Safe volts for 2600k

[dpk33]

I recently bought myself a 2600k with a Asus P8Z68-V Pro. I'm going to be using a Scythe Mugen 2 Rev. B Heatsink and fan for this setup. I'm only going to be using the chip for about 4 months until Ivy Bridge, and then maybe sell it off. I was thinking something along the lines of 1.5? I mean, how badly could a chip degrade with high volts in 3-4 months?

 

[Kenmitch]

Is your 2600k a dog of a chip? 1.5v's is kinda xtreme for SB's. Have you tried to overclock it yet?

I wouldn't feel comfortable selling off a chip that I've been running at 1.5v's without disclosing it to potential buyers.

How high you wanna overclock it to?

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Yeah should last 4-5 months no problem but not really fair to the next guy.

 

[Idontcare]

Rate of degredation will depend on both temps and voltage.

The rate of degredation roughly doubles every 10C higher your operating temps are.

95C at 1.5V will have ~2x the rate of degradation as 85C at 1.5V. And 85C at 1.5V will be roughly 2x the degradation rate as a CPU at 75C and 1.5V.

(this is part of the reason why you see extreme OC with 1.8-1.9V being done at liquid nitrogen and liquid helium temperatures, it would be even more suicide with the cpu if that were attempted at room-temperature)

That said, Intel has not published a max-voltage spec limit for the 2600K SKU itself, but all the other 32nm parts have been spec'ed at a max voltage of 1.4V.

So it stands to reason then that the 2600K is probably OK up 1.4V, after that you are eating up lifetime of the chip that Intel intended to be there so the chip could live for 10yrs or so.

Is 1.5V too high? No one in the public domain really has the data to say. I've run my 2600K at 1.5V and 5GHz, and I will probably continue to do so until it dies (so I can justify buying me an IB )

But I would NOT recommend running 1.5V at any clockspeed if you cannot keep the temps below 80C in your actual apps of interest (not counting stress testing apps like LinX or Prime95).

edit: and yeah, what the other guys said, you should provide FULL disclosure of the OC'ing history of the CPU in selling it, anything less would be totally unethical and scummy.

 

[fastamdman]

Heres my 2 cents. First off, these chips haven't been out long enough to know what is safe and what is dangerous. For 24/7 daily use if you want to have the chip for 10 years, I wouldn't run over 1.4 to 1.425. If you want the chip to last a reasonable amount of time, 1-3 years, run whatever voltage you want through it as long as temps are reasonable.

I know of a lot of people rocking 1.5+ 24/7 for there 5ghz overclocks, granted some of them are on high end air and some are on low end water and some are on liquid nitrogen damn near 24/7 haha. Either way, as long as temps are within reason your chip isn't going to just die one morning on you.

I have ran several chips extremely hard and none have died yet. I have done crazy things that most people here don't even dream about and all of my chips have survived. Since IB is so close, I wouldn't worry about it .

Whenever you do sell the chip though, do it in a way that benefits you and that other person. For example word it so that you can get it sold as an "amazing overclocker" but also let them know that higher voltages have been used for 24/7 use. Just market it correctly and it will be sold.

For example I have a golden 2600k that I will be putting up on the forums soon

 

[dpk33]

Thanks everyone. So 1.5 volts is generally considered dangerous? Well, after IB comes out, I'm probably going to use it to build a rig for my mom, underclocked and undervolted, not that she actually needs an i7. Or I can just simply just sell it off. But I haven't tried overclocking yet, so for all I could know, it may barely reach 4.5 ghz on 1.5 volts.

 

[Idontcare]

So 1.5 volts is generally considered dangerous?

That is the right way to phrase it.

It is considered to be dangerous. In other words, that is the prevailing perception.

And whether or not that perception is justified, it is the perception you must contend with when attempting to resell your CPU.

IMO, given Intel's stated max Vcc for 32nm gulftowns (1.4V), I would not go anywhere above 1.4V unless you can keep the temps below 80C...or unless you don't care if you need to replace your chip in say 12-18 months.

 

[Puppies04]

My personal limit is 1.4. Nobody has hard evidence so that is personal opinion based on available evidence. Some people think 1.5 is fine you just have to make a choice.

 

[Kenmitch]

Thanks everyone. So 1.5 volts is generally considered dangerous? Well, after IB comes out, I'm probably going to use it to build a rig for my mom, underclocked and undervolted, not that she actually needs an i7. Or I can just simply just sell it off. But I haven't tried overclocking yet, so for all I could know, it may barely reach 4.5 ghz on 1.5 volts.

Unless your chip is a total dud you should get to 4.5ghz under 1.4v's try and see.

I did some quick testing on my 2700k at 5.1ghz with Intel Burn Test and it took around 1.48v's for stability. Out of my comfort zone. Might try a quick 5.2ghz tomorrow just to see

 

[fastamdman]

And yes, everyone right now just has "personal opinions" as to what is safe and isn't safe. The general consensus is to run them at 1.425 and under .

 

[Puppies04]

And yes, everyone right now just has "personal opinions" as to what is safe and isn't safe. The general consensus is to run them at 1.425 and under .

Agreed. Also staying under 80c at full stress test load. If you want to learn more check out this thread in this forum " Why is AMD CPU's max temp less than Intels?" idontcare just wrote a very informative post in it.

 

[Kenmitch]

Ken - If you are ever interested in selling that chip hit me up, I could always use another good folding chip .

And yes, everyone right now just has "personal opinions" as to what is safe and isn't safe. The general consensus is to run them at 1.425 and under .

I'll keep that in mind

As I just like to tinker around with my rig and don't have any real use for the speed I just do it for fun.

It's nice to have the speed available if needed tho. Sits at idle being chilled by water just waiting to run!

I figure when IB comes out and microcenter throws up the combo deal the temptation to tinker again will be strong....As long as initial overclocking results are good.

 

[fastamdman]

You should look into "Folding at home" so that processor of yours can actually do some good

 

[Plester]

Not saying 1.5v is a good idea, but I have been overclocking intel and amd chips for 15+ years (starting with original pentium 60mhz chip - to a whopping 66mhz), beating on them, often with lots of voltage, and the only time a chip died was when the core chipped on an old amd thunderbird.

 

[fastamdman]

DEATH and degradation are 2 different things kiddo

 

[intelfan]

I can say 1.55v is the limit anything over that you will need watercooling or more ( Liquid Hydrogen)