Help with overclocking...

[blackbelter]

so you could still have damaged windows files .. not good

 

Open a elevated (run as admin) command prompt window

type:

sfc /scannow

this will get windows to check its core files to make sure they are ok

 

Just did... Everything is OK! Thanks. I learnt something new.

[blackbelter]

Final OC results: 4.4GHz peaking @ 1.248V. Under IBT, temperature peaks at 90 degree centigrade on the hottest core.

 

A little bit too much voltage/temperature maybe. But this is the lowest vcore at which WEI, 3DMark Vantage and 11 run without crashing.

 

Because IBT and Prime95 have been stable under much lower voltage, I didn't bother to run them extensively.

 

For normal usage (3D gaming), temperature peaks at 70 degree centigrade.

 

Ambient temperature is ~ 28 degree.

 

What do you guys think? Comment, please...

Edited May 20, 2012 by blackbelter

[blackbelter]

Or do you guys have a secret way of letting 3DMark run, while keeping vcore low? Which setting should I change in the bios?

 

Thanks.

[Corrigan]

Those temperatures sound, if not dangerous, certainly non-optimal.

[Mugenjin]

That's really a huge increase of VCore.

Do you still use the stock cooler? You may want to change that for a befitting aftermarket cooler or get more/more powerful case fans.

 

Some 70° under normal gaming usage should be fine though you want to keep an eye on it for some time.

Anyway the CPU will let you know if it's running too hot by throttling.

[blackbelter]

I have coolermaster tpc 812, which is supposed to be one of the latest and best air coolers in the market. I even have it in push-pull configuration.

 

Not sure what is wrong... Maybe I'll reseat the cooler to see if there's any improvement...

 

Thanks guys. You rock!!

[blackbelter]

Never mind anything now. I am loving the speed of this monster right now!!

 

Will be getting a second cpu fan for the cpu cooler. Right now I am using a cpu fan and a case fan on the cooler, which probably raises temperature a little bit.

[Hamblue]

Just be careful. You really shouldn't overclock unless you have a good cooling set-up. Stock fans can result in damaged equipment.

The self contained water systems by corsair are priced well and do a great job. Very easy to install as well.

[blackbelter]

Thanks!

 

The weird thing is that I cannot oc well not because of temperature, but because of voltage. I cannot go any further in reducing vcore, coz if I do, the system becomes very unstable when running 3dmark benches. The high temperature is just a biproduct of the high voltage that had to be applied.

Edited May 22, 2012 by blackbelter

[mmaruda]

If you hit 90C temps at that voltage something is wrong, and you seem to be on the right path to fry the CPU. I run the same speed with higher voltage and get lower temps. Keep in mind that 92C is the top temp for the Sandy Bridge.

 

The cooler is fine and should suffice for the OC, so something else is the culprit here.

1. The ambient temp is quite high, but I get the same on hot days and still keep burn tests under 70C.

2. Did you install the cooler correctly and apply the right amount of thermal paste on the CPU? Should be a 5x5mm spot in the center, too little is bad, too much is also bad.

3. How does the airflow work in your case? The best idea is to have front fans suck air in, and other fans suck air out, meaning the fan on the cooler should be aimed rearwards in the case.

 

Anyway, hate to be scaring you, but 90C in stress tests is too high, even with that high ambient.

[BigBlack]

2. Did you install the cooler correctly and apply the right amount of thermal paste on the CPU? Should be a 5x5mm spot in the center, too little is bad, too much is also bad.

 

I would definitely look into this.

[EtherealN]

Totally agreed.

 

And if the cooler came with pre-applied paste, this can sometimes cause accidents - you can end up malforming it without noticing during installation. (I did this on my previous machine's stock cooler.) Pre-applied paste is one of those things that usually works just fine, but sometimes things happen.

[MadTommy]

If you are still struggling.. register on the tweaktown forums and make a detailed post asking for help. They sorted me right out, very knowledgeable and helpful lot. I knew nothing about overclocking and they led me through a bespoke overclock step by step. i can't recommend them enough. (this was over 2 years ago, but i'm sure there'll sort you out if you approach them in the right way.)

[Humvee28]

Some things that came into my Mind :

 

Some Coolers came with a little Foil on the Copper, to protect it from Scratches.

Have you removed the Foil, and cleaned the Surface from Sticker Rests?

(If you got a Cooler with pre-applied Thermal Grease, you can scratch this one from the List)

 

This might be looking like i call you dumb. But it isn´t. This is happened more then one Time to Users who have simply forgotten it.

 

When applying Thermal Grease, you only need a tiny bit of it on the CPU Center in form of a Pea. Then you can spread it over the whole Heatspreader from there with a Plastic-Card or something similiar, until you get a small Film on the CPU.

 

Thermal Grease should only fill up the fine Gaps between HS and Cooler. If you put on too much Grease, it will work like an Isolation between them.

 

And last but not least : Apply your Cooler, loose it again, and check the Print of the Grease on the Copper Surface of the Cooler. If all looks okay, reapply it, and check your Temps.

 

 

Hope that helps

 

Greets

 

Marc

[Mugenjin]

If you hit 90C temps at that voltage something is wrong, and you seem to be on the right path to fry the CPU. I run the same speed with higher voltage and get lower temps. Keep in mind that 92C is the top temp for the Sandy Bridge.

 

It's an Ivy Bridge and they tend to run hotter than Sandy. Intel specified them to some ~105° C I believe.

[blackbelter]

Thanks a lot people for all the information!

 

@mmaruda: The ambient temperature is like ~30 degree centigrade. I hate air-conditioning... But I can assure you that the air circulation in my case is good. I have 5 case fans, 2 intake (one of them is really strong, and noisy...), 3 exhaust (again one of them is strong...). I have tried my best to do cable management.

 

@MadTommy: I will check TweakTown out. Thanks!

 

@Humvee28: My cooler didn't come with thermal paste pre-applied. Thanks for the idea...

 

@The rest of you: I changed a few fans for the better, reapplied the thermal paste (I might have applied too little before. I learnt from some online tutorial that I should apply as little as possible.). I also used a few other software too display the temperature. It turned out to depend on which software I am using. According to realtemp, the highest temperature is 90, HWMonitor 84, and Asus AI suit II below 70. Not sure which one of them is the most accurate...

Edited May 23, 2012 by blackbelter