon as i overclock i'm losing reliability... so it comes down to a trade off / balance.

like... what if my system runs fine for what i need it to do but fails the prime95 right away? does that mean i've reached the limit or not?

That's the whole point, You need to be able to get a right settings of overclock on your computer so that you can run prime95 smoothly.. That way your overclock settings are stable and you won't ever crash!
It's a lot of changing back and forth editing settings and what not..

[MkmBandit]

the last time i ran some hardcore stress test it crashed my comp right away.

in some ways, i don't expect it to run hardcore tests for extended periods... because i KNOW i'm sacrificing reliability for performance. if the cpu was capable of better performance without sacrificing reliability, intel would've sold the cpu as that higher level chip. so i've accepted and am under the belief that as soon as i overclock i'm losing reliability... so it comes down to a trade off / balance.

like... what if my system runs fine for what i need it to do but fails the prime95 right away? does that mean i've reached the limit or not?

You're past your limit, and it doesn't work like that so don't get stuck with that mentality if you're into overclocking. If you're overclocking the right way you shouldn't be sacrificing reliability one bit. It may, at worst, shrink the overall life of the CPU, but that's not the case for everyone and is more of a general consideration rather then a warning..

The point of OC is to gain performance, while being 100% rock solid regardless of whether you push your CPU to 100% in daily use. If you've gone through all the necessary basics like upgrading your heatsink (I assume you haven't since you didn't mention it), making sure your case is clean and there is adequate air-flow, making sure your PSU is up to par, thermal paste evenly spread, and you're still crashing, dial it back. Start with a very minimal overclock and increase in very tight increments. Run stress tests thoroughly (3+ hours) on each increment and adjust accordingly. Take your time... the CPU you have needs love and care to successfully push it to it's limits.

[Jimboski]

Mainly one of the reasons I bought my CPU was because of the overclock potential and that many others have been successful In overclocking their 930's easily.
I have a i7 930 2.8GHz but I OC'ed It to 4.2GHz stable.
I initially had BSOD thinking It was the CPU's fault but really I had a faulty DDR RAM which I've already replaced. G.SKILL ftw!

Takes awhile to perfect how much your computer can handle but It's worth It!

[xalex0]

Prime95 Is what It's called.. Stresses your computer at full capacity or something like that.Maybe you shouldn't reply if you don't know what you are talking about. Prime95 has multiple tests that can be ran.

[bruizeman]

the last time i ran some hardcore stress test it crashed my comp right away.

in some ways, i don't expect it to run hardcore tests for extended periods... because i KNOW i'm sacrificing reliability for performance. if the cpu was capable of better performance without sacrificing reliability, intel would've sold the cpu as that higher level chip. so i've accepted and am under the belief that as soon as i overclock i'm losing reliability... so it comes down to a trade off / balance.

like... what if my system runs fine for what i need it to do but fails the prime95 right away? does that mean i've reached the limit or not?

Like others have said, you are way past your OC limit.

The point of using a stress test like IBT or prime is so that your computer won't crash doing normal/less intensive stuff. Do you really want Excel to calculate wrong values because you OC'd way past the limit? Or just crashing outright? Or having your game crash at the more intensive moments? That's what you are risking if you can't even run 5 min of prime.

At the end of it, its your computer and it's up to you what you want to risk.

Myself, I am happy with my computer passing IBT at standard and at high. It probably will fail at max.

[willy]

I assume you have a 1st gen E6600 (2.4GHz 1066MHz-FSB 65nm Conroe) ? I also assume your RAM is operating within spec too ?

I would make sure it's stable at 333MHz x 9 (3GHz) first. 333MHz is good as it's one of the standard FSBs. The rest of the system will run at stock speeds. If it survives Prime95 for a few hours with stock cooling, I would be happy with that. Anything higher will require too much Vcore which the stock cooling might not be able to keep up.

The 45nm E6600 (3.06GHz) can go a bit higher .... 3.4-3.7GHz is doable.

[valinrace]

Hey guys, I almost have the similar question because I did not overclock my desktop computer but when Its my first time to boot it in the morning or in the evening it says Overclocking failed. then I usually press f2 to load the default settings, do you guys have any idea why I am experiencing it?

[willy]

Oh, you may want to consider this too ... $9.99 AR ... http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=67721&vpn=CNPS%205X%20Performa&manufacture=ZALMAN%20TECH&promoid=1261

I have a feeling the SpeedStep or EIST / C1E is not enabled in the BIOS, your idle temp is way too high.

