Is voltage an issue as long as temps are low?

[hurrikaane]

I'm usin 1.75v core at the moment, but the temps stay at 31c under nomal conditions, and 49c under load (ie while I stress tested with Prime95). I know 1.75 is a bit high, but is this really an issue since the temps are low? It crunched Prime95 all night with no errors.

 

[Soulkeeper]

voltages are always an issue and the main killer of cpu's regardless of temps

i suggest running your P4 under 1.7v if you can
just depends how long you want to keep it tho when all is said and done

 

[hurrikaane]

Any more opinions?

 

[DahDee]

Originally posted by: Soulkeeper
voltages are always an issue and the main killer of cpu's regardless of temps
i suggest running your P4 under 1.7v if you can
just depends how long you want to keep it tho when all is said and done

If anybody should know about voltages killing processors, it's Soulkeeper. I'm not sure you need any more opinions!

 

[joe2004]

1.75V on 2.4C? That is way too high for a comfortable use. Beside P4P800 DX has no temp measurement available in OS so how do you know what is the temperature in Prime95? When you stop it and go to Bios the temperature significantly decreases immediately.

 

[Jeff7181]

Your processor can be running below freezing with some extraordinary cooling, and excessive voltage will still kill it.

 

[Shimmishim]

1.75 is asking for death...

i'd keep it under 1.7 to be safe

 

[Jeff7181]

Isn't 1.75 volts a little much just to get 3.2 Ghz out of a 2.4C?

 

[Shimmishim]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Isn't 1.75 volts a little much just to get 3.2 Ghz out of a 2.4C?

agreed

 

[PliotronX]

Electro-migration occurs regardless of temps, but lower temps might delay it some. For example, a P4 Northwood on air with 1.8v is more likely to die before the same P4 with phase change cooling, but it will still happen down the line. From what I've read, keeping it under 1.7v is the generally accepted level of longevity for the P4 Northwood, but even then it is more likely to die long before its rated life. Also, make sure to monitor the actual voltage readings from the BIOS/Software or better yet using a multi-meter because these days the voltages really tend to differ from the BIOS setting. Some boards overvolt (Asus) while some undervolt (Abit). HTH

 

[1966]

Originally posted by: joe2004
Beside P4P800 DX has no temp measurement available in OS so how do you know what is the temperature in Prime95?

Put your Asus cd rom in your drive & install Asus probe.

 

[KF]

It isn't just heat that damages materials. There are electrical insulators forming part of the transistors, and elsewhere. They are thin on the order of the process size, and are only engineered to withstand voltages slightly above the operation rating, just as a safety margin. If you exceed the tolerance voltage, the insulator will break down somewhere in one the millions of transistors. Once it breaks down, typically it no longer is a good insulator, and that will make your CPU inoperable.

On the scale of normal sized wires, the breakdown voltage of the insulation will be hundreds, or maybe thousands of volts. But for insulation as thin as used on present microchips, it is on the order of one volt.

 

[hurrikaane]

Ok that's all good info. AsusProbe gives you temps. And I was running 3.2ghz w/ tight timings (2-3-2-6) hence the high Vcore. At lower Vcore it wasnt Prime95 stable.