overclock 3200+ and testing

[alphasigmookie]

I'm sure this question gets asked all the time, but i couldn't find any satisfacory answers searching the posts. I'm tying to overclock my new system consisting of a 3200+ venice on an Epox 9NPA3-SLI board and 1gb of Geil DDR4000. I think i've gotten a stable oc at 2.4ghz (not stable at 2.5ghz at stock voltage) without changing the CPU voltage, but i want to test to make sure it's ok and won't run too hot under heavy load. I'm not lookign to push the system to it's limits, just get a bit of "free" performance. Is "prime95" the best software to test my system out? Also I was wondering what the best free software to benchmark my system would be as well, just to see how much performance boost i'm seeing.

 

[alphasigmookie]

well, i found prime95 and tested my system. temp topped out about 55c (doesn't seem too hot), but got an error after 46 min. I think i'll probably try 2.33Ghz. I've read that you want to try to keep your HT near 1000, so with it set to 4X that would give me 932mhz. Is it much of a problem to go much lower, like if i were to settle on just a small oc of 2.2 or something?

 

[Fallengod]

Im not sure why you are scared about upping voltage at all. Its rare for a venice to do high ocs on stock volts. I got mine running at 2.5ghz with 1.5 volts.

 

[the cobbler]

Originally posted by: alphasigmookie
well, i found prime95 and tested my system. temp topped out about 55c (doesn't seem too hot), but got an error after 46 min. I think i'll probably try 2.33Ghz. I've read that you want to try to keep your HT near 1000, so with it set to 4X that would give me 932mhz. Is it much of a problem to go much lower, like if i were to settle on just a small oc of 2.2 or something?

55C= too hot for Venice, much too hot. at this point, you can't push the chip much faster/up the voltage at all, or temps will spiral out of control. you need an aftermarket cooler imho.

error @ 46mins simply means your voltage is probably ~.01-.05v too low for CPU stability, assuming everything else is stable at those speeds (RAM, etc.)

HTT will not adversely affect performance until it drops well below 600mhz...so you are fine there. If it goes over 1000, you might scramble Windows.

you ought to read an overclocking guide before you get much furthur. I suspect the error @ 2.5ghz might be RAM related and not necessarily your CPU that is causing instability

do you know by chance what is your Venice stepping?

 

[alphasigmookie]

true, i guess there's no real reason not too. increasing the voltage a bit and relaxing the timings on my memory seems to have let me get a stable OC at 2.5ghz which allows me to run both my memory and processor at 250mhz. I'll have to run prime95 overnight thought to ensure stability. any thoughts on core temp? it seems to be running about 58-60c at full load. seems a bit high, but not sure if i should be worried. I'm just using the stock cooler.

 

[the cobbler]

about 8-10 degrees too hot, imho

as a general rule, best to stay <50C with Venice cores

 

[alphasigmookie]

does anyone have any links to guides on CPU Temps? My system is running at 40c and CPU at 58-60c is this necessarily dangerous? I guess i can just go down in my overclock. I don't really want to by an extra HSF. When doing basic tasks such as searching the internet temp quickly drops to low 40's

 

[the cobbler]

Originally posted by: alphasigmookie
does anyone have any links to guides on CPU Temps? My system is running at 40c and CPU at 58-60c is this necessarily dangerous? I guess i can just go down in my overclock. I don't really want to by an extra HSF. When doing basic tasks such as searching the internet temp quickly drops to low 40's

60C is what I have set in bios as "Emergency Shutdown Temperature". if my CPU ever reaches 60C, it would shutdown the whole system. If i could set it at 50C or even 45, I would.

if you are idling low 40s and loading 58-60 at STOCK VOLTS you have got serious cooling problems

i have an inexpensive aftermarket cooler

it idles 21-24C, and loads 38-42C (or did before the IHS was removed). that's the same chip exactly as yours, an E3 Venice, at 2808mhz and 1.650v. both of those factors= raw speed and extra voltage= increase the amount of heat energy that is building up between the CPU and HSF. So my full load temps at increased speed and voltage are better than you idle temps.

something seems not right, b/c the AMD factory cooler is usually quite effective, especially with singles like Venice. How is the airflow in your case?

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=28&threadid=1797881&enterthread=y
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=37&threadid=1768703&enterthread=y

 

[alphasigmookie]

Sounds like the problem is in my case then. My "system temp" is running at 38C and processor is now ideling at 37C. I did a check just to see what the temp was at stock clock and volts and the cpu got up to 55-56 under prime95 full load, so temp difference between stock and OC is only a couple of degrees. Also looking at your system to cpu temp difference of 14-21 degrees it seems i'm getting similar cooling out of my cpu cooler (40 to 56 is 16 degree temp difference under load).

I'm currently running in a generic steel case with 2 80mm fans. One pulling air in and blowing it on the cpu and another at the back blowing hot air out.

I tried running with the system open, but cpu temp actually increased 2-3c (probably because case fan was no longer blowing on it). Part of the problem is probably that the case sits under my desk and there isn't much air flow around it, but i don't really have any other options for placement. may try to add a couple more case fans to see if that helps and possibly a box fan in the room blowing on the case. any other suggestions short of buying a new case?

 

[the cobbler]

you can't fairly compare the temperature deltas for your system and mine, because again, I am running at a much higher speed (higher load temps) and much, much, much higher voltage (reaaaally high load temps). so the comparison between temp deltas is definitely not appropriate.

fwiw, when this rig runs at stock volts @2547 mhz, we are talking about idle/load temps of ~23 and load of ~34, and that's in 75F degrees ambient

right now it's @ 1.523v / 2700mhz idle 22/load 30 in controlled, steady 72F ambient temp. that is a temp delta of ~ 8-9C, not 16-20+C. at stock volts 2200mhz, load is down to ~ 28C. delta is shrinking

i would add two high-speed 80mm fans pulling out out the back of the case, and move the 'gimme" fans that came w/case to front as 2x80mm intake fans

 

[Noubourne]

My 3000+ threw up errors in Prime95 at any temp over about 50C.

You seriously need an aftermarket cooler, and don't be afraid to use a memory divider to test how far you can push the CPU. The CPU is likely to OC higher than the RAM.

60C is DANGEROUS for a Venice - if that really is an accurate CPU temp. The CPU's internal thermal protection circuit should shut it down if it hits 65C. I'd recommend keeping load temps below 50C for daily operation. Easily doable on air for less than $50.

 

[alphasigmookie]

ok i'm out of ideas, this doesn't make any sense. Did i just get a hot chip? i don't understand why my temps are so high compared to other people running the same chip with the same fan. I've treid everything i can think of. I took off the HSF and re-installed it using arctic silver instead of the original compound (after removing old stuff of course). I've tried running with the case open and the overhead fan blowing down on the system. I've felt the HSF while running at full load and it's bearly warm to the touch. is it possible my system is just reading the temperature wrong? I'm pretty much completely out of ideas short of buying a new hsf.