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Opteron OverClocking voltage limits.

I

imported_Kingnubian

Member
Just a question regarding overclocking stuff.

I have and Opteron 165 and an MSI neo4 Platinum board. What is the maximum safe sustained voltage i can apply to the cpu?

I presently have it at 1.4V + 6.6% (MSI does it like this) and am 100% stable at 280x9. I'd like to try higher.



 
Most people say 1.55v with good air cooling though I am enitely new to Dual Core cpu's so don't take my work for it (recently purchased a 170 opt and will recieve it some time next week)
 
from most i';ve read around these parts is that 1.55 is about as high as anybody sane goes on air, about 1.6 for water cooled setups. there have been a couple of people running stuff on 1.6Vs and air though, and i have yet to hear a chip fail. but 1.55 volts is already pretty high up considering stock's alot lower.
 
HHHmm have my Opteron 165 now at 1.5-1.55V and priming at 290x9 (2610Mhz). Temps could be better under this load (61C) but quickly drop to sub 40c for normal use. This is FX-60 speeds!!!
 
Know that you're running 80 Amps...
So; going from 1.4v -> 1.5v is equal to an extra 8 watts... going from 1.4 to 1.6 is an extra 16 watts. Puts the number into a bit better perspective than ".03 increase".

I personally try to NEVER run at 1.6 or higher, and I run water. The chips burn out much much faster if you put that much more voltage through them, and the warranty is gone when it dies--so if your extra 15% performance is worth the chip dying next year instead of 3 years from now, then by all means do it.

There is some rule of thumb that an extra 10Cs over the lifetime of a card/CPU cuts the life in half....maybe not quite that... but something along those lines.
 
Originally posted by: TrevorRC
Know that you're running 80 Amps...
So; going from 1.4v -> 1.5v is equal to an extra 8 watts... going from 1.4 to 1.6 is an extra 16 watts. Puts the number into a bit better perspective than ".03 increase".

I personally try to NEVER run at 1.6 or higher, and I run water. The chips burn out much much faster if you put that much more voltage through them, and the warranty is gone when it dies--so if your extra 15% performance is worth the chip dying next year instead of 3 years from now, then by all means do it.

There is some rule of thumb that an extra 10Cs over the lifetime of a card/CPU cuts the life in half....maybe not quite that... but something along those lines.
Click to expand...

Actually, your warranty is gone when you start overclocking your chip. But I agree with the jist of your comments, a few extra mhz generally isn't worth the risk.
 
Mind telling me how the warranty isn't gone when you overclock the chip? AMD explicitly states in the "Limited Warranty" that they are not responsible for any damage caused by external factors; in addition, using ANY third party heatsink voids the warranty as well.

If I'm wrong, please let me know.

--Trevor
 
Originally posted by: TrevorRC
Know that you're running 80 Amps...
So; going from 1.4v -> 1.5v is equal to an extra 8 watts... going from 1.4 to 1.6 is an extra 16 watts. Puts the number into a bit better perspective than ".03 increase".

I personally try to NEVER run at 1.6 or higher, and I run water. The chips burn out much much faster if you put that much more voltage through them, and the warranty is gone when it dies--so if your extra 15% performance is worth the chip dying next year instead of 3 years from now, then by all means do it.

There is some rule of thumb that an extra 10Cs over the lifetime of a card/CPU cuts the life in half....maybe not quite that... but something along those lines.
Click to expand...


The rule ur talking about is used in powersystems, where its generalised that if equipment runs 10 C hotter than its max rated temperature the usable lifetime of the equipment is halved.

Myself i do not up the voltage on my 3200+ more than 1.45, the diff in performance which i would get at 2.7ghz over 2.5ghz does not justify raising the voltage to 1.55.
 
i'd say the max safe voltage (until you start decreasing lifespan by a lot) would be around 1.45V. Another 0.1V increase for only 100/200mhz is NOT worth it. I'm running my X2 3800+ at 2600Mhz 1.4V (24H dual prime stable)
 
No matter what is stated in any forum..nobody really knows how much is bad and how it will affect life span on a cpu

most mobo are not perfect in delivering vcore...some have huge flucuations so all cpu have a built in tolerance to increased voltage..when overclocking you may exceed what is "normal" and expected..seems reasonable

Most OCers feel 10% increase is no issue or minimal..15% on good air cooling is probably the safe max with "minimal" affects on lifespan

20% not worth on air probably..with WC/phase change probably ok???

remember more voltage is "bad" and add high temps to this and it is worse....

Lifespan on cpus today at stock are supposedly 7-10yrs....who is going to be using a 386/486/P1 today...pretty much no one..can not run today's software

Longest I have kept a cpu is 3yrs....


So if you want full life do not overclock...if I OC and kill 2-3yrs no big issue to me...7-10yrs to 5-7yr life...I will not probably have that cpu anymore

SO .. max temp should probably stay under 55C
10% increase in vcore is probably fine with good air cooling and temps
15% is probably max safe amounts IMHO and will minimal lifespan degradation
20% ..probably need WC/Phase and the chip lifespan likely even with good cooling will be affected

You have to decide what is exceptable, many overclockers upgrade in 1-2yrs and sell the old cpu so they are fine in "their long term use"
 
Originally posted by: Kingnubian
HHHmm have my Opteron 165 now at 1.5-1.55V and priming at 290x9 (2610Mhz). Temps could be better under this load (61C) but quickly drop to sub 40c for normal use. This is FX-60 speeds!!!
Click to expand...

