How important PSU when overclocking...

[r3zon8]

Im not going to start a war by asking WHICH power supply to buy when overclocking, instead my question is how IMPORTANT is the power supply when overclocking?

What i noticed while overclocking my e6700 machine.
-e6700
-asus p5w-dh
-corsiar xms2 4-4-4-12
-coolit eliminator tec cooler
-omega 550w psu

I got up to 3.6 at 1.400 vcore, 1.65 mch, and 2.1 Vmem...

heres my question, if i went into cpuz, i would notice that the vcore was reported at ~1.216 regardless of what i specified in the bios. is this normal??

i was able to post up to 3.8 at 1.525 Vcore, 1.65 mch, 2.2 Vmem, and ran stable into windows running prime,super pi mod...the cpu pulls some impressive numbers.

im really hoping to hit 4ghz on the e6700 as anandtech did in their review.

 

[BoboKatt]

Hey there,
Not sure if you mean that if with a newer better stronger PSU that you might get a higher OC? Well some swear by it but it has been my experience that you would get a higher OC from a different PSU if and only if your current PSU is not supplying enough power or if it's faulty or if has very low ratings on the various rails.

I bought a C2D e6600 and then bought the eVGA 680i SLI mobo. I actually went through 2 of the boards but that's another story. My system has 3 HD's, and an eVGA 8800GTX video card, audio, wireless card, 4 GIG RAM etc... and the original PSU I was using was my old trusty Antec NeoH 550.

With that combo I was able to reach 3300 mhz on the e6600 at roughly 1.48 V (yah yah I know sad some are doing it on stock voltage). I tried everything (2nd mobo etc) and then finally thought it must be the PSU. So I went and bought a brand new OCZ Power 750W SLI certified PSU. I flopped that baby in.... and.... NADA. Not ONE mhz more. My friend recently bought a BFG 1000Watt PSU and he brought that over for fun... again.... NADA not one MHZ more.

At this point I know it's simply my CPU. You are incredibly lucky to get the current OC with the V you are using. Very very desirable.

At the end of the day I am actually considering going back to my 550W Antec NeoH as the big difference with that was that it not only satisfied my computing needs but it was DEAD QUIET. My OCZ is noticeably louder and most higher end more powerful PSU are loud as well... maybe the Corsair 620 W is the only one so far I've found to be near silent. I would buy that one but I am getting tired of stock piling perfectly good PSU's in my basement

 

[Yellowbeard]

As a general rule, the PSU is one of the MOST important components in the system, stock or OCed. When you OC, it becomes critical. Read some reviews at www.jonnyguru.com and check out the way he does testing. The things he tests for are some of the things that can make or break a good OC.

And, CPU-Z and most software I have seen does not report Vcore properly on the current C2Ds. What you set in bios is going to be closer than CPU-Z. Use a meter to verify it if you need to.

 

[biostud]

The PSU should be powerfull enough and run stable voltages. If a 600W PSU is enough for your system a 1000W PSU will not give you a better o/c.

 

[Yellowbeard]

Originally posted by: biostud
The PSU should be powerfull enough and run stable voltages. If a 600W PSU is enough for your system a 1000W PSU will not give you a better o/c.

Unless the 600w unit is running at a very high percentage of its max output. Or, if the 600w unit has "dirty" power, a clean 500w may outperform it. A clean 1000w certainly would. But, you are correct if it is indeed powerful enough and stable as well as clean.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: Yellowbeard
As a general rule, the PSU is one of the MOST important components in the system, stock or OCed. When you OC, it becomes critical. Read some reviews at www.jonnyguru.com and check out the way he does testing. The things he tests for are some of the things that can make or break a good OC.

And, CPU-Z and most software I have seen does not report Vcore properly on the current C2Ds. What you set in bios is going to be closer than CPU-Z. Use a meter to verify it if you need to.

i 2nd this statement! PSU is one of the most overlooked components. And its vital for high overclocks, and uber gfx cards.

 

[yuppiejr]

A quality and properly sized PSU is key, something that will supply adequate peak voltage without a lot of ripple out of the 12v rail(s) is ideal for overclocking and general stability. Watch out for the "watts" rating of a PSU on the box, you need to be looking at the output and configuration of the 12v rails then calculate the impact of rated efficiency at peak output compared to your machine's worst case.

Go check out jonnyguru's site, reading a few reviews really got me looking at PSU's differently.

 

[Squyd]

I second you are very lucky to have the current oc. Anything over 3.5 GHz should be considered the "bang". Beyond that, better/expensive cooling and stability issues are not worth the toil.

You may want to find out how high the Vcore can take you, around 1.475v. If there is no change, 1.40v is very desirable.

 

[gramboh]

That a cpuz bug that it's reporting 1.218v or whatever. Use AsusProbe to tell what it is actually running at.

 

[r3zon8]

Great tips guys, i really appreciate. I just went over to jonnyguru.com and im definitely going to consider upgrading the PSU. I personally like to purchase components at bestbuy, the ONLY reason being that if in case i see that the new psu i buy didnt give me the result i was looking for i can easily return/exchange it with no hassle. they have an Antec TruePower 600W unit there, would this PSU be a good start?

Ill try installing asusprobe and seeing what the it reports as vcore and otehr stats.