View Full Version : Safe to OC?
Hello, this is my first post here.
I have done a lot of research for the past few months and i finally decided to buy my rig (shown in profile) peice by peice from various vendors and along with my monitor/keyboard/mouse/printer/sound blaster platinum/whateverelseyoucanstickinapcislot it cost me around ~$1500.
Needless to say, I dont exactly want to go buy my proccesor over again.
I did a little research and Overclocked my GeForce3 and it runs the 3dMark2001 with a score of 6732. I ran it a few times, and my computer handled it fine.
Now for my question, what would most likely be a safe level too OC it? I have a nifty program i got from my Maximum PC CD cleverly named 'burnintest' to see how well a system performs when OC'ed and if any data is lost or corrupted. That isnt my worry, since i can test that, but my worry is that i fry the processor in doing so. What is a safe temperature to keep my pc at?
Signed, a 15 year old overclocking newbie :eek:
Slurgi
.. AE 86 ..
09-23-01, 12:57 AM
it is best to keep the cpu below 50
Mr.Lansing
09-23-01, 01:22 AM
GOOD COOLING = LOUD
(Watacooling is an exceptional)
yea he's rite it's betta if u keep ur cpu temps under 50C
well 50C won't cause ur cpu to burn yet but just keep it under 50C..
!-=sky=-!
09-23-01, 01:32 AM
try to keep it under 50C......but never above 55C
when my cpu is over 70 it couldn't go in to windows.
i got mine to 47 now.
stable.
btw, never try the video at tomshardware at home.:D
370 degrees!!!:eek:
Now that i know i should keep it under 50, I uhhh.... need to know how to tell the temperature of the CPU at all times. I know how to tell in my BIOS, but when the computer is sitting idle that isnt much of a test.
Also, when i am on the menu to switch the bus speeds and multipliers, it is listed like this
133/30 (133 x 2 = fsb, but 30 x ? = ?)
the second number never rises above 35, and I am forced to change both of them one step at a time.
It also says my MOBO should be in jumper-free mode. Is there a switch directly on it or something?
!-=sky=-!
09-23-01, 09:20 AM
i don't understand what you are trying to say at the second part but the first part you can try using a software called motherboard monitor to monitor your temps in windows
search for it in download.com or places like that and u should be able to find it
Still at the 1.4 Ghz form i bought it in, my CPU runs idle at...
28 Degrees for the case
59 degrees for my processor
this is after 10 second readouts for an hour, the low/high temperatures are the same.
is this unsafe already? Since it is not under 50, what should i do?
!-=sky=-!
09-23-01, 10:27 AM
that is a really bad temp
what heatsink are u using/ and what thermal grease goes with it?
you really need a better heatsink before you start to do any kind of o/c
it is dangerous.......
-=UR=- Ranger
09-23-01, 01:53 PM
Originally posted by Slurgi
Now that i know i should keep it under 50, I uhhh.... need to know how to tell the temperature of the CPU at all times. I know how to tell in my BIOS, but when the computer is sitting idle that isnt much of a test.
Also, when i am on the menu to switch the bus speeds and multipliers, it is listed like this
133/30 (133 x 2 = fsb, but 30 x ? = ?)
the second number never rises above 35, and I am forced to change both of them one step at a time.
It also says my MOBO should be in jumper-free mode. Is there a switch directly on it or something?
133/30
133 = FSB
30 = PCI Bus
PCI Divisor seems to be 1/5 on your mobo
On most mobos you either have to set a jumper or set some dip switches on he board in order to switch between jumper and jumperless (all settings in Bios) modes.
For your temps get MBM 5. It will read out your temps and also control things like Fan speeds and voltages.
Hope that helps !
And welcome to the Forum!
-=UR=- Ranger
09-23-01, 01:57 PM
After seeing your temps I would strongly recommend to get another Heatsink. The Thermalright sk6 is very good and not too expensive. The new 8045 Alphas seem to be Top of the line right now. Also get some good thermal paste like AS II, but even some generic paste will be much better than nothing or some thermal crap (pad):D. What HS are you using at the moment?
