ASUS' OC Tuner -- Safe?

[Narmo23]

*If it matters, I'm talking about the one on the P8P67 Pro.

While I was trying to find the "Power on by PCIE" option to potentially fix an issue I was having (which I fixed!), I stumbled upon the OC Tuner. Stupid me, I somehow clicked "OK", which led to my seeing the computer POST twice or so (guessing it was trying to find a good balance).

Anyways, I get back into the BIOs, and noticed that I got a mild OC on my CPU (an i5-2500k; it bumped it to 3.4~). However, what caught my attention was that it bumped my RAM to the 1600 range (which my RAM supports -- DDR3 1600 @ 1.65v. But by SB default, it gets knocked down to 1333 @ 1.5v). When I saw that, I figured that the voltage would've increased to 1.65v.. and it did (don't recall it being higher than that, disregarding fluctuations).

So yeah, I'm curious as to whether any damages could've been done in the span of 10 minutes (or less -- definitely found the "restore defaults" before 10 minutes).

P.S. Yeah, I know OC Tuner is a not a good alternative for OC'ing . I'm just hoping that I didn't damage my CPU (and/or MOBO) during the timeframe

Thanks.

 

[s1njin]

It's highly unlikely that you damaged anything - ASUS has a lot of voodoo in it's mobos to try to get you to a 'safe' OC w/ minimal effort.

That said, you can most assuredly get a similar OC w/ much less cpu voltage. Which is better all around.

 

[Rvenger]

1.65v is still safe for sandybridge. Just don't go over that!

 

[Seero]

*If it matters, I'm talking about the one on the P8P67 Pro.

While I was trying to find the "Power on by PCIE" option to potentially fix an issue I was having (which I fixed!), I stumbled upon the OC Tuner. Stupid me, I somehow clicked "OK", which led to my seeing the computer POST twice or so (guessing it was trying to find a good balance).

Anyways, I get back into the BIOs, and noticed that I got a mild OC on my CPU (an i5-2500k; it bumped it to 3.4~). However, what caught my attention was that it bumped my RAM to the 1600 range (which my RAM supports -- DDR3 1600 @ 1.65v. But by SB default, it gets knocked down to 1333 @ 1.5v). When I saw that, I figured that the voltage would've increased to 1.65v.. and it did (don't recall it being higher than that, disregarding fluctuations).

So yeah, I'm curious as to whether any damages could've been done in the span of 10 minutes (or less -- definitely found the "restore defaults" before 10 minutes).

P.S. Yeah, I know OC Tuner is a not a good alternative for OC'ing . I'm just hoping that I didn't damage my CPU (and/or MOBO) during the timeframe

Thanks.

I too accidentally clicked the OC button and assuming that it is safe. I ended up with 5.2Ghz followed by a overheat shut down. Here is the 2 folds, fold 1, it brought it all the way up to 5.2 where my cooling won't be capable of handling, and fold 2, it triggered some safety features that prevents damages. So the OC tuner doesn't damage component. However, the burning tool it uses doesn't max out the temp a CPU can produce (temp much lower than prime95), and it uses slightly more voltage than necessary.

In short, it gives enough voltage to run at a clock that drives the load temp beyond shut down temp. Yet, since CPU never reaches those temp stress program uses, it should be fine. It really isn't for laymen, but for lazy bones who actually knows how to OC manually.

RAM is a different beast. Yes, most RAM simply takes whatever voltage it is given and will operate at a better timing, but that doesn't mean it won't overheat. Unfortunately, there are no safety features on RAM so in theory, it can be damaged by the setting given by the OC tuner after extensive use. Again, people who know OC also know that and will increase cooling capacity as long as the hardware itself is capable of operate at that setting, or downclock it.

In other words, OC tuner doesn't really give you a stable setup, but just the ball part so Overclocker can fine tune it and stress test it afterwards. By itself, it will not fry your pc at the spot, but it will push PC to a level that it may be unstable. Without proper stress tests to unsure stabilities, it may shorten the life of hardwares.