[actng]

thanks for everyone's input. i've dialed back the overclock and been tested prime95... first time ran it it for 12 hrs. then upped the clock and ran it for 3 hrs now. so prolly gonna up it again. thanks for your advice.

[actng]

what's the max temperature for the CPU to be at for 100% workload? 80°C? E6600 2.4Ghz

[MkmBandit]

It should be roughly 60c-62c, someone correct me if I'm wrong. Use CoreTemp (http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/) and try to keep it under 55c. Get yourself a cheap aftermarket heatsink if you need to. It's worth the $20..

[actng]

It should be roughly 60c-62c, someone correct me if I'm wrong. Use CoreTemp (http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/) and try to keep it under 55c. Get yourself a cheap aftermarket heatsink if you need to. It's worth the $20..

whoa... 55°C at MAX load???

[MkmBandit]

whoa... 55°C at MAX load???

You should be OK going up to about 60c but above that you may be degrading the lifespan of the CPU. What kind of temps are you getting right now, and what program are you using to tell you the temps?

You'd be shocked at how much cooler it will run with an aftermarket heatsink. Just for comparison purposes, mine is running at 33c and peaks out at 40c. It's also friggin hot in my apt. Noctua NH-D14. It's a $70 heatsink, but even a cheap one will do wonders for you.

http://s13.postimage.org/9gwue09wn/Core_Temps.jpg

[george__]

I get like high 60s for max load running prime95... Sometimes as high as low 70s (but this is when my room temperature is low 30s (no ac on)).

[actng]

currently using CPUID Hardware Monitor. high of 81°C low of 51°C currently running at 76°C prime95 in progress.

vcore was jacked up to accommodate a 140% overclock where the prime95 errored out immediately but now i've dialed it down to about 130%. i will probably dial down the vcore once i settle on a stable bus speed...

but even on stock, i've been at around 50°C-60°C average

i guess i have to spend money on heatsink...

[MkmBandit]

Sorry, I don't want to advise you the wrong way, most all my experience with OC'ing is with AMD CPU's so there are far better people to help you out with this.

What I do know, there are a few variables that you'll need to make sure of, specifically to make sure the Tjmax values are set correctly. I think for your CPU Intel suggest it set to roughly 90c. This is for accurate temp reading ofcourse. Based on that, you really want to be safely 20c below that at load. You don't necessarily need a new heatsink, but it would help and is almost mandatory when getting into OC.

But yeah that's about as much as I should say about this ;)

[actng]

dialed down the vcore and it's running at 80C max. not much difference with the vcore.

going to order a $20 heatsink tomorrow. is that good enough? i found these ones... how come they blow sideways instead of top down onto the processor? anyone is better than the others?

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=8_805&item_id=026745
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=8_129&item_id=035257
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=8_129&item_id=033104
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=8_129&item_id=031968
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=8_129&item_id=027200
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=8_129&item_id=025338

[Jimboski]

Get a H50!

[willy]

50C -60C average doesn't sound right.

Try to touch the heatsink. At these temps, it should be very hot to touch. Verify that. I have a feeling the heatsink is not mounted properly right now ....

Your E6600 supports Speedstep ... which means the multiplier will drop to 6x automatically when it's idle. Run CPU-Z to confirm that.

[actng]

i just bought this... i think it will work

arctic freezer 13
http://www.arctic.ac/p/images/articles/3246bbf8f5b52fae71b25c13bfd4e06d_5.png

[george__]

50C -60C average doesn't sound right.

Try to touch the heatsink. At these temps, it should be very hot to touch. Verify that. I have a feeling the heatsink is not mounted properly right now ....

Your E6600 supports Speedstep ... which means the multiplier will drop to 6x automatically when it's idle. Run CPU-Z to confirm that.

It could also be that there isn't enough thermal paste. Mine went up to 90 on load and after adding more thermal paste, the temperatures dropped to 50-60s.

[actng]

It could also be that there isn't enough thermal paste. Mine went up to 90 on load and after adding more thermal paste, the temperatures dropped to 50-60s.

it's all stock so i dunno

[wilsonlam97]

Just overclock to what you need. Expect less for more.

[george__]

Also if you add or remove parts -- you might need to tweak your overclocking settings.

