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Is my CPU dying?? (resurrecting an old thread)

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  • Overclocking
  • Systems
Last response: in Systems
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October 1, 2014 6:53:19 AM

Okay, I am resurrecting this thread as a new one because I marked my old one as solved, and bumped it but I honestly think people tend to skip over solved ones way more often.

Here is my original post from that thread (written earlier in the summer):

Quote:
Okay, this is the absolute strangest thing I have ever witnessed.

Just over a few weeks ago, I had to turn down my 4.2 GHz overclock to 4.0 GHz and lower the voltage to about 1.340v to get it stable.

Then, I had a stable system. Played CS:GO like a champ. Minecraft, L4D2, Borderlands, you name it, I could run it without any problems.

Then I restart my computer. Several hours later, bam, just crashes and restarts. Symptoms of crash are the same as when I notice the voltage is too low.

This time I added 0.020v to it. Typically you do 0.005v but I'm just too afraid that it will just keep doing this until it gets to a voltage that is "too high" and my temps are too high.


Is this normal? Is this how overclocking is supposed to work? Please help!


I got unsure about the results of my overvolting and was worried that my CPU was starting to die. The overclock was unstable and so I decided to reset the CMOS and test for stability under stock settings and whatever voltage CMOS reset set it to (I believe it was 1.2v).

It failed.

Namely, it doesn't seem to be provided enough voltage. Prime95 temps seem to be at 75c which I think is amazing for a Haswell chip but unfortunately it's not provided enough voltage.

Since I'm not at home anymore (in my dorm with my laptop), I cannot tell you what the voltage is set at on bios but AI Suite says it is at 1.2v. The chip is 4670k so I have no idea if that's normal or not for stock frequency.

Basically, I have a big plan to upgrade to Broadwell in the coming months and upgrade my RAM as well. I'm going to give this CPU, RAM sticks, my unused Sniper M5 motherboard, and other stuff to my brother, so in anticipation of that, I would really like someone to further educate me as to why my CPU is not stable after resetting CMOS and stuff. So, would anyone be able to provide some assistance with this one? Thanks!


AN IMPORTANT NOTE: I am at school now; my desktop (the machine this post is referring to) is actually at home, and I cannot test it at the location directly, so I am testing it remotely. The 1.2v was not from BIOS but from AI Suite 3, and I do not know if it is totally accurate. Furthermore, my guess about my system being unstable is due to my knowing previously how my computer reacted under low voltage (reset / windows + teamviewer opened up properly upon reset) versus how my computer reacted under too high voltage (BSOD, no reset, happens after long periods of time.) Secondly, I tested for stability by using Prime95 whilst remoted into Teamviewer, checked to see if the connection dropped, reconnected if it did drop, and noted whether or not any applications were even running / user was logged in still (also checking to see if Windows Update ran in case it was from that instead.)

More about : cpu dying resurrecting thread

a b K Overclocking
October 1, 2014 8:12:35 AM

Maybe your power supply is dying? What PSU are you using? Are you trying to overclock anything else besides your CPU? If you are overclocking your ram, it could cause these issues as well.....
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October 2, 2014 11:07:43 AM

Sorry for the late response.

Here are my specs:

ASUS Maximus VI HERO
XFX Pro 1000W LTD Black Edition Power Supply
i5 4670k haswell CPU (OC to 4.2 GHz and then 4.0 GHz to try to improve stability, down to stock since this weekend)
4x4GB Ripjaws X DDR3-1600 memory (no OC)
Samsung SSD 840 Pro Series (250GB, with Windows 8.1 installed on this SSD)
Samsung SSD 840 EVO (750GB)
1TB HDD from my old build
GTX 780 (non-reference card, second best possible OC on market I believe)
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October 3, 2014 5:57:41 AM

I don't think it is my PSU! I bought last year to replace one that was inadequate for my GA-G1 Sniper M5 motherboard and that was when I bought my Asus Maximus VI Hero and that power supply, to support all the specs above. I'm sure it is more than enough wattage...

Not only that, but my 4.2 GHz overclock had been stable for many months until I began to have issues. This leads me to believe it is the CPU.

For Haswell chips, please correct me if I'm wrong, but the VRM is located on the chip and not the motherboard? Someone suggested the VRM "may have kicked the bucket."
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October 3, 2014 7:28:50 AM

Dazinger, are the numbers you are stating you were running the CPU voltage at correct. 1.34v? and you then put another 0.020V on taking it to 1.36v?

