Summer months = lower OC?

[destrekor]

I used to run a 4.8GHz OC on my i7 2600K (Noctua NH-D14 cooler), with a vCore around 1.38V iirc.
(also, recently updated mobo BIOS, and it requires a slightly lower offset voltage to reach the same vCore. strange)

Anyhow, I don't recall if I tested this prior to flashing the new BIOS, but I reentered all my settings correctly, and first tried to figure out the right offset to get the same vCore.

Testing (using CoreTemp to monitor temps, LinX with medium-ish problem sizes to stress CPU (16000-20000) shows temps reaching into low-to-mid 90ºC range! I DEFINITELY never saw that in the fall (when I built this machine and initially OC'd it).

Right now OC is at 4.6GHz @ 1.35-36 vCore, and I'm still hitting those temps.
Even with A/C, the PC is in a second-story bedroom and this room never really gets amazingly cold. With A/C thermostat is typically set for around 75ºF, in the winter heating is usually around 66ºF. Inefficient/drafty windows and whatnot probably means ambient temps in this room have a wider difference than those figures.

But, I'm thinking I'm basically going to be forced to drop the OC (mainly the voltage and get max OC from say 1.30V ?) just to keep the CPU temps at a reasonable level during extensive usage. It clocks based on usage, so it's not at those temps 24/7 (that, and I use hibernate when away for extended periods of time, like work and sleep), and I don't stress the CPU often (maybe a few hours here and there for games), but I imagine I am correct in assuming I definitely want to keep the temps a fair bit lower than I am seeing during stress tests?

So bummed about this.


For reference: CPU at idle is showing 40ºC - I cannot recall, but I do think I saw mid 30s in the fall (I didn't pay attention to clocks/temps in the winter - I figured: good in the fall - gotta be fine in the winter still).

I have been having a problem with BF3 freezing, but I don't think this is the cause - I don't think I was showing above a true 85ºC reading (75 in Asus's AI Suite, which I use to record temps during gameplay when I want that) - and generally, even games like BF3 don't stress nearly as hard as LinX. Especially since BF3 tends to crash (since last update/DLC) in the first few minutes.

Anyhow - have I figured this out correctly? Basically, I must downclock/lower vCore a bit?

 

[JS17]

Kind of a stupid question, but is your heatsink filled with dust?

I don't have a huge overclock, 2600K @4.4/1.25V on an old Thermalright Ultra-120 with a low speed fan, and my temps definitely increase in the summer, but not much more than what my ambient room temp changes, which is around 6C.

 

[rickon66]

Ambient room temp will have an effect on the ability of your cooler to remove heat from your processor and the ability of all of your cooling gear to remove heat from your equipment. Basic physics dictate that. Your car is more likely to overheat when it is 95 degrees than when it is 35 degrees.

 

[destrekor]

Got a thread running over at overclock on this subject, got some more suggestions.

Yeah, there was a fair bit of dust in the heatsink.
Also, the computer desk-hole / cubby hole (or whatever you'd like to call it) solution probably wasn't working out well. Moved the tower onto my desk behind the monitors. Not as elegant, but combined with giving a good air duster + vacuum job to the innards of the system - temps are back to where they should be.

The spot I had the tower in was roomy for a cabinet-style space considering how large the tower is... and perhaps the dust issue was the main thing screwing up the temps.
Considering I didn't want to do a thorough test-style approach, I won't really know one way or the other... likely both airflow in the more open spot and the dust issue itself.

 

[mac_attack]

Summer=cranking ac for overclock, winter=opening windows for overclock.

 

[destrekor]

Summer=cranking ac for overclock, winter=opening windows for overclock.

what kind of heating temps are you using in the winter?
If you have to open windows in the winter, you must be cranking a massive amount of heat from your furnace (or other source of heat).

 

[Topweasel]

what kind of heating temps are you using in the winter?
If you have to open windows in the winter, you must be cranking a massive amount of heat from your furnace (or other source of heat).

Don't know about him but while a lot of people like to keep at a given temp (to my bosses dismay even make a big deal about a 1 degree difference), there are people like myself that tend to be comfortable at different temperatures during different seasons. I tend to like the AC to be about 65 during the summer and the heat at 75-77 during the winter.

But it's probably what most power users run into. Thier office is an enclosed space (a bedroom or similar size room meant to be an office) with a single vent and not a room that the thermostat is located. Meaning even at 50 degrees in the house during the winter, it could be an 80-90 degree room depending on the electronics a person is running.

 

[pauldun170]

Summer months - Connect side panel fan. Call it a day