# [SOLVED] Deciding whether to overclock



## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

Ok, so i have a AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition. Obviously, overclocking does wonders, but i am wondering if it will degrade my CPU's lifespan. I have gathered the idea (from random statements people have made online) that overclocking will lessen a CPU's lifespan.

I am simply trying to figure out, is this true? I have the Tuniq Tower 120 and at stock 3.2ghz i have never seen it above 88*F.

So, if i overclock it, will my lifespan lessen?

If the lifespan has to do with temperature, what temp would be safe (while overclocked to give greatest lifespan)?

What speed do you recommend?


(also, i am an overclock noob...will this lower the life of any other of my PC components?)


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

If you keep your overclock reasonable then the lifespan of the CPU should still exceed its useful lifespan. If a CPU is designed to last fifteen years (not an unreasonable number), and you overclock it to the point it only lives half as long as it should, that's still over seven years, and you'll probably upgrade long before that time.

Your CPU's lifespan will be affected by five things:
1.) Temperature -- you'll want to keep the load temperature under 70 degrees Celsius. Above that point the CPU will shut itself off to protect itself. The higher the temperature, the shorter the lifetime.
2.) Voltage -- the higher the voltage, the higher the temperature, and also the faster the CPU will degrade. I'd recommend staying below 1.5V for 24/7 use.
3.) Overall clock -- even if voltage and temperatures stay well within safe limits the CPU is still going to wear out slightly faster than it would otherwise, because there's more energy being pumped through it each second than it was designed for. No way around it.
4.) Usage patterns -- the more you use it, the more it will degrade. If you have this chip running the [email protected] CPU SMP client 24/7, it's going to wear out a _lot_ faster than if you used it just for occasional gaming.
5.) DC Power quality -- the stability of the power reaching the CPU. You want a high quality power supply with good voltage stability. A bad power supply can deliver high voltage ripple that can make its way through the motherboard's VRM, and cause instability and cumulative damage to the CPU. High-end motherboards have very good VRMs that can protect the CPU from damage, but then you're just wearing your motherboard out faster instead.


If you have a good overclocking motherboard you should expect up to 4.0GHz without too much trouble.

Here's a guide to overclocking Phenom II x4s:
http://www.overclock.net/amd-general/525113-phenom-ii-overclocking-guide.html


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

Thank you very much, that solved the dilemma. My computer is pretty intense as is, but it just seems like it needed an extra push.

The only other question is about overclocking my ram. My motherboard is a m4a79 deluxe from asus. It only supports up to 1300mhz ddr2. I have Corsair dominator (ddr2) stock at 1066 mhz.

I pretty much have the same question for that as for the CPU

How much would oc'ing it to 1066mhz take off the life span?

Will it produce much more heat? (right now it runs cool to the touch)

Do you have a guide for that oc'ing dominator (PC2-8500 C5)?
[i have looked around a little, but i can't seem to find one...and im an oc noob]


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

when you increase the fsb it will change the speed of everything linked on it, so that will be the CPU and the RAM along with the graphics card.

The ram speed will go up or down depending on the settings used, if you want to try and speed up the ram then you can alter the ram timmings and tweak the ram voltage to accomodate this.

Overclocking has it's risks and will shorten the life span of any component that is overclocked and yes it will produce more heat especially if you have to up the voltages but it doesn't shorten the life span by a great deal so even if you went to the max you could overclock your system to it would probably last you 10 years and most likely you will have had 3 maybe 4 other PCs since overclocking this one.


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

So increasing the FSB, is that effected by overclocking the processor? If not, i was having no thoughts of overclocking the motherboard (it is already 2600mhz HT). 

One biggy though, is i have read that going from 1066mhz ram, to 1300mhz for example shows no significant difference. 

If i were to overclock the ram to 1300 mhz, would i see any difference? My computer wides a wide range of programs from Photoshop & Premier Pro all the way to Crysis or Dirt 2 maxed out (with full anti-aliasing ^_^).


Also, is there any noob overclocker friendly software out there (rivatuner scares me, but i haven't really gotten to know it at all)? Or do i just OC via my bios?


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

Note: I did find a really good thread on AMD. 

http://blogs.amd.com/play/2009/04/2...amd-phenom-ii-x4-955-black-edition-processor/

It also mentions AMD Overdrive utility, which i have but have never installed. Wish me luck hahaha.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

never use software to overclock it can have disasterous results. If you want to overclock your graphics card then you can use riva tuner.

you will see no significance if you only overclock the ram you must do the cpu also. i.e FSB otherwise there is no point.

when you increase the fsb you are effectively overclocking everything that is on the FSB so that is the RAM and CPU etc etc


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

If you want a nice "easy" overclock I was just increase your CPU's multiplier (since you have a Black Edition CPU that is an option). That way nothing but the CPU is affected, and you'll only have to change the multiplier and the voltage.