Please donīt tell me itīs some kind of orb:mad:
I see. If that is an already dangerous temperature, I better get a new heatsink, perhaps the Alphas one you mentioned (I have heard Alphas makes good heatsinks) Where do I go to buy heatsinks anyway?
After posting this, I think I'll open up the case and see what shape of heatsink it is or even if i can see any gap in the thermal paste and the heatsink.
I'll post back in about 30 minutes or so probably
I took off the case and inside, low and behold, is a big whoopin square heatsink with a fan on top.
I have 2 fans blowing air in on the back (one to the power supply) and one in the front that blows air out. I also have a cute white fan on my GeForce3, and on my processor, is what looks like a pretty big heatsink and a fan on top of that.
If it helps any, a stick on the heatsink has the following on it:
CPU COOLER, Ball Bearing, and 2 things that look like brand names. One is a backwards R then a U, the other is a half circle and inside that is SA.
Why is my cpu running so damn hot? I turned it on about 10 minutes ago and it went from 50 to 57 degrees celsius already.
Please dont melt, computer :(
I left MBM 5 on and played a little D2 to see just how hot it gets.
If anyone knows anything about D2, i purposely joined a hell game with my sorc to kill diablo, and there were 3 sorc, a necro, and a few zons and a barb (perfect lag classes), and i fought Diablo on the star, only keeping around 25 FPS the whole way.
I went and checked my high temp, 66 degreese
Needless to say, i wont do any diablo2 playing until someone helps me with this heat problem!
Insdie the case it never went above 28 degrees celsius. Inside of my house looks like it is around 24.
what does that mean, exactly? please help
Oneiron
09-23-01, 06:44 PM
this doesn't sound right... are you sure the HS is connected correctly to you're CPU? If it's not correctly attached, it will not cool well. Allso make sure things like cables don't lie down atop you're HSF or in any way obstruct it's spin. Allso try getting some Arctic Silver II instead of using the cheap stuff I think is on you're HS now.
This might all be because of a bad HSF of course, so you should try and find out exactly what kinda cooling you are running.
ummm i know this may sound stupid but make sure that you actually have some thermal compound on the cpu. When i bought my computer, it came with a stock p3 heatsink and the company that built it never put any thermal compund:eek: :eek: :eek: I was idling at 60 and load was at 67.?????? AND I HAVE A P3!! Then i applied some thermal compund and now my load temp is 39.;)
Wow, well i never took off the heatsink, but i might see if i can get the booger off and take a look.
What exactly does thermal compound look like anyway? I want to buy a new heatsink/combo anyway so i can do some overclocking safely
I am thinking about something like
http://2cooltek.safeshopper.com/32/137.htm?84
It comes with thermal compound, so that should make things simpler
Olebass
09-23-01, 07:49 PM
Alot of motherboards incorrectly report temps, its real hard to set a baseline on actual tempuratures when everyone has a different sensor location and motherboard.
When I got mine it reported 67C idle and 75C load, I played it for 4 weeks in heavy 3d internet gaming( Everquest raids of 60+ people ) and DAoC beta.
Never crashed or locked up once. Many said I was burning up and shouldnt be even able to load windows. Never a lockup.
I installed a Vantec 6035d yesterday and now I am 56C Idle and 63 max C load. Much better but by some very very very high.
I am thinking now with like 11 fans in my system and a good heatsink for a non O/C CPU that its just the fact my motherboard has a sensor underneath the CPU that airflow cannot get to.
I got some ASII on the way and I'll dab some on it under the CPU as well when I redo the heatsink( Vantecs stardard paste was not good enough:) and see if that helps.
Some motherboards just seem to report about 10C high though:(
If your really serious about O/C I suggest you follow the procedures listed on most of these websites for getting a accurate temperture and see where you truely stand on it.
What websites do i find things like this?
Well, regardless, i bought the heatsink/fan combo linked in my above post just for the experience of a more powerful heat dispersion.
Anyway, anyone have any tips for removal of the old sink, and application of the new one for when i get it?
