Sentential03's burn in's really do work for me.

[deception``]

May I ask what you *do* use for stability testing your processor? Prime95 is just about as good as it gets.

Seeing as I am a gamer, I use my games and other intensive applications as a means of stability. There have been too many instances for me in which I can be Prime stable for 24+ hours, yet crash in 3D Mark, Doom, etc. With this in mind, I focus my stability testing on making sure that I can run my most common applications without error. If I can play Doom III, Far Cry, Ut2k4, Burn Cd's, Encode Movies, etc. problem free then I know my computer is stable. On the other hand, I could run Prime forever and still crash in my most common applications. Therefore, such a stress test is useless to me as it is not representative of real world usage. It's similar to someone who would rely on 3D Mark 2005 to tell them the power of their system. While it is indeed a pretty benchmark, it simply cannot determine the real world performance of your system.

deception``

 

[nealric]

I made an honest attempt at the method with my xp2500m (2.5ghz@ 1.8v). The lowest voltage that would run prime for a minute or two was 1.65v.

After running sens burn in for 8 hours, prime did not go a second longer and I couldnt get the voltage down.

Maybe it woks some of the time, but definetly not every time.

 

[Hurk]

Did not work for me. Burnt it in for 10 hours, and prime did not run stable for any longer. 1.725V @ 2520Mhz. (My Nf7 undervolts)

 

[d94]

here's my question:
it takes 1.7v for my cpu to be stable @ 3.4ghz, anything less and the programs freeze after running for a few minutes! it takes a minim of 1.55 v to get it to boot into windows and shortly after freezing.. how should i approach this? (do i burn in @ 1.7v?)

-d94

 

[felinusz]

If I can play Doom III, Far Cry, Ut2k4, Burn Cd's, Encode Movies, etc. problem free then I know my computer is stable. On the other hand, I could run Prime forever and still crash in my most common applications. Therefore, such a stress test is useless to me as it is not representative of real world usage. It's similar to someone who would rely on 3D Mark 2005 to tell them the power of their system. While it is indeed a pretty benchmark, it simply cannot determine the real world performance of your system.

I don't use just Prime95 for stability testing either, rather a combination of three stability testers (Prime95, memtest86+, and 3DMark2001).

It's a pretty common phenominon for an overclock to be Prime95, and memtest86+ stable, but not 3D stable. Unfortunately, the reverse is also fairly frequently true, which is why Prime95 is still an invaluable part of the "stability testing trio". Even if it isn't the end-all answer to full-system stability, it makes up a part of the "team" that is the end-all answer to full-system stability, and thorough testing .

 

[CandymanCan]

here's my question:
it takes 1.7v for my cpu to be stable @ 3.4ghz, anything less and the programs freeze after running for a few minutes! it takes a minim of 1.55 v to get it to boot into windows and shortly after freezing.. how should i approach this? (do i burn in @ 1.7v?)

-d94

No i think @ 1.7v you will hurt you P4, i doubt this burning in will actually work for P4's, it might actuall have a negative effect.

 

[Hc000]

I would like to show everyone my steps and results, I did not follow sent's instructions exact tho.

11.5x166 = 1909 @ 1.65v 30C Idle (highest OC @ the time)
1 year 8 Month of 24/7 Usage
12 x166 = 1992 @ 1.675 31C Idle 35C Load
6 Hour Burn In
12 x166 = 1992 @ 1.65 33C Idle 34C Load
6 Hour Burn In CS Crashes
12 x166 = 1992 @ 1.625 33C Idle 36C Load
11 Hour Burn In
12 x166 = 1992 @ 1.60 31C Idle 34C Load
4 Hour Burn In
12.5x166 = 2075 @ 1.65 32C Idle 35C Load
9 Hour Burn In

All temp is measured from MBM5, the reason why it varies even tho its the same voltage is because they are measured @ different time of the day and @ night the amb temp is alot colder.

Doing some more Burn, my goal is 13.5x166 = 2250 @ 1.65v

 

[confuzzedintel]

i can testify that burn in does work on p4's i had mine at 3.4 and it would pass pi at 3.5 but after 12 hours of burning in it does now

 

[mustrum]

I had my new winny burning in for 4 hours and then for 9 hours over the night.
Result: Maybe a 20mhz gain on the OC. Not much but just enough to get the 2.6ghz prime stable at 1.55vcore i think. Priming right now and it's running way longer allready than it did yesterday.

 

[ogboot]

newegg is matching monarch, $150 shipped. where would da better stepping be?

 

[deception``]

I don't use just Prime95 for stability testing either, rather a combination of three stability testers (Prime95, memtest86+, and 3DMark2001).

It's a pretty common phenominon for an overclock to be Prime95, and memtest86+ stable, but not 3D stable. Unfortunately, the reverse is also fairly frequently true, which is why Prime95 is still an invaluable part of the "stability testing trio". Even if it isn't the end-all answer to full-system stability, it makes up a part of the "team" that is the end-all answer to full-system stability, and thorough testing .

If I am game stable, then there is no need for Prime stability. Sure, it may be true that I could be 200% 3D stable yet Prime unstable, but that does not support Prime95's validity. Rather, it simply reinforces the fact that Prime is a useless means of testing stability. Furthermore, Prime never has nor will it ever be a definitive panacea of stability testing. If that were the case then the product would be endorsed by a number of technological entities besides our community. To this day, however, Prime's value is still shrouded in mystery. This is largely due to the fact that Prime95 is not the end-all to stability testing.

