Does more volts decrease CPU lifespan

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Brighttail

Brighttail

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Oct 24, 2014
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Hey all,

So this seems to be a big debate. I have heard that adding too many volts, regardless of how cool you keep your CPU can harm your CPU's lifespan.

Others have suggested that you can add as many volts as you want to a CPU, so long as you keep the heat under control and lose no CPU lifespan, because chips can handle whatever volts they are given but it is the heat the is the killer.

I have a 4790k that I have managed to get to a stable 4.9 at about 1.40v. My temps with Prime 95 using Real Temp max out 79C after 4 hours. I would love to go watercooling to see if i can inch up to 5.0 some day, but I would have to add more volts, hence this question:

Does increasing the volts past a certain point on a CPU shorten the lifespan or harm the CPU so long as your temperatures are kept (lets say under 80C) under full load?

So what is the consensus from the CPU experts out there?
 
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sportsfanboy
i have added voltage for overclocking for many generations of cpu's. Never have I killed a chip, or even slowed it down.

The general rule is to keep the voltage below max specs and the chip will last longer than you want or need it to, provided you keep the chip cool.

Say your stock voltage at load is 1.17 for example. Bumping the voltage to 1.25 or even 1.3, is not going to hurt the chip as long as it's kept cool.
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iron8orn

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May 31, 2014
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I think it has to do with the quality of silicone. Like the FX 8350 has a max safe voltage of 1.45v but the FX 9590 is at 1.5v for 5ghz. I think this is why the 9590 can't really be priced competitively.
Not sure what Intel recommends as a max safe voltage but I would follow it if you can find it.
 
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Brighttail

Brighttail

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This was something I have heard around as well, but I have been told it is an urban legend of sorts. People have stated that voltage can hurt it but how much is in question. I have heard that by the time voltage would make a difference, you would have too much heat to make it an issue anyway. At the same time people who cool with Liquid Nitrogen pump those volts way up albeit not for 24/7 periods of time. I'm very interested to hear from more experts :)

 
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rowdymoody

rowdymoody

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Yeah, kind of brings me back to bezzell's response. CPU's are made to last a long time. I believe that as along as your temps are good, the processor should last long enough to become obsolete and end up getting replaced on that basis before it would die from the extra voltage. So it is kind of irrelevant, but lets assume that you had two of the same processor. one at stock clocks, and one overclocked with extra voltage. Lets also say hypothetically that both were running at 100% load 24/7 and both ran at the exact same temperature. I would be willing to bet that the overclocked one would die first. Maybe the overclocked CPU would run for 8 years while the stock ran for 12? Kind of a big difference in life span, but you would have probably upgraded to a new processor after running it for 5-6 years anyways.
 
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NightAntilli

NightAntilli

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Jun 12, 2014
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Yes. It shortens the lifespan. And you'll start noticing when the same overclock is no longer stable. When with the same overclock speed and voltage, you start getting errors, it's a sign of degradation. However, if you keep within normal limits, this should not be noticed before you replace the CPU.
 
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Hcollett

Hcollett

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Any time you adding more voltage than stock you run the risk of a shorter lifespan. These chips come manufactured for longevity, you're decreasing its life span. However, by the time it fails that CPU could probably be had for 150$ or less. Or you can upgrade.
 
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sportsfanboy

sportsfanboy

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i have added voltage for overclocking for many generations of cpu's. Never have I killed a chip, or even slowed it down.

The general rule is to keep the voltage below max specs and the chip will last longer than you want or need it to, provided you keep the chip cool.

Say your stock voltage at load is 1.17 for example. Bumping the voltage to 1.25 or even 1.3, is not going to hurt the chip as long as it's kept cool.
 
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