You are getting really close to the thermal limits of the chip. I believe they are rated for 65~70C...and considering that most motherboards are off, I would say that you might be flirting with trouble.

I would not push more then 1.45~1.49 into a Dual Core Chip due to the added thermal requirements, and I would also make sure that it runs below 55C at full load.
 
Originally posted by: Tweakin
Originally posted by: Kingnubian
HHHmm have my Opteron 165 now at 1.5-1.55V and priming at 290x9 (2610Mhz). Temps could be better under this load (61C) but quickly drop to sub 40c for normal use. This is FX-60 speeds!!!
Click to expand...

You are getting really close to the thermal limits of the chip. I believe they are rated for 65~70C...and considering that most motherboards are off, I would say that you might be flirting with trouble.

I would not push more then 1.45~1.49 into a Dual Core Chip due to the added thermal requirements, and I would also make sure that it runs below 55C at full load.
Click to expand...



Befoe I even read your post I reduces the FSB to 285 and now am running much cooler at 2565Mhz and was able to reduce the voltage to 1.5 possibly lower. The extra 55Mhz isn't worth it in, particular with respect to performance & heat. Typing this my cpu is at 35C and when running dual Prime95 it goes to a maximum of 51C. I can live with this happy medium.
BTW, I do believe that my heat issues may have lots to do with my less than optimal case setup which doesn't allow enough fresh cool air to come in from the outside but i won't push it any furter.
Still this is great fun and performance is fantastic. Played some F.E.A.R. with my Sapphire X800GTO2 (X850PE Unlocked to 16 tex units and stable at X850PE Clock Speed) and gaming is a beautiful thing to see.
 
Originally posted by: TrevorRC
Mind telling me how the warranty isn't gone when you overclock the chip? AMD explicitly states in the "Limited Warranty" that they are not responsible for any damage caused by external factors; in addition, using ANY third party heatsink voids the warranty as well.

If I'm wrong, please let me know.

--Trevor
Click to expand...


I think we're saying the same thing here. I was just pointing out that your warranty doesn't get voided when the chip dies from overclocking, it's voided when you start overclocking.

On a side note, the only processors I've seen give up the ghost from overclocking were a very few that had been pushed to the very outer limits like 1.75-1.9V on a 90nm chip. That's talking like a handful of a bunch I've seen that high. That being said, my personal belief corresponds to what nealh stated.
 
I go 1.55v with my opteron 165 and now it sits 30-31c idle and 40-45 load max. That's dual prime for hours... you should get some better air cooling. I use TT Big Typhoon.

300x9 = 2700Mhz btw..
 
Originally posted by: TrevorRC
Know that you're running 80 Amps...
So; going from 1.4v -> 1.5v is equal to an extra 8 watts... going from 1.4 to 1.6 is an extra 16 watts. Puts the number into a bit better perspective than ".03 increase".

I personally try to NEVER run at 1.6 or higher, and I run water. The chips burn out much much faster if you put that much more voltage through them, and the warranty is gone when it dies--so if your extra 15% performance is worth the chip dying next year instead of 3 years from now, then by all means do it.

There is some rule of thumb that an extra 10Cs over the lifetime of a card/CPU cuts the life in half....maybe not quite that... but something along those lines.
Click to expand...
80 amps? Do you arc weld with it too?
 
Originally posted by: Howard
Originally posted by: TrevorRC
Know that you're running 80 Amps...
So; going from 1.4v -> 1.5v is equal to an extra 8 watts... going from 1.4 to 1.6 is an extra 16 watts. Puts the number into a bit better perspective than ".03 increase".

I personally try to NEVER run at 1.6 or higher, and I run water. The chips burn out much much faster if you put that much more voltage through them, and the warranty is gone when it dies--so if your extra 15% performance is worth the chip dying next year instead of 3 years from now, then by all means do it.

There is some rule of thumb that an extra 10Cs over the lifetime of a card/CPU cuts the life in half....maybe not quite that... but something along those lines.
Click to expand...
80 amps? Do you arc weld with it too?
Click to expand...

Yeah, my hood is right behind me 😛

I was under the impression that the CPU was fed 110 watts stock; (80ampsx1.4v). Am I missing something?

For example, a typical Revision "E" San Diego Athlon 64 utilizes 80 amps with a maximum TDP around 90W.
Click to expand...
(Anandtech Article)

--Trevor



 
Originally posted by: CP5670
I generally use 15% as my limit. So that's about 1.55V for single cores and 1.5V for dual cores.
Click to expand...

I have an opty 165/170 both default vcore 1.35v..so 15%

1.3 * 15%=1.5v
1.35 * 15%= 1.55v

I agree 1.5 -1.55v is max I will give my chips
 
would you mind if i copied and pasted this quote to other forums that i belong to hav'nt yet but was tempted to last night
thanks tom


Originally posted by: TrevorRC
Know that you're running 80 Amps...
So; going from 1.4v -> 1.5v is equal to an extra 8 watts... going from 1.4 to 1.6 is an extra 16 watts. Puts the number into a bit better perspective than ".03 increase".

I personally try to NEVER run at 1.6 or higher, and I run water. The chips burn out much much faster if you put that much more voltage through them, and the warranty is gone when it dies--so if your extra 15% performance is worth the chip dying next year instead of 3 years from now, then by all means do it.

There is some rule of thumb that an extra 10Cs over the lifetime of a card/CPU cuts the life in half....maybe not quite that... but something along those lines.
 
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