Case in point: Take my system and compare it to somebody with a 1700+ stock Thoroughbred and an x800 XT PE. Chances are the person with the x800 will outscore me in both 3d Mark 03 and 05. However, neither of these tests will allude to the fact that I will most likely enjoy a smoother and overall gaming experience than the person with the 1700+. Hence, such benchmarks are useless in the sense that they do not exhibit real-world performance. In Prime95's case, one can find themselves 24 hour Prime stable, yet still encounter problems, random crash, etc. in the most common of tasks. If you ask me, this seems like a pretty weak end-all to stability testing.

deception``

 

[mustrum]

If I am game stable, then there is no need for Prime stability. Sure, it may be true that I could be 200% 3D stable yet Prime unstable, but that does not support Prime95's validity. Rather, it simply reinforces the fact that Prime is a useless means of testing stability. Furthermore, Prime never has nor will it ever be a definitive panacea of stability testing. If that were the case then the product would be endorsed by a number of technological entities besides our community. To this day, however, Prime's value is still shrouded in mystery. This is largely due to the fact that Prime95 is not the end-all to stability testing.

Case in point: Take my system and compare it to somebody with a 1700+ stock Thoroughbred and an x800 XT PE. Chances are the person with the x800 will outscore me in both 3d Mark 03 and 05. However, neither of these tests will allude to the fact that I will most likely enjoy a smoother and overall gaming experience than the person with the 1700+. Hence, such benchmarks are useless in the sense that they do not exhibit real-world performance. In Prime95's case, one can find themselves 24 hour Prime stable, yet still encounter problems, random crash, etc. in the most common of tasks. If you ask me, this seems like a pretty weak end-all to stability testing.

deception``

The problem with gamestable is that you can't ever know if you are stable.
With my barton i had a game stable overclok for about half a year until i played NEXUS. The game keeped crashing until i lowered my OC.
Only because a game is hardware taxing is not telling us if it's a stable system because it runs.
Doom 3 is known to be hardware taxing but it allows the highest graphics AND CPU overclock of all games i've tested.

 

[CandymanCan]

Iv you wanna test gamestable play Planetside, that game is the most cpu and memory hungry game iv ever played.

 

[mustrum]

Iv you wanna test gamestable play Planetside, that game is the most cpu and memory hungry game iv ever played.

It's not allways about that. Some games just tax the hardware in a different way. I have no idea how to explain this but some games just are more sensitive to errors than others. Some time ago Need for Speed 5 was one such game for example. There were much more hardware taxing games around but NFS Porsche was the game that showed if the system runs stable or not.

 

[CandymanCan]

I know what youre saying, maybe i should have said it in a diff way. Planetside if youre cpu or anything in youre system is unstable it will error out everytime.

 

[mustrum]

I know what youre saying, maybe i should have said it in a diff way. Planetside if youre cpu or anything in youre system is unstable it will error out everytime.

I see. I don't ownthat game so i can't test it out. I prefered Neocron. Not playing that anymore though.

 

[CandymanCan]

I was just saying. Planetside is a game you have to pay to play online anyway its something i like playing but no one else on forum does. LOL

 

[mustrum]

I was just saying. Planetside is a game you have to pay to play online anyway its something i like playing but no one else on forum does. LOL

Hehe i know. Same with Neocron. Planetside never appealed to me though since it's basically a shooter you have to pay for. Neocron is a shooter where you have crafting and tons of skills and stuff. (Also P2P)

I guess we went a bit OT now.

 

[CandymanCan]

Yea it turned into mechwarrior a few weeks ago. They had a new expansion for it where you can now drive in mech's like on mechwarrior.

 

[pelikan]

deception`` - Each to their own, for sure. I do agree that testing for game stability is a critical part of testing. But I don't agree that Prime95 is useless. I like Prime95 because using it, along with 3D and memory tests, allows me to max out my overclock without ever having my system crash.

If I am game stable, then there is no need for Prime stability. Sure, it may be true that I could be 200% 3D stable yet Prime unstable, but that does not support Prime95's validity. Rather, it simply reinforces the fact that Prime is a useless means of testing stability.

To my mind, since Prime95 makes your system do math, being prime stable is valid. I've been game stable but not prime stable and crashed with just a couple browsers and an email program open. You may not have had this happen, but I and many other people have. And what if you fold? It seems to me that its useless to fold if your system isn't prime stable.

Furthermore, Prime never has nor will it ever be a definitive panacea of stability testing.

I agree that prime is not a panacea of stability testing. I think its important to test all parts of the system. In addition to Prime95 I like to use Memtest86, 3DMark 05 and games like Doom 3.

If that were the case then the product would be endorsed by a number of technological entities besides our community. To this day, however, Prime's value is still shrouded in mystery.

Mystery? Prime95 is a standard test used by most enthusiasts. In the tech forums I visit prime is used by a majority of the members. Prime95 is used by some of the most well respected people on the top tech sites. Heres a few examples:
Anandtech
Overclockers.com- Joe Citarella
ars technica
neo seeker
DSL reports
OCFaq- W1zzard

In Prime95's case, one can find themselves 24 hour Prime stable, yet still encounter problems, random crash, etc. in the most common of tasks. If you ask me, this seems like a pretty weak end-all to stability testing.

deception``

How about we turn your argument around, replacing "Prime stable" with "game stable"? "In the case of being ..game stable.., one can find themselves 12 hour ..game stable.., yet still encounter problems, random crash, etc. in the most common of tasks."

I think its perfectly valid to not use Prime95; it is, after all, your system. I just don't agree that its useless. I wanted to reply to your post in detail because while an experienced overclocker may be able to run a relatively stable system without using a program like Prime95, those with less experience definitely need it.