Olebass
09-23-01, 10:17 PM
First off be very careful.
I nearly killed my motherboard removing my old one:( The clips are very tight and you have to be careful about applying force on the CPU , AMDs are easy to break, don't be scared of it, just take your time.
I would advise getting some good thermal compound, I got mine on Ebay for 8$ inc shipping but thats about the same you can order online for it. It'll drop you down a few C as well.
If you really want to do it right, look up the heatsink you have now on the web( any search engine look for company) finding installation guide, it will help in taking the old HSF and clip off. Then clean off the CPU also methods found using search engines, apply new thermal goop, then heatsink, when you boot up the first time watch your temps carefully. It takes about 2 seconds for a AMD 1.4 ghz to overheat if the heatsink isnt on it, so watch it carefully and make sure it was installed right.
I was kinda in fear from all the stories of burning or breaking cpus, but really if you just use patience and make sure/check your installation carefully you will be ok. Just dont rush it!
GuNRocK
09-23-01, 10:17 PM
my computer is allways running at 58-59C its rock stable ...i would say over 60C is bad i am using volcanoII (up to 1.5ghz) w/ actic slilver II
But the heatsink on my computer right now came with it. It simply came with the processor that i bought.
According to the site I ordered it from, thermal paste comes with it.
On the heatsink fan is a sticker that has a Backwards R then a U
Also, it has a big C with SA in it.
I get the heatsink I linked too in an earlier post sometime between now and Thursday
Does anyone have any advice for taking off the old sink/ applying the new one?
I took the first step and changed my motherboard to Jumper-Free mode, now i can do everything from my BIOS setting.
Also, when looking at the heatsink, it looks nearly impossible to get off. The screws are small as hell and to unscrew the ones on the lower side, on one side my ram is in the way, and on the other side these cylinder shaped thingies are in the way (wtf are those, anyway?) Any advice for getting it off? I might have to resort to a hobby knife to take it off :(
I left the Voltage jumper where it is, should i move that to jumper-free as well? I assume if i overclock and leave it at its default, it will send the proper voltage if i change the clock speed, correct?
*edited... forgot a word and added a bit to the end*
Olebass
09-24-01, 02:03 PM
Going back to my post above, go to the website for the HSF you have now and review the installation of the HSF you currently have on , reversing the instructions should help removal.
Some HSF realllly suck honestly no one can give you advice on this as every type/brand is different.
What type of heatsink do you have on the cpu currently?
killem1x1
09-24-01, 02:04 PM
Do you have access to a digital camera. I used to have an A7A266 mobo, and can't think of any HSF combo that could/would be mounted that would require a screwdriver to remove. Please be carefull. In regards to the voltage jumper you should not need to change the vcore yet because you are not overclocking yet. Atleast I hope you aren't O'clocking it until you get your temps under control.
UGH! The image was too big and now i have to retype everything.
Olebass-
The problem is, the heatsink came with the mobo/cpu combo i bought (got em together). So i dont know how to get the removal done. On the heatsink fan is a sticker that has a Backwards R then a U. Also, it has a big C with SA in it. If that can hint at some brand, i would like to know the brand and maybe even their website.
Killem1x1-
I dont have a digital camera, but i did draw a picture in pain and save it as .jpg to illustrate what i mean. The screws are not on the underside of the fan, rather they are under the fan and they appear to be attatched to the motherboard. I left the voltage jumper on, but will i have to remove it when i go to OC, or will it automatically figure that I need more volts since i am running at a high mhz?
Thanks in advance,
Slurgi
Upon further inspection (I decided after your comments to open up the case again and take a look) the screws and such are still there, but by the looks of things, they probably arent attatched to the mobo (instead holding the sink in 1 peice), but I noticed a metal tab on the right side.
WHen i push the tab down i can rock the sink back and forth, but i couldnt seem to accomplish taking the sink off. Maybe i wasnt pulling hard enough, but i dont wanna break anything, ya know?
tbirdkiri
09-24-01, 03:29 PM
Originally posted by Slurgi
I took off the case and inside, low and behold, is a big whoopin square heatsink with a fan on top.
