voltage for e4600

[TonyLee]

Hello,

The VID voltage range for the e4600 chip is 1.162-1.312. The vid of my particular chip is 1.2875. I currently have the cpu at 1.3 in bios (1.280) idle in cpu-z. The next bump puts it at 1.316 bios which is 1.296 idle, and 1.280 load in cpu-z. Should I go by the cpu-z reporting of volts or the bios? Is the 1.296 idle in cpu-z (which is slightly higher than the volt range in the bios which is 1.316) okay or not to use every day? If I want to get 3.1+GHz I will have to use that. That will be the highest I will go if even going that high.

Thanks

edit to add that I am not using the stock cooler. Currently I am at 256 x 12 to get 3.072GHz and it ran over 13 hours in Orthos with no problems. If I have to live with this, then that will be okay.

 

[Serj]

the components hooked into your motherboard and the efficiency of your PSU and the board itself will determine ultimately the voltage getting to the CPU. cpu-z is likely to be more accurate than the board's setting in the BIOS, however the only way to be sure is to use a multimeter. My suggestion is if you're worried about voltage, back it down until you lose stability, then do the smallest bump you can back into the stable range. Voltage can kill a chip, drive your thermals up, and potentially destabalize other system components, like the sound or videocard.

 

[TonyLee]

I decided to just go back to 3GHz which I can do fine at stock volts. I recently bought an Antec Neo 650 Watt power supply, but yesterday I must have pulled the surge protector plug slightly from the wall with my foot which turned everything off. After pushing it back in, The monitor and printer came back on, but the computer would not after trying to get it to several times. All I could get from the computer was a clicking sound from the power supply, so I just put the Antec 500 back in and am in business again. I suppose the new one just died, but that is strange to me why it did.

 

[Mondoman]

TL - since Intel is reporting the VID value, which is NOT a measured voltage, but rather a setting that the MB power circuitry reads, you go by the VID value which you set (in the BIOS), NOT the measured final voltage.

 

[red hook]

tonyLee:

I also have an e4600 which I am running at 3.2 24/7 on a Gig. DS3P rev. 2.0 board. voltage in bios is set at 1.35, which is 1.312 in CPU-Z.

I was able to be stable at 3.0 using stock voltage (auto setting in Bios).

I was able to get to 3.4 (and perhaps beyond) but voltage was up to 1.440 (CPU-Z), and 3.3 at 1.376. Heat was still OK, but at 3.4 getting beyond warm. Lower voltages at 3.3 and 3.4 may be possible, but I found the sweet spot for my purposes to be at 3.2, with DDR2 800 @ 800, 4-4-4-12 timings.

Hope this may be useful to you for guideline/compariosn purposes.

 

[TonyLee]

Thanks for the response. (red hook)

If you are using CoreTemp, what VID does it show that your chip has?

Thanks

 

[red hook]

Same as you, 1.2875.

 

[Mondoman]

Just a note that "auto" voltage setting is not always "stock"; the Gigabyte P35 boards in particular seem to boost CPU voltage under "auto," using an unknown algorithm, when the FSB speed is boosted above stock.

 

[Evilonigiri]

And usually "auto" will set the voltages too high.