Max safe voltage on an X2 3800+?

[Smartazz]

My temps are fine and I see other people pushing their voltage beyond 1.5volts, but I've heard that pushing the volts is a bit risky. As long as my temps are down, should the chip be safe, or could the high voltage alone kill the processor? Thanks.

 

[IEC]

I've read that 1.5V-1.55V is generally considered the max safe range for X2's. Then again, if your 100% load temp is only 43C you may be able to push it to 1.525V-1.55V with no trouble. Remember though that voltage increases increase the OC a lot at first but yield diminishing returns later. Also, higher voltage reduces chip life.

 

[Smartazz]

Originally posted by: ariafrost
I've read that 1.5V-1.55V is generally considered the max safe range for X2's. Then again, if your 100% load temp is only 43C you may be able to push it to 1.525V-1.55V with no trouble. Remember though that voltage increases increase the OC a lot at first but yield diminishing returns later. Also, higher voltage reduces chip life.

What do you mean yield diminishing returns? My overclock will go down over time? I need this chip to last until 2008, so as long as it lasts around 2 years, I'll be fine.

 

[John]

What he's saying is that even if you were able to run 1.55-1.65v you may not be able to achieve a higher overclock. I personally would not run above 1.6v.

Are your temps full load temps taken while running Stress Prime or Prime95?

 

[Smartazz]

Originally posted by: John
What he's saying is that even if you were able to run 1.55-1.65v you may not be able to achieve a higher overclock. I personally would not run above 1.6v.

Are your temps full load temps taken while running Stress Prime or Prime95?

Those temps were taken running two instances of prime 95 stable after 3 hours.

 

[Bill Brasky]

What are you monitoring temps with? Because that sounds a little low to be a core temperature. I'd recommend downloading Speedfan and check your core temps before you crank the voltage.

 

[Smartazz]

Originally posted by: Zaitsev
What are you monitoring temps with? Because that sounds a little low to be a core temperature. I'd recommend downloading Speedfan and check your core temps before you crank the voltage.

I use pc probe, everest and ai booster. All the programs monitor it around the same.

 

[IEC]

Originally posted by: John
What he's saying is that even if you were able to run 1.55-1.65v you may not be able to achieve a higher overclock. I personally would not run above 1.6v.

Yup, exactly what I meant. For instance, I had a Sempron 3300+ 2GHz I could get to about 2550MHz on 1.45-1.475V, but to get to 2600MHz stable I had to go to 1.55V - a much higher voltage increase for a paltry 50MHz. When you hit a spike in the voltage increase required to overclock you've probably reached the "safe" limit. People with watercooling or phase can crank up the voltage a bit more though.