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

Yeah, i am changing that. Just having loads of fun with voltages though >_>


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

Well, it appears i have it stable at approximately 3.7ghz running at 1.35 volts. 

I have been running prime95 (64-bit) for a couple hours now, and the highest temperature i have gotten according to PC Probe is 92*F (and that was only for a few seconds). According to CoreTemp the hottest is 107*F (i have never used CoreTemp on that pc).

Personally, those are great temps for running at 100% CPU overclocked by 500mhz.

I might overclock the fsb (it is 200 right now, and i have a 200-600 range), the HT (it is at 2,000 right now, i can go from 800-2600), and the PCI-E Frequency, which is at 100 and i can go to 200.


Last couple questions, now that i seemingly have it stable and overclocked. 

What would you recommend for the FSB, HT, and PCI-E Freq? (alternatively, state whether you think they should be overclocked at all)

Would i see much performance difference?

If i overclock them, would i have to adjust the voltage at all?

___________________________________________________

Are the temps i am getting good or within reason?

I have done a smidge of research and it looks like the stock CPU voltage is 1.35-1.4v. Provided i keep these temps, will i see any drop in my lifespan? If so, by what percentage or number in years do you expect?


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

Edit: i was running clocked at 3.5ghz, i did the math wrong.

Now i am running at 3.61 ghz with a 1.3875 voltage

Just starting prime95

Seems like the temp caps out at 95*F for Probe and 112 for CoreTemp (i am only on test 3 though)

Questions i asked still stand.

And this has me bumming...


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

Truly sorry for the quadruple post, but the half hour editing is a little bit of a pain.

I don't know why, but my cpu just tends not to like getting up to 3.7-3.8 on less than 1.4v (i have tried up to 1.4875). So right now i am running (seemingly stable) at 1.4v with the clock set at 3.61ghz. (92*F max)

Yes, this may sound dumb. Is there anyway i can bring up that speed to 3.7 or 3.8 without pumping much more voltage? Like i said, i want this system to last.

So pretty much scrap the last 2 posts. (Sorry if you already read them D: )

If it were you, and you wanted to make this at 3.8ghz, but make the whole system last for a minimum of 7 years (the more the better), what would you do. 

My motherboard can overclock pretty much everything, but i am lacking in the knowledge of what voltage for what speed and the this will create about this much heat. So...again...sorry for the 4th post in a row. If you did read the above 2 posts, comment if you want on them. But this is pretty much simplifying all of the above.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

You don't want to be upping the voltage, this kills the cpu faster than anything.

You may be at your proccessor limits for overclocking. Someone could have the same setup as you and not be able to get to your ovberclocking setup or they may be able to exceed your settings. No CPU is equal.

When cpus are made they are made in a big batch in the same die, The first cpu made may overclock a lot whilst the one at the end may not overclock very well at all.

I believe with your cpu you will hit a wall if you try increase the multiplier past 18.5 and also you should not go past 1.50v

Try this setting 205x18.5 for the multiplier 1.50v that will give you 3.79GHz I haven't seen or read about anyone getting past this with your cpu

Remember to keep the ram with in its rated speed and not go below what the motherboard can take.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

Also, do not overclock the PCIe frequency. This literally has no affect, since the PCIe bus is a bandwidth thing and _no_ graphics card on the market now can saturate the PCIe 2.0 x16 bus. All overclocking the PCIe would do is risk damaging your graphics card and/or motherboard.


I did more research, and it seems that the Phenom II x4s max out at around 3.8GHz on air cooling, so 4GHz was a bit optimistic. People have gotten them higher, but it takes water cooling, or even Peltier+LN2 evaporative. Someone _did_ get a Phenom II x4 to 7GHz. But again, liquid nitrogen cooling.


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

Liquid nitrogen and helium 

(on the second video i saw with the group)
They helium to get it cool enough (near absolute zero) and the liquid nitrogen to keep the helium from boiling to quickly.


And i don't think heat is a big issue with me, i mean max of 95*F on the testing i have done so far (according to pc probe), but i don't want to take chances. 