I just added a SSD and I had to tweak my overclocking settings because the system randomly froze every 2 - 3 seconds.

[actng]

Also if you add or remove parts -- you might need to tweak your overclocking settings.

I just added a SSD and I had to tweak my overclocking settings because the system randomly froze every 2 - 3 seconds.

cool did not know this, thanks!


added that massive heatsink and it's running VERY cool right now. start up temp was 37C - haven't seen this low since stock clock. prime95 stress testing and it's max of 54C... running at 51C. i was expecting 60ish.

well done RFD

[george__]

cool did not know this, thanks!


added that massive heatsink and it's running VERY cool right now. start up temp was 37C - haven't seen this low since stock clock. prime95 stress testing and it's max of 54C... running at 51C. i was expecting 60ish.

well done RFD

Good to hear! Have fun!

[MkmBandit]

cool did not know this, thanks!


added that massive heatsink and it's running VERY cool right now. start up temp was 37C - haven't seen this low since stock clock. prime95 stress testing and it's max of 54C... running at 51C. i was expecting 60ish.

well done RFD

There you go! That simple upgrade has just taken your rig from mainstream to performance. Have fun pushing those limits with ease!

[Jimboski]

Maybe you shouldn't reply if you don't know what you are talking about. Prime95 has multiple tests that can be ran.

Lolololol!

[Forhad]

The temperature should be roughly 60c-65c.

[azncapcom]

The E series is a very good chip. You shouldn't be limiting yourself to a 40% overclock. That chip should easily hit 4GHz. Don't worry if your temp hits 70C, intel chips are meant to take a lot of heat. I haven't done hardcore overclock since the E series now, but i think the thermal max was 95C for the chip. As recommended by other users as well, you should stay 20C under that for optimal lifespan.

My last extreme overclocking was on a E2160 (stock 1.8ghz) I had it OC'ed to 3.6ghz. (Yes 100% OC) @ 400FSB. It wasn't on extreme cooling either, just a cooler master hyper 212. But once you start getting into the high OC's you need to tweak more things than just the vcore. I was only able to stress test for 2 hours on prime before it crashed at 3.6Ghz. So i dropped it down to 3.33Ghz for 24/7 OC. And the comp is still good till this day. Forget how many years i've had it now.

Also make sure you have a good and reliable PSU, as OC'ing will require more juice.

Also change your RAM multiplier so you are not exceeding your ram specs. When you reach your full cpu OC then you start OC'in the RAM. You may need to increase your NB voltage as well.

[xXxTehxXx]

It should be roughly 60c-62c, someone correct me if I'm wrong. Use CoreTemp (http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/) and try to keep it under 55c. Get yourself a cheap aftermarket heatsink if you need to. It's worth the $20..

That's a really low max temp. Almost all of the Intel 65mms have a TJMax of 100, the E6600 included. I've OC'd my Q6600 from 2.4 Ghz to 3.5 Ghz with temps idle 50, load 60, and stress test 70. Been running fine for the past year (minus my previous thread where my heatsink was being faulty lol). That being said, the only time your temps should be in the 80-90 range is under a full stress test.

Mess around with the voltages a bit more, the lower you keep the voltages the less heat the CPU puts out

[actng]

tjmax from my proc is 85C

[actng]

does it matter that the vcore set in bios is 0.9v higher than what coretemp/cpuid detects in windows?

[azncapcom]

does it matter that the vcore set in bios is 0.9v higher than what coretemp/cpuid detects in windows?

do you mean 0.09v? cause 0.9v is a HUGE difference. you shouldn't go more than 0.2v higher than stock voltage on air cooling. Usually coretemp and cpuid reports a slightly lower vcore because of vdroop. So if you mean 0.09v then thats fine. if its actually showing 0.9v then the sensors are bad.

[actng]

yea my bad 0.09v

i dunno what stock voltage is... but i'm pushing the vcore all the way up to whatever takes me to 65C max temp on 100% max load. right now that is three notches above 1.45v...

lots of variables to play with. i maxed out on vcore but i'm finding messing with VTT and NB is getting me higher overclocks as well!

[MkmBandit]

^your life has changed forever. :D

[actng]

i have been obsessed with this the past few weeks! i have no idea why i'm pushing it an extra 2-5Mhz at a time, in the grand scheme of things it means nothing and quite honestly kinda pointless to go from say 3.333 to 3.334Ghz... lol

but i can't stop!!!! lol

[MkmBandit]

lol no doubt,,, the smaller the increments the better, especially when doing this the first couple of times. And it's good you're starting low and working up now instead of the other way around lol. At this pace you'll be achieving a better result from your CPU then even experienced overclockers.

