My first real OC experience

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AlexDeGruven

I am Geek. Hear me... type?

253 Posts

19 Oct 2009, 5:12pm

My first real OC experience

I've finally done it. I've finally taken the plunge and pushed my equipment beyond published spec, and I think I'm addicted.

Currently, I'm running a C2D E7200 (2.53GHz stock) at 3.16GHz with the stock vcore of 1.08v. So far, after a bit of time on Prime95 with small FFT, I'm sitting at 56C on both cores.

I haven't touched the memory clock or timings, yet, still running stock with those, but I'm not sure if I plan to mess with that at all at this point. I guess it depends on how addicting this is.

I'm currently cooling with an Antec 1200 (including side panel and center fan installed) and a Thermaltake SpinQ, which was reviewed quite favorably on this very site.

This coming weekend, I'm thinking I'll see how far I can push it before I have to touch the vcore.

Here's a shot of the current status:

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Thrax

Cad

23,398 Posts

19 Oct 2009, 5:15pm

At 56C, I would not overclock that CPU any more. 60C is the absolute limit.

Couple things:
1) Use CoreTemp or Real Temp to check your CPU temperature. Everest is good, but not great.
2) Pretty easy to OC, no?

__________________ Robert Hallock
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CPU: Core 2 Duo E6420 @ 3.5GHz (500*7)
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HSF: Thermalright Ultra-120

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AlexDeGruven

I am Geek. Hear me... type?

253 Posts

19 Oct 2009, 5:17pm

Hmm... Good to know. I've been thinking about bumping up to a E8400 (got one I can pick up cheap), so that might give me more of a push.

Any thoughts on how I can make it colder, or is it just a function of the budget CPU that I'm bumping up against?

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Thrax

Cad

23,398 Posts

19 Oct 2009, 5:42pm

You'll need a better heatsink to go colder. You could get 3.5-3.7GHz out of it with a better air cooler like the Cogage True Spirit, Thermolab Baram, Prolimatech Megahalem, Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme, etc.

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AlexDeGruven

I am Geek. Hear me... type?

253 Posts

4 Nov 2009, 3:15am

So, just for grins, I dropped the vcore a notch (1.25v) to see how the system reacted. Same clock, couldn't get it over 44C with small FFTs, stable so far.

The minimum spec for the 7200 looks to be .85v. I think over the next few days, I'm going to try to see how close I can get to that before I start losing stability.

Thrax: Any danger to undervolting, besides the obvious crashes?

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Thrax

Cad

23,398 Posts

4 Nov 2009, 9:26am

Nope.

If it runs stably at a sub-nominal vcore, great.

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lordbean

404 Brain Not Found

863 Posts

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4 Nov 2009, 11:49pm

Generally speaking, the lower voltage you can run the part at, the better. Lower voltage = less heat = less stress = longer lifespan.

__________________ "You wanna know what the problem is? The problem is it ain't starting."

Rig: Intel C2Q9450@3.54GHz, 8GB OCZ Platinum Lo-Volt, Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P, 2x HD5850 @ 930/1275 + 875/1175, 2x Seagate 1TB HD, 3x WD 640GB HD

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AlexDeGruven

I am Geek. Hear me... type?

253 Posts

6 Nov 2009, 12:14am

That was my assumption, but some electronics don't like being undervolted very well. That's why I was double-checking.

Gonna drop another notch or few tomorrow night, since I have to stay up late.

Once I start losing stability under load at current OC, I'm gonna bump it back to stable, then run Prime95 for a while to see what they heat up to, then start pushing the clock up from there. I know the SpinQ is not the ultimate in cooling, but it's mighty fine for my setup and I'd like to push this little processor as fast as I can w/o having to spend massive cash on super-exotic cooling.

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AlexDeGruven

I am Geek. Hear me... type?

253 Posts

11 Nov 2009, 3:24am

Toyed around a bit with it again. Now running 3.24GHz (341x9.5) at 1.175 vCore and I'm unable to get the cores above 43C. Looks like tomorrow I might try for 3.32 (350x9.5) and see if I can keep it stable. I had my 3.16 clock stable at 1.125v, but I couldn't push the clock above that. 1.175 is still well-below the default MoBo setting of 1.35, though, so I'm sure I"m still saving quite a bit of heat at this clock.

Too much fun.

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My first real OC experience

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