Safe Voltage for E6600

[HPCE_Larry]

I recently OC'd my e6600 to 3.0ghz (334 x 9) with voltage set to AUTO. The mobo put the voltage up to 1.4 volts. Will that cause long term damage to the chip? Its .0475volts over the official Intel spec.

 

[blackwidow_rsa]

you could probably set the voltage to 1.3.
it may shorten the life a bit, but will still last a long while

 

[Lupiron]

You should prolly check to see what the starting voltage is for your specific processor first, that way we can determine just what you should need for such a minor over clock.

Once you know that, the rest is easy. The range will be from 1.2000 to 1.3250. All you have to do is download and run either Core Temp, or Real Temp, and list what either says your VID is. (In real temp, its the Max VID, as there are two listed.)

Once you look at that, list it here, and then you can test your VDrop and droop to see how much of that voltage is wasted traversing from Bios to windows.

Use the program CPUz, and enter the bios and manually set a Core Voltage, one that you know. (If you know what it is in the Bios already, onward...) Once you know, open CPUz and let windows have a minute to boot, then look to see what the current Core Voltage is with CPUz.

That reflects Vdrop, the initial drop in core voltage from Bios to windows idle.

Now list that, and then run Prime 95's small ffts torture test on all cores, and after a minute, list what the lowest you see CPUz say your Core Voltage dips to!

Mention your temps for the two cores as well, while prime is running.

Anyways, that second effect is VDroop, the extra droop in voltage when your processor is under full strain!

Good Luck!

--Lupi

 

[CompuTronix]

HPCE_Larry,

The E6600 was released in B2 stepping only, and if memory serves me correctly, the retail box shows either 1.3525 or 1.3625, which corresponds to 12 Watt or 24 Watt Idle power dissipation. Regardless, the voltage shown on the retail box was the same specification shown as "Core Voltage" in the Processor Spec Finder - http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SL9ZL

Last year Intel changed the specification to "VID Voltage Range", and as you can see below, they also increased the maximum voltage to 1.5 for the E6600.

If you do the math, this is approximately 10% over the value on the retail box, which again confirms what overclocking experts determined after the Core 2 processors were released 2 years ago in the summer of `06; maximum safe Vcore is 1.5 for 65 nanometer variants. If you don't exceed 1.5 Vcore Load as shown in CPU-Z during Prime95 Small FFT's, then your processor's longevity won't be compromised.

Concerning temperatures, many users don't realize that the Thermal Specification shown above in the Processor Spec Finder refers to CPU temperature (Tcase), not Core temperatures (Tjunction). The following is from my Core 2 Quad and Duo Temperature Guide: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/221745-29-core-quad-temperature-guide

Section 6: Scale

Scale 5: Duo
E6x00: Tcase Max 61c, Stepping L2, TDP 65W, Idle 12W
E4x00: Tcase Max 61c, Stepping L2, TDP 65W, Idle 12W
E21x0: Tcase Max 61c, Stepping L2, TDP 65W, Idle 8W
X6800: Tcase Max 60c, Stepping B2, TDP 75W, Idle 24W
E6x00: Tcase Max 60c, Stepping B2, TDP 65W, Idle 24W (Spec# SL9S)
E6x00: Tcase Max 60c, Stepping B2, TDP 65W, Idle 12W (Spec# SL9Z)
E6x20: Tcase Max 60c, Stepping B2, TDP 65W, Idle 12W

-Tcase/Tjunction-
--60--/--65--65-- Hot
--55--/--60--60-- Warm
--50--/--55--55-- Safe
--25--/--30--30-- Cool

If you don't exceed maximum CPU temperature (Tcase Max) 60c, which corresponds to Core temperature 65c (Tjunction) during Prime95 Small FFT's, then your processor's longevity won't be compromised. If you'd like to learn more about how these temperatures relate to one another, then check out my Temp Guide.

Comp