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What CPU core temperature is acceptable?

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Ontolog

New Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Here are my system specs:

[Motherboard] ASUS LGA 1366 Intel X58 Republic of Gamers ATX Motherboard Rampage III Formula
[CPU] Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz 8M L3 Cache LGA1366 Desktop Processor
[RAM] Patriot 6GB (3 x 2GB) 1600MHz Triple Channel
[Graphics Card] SAPPHIRE Toxic 100315TXSR Radeon HD 6850
[Media Bay] LG Electronics 10X Blu-ray SATA Writer Drive with Software WH10LS30K - Bulk (Black)
[Hard Drive] Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive (WD1002FAEX)
[PSU] Corsair Professional Series Gold High Performance 850-Watt Power Supply CMPSU-850AX
[Case] Antec Three Hundred Gaming Case External 3 X 5.25; Internal 6 X 3.5 2*Usb2.0

I would like to stick this in a signature but I can't figure out how to set a signature on this forum.

Anyway I would like to use the above setup to do some overclocking that won't require liquid cooling or anything like that. The most I'm willing to do at the moment is install a better CPU heatsink.

I'm new to overclocking and I have no idea what the acceptable temperature limits are. I know the CPU is suppose to shut off at 100'C but is it OK to even run the CPU close to that for long periods of time?

I'm also unsure about the best way to overclock my RAM. Am I suppose to keep it in sync somehow with the overclocked processor? Is there some ideal CPU : DRAM speed ratio?

Also, has anyone had luck lowering the "CL" timings of the RAM I have? Out of the box it runs at a slow 9-9-9-24 :(

Thanks for any and all help!

:blah:
 
You can enter a signature after 2 posts and 1 hour or something like that... hang tight.

When stress testing the CPU keep it in the 80s and all will be fine for 24/7 operations.

Check the link in my signature for an overclocking guide.


Also, WELCOME! :)
 
When stress testing the CPU keep it in the 80s and all will be fine for 24/7 operations.

Yep. It really varies from person to person. The higher the temps, the more you reduce the processor's lifespan (same goes for higher voltages). Personally, I use 85C as my absolute max. With my OC (see sig) I hit about 80C under full prime95 load, and that translates to about 50C max in day to day usage.
 
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