lowest core voltage that's stable... right?

[graysky]

Until now, I left the VCore to "auto" running my q6600 @ 9x333 on my P5B-Del. It's usually 1.33 V (speedfan). Is it good practice to try to identify the lowest core voltage that will give a stable system since more voltage gives greater heat? I know orthos will report errors in the math if things aren't right.

For example, I set the cvoltage to 1.2875 in the BIOS which is 1.24 V (speedfan) at idle and 1.20 at load (orthos x2). This caused one of the orthos to give an error.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[BadThad]

Of course! With the Vdroop built into the P5B Deluxe, I don't recommend using the AUTO setting at all. My E6600 can do 3.1 @ 1.315v, I love this CPU!

My daughter's E6300 is great too. Overclocks like mad, but also under clocks well. I turn down her system when it's warm out. It's running at 1.6GHz with only 1.20V, nice and cool!

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: graysky
Until now, I left the VCore to "auto" running my q6600 @ 9x333 on my P5B-Del. It's usually 1.33 V (speedfan). Is it good practice to try to identify the lowest core voltage that will give a stable system since more voltage gives greater heat? I know orthos will report errors in the math if things aren't right.

For example, I set the cvoltage to 1.2875 in the BIOS which is 1.24 V (speedfan) at idle and 1.20 at load (orthos x2). This caused one of the orthos to give an error.

Thanks for the advice.

Lower is always BETTER. The lower you can get stable, the better it is for your cpu. Less heat will be dished out.

 

[graysky]

Cool, for some reason I thought under volting could cause damage as well. Seems as though a setting of 1.3250 v in the BIOS translates into 1.26 v idle and 1.23 v under load. It's been going strong w/ 2x orthos for 50 m now. I'll just let it run and make sure.

Question: is the stability @ a given voltage a function of ambient temp? It's 72 F in the room now, but it can easily reach 78 or 80 F this summer.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: graysky
Cool, for some reason I thought under volting could cause damage as well. Seems as though a setting of 1.3250 v in the BIOS translates into 1.26 v idle and 1.23 v under load. It's been going strong w/ 2x orthos for 50 m now. I'll just let it run and make sure.

Question: is the stability @ a given voltage a function of ambient temp? It's 72 F in the room now, but it can easily reach 78 or 80 F this summer.

well, stability is not all about heat there is more to it. It's more about lifespan and avoiding reaching the point of throttle. However, too much heat can crank out errors and cause corruption too (as can voltage issues).

 

[graysky]

Well, it's been 9x333 @ 1.3250 v in the BIOS, 1.26 v idle (speedfan) and 1.23 v load (speedfan) 2x orthos for >4 h now.

 

[idiotekniQues]

i think part of overclocking is doing exactly that, finding the lowest stable voltage - thus keeping temps low and putting the least amount of stress on your cpu.

of course for oc'ers that just want to go balls to the wall then that may not be an object.