2.6 ghz venice - too conservative?

[saladami]

I have it running at 285 fsb, having reached 295 max on the motherboard using zebo's guide. The CPU temp has never been listed above 40c.. even when I pumped the vcore to 1.67v. However the PWM area (and to a lesser extent the chipset) reached 55c. Right now I backed off and am running at 1.51v the cpu is 36, other temps are mid 40's. So should I just pump the voltage till the thing starts running hot? 1.7v and beyond? Over 2.9v for the ram voltage? Is "damage" a heat issue or a voltage issue? And at what temps should I be worried about the PWM/chipset? Highest I've had either of them was probably 55c.

My current plans are to add a raptor and 2x 512 ballistix ddr500 which will hopefully run 1:1 at 285. I also plan to add a fan or two (one for the ram, one for the parts of the mobo that are getting hot).

Any suggestions are appreciated this is actually the first comp I've built.

-saladami

 

[theMan]

no. you never want to put more than 1.55v unless you have water cooling, and then it will still reduce the life of the cpu. even if the temps are low, the voltage still damages the cpu. if you are planning on upgrading the cpu in a year, or so, it should be fine with 1.65v.

 

[Shimmishim]

first of all i commend you for using zebo's guide before posting a question.

as for a safe voltage on air... stay around or below 1.55. even on water i am only using 1.6.

and as for the ballistix hitting 285 1:1... well i dunno too much about the ballistix but if they are as good as the AT review from a while back, then you should be okay for some 1:1 action.