Overclocking Questions

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Jophess

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Hello, today I decided that I would try overclock my Q6600 to 3.6GHz, but I have a few questions about voltages and stability.

As of right now I have my cpu vcore set to 1.5v in BIOS. My question is, why does it say my vcore is 1.44 when idle in cpu-z? Under load the vcore in cpu-z drops down to 1.392. Are these voltages safe if my load temps, in core temp, average at around 55C?

To test stability, how long should I run Prime95 or is it even necessary to be Prime stable?
Running Prime95, my computer crashes after about 5 minutes, with settings of:
400 fsb
9x multi
1.44 cpu voltage
2.0 ram voltage
1:1 fsb
5-5-5-15 timings

Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
thats definitely not a good sign... unless Prime95 has been updated, back when I used it, you had to run one for each core you have...

try using Orthos to test your processor and you should run a MINIMUM of 15 minutes on Large FFTS without any problems

your settings are definitely not stable if you crash with 1 core on load... after 4 minutes

if your unstable, thats either saying your ram is being pushed to hard (downclock the ram when overclocking the cpu) or your voltages are too low for the power strain on the CPU
 
Well, Prime95 does test all 4 cores at once now, at least I'm almost positive it does. My main concerns are about the voltages. Are my current voltages safe?
1.5v in BIOS
1.44v in cpu-z
1.392 under load
 
I'm pretty sure that the standard for voltage is 1.7 as the max, so your good for now

If your system is unstable, like I said just raise the voltage

but yes, you need to be "Prime" stable because Prime95/Orthos/W/E starts taking up CPU Cycles and causes your CPU to be under %100 load, during your normal day you probably wont reach %100 unless your playing some super extreme game or opening multiple programs, but its good to be safe

a BSOD can kill you if your in scrim or if your writing a paper etc.

a load temp of 55 is good, over 60 is iffy and over 70 is not recomended (unless your on a quad) [which you are]

try using core temp or speed fan or some other program to check the voltages
 
Well, after the comp fail stability at 1.525v core I decided to bring the clock down to 3.5GHz and put the vcore at 1.5v. So far, Prime95 has been running for 10 minutes with no errors, I know it's no where near long enough, but it's the longest test. The max temp I've seen it 61C but the temps are usually closer to 58C.
 
When the cpu was at 3.6, the ram was running at its normal speed of 800mhz.

With the vdroop, should I pay closer attention to the voltages reported in programs like cpu-z and speedfan rather than the voltage in bios in terms of telling if I have the cpu's vcore too high?
 
I wouldn't use cpuz for voltage readings. Everest is good. People like to compensate for vdroop. When under load you'll see your cpu vcore drop. Bumping it up alittle to help the vdroop is beneficial
 
I decided I'd go for 3.6GHz again so I set my vcore in BIOS to 1.5626 which is reading as 1.440v in both everest and cpu-z while under load (1.504v when idle). Current temps under load are at a max of 62C after Prime being run for 15 minutes.

EDIT: The test crashed after 20 minutes.

Could browsing the internet while running Prime95 cause it to crash on a stable system?
 
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