The issue i have is the voltage. I tried last night at 1.4v (with 18x multiplier) and it failed sometime during the night while prime95 ran. [i awoke to grub bootloader]

I believe everything is set to auto other than the CPU voltage and multiplier. (excluding things that cannot be automatic such as HT, FSB, and PCI-E freq)

I was bumming around for about a minute this morning, and i saw CPU-NB. In that, i saw a list from auto to 800mhz all the way up to 3600mhz. I am using an 18x multiplier, so out of curiosity, if i raised the CPU-NB up to 3600mhz would it be more stable?

What voltage would you suggest for 3.6ghz? How about 3.7ghz (my goal, running at 95*F max)?

Note: If it matters at all, i am using the Tuniq Tower 120 with Antec Formula 5 thermal paste (works great, just a pain to apply lol).


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

I have the tuniq tower and its a great cooler so no worries there.

Have you tried the setting I suggested with 18.5 multiplier and 1.5v for the cpu voltage?

Appently AMDs are a lot hard to overclock than Intel but I couldn't say this for sure since I always go for Intel cpus.


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

I suppose i could, but Phaedrus had said that i shouldn't pass 1.5v.

That sorta has had me worried. I am not sure what WOULD happen if i went beyond that. I can guess shorter life, but i am not sure how far.

Basically this whole issue for me is the math of it all. Figuring out how i can get to my desired speed but keep the systems longevity within reason.


Well, unless Phaedrus has any comments i will try 18.5 at 1.5v and then run a stability test.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

I never said anything about going past 1.5 infact you shouldn't.

If you went past the recommended highest voltage you could immediatley fry the cpu so don't do it.

Mate trust me you will not have this system in 7 years time because everything inside it will be redundant long before then. You will look like an old person who still uses casettes and records to play music if you still have it by then.


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

I want my computer to last me at least through college (so i hope).

And i am aware you never said to go past 1.5v, i was just stating that i was become worried the higher i go up. Phaedrus said i shouldn't go past 1.5v, so i thought that the closer you get the more likely it is i will drop the system lifespan.

If i stay at 1.5v, would would you estimate the lifespan would be (keeping between 77*F and 95*F)?


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

If it's kept dust free and the cooling maintained probably about 10 years and by that time it will be a redundant technology that no one will use.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

seriously you need to stop worrying about lifespan because if you overclock it to its max and have the voltages on everything to their max it will last longer than you will ever remember having the system anyway.

you will probably have grand kids before it gives up.


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

Probably not that far, however the capacitors on my motherboard are designed to last 50000 hours at 65*C

I just started running the prime95 test at 1.5v with 18.5x multiplier. So far so good (although it has only been a minute).

And still the temp seems to level off at 99*F (117*F on CoreTemp)

I will post back how it does, 7-8 hours long enough?


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

Alright, it is almost 4 hours in and the temp on PCProbe capped off at 104*F, and for CoreTemp it says i had 123*F.

It is on 1.4875v, with 18.5x mutliplier.

I did read on another forum, and they were talking about overclocking the NB as well. Do you suggest this? And if so, what settings do you suggest?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

Overclocking the northbridge is only necessary if you've massively increased the FSB. I haven't overclocked an AM3 system, so I can't give you exact numbers. But in your case it shouldn't be necessary.


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

Crap, i forgot to post what i typed.

Summing up what i wrote, it is stable. 

The last question i have is my ram. Corsair dominator pc2-8500 c5 at 1066mhz.

I look in ATI OverDrive (i only installed to view ram frequency & benchmark) and it shows the ram at arond 400-500mhz.

I went in and changed it from auto to 1066 (it said 1067mhz) and rebooted. I left the voltage at auto, and now it is showing 534mhz. Why am i unable to get my full 1066mhz?

http://i45.tinypic.com/2ekrq07.jpg

And i don't believe this is correct:
http://i48.tinypic.com/2v3ojdy.jpg

I have the ram in slots 3 and 4, or on my motherboard A2 and B2.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

Your RAM is exactly where it should be. Most modern memory is DDR memory--"Double Data Rate". That means for every physical clock cycle the RAM sends two bits of data per lane. Thus the advertised clock speed is twice the physical clock speed; and conversely the physical clock speed is half the advertised clock speed.

534MHz is exactly where you should be with 1066MHz RAM; 1066/2 = 533


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

*Re: Deciding whether to overclock*

Ohhh i see. That makes perfect sense. Thank you and a believe i am done now. I accomplished my main goal (why i overclocked).

I have dirt 2 and i have been trying to get fraps to record at 30+ framerate, but it would always drop to 15-28. 

If you care to see, i took some benchmarks using my AVS System Info software.

Before Overclock: http://i48.tinypic.com/mb4q47.jpg

After Overclock: http://i50.tinypic.com/2j456ro.jpg


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