CPU Ratio Guide

[Sly Cooper]

I hear advice about what my cpu can handle (Intel Mobile Core 2 Quad Q9000, max 100C). Obviously it can't be good to run it that hot (I presume). The problem is there are many factors, I hear temp monitoring is actually just an approximation and not as accurate as people think. Secondly, I've read articles that state most cpu's can safely overclock to a notable level. Other than that, whenever asked about processor temperature, people seem to say a range, like 70C un der load is normal, and 90C is probably not good. I have a laptop btw.

Finally: Is there a ratio that's universal to all processors based on their min/max? For example, half of your max temp is normal idle, three quarters under load is normal but should not go on for extended periods, and anything towards max is highly recommended a time out.

Is there something like this for laptops so I'm not ball-parking so much (still an approximation though).

 

[TechyInAZ]

DON'T overclock a laptop!! First it's really tough since bios is locked and 2nd laptops have crappy coolers, at stock laptop cpus go to 75 to 80C which is normal so overclock will immediately make it go to at least 90 to 95C.

 

[Sly Cooper]

Haha, I was thinking about it, but now my goal is to make my system as stable as possible, which is basically the point of this topic. I imagine overclocking a laptop would be difficult from the limited amount of fans available to account of the changes.

 

[Icaraeus]

You should never overclock a laptop. They already run very hot.

 

[Sly Cooper]

Indeed, indeed.

 

[TechyInAZ]

It's a sham that you can't undervolt the cpu, because you can overclock many cpus with stock voltage, so if you can't overclock you could just undervolt the cpu.

 

[ingtar33]

DON'T overclock a laptop!! First it's really tough since bios is locked and 2nd laptops have crappy coolers, at stock laptop cpus go to 75 to 80C which is normal so overclock will immediately make it go to at least 90 to 95C.

exactly. never overclock a laptop.


as to your question... no there is no ratio. every processor family is different. Generally intels tend to degrade fast the longer they're left running over 80C... there are some exceptions of course (sandy bridge and nehelam both were pretty sturdy and could stand long term high temps... though i know the i7-2600k tended to burn out, it's non-hyperthreaded cousin i5-2500k didn't... so i don't know what to make of that discrepancy)

on the AMD side of things, the phenomII generally tended to burn out pretty quick if you left them too hot for too long... meanwhile bulldozer/piledriver seem to be tanks, taking pretty much whatever temps you want to throw at them with no real lasting harm.

See what i mean by it changes chip to chip, product line to product line?

 

[Pinhedd]

It's a sham that you can't undervolt the cpu, because you can overclock many cpus with stock voltage, so if you can't overclock you could just undervolt the cpu.

It's not quite that simple. The relationship between voltage and the range of stable clock frequencies is neither flat nor linear. The integrated circuits that are used in low-voltage devices may be logically identical to their high power counterparts but they are hand picked to meet certain quality metrics that are necessary for low-voltage operation.