Most people, myself included, dont recommend going over 1.3V. What CPU cooler were you using, I cant see that mentioned anywhere.

It could be you have indeed damaged your CPU (where the voltage regulators are) with a slightly heavy handed overclock.
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October 3, 2014 2:09:54 PM

I am using a Hyper 212 EVO. It's one hell of an air cooler, I'll give you that - on stock settings I noticed it running 75c max *with* prime95 running.
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October 3, 2014 5:02:29 PM

Do you think that after resetting the CMOS, my computer did not set the voltage high enough? Maybe it was a miscalculation or something.
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October 4, 2014 9:22:57 AM

It could be, but again, running an OC with 1.34V and then 1.36V is high and could have degraded the CPU over time. How long were you running with that kind of voltage?

I doubt a CMOS clear will do much for it, but its worth a try, that and a bios reset.
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October 4, 2014 9:54:19 AM

Umm, well I don't think when I had it stable at 3.4 GHz it was that high. I think it was probably around closer to 1.3V. However, I ran my system at the higher voltages once the 1.3V became unstable, and each time I added volts to it my system would stay stable for a month or a few weeks. So I ran at 1.3 for 6 months then went higher and higher in monthly intervals until I had to lower it to 4.2 then try again. By that time I would say it was becoming pretty obvious that my system was beginning to lose its strength.

Already did the clear CMOS. It was at stock at 1.2v. Personally I think there is no way for me to change the voltage to make it stable again, for clearly it has run the end of its life. But, I mean 1.3v didn't seem superbly higher than 1.2v and it ran swell for 6 months straight. My PSU being a 1000w watt monster should have had a fine job at keeping it steady, so I don't know what caused it to croak. Was it really because of the higher voltage?

My plan is to just get rid of that chip and buy a Broadwell. By the time it is out, there will be no need to overclock as it will be ahead of the gaming industry.

EDIT: And yeah, I might have been a little over-greedy with my first overclocked CPU. How much would you guess the wattage increase to 1.4v from 1.3v was? Considering my listed specs, could you perhaps calculate how many watts that should have taken? Would it have easily been over 1000w?
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October 4, 2014 10:10:10 AM

Oh, and to sort of elaborate on the kind of system instability I had with my system, here is how I remembered it being:

So, at the very beginning when I got my computer, at too low voltage I would have gotten a BSOD saying IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (paraphrasing). It never was 'too high', as I only overclocked it until I stopped getting that IRQL error. The BSOD would typically happen before I could even get to the start screen. As I got closer to the desired voltage for stable overclock, it would then BSOD when running prime95 for a minute or so, until it never BSOD'ed.

The symptoms changed as it became unstable. At low voltage, it would just reset. At high voltage, it would run until it BSOD'ed pretty much (it would never BSOD though under idling, only under a heavy load.)

What do you think that could mean?

And just to paste again a question from above... considering my listed specs, could you perhaps calculate how many watts that should have taken? Would it have easily been over 1000w from a voltage increase to 1.4v from 1.3v, assuming for the 3670k the stock voltage is around 1.2v?

EDIT: Actually, really recently I have also noticed it starting to freeze as well. It had only been like once though. That one really stumped me. And that was also at 1.4v just literally before I made the decision to clear CMOS and go back to stock voltage / frequency.
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Best solution

October 4, 2014 1:29:22 PM

Your powersupply is fine, that isnt the issue. The issue is the CPU voltage you have been applying to ensure stability.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-1722630/intel-go...

This is a guide to overclocking haswell, and clearly states 1.3 as max, and even that isnt desirable. A CPU degrades over time, cant sustain the same OC etc etc. The degradation is accelerated by pushing a higher Vcore. Going beyond 1.3v seems to have an exponential increase.

Your OC became unstable as you pushed CPU degradation with the higher voltage, and then to gain the OC again you pushed the voltage up, making the degradation even worse.

The temps werent a problem, which means you had a great cooler (the 212 is the cooler I would choose if I didnt go AIO)

I think your rig is fine apart from a slightly tortured CPU. Can you get it stable at stock speeds? My guess is you wont see a difference in gaming, but if you render this will impact performance.

Be gentle with you CPU, bring it back to 1.2v and dont OC, if that isnt stable then I think you might need a new CPU.
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