I have 2 fans blowing air in on the back (one to the power supply) and one in the front that blows air out. I also have a cute white fan on my GeForce3, and on my processor, is what looks like a pretty big heatsink and a fan on top of that.
If it helps any, a stick on the heatsink has the following on it:
CPU COOLER, Ball Bearing, and 2 things that look like brand names. One is a backwards R then a U, the other is a half circle and inside that is SA.
Why is my cpu running so damn hot? I turned it on about 10 minutes ago and it went from 50 to 57 degrees celsius already.
Please dont melt, computer :(
Allrighty! well the RU is acctually UR "UnderWriters Reserved"
which means that Its UL if used properly. UL means its high quality and works well.
Well, maybe it is supposed to work well, but sitting here idle i am at 59 degrees.
Maybe some dumb**** installed it wrong:mad:
I have the heatsink coming in the mail sometime very soon. Do you guys have any advice on things i SHOULD and SHOULD NOT do.
For example, where are places i definately dont want thermal paste at? Also, how do i know i placed it securly, etc. and what is just general advice for removal and placing of the new heatsink?
wildone
09-25-01, 02:49 PM
it wouldnt be the thermoengine that you ordered would it , since I got a delta on mine it performs quite well ,sounds like a jet but my idle temps are always 1-2 degrees C over ambient , but still 49-50C full load.
wildone
hmmm...things you should not do. well, you said you rocked your HS back and forth. DO NOT DO! thats exactly how 90% of amd cpu deaths happen, it will chip the core.
did a search, and found this (http://www.systemlogic.net/articles/00/8/socketa/) article on installing a socket a HS. it seems to cover all the bases. give it a read through so you have an idea of what your doing first.
as others have said, work very carefully and take your time. one wrong move, and you could hear the dreadful crunch of your cracked core. not to worry you though, ive installed over 100 HSF plus some more complicated waterblocks with screw mounting systems and i have yet to damage a cpu. again, be slow and careful and youll be fine.
I also run a A7A266 with a 1.2GHz AMD and get hot temps.
60*C at idle. I have tried running it with a Swiftech MC370-0A heatsink and then thinking something was wrong with it got the Vantec CCK-6035D all with ASII and no big temp change. I have tried everything to get the temp down without no luck but my system works just fine so i think the prob is with the temp sensors on the A7A266 boards.
Haha...
After reading this only halfway, I realized just by looking at my heatsink that they installed it incorrectly. The clip isnt on the Socket at all:mad: .
I will probably read this a few times to really get the hang of what is going on. Thanks Quizno, that article really helped.
Once i get the heatsink on (or even before that, who knows...) I will most likely have another plethora of questions to fling at you all :)
Thanks so far
I cant beleive it...
Here i am, posting from school. The reason i am posting from my school is because I BROKE MY PROCESSOR PUTTING ON THE NEW HEATSINK.
Ok...
I took the old one off, it was pretty tight and my fingers had some deep indentions from the clips, but i got it off. I applied thermal paste and all that other bruhaha, but putting on the new heatsink was a little harder than i would have guessed. The clips were SO hard to get on. I was pushing down and was moving the heatsink further toward the place i clip it on, and i heard a little "pop". I inspected the processor and everything APPEARED just fine. So i finally got the heatsink on the processor.
I go to turn it on, and it did boot up (i dont know how) and i went to the bios, checked to be sure the heatsink fan was on (by looking inside the case, and it was) and when i went to check the temperatures in the bios, it locked up.
I turned off the computer quickly, waited a while and turned it back on only to get the dreaded "NO SIGNAL INPUT". I unplugged everything and took off the new heatsink. The fins were slightly warm to the touch, so i know they were working. I took a cloth to whipe off the thermal paste and I saw a small itsy bitsy black spec. I then looked at the bottom of the heatsink, and low and behold was a little tiny black (looked burnt on) spec on the corner of the area the processor was.
