Northwood 3.0C overclockable?

[neonblingbling]

I am thinking of purchasing one of these, after finding it in aceptable price range, and good reviews on newegg. I was pleased apon seeing that people were getting some nice oc with it, some claiming 3.6ghz or so. That was last night, and I slept well on that idea.

So this morning, I came over here and started reading more. First things first, "CPU Types Guide" by Capitain Newbie. Sweet. He likes/perfers Northwoods. Oh no, now theres this Sudden Northwood Death Syndrome. I really dont feel like frying a $200 or so CPU, so should I REALLY stick to the stock speeds? Not like 3.0ghz is much faster than a 2000+ XP....

 

[Vio1]

SNDS happens usually when too much volage is added to your cpu. Most people who overclock dont have this problem. When overclocking, just keep under the max accepted voltage and you should be fine. 1.625v for Northwoods and 1.5v for prescotts

 

[neonblingbling]

Thanks.

Hmm, maybe there wont be any need for a Thermalright XP-120.... You think?

 

[WheaT]

If you can fit it in your case i would say go for it, however I just switched from watercooling to an XP-90 and I am amazed, I get about the same temps with my overclock with the xp-90 as I did with my watercooling, plus my GFX temps are lower because I have more airflow through my case now.

WheaT

 

[jpm804]

Thanks.

Hmm, maybe there wont be any need for a Thermalright XP-120.... You think?

That's a good cooler but not really necessary to get a good overclock on a 3.0c. I got mine running 3.75Ghz at 1.6v on a sp-94 (see sig for stepping). Have been running this setup for about 6months with no problems.

Most 3.0c i've seen can hit anywhere between 3.5-3.8...

 

[neonblingbling]

That's a good cooler but not really necessary to get a good overclock on a 3.0c. I got mine running 3.75Ghz at 1.6v on a sp-94 (see sig for stepping). Have been running this setup for about 6months with no problems.

Most 3.0c i've seen can hit anywhere between 3.5-3.8...

What fan were you using? If that was with a 20db fan, I will leap at that, nothing stopping me. But, I would like to get a 120 fan that I could possibly set on full if needed, but possibly kept at a sub-whisper level the majority of the time.

 

[crotale]

There are some pretty nice 3.0C out there.
My loved one just died on me the other week. Not SNDS, just alot of condensation under the IHS.
Will have a new one in a couple of days, will try air, water and phase change on it.
I can report back here if it is interesting.

 

[(HR)Titan]

alot of condensation under the IHS

i dont understand
how condensation come to ur proc

 

[batboy]

He has a Prommy (phase change cooling). Condensation is a CPU killer when you cool things below freezing. You are supposed to use dielectric grease and foam insulation to protect the CPU and socket from condensation, but guano happens and sometimes somehow moisture finds a way through.

 

[fabulouscoops]

I just OC'd my 30 cap northwood 3.0C for the first time last night. 3.4 GHz was the highest I could get to boot into Windows and run Prime95. Booted and ran at idle at 3.5 GHz but Prime crashed. I used Navig's guide to get me started http://www.pcholic.net/overclocking.htm but have not tried to change voltages yet.
HT on, Vcore 1.525, Vdimm 2.8, AGP 1.65, 227 fsb @ 1:1 My maximum temp under load was 61 deg C.
Since I still have room to go up in temperature (Abit boards read low) I'd like to push on. What's next, up the Vcore, change the ratio or relax the timings?

 

[WeldZilla]

Yes the 3.0C chips that Newegg has right now are the SL6WK processors and they are great overclockers!

So feel free to pick one up. Would like to see you get an Epox 4PDA2+Ver.2 mobo to go with it. But, whatever you have will work,I hope!!

WZ

 

[batboy]

I just OC'd my 30 cap northwood 3.0C for the first time last night. 3.4 GHz was the highest I could get to boot into Windows and run Prime95. Booted and ran at idle at 3.5 GHz but Prime crashed. I used Navig's guide to get me started http://www.pcholic.net/overclocking.htm but have not tried to change voltages yet.
HT on, Vcore 1.525, Vdimm 2.8, AGP 1.65, 227 fsb @ 1:1 My maximum temp under load was 61 deg C.
Since I still have room to go up in temperature (Abit boards read low) I'd like to push on. What's next, up the Vcore, change the ratio or relax the timings?

That's pretty good for default vcore and using the 1:1 memory ratio. Might wanna try using the 5:4 ratio and 1.55v vcore. I know Abit reads temps a little higher than actual, but looks like you could work on cooling a little more. What do you have for case ventilation?

 

[fabulouscoops]

@ batboy
2 intakes on the front, one on the side over CPU. (3 x 80 mm)
Two 80 mm exhaust plus the Antec PSU (on high) plus the PCI slot VGA cooler (on high) all out the back.
About all I can do is turn off the heat in the house and open a window to get lower ambient temps.

 

[crotale]

He has a Prommy (phase change cooling). Condensation is a CPU killer when you cool things below freezing. You are supposed to use dielectric grease and foam insulation to protect the CPU and socket from condensation, but guano happens and sometimes somehow moisture finds a way through.

Yeah, that is the fun thing with this one...
I had taken all the precautions I could think of but one day it just hard locked. Dissambled the system. Just a little condensation, but every component including the back of the CPU where covered with sealstring.
Couldn't find any sympthoms at all...
Then a dropped it gently on the mouse pad (IHS downwards) and saw a small drop of water coming from the hole in the IHS.
Dropped it a few times more and every time there was a new drop of water.
So I got a "tops" (small pin with cotton in each end) and I was able to extract ALOT of water from underneath the IHS.
Tried it in a air cooled system but it really was dead. Must have been shorted somehow beacuse the mosfets got burning hot within 2 seconds and the heatsink were warmer than a highly overclocked prescott under full load!



Anyway, the new one:
Preliminary it looks like a real bummer.
Malay - 2003 - Week 44 - 12 cap.
Havn't done any extensive testing but here are some numbers:

Prescott heatsink/fan:
3530, 1.55vcore - 6 tests of DualPrime95 stable (didn't test more)
3550, 1.55vcore - fail DP95
3620, 1.60vcore - 6 tests of DP95 OK
3650, 1.60vcore - fail DP95.
Doesn't respond to more vcore with this cooling

LRWW, Eheim 1250, 3x120mm Rad:
3650, 1.60vcore - 6 tests DP95 OK
3700, 1.60vcore - fail DP95
3750, 1.65vcore - 6 tests DP95 OK
3800, 1.65vcore - fail DP95
No respond to more vcore.

I'll slap it into my Prommy later this week to see how it handles it.


(For the record: The 3.0C in my sig did 4GHz DP95 for several hours with the WC rig above...)