Q9450 Quad core 2.66Ghz 45Nm
Zalman 9700NT CPU Cooler
4GB Crucial Pc6400 Ballistix
Gigabyte GA EX38 DS5
It's 2am in the morning and I have to be up for work in about 4 hours, I'm gonna be grumpy in the morning.
I've been overclocking the last few days and I think I've been looking at the wrong temperture, I've just read the temperture guide and want to confirm what I think I have read.
My CPU has a Thermal Specification of 71.4 degrees C, I'm I right in saying that this is the max temperture for my CPU before throttling kicks in.
In Speed fan I have 4 core readings and one which I have worked out as Tcase (the temperature graph follows the same pattern as core temp but lower so I think this is Tcase). Now I have been looking at the core temperature readings which at a mild overclock of 3Ghz (375x8) from a standard clock of 2.66 were at about 79c, I'm thinking that that is way over the thermal spec from intel so I've lowered my voltages right down but core temps drop to mid 60's.
Should I be doing the following
When monitoring temps when overclocking should I be looking at Tcase temp and keep it below 71c, do I need to monitor core temps at all, in Core Temp 0.98.1 it states a TJ Max of 105c does this mean that my core temps are allowed to go to 105 degrees c !!!.
If I'm right this will explain why when I overclock I'm only getting about 3Ghz due to the fact I've lowered the CPU voltage sp much because of high temps, so basically I should set my CPU voltage to 1.3625 which is max voltage allowed, over clock as high as I can then lower CPU core as far as I can to keep system stable. It will also give me piece of mind as I thought perhaps my cooler was not fitted correctly, but compared to the size of the intel cooler heat should not be a problem at all.
The gigabyte Easy tune 5 shows a CPU temp of roughly the same as what I have worked out to be the Tcase.
If I get a good overclock with Tcase in 60's should I be happy with that ??
So to sum up, when overclocking should I totally ignore Core temps and only look at Tcase (the same temp as reported in Easy Tune and BIOS)
Thanks guys, I hope this makes sense and there will be a few asurances when I get up for work in a few hours, I'm so tied 'm about to fall off my stall but if I'm right then it'll be worth it.
But if Tcase is under 71c and Core temps are well under 105c (TJ max) won't that be OK ?
For example:-
If I overclock my CPU to 3.4 Ghz with a CPU voltage of 1.3600 volts (just under max allowed voltage) and my Tcase is say 65 degrees c and my highest core is 80 degress c is this acceptable ??
Read the article, its very imformative, and has specific info to the quad. FYI I would be totally freaked to see my cpu reading 80c, and promptly turn off my computer, pray to the computer gods, underclock, and never ever try that again. But hey thats me
Currently I'm set at 375x8=3Ghz, I have set CIA2 in BIOS to "Sports" so at full load it gives me 425x8=3.392Ghz. I think I will leave it set like this so when using PC causuly it will give me 3Ghz and the CPU fan (Zalman 9700NT) will stay fairly quiet, when I need the power under full load it goes to 3.392Ghz then it gets a little nosiey.
I've had Prime 95 running for 4 hours with the computer room door shut to heat room up and the temps I'm getting are as follows.
Do these readings look OK, basically I'm looking for a good balance between power and noise.
Do you think it will be ok to activate speed step as well as CIA2, where speed step will lower multiplier to save power (and reduce heat and noise) and CIA2 will increase FSB under load to increase power?