I broke it...
wildone
09-27-01, 01:37 PM
Sorry about your loss but this is the exact reason you should take your time and (learn) before you leap , I bet you were pushing the HS down and not the clips were'nt you , why didnt you use a flathead screwdriver?I am sorry about your loss but I bet next time you dont jump in so eagerly , you should have had someone do it for you at a shop if you had any doubts at all about your ability , or if you had never done it before.I would buy a 25.00 duron to learn on,its a little easier to replace,sorry again.
wildone
Basslobster
09-27-01, 01:55 PM
Well this is my first post to oc forum.
I would sugguest that you purchace a Thermalright sk-6 i got mine from plycon.com. make sure you get a fan to go with it. Also make sure that you use a thermal paste like arctic silver II. The arctic silver website arcticsilver.com has instructions on how to apply the paste.
Also make sure when you install the fan on the hs that the direction of air flow goes on to the hs. Or you can expririment with it and find out what works best for you. make sure your case as good ventilation both intake and outtake so that your hs wont be recirculating hot air. usually there is a little attachment bar on a hs that connects the hs to the socket. some of the time you need to use a screwdriver to remove it. make sure that you search the web for instructions on how to do it. and be careful not to apply too much pressure cause you can break the die of the amd proc.
in my exp most stock heatsinks on motherboards are only good for running the proc within normal specs. and usually they offer mediocere results to boot. There are lots of good articles on cooling here at overclockers.com.
good luck
But i really did do a lot of research, and I definately took my time.
If i remember correctly, I was going to put the second clip on, and i couldnt push it out for enough, so i pushed the heatsink toward the place to was clipping it on too, and that is why i broke it. I never put pressure on the heatsink itself, and I REALLY WAS trying to be super careful. The heatsink was on right, and it had really good airflow (the heatsink fan blows across the outake fan to take the hot air out).
I still cant beleive i broke it though, I will have to install the heatsink again when i get my new processor, so I suppose I DO get a second chance.
wildone
09-28-01, 11:20 AM
Originally posted by Slurgi
But i really did do a lot of research, and I definately took my time.
If i remember correctly, I was going to put the second clip on, and i couldnt push it out for enough, so i pushed the heatsink toward the place to was clipping it on too, and that is why i broke it. I never put pressure on the heatsink itself, and I REALLY WAS trying to be super careful. The heatsink was on right, and it had really good airflow (the heatsink fan blows across the outake fan to take the hot air out).
I still cant beleive i broke it though, I will have to install the heatsink again when i get my new processor, so I suppose I DO get a second chance.
Hey ,just dont touch the HS , only the clips trust me , and that is the hardest and most dangerous part of installing anything in a computer.I am sorry you lost your cpu once again , but you have to use a screwdiver on almost all that I have done ,good luck.
wildone
After doing a search for my old post, i figured I will add all information about my situation here.
I have a new CPU coming in the mail this week, for $116!!
1.4 266 FSB, just like my old one.
Anyway, out of shear curiosity, assuming I hadnt f***ed up my old processor, how good would it overclock?
A1400Ams3c
ayhja0126apxw
y6531030040
That is my old processor (with a nice little chip on the corner)
Well, whad'ya think?
wildone
09-30-01, 10:21 PM
I dont want to make you feel worse but I have heard that was the best 1400 there was to overclock : )
wildone
-Exi|e-
10-01-01, 12:37 AM
Thats why i ordered one about 2 days ago, with an Asus A7V266 mobo. I have a PIII 1Ghz now with a Swiftech 370 on it, will that be enough to cool my AMD 1.4Ghz 266Mhz AYHJA?
wildone
10-01-01, 10:15 AM
Originally posted by -Exi|e-
Thats why i ordered one about 2 days ago, with an Asus A7V266 mobo. I have a PIII 1Ghz now with a Swiftech 370 on it, will that be enough to cool my AMD 1.4Ghz 266Mhz AYHJA?
Well you can look here but if I were you I would get a better HSF ,I mean you cn try it or it may last you but if you plan to overclock any at all choose one of these fans or go with water.
http://www.overclockers.com/articles373/
wildone
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