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How much VCore is too much?

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Oz

Registered
Joined
Jan 31, 2003
Running 1.95V now w/idle temps at 38C and load at 47C.. runs great, but with these low temps, it seems that upping the voltage would get me faster speeds..that hurting anything? If not, how high is too high? All pci and agp voltages are at stock speeds...thx
 
but the temps are down.. isn't that what it's all about? hardware monitor, MBM5 and sisoft sandra say my temps are the same...what might the high voltage be hurting?
 
nonsense....i run mine at 2 vcore, and sometimes i run it as high as 2.2 vcore, and still no problems.

if the cpu is running cool, you should be ok......of course, this is my opinion, and many folks will disagree with me. but, i have plenty of case cooling, and plenty of cpu cooling too. and i pay attention to my temps often.

if you run 1.95vcore for every day use, ..that's all fine, but if yu are going for a serious overclock......pour on the vcore....lol

;)
 
running past 2vcore will kill ur cpu faster, datz all i gotta say, you will start to notice mhz decreasing...:(
 
xcelerator said:
running past 2vcore will kill ur cpu faster, datz all i gotta say, you will start to notice mhz decreasing...:(

how long will it last then? i've been running mine over 2 vcore for a short while, and i don't see anything going wrong yet.

you seem to think 2 vcore "will" kill it quick......but exactly how much life can i expect at 1.85....1.95....2.05.....and so on.

i think cooling is as important as vcore, and therefore, i think if someone runs their cpu at 1.85 vcore, but there cooling is not that good, and the temps are in the 60's.....but mine is at 2.05vcore, and my temps are 38 c, i feel mine would last longer.

there is more to determining the breaking point, besides the "idea" that these chips can't take the vcore.

please give us some links before i fry my cpu. lol. i have read a lot of stuff on the t-breds frying above 1.85 vcore, but i must wonder if these were the results of rigs with poor cooling....or if these were actual tests done..;)
 
been at 2.2 vcore with hardware doctor reporting at 52c for two months now. My computer runs 24/7 never shutting down.
 
JoJoMoJo said:
been at 2.2 vcore with hardware doctor reporting at 52c for two months now. My computer runs 24/7 never shutting down.

yet, another guy who mounts his heatsink correctly, and watches temps....hmmmm, and yet another success story.
;)
 
dont think vcore has do do with temps because even if you could keep a chip cool at like 5vcore it still would blow up
Is that like saying I dont think temperatures matter to a car engine because if you shove 2000hp worth of nitrous in it, it will still blow up?
 
JoJoMoJo said:
Is that like saying I dont think temperatures matter to a car engine because if you shove 2000hp worth of nitrous in it, it will still blow up?

yeah, a bit unrealistic compared to running 38c at 2.05 vcore, huh? lol
 
JoJoMoJo said:
ya sorry lol I thought it was just as realistic as saying 5v to a cpu. LOL
yeah, i agree with you. what i was saying is that 5vcore wasn't too realistic compared to 38c at 2.05vcore. it's as realistic as your idea...lol. so, i was agreeing with you...that's all.


i know, i'm at the extreme end already....and even though i like to push the envelope a bit more than most, i know my risks, and i'm obviously willing to take the risk. i just wish when folks do fry their cpu, they would give some info, like how they cooled it, and what other components played a role. i have tweaked the trim pot on my psu to keep my 12 volt rail up to par...but not everyone even thinks a psu can effect the life...or death or a cpu. some may have cheap psu's to begin with. some folks may have had their chip beyond it's personal limit, as far as vcore, or mhz. some folks bump the heatsink/fan, and don't second guess it, til it's too late. are all the frying cpu's solely frying due to the fact that a t-bred can't handle a lot of vcore? or are most of them a different cause all together. might be a user.exe error...lol. why is it, some of us pump 2.2 vcore into a chip, and even 2.325 into pally's and never fry one, but others fry every one they use?

there are too many factors involved for us to assume that a t-bred can't take a lot of vcore. and it's also just as difficult to "factually" say i am in a safe rage myself.

what happened was...i bought a t-bred, and was scared to go too far, because i read the horror stories about the vcore issue, but when i found that i wasn't at the mhz i wanted, i gave it more juice. and it went higher, but not too hot.......soooooo, i oumoped it up some more. with my pally, it took a lot more vcore, to get minimal mhz gain....but this t-bred was hopping 100mhz with every .1 vcore i added. so, my typical 2200-2300mhz chip, was surfing the web at 2.2 vcore, and at 2638mhz...on air. now, it was getting warm at 2638mhz.....but this chip wants to fly. once i reached 2600, i saw that a few more mhz would take this xp2100 to a 900mhz overclock, and that's why i pushed it.

:D
 
I agree with you 100% as I have never kept a chip for more than a year..... but they are still all running strong in other peoples pcs. My book states as long as you keep the temps down and use better judgement the vcores are safe.
 
Increased voltage increases electromigration. Increased temp increases electromigration. On the other hand, these processors may normally last 10 years. Have youdone studies that track the lifespan of overvolted vs non-overvolted processors (you'd keep track of temp too...) that last this long? There is really no data on how much overvolting shortens the lifespan of a chip. The decrease in transistor size probably increases the danger. On he other hand... the risk is part of overclocking. I've run my tbred b at 1.75 volts, wit better cooling I'd feel alright at taking it up to 1.8v or so. I ran my pally at 1.85, but in a couple weeks I think I'll see how far it can go with 1.9 or 1.95. Someday I will tae a chip over 2volts, but when I do so I will be prepared for instant death or a shorteningof life (the processors, not mine). On the other hand, I always try to be prepared.
 
How about changing your rig in less than one year? I never had the same processor for more than 8 months, always changing to the new wonderchip!!!
 
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