E5200 @ 4 ghz reached, now i got some questions

[nycalex]

HI:

after days of trial and error i finally reached 4 ghz on my e5200 on air cooling. I feel like i accomplished something

My current specs:

e5200 @ 4ghz (333 x 12) Vcore 1.425
Arctic cooling freezer 7 pro
Ga ep43-ud3l F6 bios
Gskill F2 8500cl5 2gb x 2 (4gb) @ 800 4-4-4-12 Voltage @ 2.1

now i have been running my system very stable at 3.75 ghz (300 X 12.5) @ 1.35 volts. Temps were around 47-48 at max load running prime95 or orthos for 12 hours.

But now with the vcore set at 1.425 (system is not stable with anything less) my temps jumped up to 57 under full load (reaching a maximum of 62).

Is a cpu temp of over 60 safe at all?

It averages around 50-55 under heavy gaming, but i'm concerned.

what cpu voltages have any of you used when taking a e5200 to 4 ghz? What temperatures are the averages at that speed?

 

[nycalex]

real temp shows 38 to tjmax.

Tj max is set at 100 from default (i never touched any settings in realtemp)

Also, i ran prime95 using small FFts for over 8 hours with no errors.

however, the blend test fails after about 10-20 minutes. Usually one of the cores stops working while the other keeps on going, what the heck does this mean?

 

[jsc]

Blend failing means you probably have a memory problem.

 

[OvrClkr]

Your timings ar too tight, even at 800Mhz, try 5-5-5-15 or 5-5-5-6-18 .... Is there a reason you are running your RAM at 800Mhz?

 

[nycalex]

Your timings ar too tight, even at 800Mhz, try 5-5-5-15 or 5-5-5-6-18 .... Is there a reason you are running your RAM at 800Mhz?

well, my memory is rated at 1066 mhz, but i can't seem to be able to get it stable at that speed, even at manufacturer's recommended specs.

i was told by a gskill tech from their forums that running my memory at 800 mhz with 4-4-4-12 and 2.1 volts is another alternative, and at these settings with my cpu oc'ed to 3.75 my system was very stable and i did noticed some improvements on some applications, but very minor in games.

i'm gonna try 5-5-5-15 and run prime95 blend test again.

btw, i have yet to BSOD from this setting (cpu @ 4 ghz), but temps seem to be going a little higher everytime, lol Right now it's about 65 under full load (2 hours of gaming).

 

[OvrClkr]

Yea the same happens to me, I cant run 1066Mhz on one of my PC's cause the mobo does not like 2.1v.... It will run 1066Mhz fine only if I install low volt modules at 1.85v :

http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz_pc2_8500_platinum_low_voltage_dual_channel

Anyways, if 4-4-4-12 is working for you at the desired clock then leave it alone. If you loosen the timings you might get a bit more stability at higher clocks =b

 

[jsc]

I do not overclock RAM. I always run my memory at 1:1. That is running memory synchronomously (in step) with the CPU. Because the memory is DDR2 (transfers two chunks of data with each bus cycle), that means running the memory clock twice as fast as the FSB frequency.

Go to the memory clock multiplier and change it from AUTO to 2.00. Running memory slower costs performance. Running memory faster does not give you much if any real world performance increase and it can lead to higher instability. And when you are going for a max overclock, you need all the stability you can get. We discuss that here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/251715-29-ratio-myth

And while I am talking about memory, let me say, "There ain't no such thing as DDR2-1066 RAM." Got your attention now, yes?

DDR2-1066 RAM is simply DDR2-800 RAM that has been tested to run at the higher speed, usually at an increased voltage and more relaxed timings. Any good DDR2-800 RAM will do that.

I set the thermal alarms (BIOS - PC Health) on my motherboards for 70 C.

 

[nycalex]

I do not overclock RAM. I always run my memory at 1:1. That is running memory synchronomously (in step) with the CPU. Because the memory is DDR2 (transfers two chunks of data with each bus cycle), that means running the memory clock twice as fast as the FSB frequency.

Go to the memory clock multiplier and change it from AUTO to 2.00. Running memory slower costs performance. Running memory faster does not give you much if any real world performance increase and it can lead to higher instability. And when you are going for a max overclock, you need all the stability you can get. We discuss that here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/251715-29-ratio-myth

And while I am talking about memory, let me say, "There ain't no such thing as DDR2-1066 RAM." Got your attention now, yes?

DDR2-1066 RAM is simply DDR2-800 RAM that has been tested to run at the higher speed, usually at an increased voltage and more relaxed timings. Any good DDR2-800 RAM will do that.

I set the thermal alarms (BIOS - PC Health) on my motherboards for 70 C.

ahah, definitelly got my attention there.

i ran set the timing on the ram as 5-5-5-15 with 2.1 volts. this seems to be very stable, as i ran the prime95 blend test for 8 hours with no issues.

thx for all the help gentlemen!

now i'm a happy camper, can't believe i pused this $65 cpu this far, the last time i ever overclocked was my 1.2ghz athlon t-bird, which did 1.7ghz and that was something i was very proud of, ahahha