Is heat the only limit to overclocking?

[Decker87]

The question is in the title. Is overheating the only limit to overclocking?

 

[ChipDeath]

no. All Chips will simply not go faster than a certain speed, no matter how good the cooling is.

The best liquid Nitrogen cooled overclocks are still at well below zero when the limits are reached.

---
"Sex without love is an empty experience...
But as empty experiences go, it's one of the best" - Woody Allen<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by ChipDeath on 12/06/04 01:29 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[RichPLS]

<A HREF="http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=42655&page=1&pp=25" target="_new"> 6GHz Nitrogen Cooled P4 </A>

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

 

[jammydodger]

A voltage signal in a CPU rises and falls, when it goes above a certain point it is registered as a 1. Below a certain point it is registered as a 0. As you increase the clock speed the signal has to rise and fall faster and faster. Eventually the signal is falling before it has time to rise high enough to be registered as a 1. SO no matter how cool the CPU is the voltage changes wont be registered.

 

[Crashman]

Chips produce more errors as heat increases, and are more likely to lock up, therefore having your chip cooler allows you to get that last bit out of it.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Decker87]

I don't completely understand. Are you saying this?:

"As the bus speed increases, te chip is no longer able to produce pulses fast enough to make a clear signal."

 

[jammydodger]

Basically yes. There was a very good articale on this that I read but I cant remember where it was now. I will try and find it for you.