Originally posted by hitechjb1
Technically, CPU temperature and CPU stable frequency
vary inversely, higher frequency requires lower temperature for stability and lower frequency can work stably at a higher temperature.
E.g.
- A CPU can run stably at a much higher temperature (e.g. 60+ C), at a lower Vcore and lower frequency (e.g. 1.4 - 1.6 V, 2.2 - 2.3 GHz for Tbred B/Barton) than its intrinsic ideal max frequency.
- A CPU needs a much lower temperature (e.g. under 30 - 45 C on air or even lower for extreme cooling) to run stably at high Vcore for sustaining a higher overclocking frequency (e.g. 1.8 - 2.0+ V, 2.5 - 3.0+ GHz).
...
The higher the voltage and frequency, the higher the power and the higher the temperature. Such active power will increase the CPU to certain temperature under certain load for a given cooling.
Since carrier mobility decreases as temperature increase beyond certain temperature due to lattice scattering, transistor switching slow down as temperature increases. So the
frequency f of a CPU varies inversely with the temperature, or df / f = - k dt, mathematically.
The balancing of these two opposing actions, or the intersection of the voltage-frequency curve and the temperature-frequency curve of a CPU characteristic
naturally determines the final stable voltage/frequency/temperature operating point. If overclocking is done properly, the maximal overclocking should settle naturally at certain frequency, voltage and temperature, as desribed above, below the maximum absolute rating of voltage and temperature (as seen from Tbred/Barton, ...). A perceived stable voltage and temperature setting may not be necessary after all, if the voltage, temperature, frequency variations are monitored properly and adjusted incrementally.
CPU voltage: from stock to max absolute, from efficient overclocking to diminishing return (page 19)