[azncapcom]

yea my bad 0.09v

i dunno what stock voltage is... but i'm pushing the vcore all the way up to whatever takes me to 65C max temp on 100% max load. right now that is three notches above 1.45v...

lots of variables to play with. i maxed out on vcore but i'm finding messing with VTT and NB is getting me higher overclocks as well!

Yeah after you hit the vcore barrier (on air cooling at least), the next step would be the NB, good job on advancing your overclocking. Some of these old intel chips just don't die. My friend had a several year old quad core, forget which model, but he was telling me it kept restarting, so i checked his temps and he was running at 80 to 85C idle!!! He did this for almost a year. Until it started restarting every 10 minutes or so. I got him a new HSF and his new temps were idling at the mid to high 20s. After another year or two, the cpu is still running strong.

Whats your overclock at now?

P.S stay below 1.5v vcore on air cooling.

[flyz]

the last time i ran some hardcore stress test it crashed my comp right away.

in some ways, i don't expect it to run hardcore tests for extended periods... because i KNOW i'm sacrificing reliability for performance. if the cpu was capable of better performance without sacrificing reliability, intel would've sold the cpu as that higher level chip. so i've accepted and am under the belief that as soon as i overclock i'm losing reliability... so it comes down to a trade off / balance.

like... what if my system runs fine for what i need it to do but fails the prime95 right away? does that mean i've reached the limit or not?

In the perfect world, CPU binning would work 100% of the time and we'd get defective parts that were meant to run at the specified frequencies. This is usually true when a new architecture is out or a new process is used (ie Intel's Tick Tock) and when yields suffer. But later down the production cycle, demand usually throws that out the window. Yields get better and now they're stuck with many great parts and not enough demand for them. So what Intel does is neuter the chips and make them run at lower frequencies, even though the chips are capable of running at much higher frequencies. This is where overclockers benefit. You get a cheap chip that's capable of much more and reliability doesn't suffer.

[actng]

Yeah after you hit the vcore barrier (on air cooling at least), the next step would be the NB, good job on advancing your overclocking. Some of these old intel chips just don't die. My friend had a several year old quad core, forget which model, but he was telling me it kept restarting, so i checked his temps and he was running at 80 to 85C idle!!! He did this for almost a year. Until it started restarting every 10 minutes or so. I got him a new HSF and his new temps were idling at the mid to high 20s. After another year or two, the cpu is still running strong.

Whats your overclock at now?

P.S stay below 1.5v vcore on air cooling.

I achieved over 36 hours of prime95 on 1500 Mhz i.e. 3375Mhz.
Currently going for 1504Mhz but not having much luck. the second core errors out around the 5 hour mark. I'm on my "last" adjustment if this doesn't work then I've reached the limit.

my vcore is three notches above 1.45... not that close to 1.5... i can't go any higher because at max load it's already hitting 66C. tjmaxx on my proc is 85C so I'm trying to stick to the 20C gap... just in case my home's AC fails and ambient gets really hot.

if i bought a $80 HSF I may be able to do more but for a $25 HSF I'm pretty happy I squeezed so much out of my 2400Mhz. That's 140% overclock on air cooling.

[PiusPatronus]

I achieved over 36 hours of prime95 on 1500 Mhz i.e. 3375Mhz.
Currently going for 1504Mhz but not having much luck. the second core errors out around the 5 hour mark. I'm on my "last" adjustment if this doesn't work then I've reached the limit.

my vcore is three notches above 1.45... not that close to 1.5... i can't go any higher because at max load it's already hitting 66C. tjmaxx on my proc is 85C so I'm trying to stick to the 20C gap... just in case my home's AC fails and ambient gets really hot.

if i bought a $80 HSF I may be able to do more but for a $25 HSF I'm pretty happy I squeezed so much out of my 2400Mhz. That's 140% overclock on air cooling.
Would this HSF happen to be a Noctua?

[azncapcom]

you mean 40% overclock. Meaning you 40% over the stock clock. I think you should be at least able to get 50% over stock on that chip.

You shoulda bought the Noctua when it was on sale for like $40.

[actng]

didn't know about the noctua... my HSF is on post #29 of this thread.