My E8400 needs really high voltage for overclocking

[Dickstar]

Hi guys. I have an E8400 which I'm trying to overclock. My full specs:

Tagan 800w modular PSU
MSI P7N motherboard
Intel e8400
OCZ Reaper HPC ddr2-800 at 4-4-4-12
MSI 8800GTS OC (G92) in SLI

I have the MSI P7N motherboard with the i750 nforce chip. People have gotten their processors past 4,5 ghz with this board so I should be good.

I'm trying to get it to 3,6. So, I upped my FSB to 1600mhz and started to play around with voltages. The multiplier is locked at 9. My system got stable in Windows at 1.344v on the cpu (CPU-Z). My memory voltage is 2.1 and the FSB voltage is 1.3. I left my memory at 800mhz. My system stayed stable for an hour with the Everest stress test. The temps were around 50-60 under load, so that's good.

When I played Crysis for half an hour, my computer locked up. Should I raise the voltage even more? I think I'm pretty high already for this overclock. I don't like being on the edge of safety when it comes to voltages. Plus I want this computer to last for a couple of years... say at least five.

Are there things I missed? Or should I just up the voltage even more?

 

[randomizer]

Are you sure your OC is causing the lockup with Crysis? Try running the game at stock and see if you can reproduce the problem, it could be drivers messing with you.

 

[Dickstar]

Yea, I'm pretty sure. I already played through the game and did a couple of sessions on stock speeds that lasted like 5 hours without any problems. The locking up goes in exactly the same way as at the start when my voltages were way too low.

My computer just freezes and I hear a loud high pitched tone.

I was just wondering, if this happens, can it still damage the PC? I want to run an Everest stress test that lasts a whole day but I'm not at home all day. Like if it locks up and is just frozen for lets say, 4 hours, is that bad for the PC?

 

[randomizer]

Instability won't do any damage, more voltage with stability does more damage actually.

 

[Dickstar]

On default settings it uses 1.13v on the vcore.

As long as I stay below 1.36, I can't do any damage right?

 

[randomizer]

Technically you damage the chip just by using it It's just really slow, so you'll find the chip is still working in 10 years or so. Intel has the voltage range going up to about 1.36V, so it should run without lifespan problems up to that point.

 

[Dickstar]

Haha yea, ok i got you. I still find the voltage very high if I look around what most people need. Hell, some get the e8400 to 3.6 on stock!

 

[randomizer]

Every chip is different, you can't go by what others get.

 

[iluvgillgill]

you will need to increase NB and FSB voltage. lots of vcore dont do any good when its no the problem running at such speed.

 

[closed_deal]

Agree with randomizer. My E8400 is a bit of a lemon aswell, requiring well in excess of 1.45vcore to even boot at 4.4Ghz+. Even at 4.0Ghz she needs 1.4v (BIOS) to remain 8hr small FFT stable... Every chip is different, with the mobo making a minor difference on what voltages you require to get the desired stability.

Read the stickies over again and overclock one component at a time to see how much leeway each has. This will point you in the right direction and give you a better understanding, than just plain asking for the problem to be sorted . You may find your RAM timings are to tight for the frequency or just the BIOS vcore has a significant vdroop report in CPUZ under load...

 

[Dickstar]

The ram timings and frequency are unchanged. I used those settings for months without problems. Does changing the cpu FSB have effect on RAM as well? I can change ram and cpu speeds seperately with my board.

I did raise the FSB and NB voltage a little bit. Without that, the system wouldn't run stable.

 

[closed_deal]

Changing the FSB has a direct impact on the frequency of your RAM... For example if your FSB to RAM ratio is at 1:1 a FSB of 400 will mean your RAM is running at 800Mhz. Again FSB at 436 RAM at 872Mhz.

Although after re-reading your original post your FSB will be at 400 so 800Mhz RAM. Your RAM should be fine with this at stock voltage.

As a side note, have you stress test with 'small FFT's' with either Orthos or Prime95, it could be a simple matter of overheat problem.. What cooler do you have mounted on it? Are you using RealTemp 2.70 with the Tj set to 100 not 95?

*Edit* another thought, playing crysis will stress your GPU's aswell as your CPU, this will increase the ambient temperature inside your case making your CPU Cooler less efficient whilst gaming. try running the crysis gfx benchmark in a loop and stressing your CPU with small FFt's just to make sure it's 100% utilized then take your temp readings.

 

[yetyhunter]

I have mine at 3.6 GHZ with only 1.18750 vcore in bios and 1.15 in cpu-z.I also have a 750i chipsetthe asus p5n-d .NB = 1.46 SB= auto HT=1.48
Ram linked 1:1. I have 4gb 800 mhz ram .ram voltage = 1.8 default

 

[Dickstar]

I tested with Everest for a couple of hours, and I've been playing Crysis for 3 hours or so, and it ran stable. Really nice.

I now have my voltage on 1.36v. My NB and FSB voltage is also a wee bit higher then standard. It all runs really smooth now though. Core temps are around 57c stressed, and CPU temp is around 30c.

Although I'm really satisfied now, I still think the voltages are a little high.