is it safe for me to OC my CPU more?

[meanhoe]

temp after running Prime95 for about 5 mins.

would you say it's safe for me to OC it a bit more? maybe 3.4 or 3.6?

 

[Tsavo]

Run LinX for a few hours and get back to us.

 

[meanhoe]

let me clarify my question. i've been running my rig at this setup for years now. when i first built this computer i ran prime95 for 3 days straight with no problems. i tried to be on the conservative side with the OC but i'm wondering now if i can maybe push it even more.

i will run Linx though if that will help you help me.

 

[Tsavo]

Go for wicking up the clock a bit.

The worst thing it can do is burn your house down.

 

[Tsavo]

The reason I mentioned LinX is because it works the processor a lot more than Prime95 does. If you aren't melting the fillings out of your teeth at say, 3.6 GHz after running LinX for an hour then you should be ok.

 

[meanhoe]

thank you for bringing up LinX. at the current moment, my computer seems to reboot constantly after running LinX for few seconds. i believe the culprit is my new video card, Sapphire HD 5770. i've been running into some reboot problems here and there during regular use. i never had this problem before when i was using my 8800GT.

 

[meanhoe]

update: i went back to my safe OC settings of 3.2GHz and ran LinX but this time i actually made it to 1 min 6 seconds before it rebooted. around that mark the CPU was at about 57C. i am going to reinstall my old video card and run LinX and try this again. i'm really disappointed that the 5770 is giving me so many problems. i had hoped i would be one of the lucky ones but apparently i was wrong.

and yes, i removed all the old drivers using Drive Sweeper in safe mode and used CCleaner and Registry Booster to get rid of any old registry settings.

 

[StrangerGuy]

50 deg C is really nothing. My E6300 was idling @ 50C and 65C @ load for over 3 years without any problems.

 

[Shmee]

if it is rebooting after linx, it might be you need more vcore for your Q6600. Even with low temps like that, it may be unstable due to not enough vcore/NB vcore.

 

[soccerballtux]

if it is rebooting after linx, it might be you need more vcore for your Q6600. Even with low temps like that, it may be unstable due to not enough vcore/NB vcore.

this is probably the case. Stock frequency is 2.4ghz-- my bet is if the OP backed his q6600 back to that he wouldn't have any rebooting issues. Having a different GPU does not affect CPU overclocking.

 

[meanhoe]

in the bios i have my vcore set to 1.5, which is different from what it says in CPU-Z.
nb vcore is at 1.55. the setting below that is 1.4.

it keeps crashing after i run Linx after about 30 seconds. my temp at load before it crashed was 72C.

i haven't installed my old video card yet. wondering if i should. could the new video card really be the problem? what suggestions do you have?

thank you for your suggestions so far and the ones to come.

 

[meanhoe]

this is probably the case. Stock frequency is 2.4ghz-- my bet is if the OP backed his q6600 back to that he wouldn't have any rebooting issues. Having a different GPU does not affect CPU overclocking.

yes you are correct. i tested with Linx at stock frequency and it ran for an hour with no problems.

i tried to do 3.6 again with the vcore at 1.5125v and my temps shot up to 79C. should i just aim for 3.4 or 3.5? could it be other settings i'm overlooking?

 

[SZLiao214]

Did you not drop the speed of your ram? My q6600 runs at 3.6 on 1.39 volts which is a tad higher then what ive seen a lot of other people use for 3.6.

Loosening timers to 5 5 5 15 helps as well.

 

[betasub]

Is it safe? Is it safe?

 

[meanhoe]

i made some changes to my bios settings and i'm running at 3.6 with a vcore of 1.48

i ran Prime95 for over an hour with no problems. when i run Linx my cpu temps hit up to 82C and i'm scared to let it run at those temps for an hour. i only ran it for 2 mins before i almost had a heart attack. is it ok to let my cpu run that hot while testing on Linx?

i still have my ram at 4-4-4-12. what exactly does loosening timers do? sorry for the noob question.

 

[Tsavo]

What are you doing that you need 3.6 GHz? 5770 sure doesn't need it. Sounds like all this OC is good for is generating a LOT of heat. Drop it back to 3.2 GHz at spec volts if you can and loosen up on the memory timings.