Stupid Question

[Matt2]

I bumped my Venice to 2.7GHZ (300x9) 1.54v from 2.6GHZ 1.47v

Finally got the temps down to about 50*C load, CPU is game stable for 3 hours playing BF2, but fails Prime95 after 7 1/2 hours.

Temps are low, voltage is in acceptable range, but is this gonna damage my CPU in the long run running not stable through Prime?

Upping the voltage causes the temp to jump to 55*C so that's pretty unacceptable to me, I don't want the temp over 50*C.

 

[superfly27]

Why unacceptable? I thought 60'C was the highest acceptable temperature? (although CPUs can function at temperatures higher than that)

 

[Fresh Daemon]

Having a CPU that will fail Prime in and of itself won't cause long-term damage. Extra volts and high temperatures will accelerate the chip's aging, though.

 

[goofivee]

Originally posted by: Fresh Daemon
Having a CPU that will fail Prime in and of itself won't cause long-term damage. Extra volts and high temperatures will accelerate the chip's aging, though.

exactly, the only thing i could have a bad effect on your chip is high temps for long periods of time. just curious what do you use for cooling? i have an AMD 64 3700+ that is stock at 2.2ghz with the stock heatsink and fan w/ no artic silver 5 and 2 regular case fans and i was able to overclock it to 2.75ghz only had to boost the V .050, when idle it is 34c and when load 43c.

 

[Furen]

Originally posted by: Matt2
I bumped my Venice to 2.7GHZ (300x9) 1.54v from 2.6GHZ 1.47v

Finally got the temps down to about 50*C load, CPU is game stable for 3 hours playing BF2, but fails Prime95 after 7 1/2 hours.

Temps are low, voltage is in acceptable range, but is this gonna damage my CPU in the long run running not stable through Prime?

Upping the voltage causes the temp to jump to 55*C so that's pretty unacceptable to me, I don't want the temp over 50*C.

First off, just running a current through your CPU will damage your CPU eventually.

About your question... well, it depends on what you do to correct the problem. If you feed the CPU more voltage to fix the problem, then your cure will be worse than your problem. If you, however, back down a bit on the frequency to solve this, then your CPU will be "safer". I would hesitate to keep a CPU running at a clock-speed that is not completely stable because it could lead to weird crashes, instability, etc, when you're counting on your PC to just work.

 

[Matt2]

My whole thought was running the CPU at a speed and voltage where some transistors were unable to operate wasnt good for the CPU. This is false?

50*C is my personal limit for my CPU temp, I dont want it to go past that temp no matter what temp hte CPU is rated at.

 

[Furen]

That is correct. Your cpu is rated for a certain voltage and current. This rating is a compromise between performance and life. If you increase the frequency, you increase the current pull, which increases the heat and "wear and tear" of the gate oxide. Voltage is increased to give you better signal strength, but also increases heat. Heat, in turn, leads to higher electrical resistance which, in turn, leads to more heat. Your CPU not being stable means that you are pushing your CPU's ability to distinguish between dynamic and static current through certain transistors (hell, a single transistor could be all that's wrong). This, in turn, implies that the transistor(s) is running too close to its maximum spec (kind of like saying that it's running at 100% load all the time) so it will break down more easily. Increasing the voltage MIGHT lower the static current on the transistor even if the total power consumption goes up a bit.

EDIT: Well, there could be other things wrong with the cpu besides not being able to identify static/dynamic currents, which is why sometimes voltage just doesnt help at all.

 

[Matt2]

Ok, I know that upping the voltage and frequency in itself lowers the life span of a CPU

BUT

My particular question is will running it at a speed that is not P95 stable, but game and desktop stable damage the CPU more than if it was P95 stable?

 

[Furen]

And the answer to your question is in the middle of all my mindless babbling. Increasing your voltage may lower your static current. If so then that transistor will live a little longer because of it as long as the heat doesnt kill it. Basically it probably doesnt make much of a difference.

 

[Matt2]

Thank you.

I decided to keep it at 2.7GHZ 1.54v even though it is not P95 stable. I just got done with a couple of hours of BF2 and no probs what so ever. That's about 5 total hours at 2.7GHZ no problem. BF2 temp hovers around 41*C.

I'll probably back it down once I find a game or app that crashes or get a random reboot etc..