First OC ever, tell me what I'm doing right and wrong

[babachoo]

Ok so I just built a new system and started overclocking it. I've included a screenshot with all my CPU-Z system info.

Basically I lowered RAM frequency to lowest setting, then did the same for the QPI link and Uncore, then got the Bclock up to 203, in 10mhz increments. So it's sitting at 4.055 MHz and idles/browses the web at around 37 degrees C. I just ran Prime95 and it immdiately jumped to about 70, then over 3 minutes it climbed to 77, then back down to 75, then at around the 5 minute mark it hit 79-80 degrees and I let it sit at 80 for a couple minutes, it didn't seem to really go any higher, but the 80C triggered a warning, so I decided to shut it down and come here for advice. There were no errors or BSOD's, but I just wanted to know if I should leave this OC like it is, back it down a little, or what? I'm VERY pleased with 4.055 on air cooling (Hyper 212 Plus), but I didn't know if this is stable or not, or if 80C running a Prime95 "Blend" test is too hot, or normal. Any help appreciated.

Oh, forgot to mention that I never INCREASED any voltages. I did notice that my CPU voltage (I couldn't find any Vcore settings in my BIOS, so I assume this is the same) reached like 1.43v, so in Asus TurboV (OS based OC utility), I decreased to 1.375v.

CM HAF 922
I7-920 D0
OCZ Gold low voltage PC12800 DDR3 3X2GB
Corsair 850tx
HD 5870
Hyper 212 Plus cooler
Spinpoint F3 1TB
Asus P6X58D Premium

 

[overshocked]

Yeah, when you leave the voltage settings on auto the motherboard raises them for you. The problem there is that it gives it wayyy more voltage than it needs. I would suggest tuning the voltage down until it is stable.

That will help reduce the temps alot.

 

[babachoo]

So I guess I could probably go lower than 1.375 and still be stable? I read that everything from that mark and below was pretty safe, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to be even more safe and have it last longer.

How is that 80 degree temperature though? How hot should a "stable" overclocked 920 get when running Prime95 "Blend" test? And is the blend test what most people use or should I try something different?

 

[overshocked]

Most people use small ffts to stress it even further. 80c is ok, its definetly not favorable though. I would suggest lowering the voltage and try the get the temp to be more like 75c (or under).

I dont know if you can get below 1.375 and still be stable. You will have to try this yourself. You may be able to compensate Vcore with more vtt like try going to 1.275 VTT and then dropping your vcore a little (1.3 or so) and see if it is stable.

 

[babachoo]

Thanks, I'll try that out. I'm kinda curious if I can maybe set these huge 200mm fans to spin faster when needed. I'm sure I can, just gotta figure out the utilities that came with this board.

 

[babachoo]

After a little tweaking, I settled for a 183 X 20 @~3.66MHz overclock, with turbo mode on for peaks around 3.9, and am running a small ffts test and it's running stable at around 67C, and 1.29 Vcore, so I think I'll stick with this configuration, since I'm not trying to break any records. Thanks for the help