Prime suddenly stops working around 4 mins into the test

E5300 (RO) at 3.65ghz, stock voltage or auto voltage.
GA-G31M-ES2C

when i run prime, 4 minutes into the test, it suddenly stops. just like in the pic above. why?

also, how long should i run prime to be able to know if my OC is already stable?

i have version 25.8, build 4.

hmm, i dont think so. its just around 48-50 when it stops.

^ orange, i have never had prime crash when its not stable.

I either get a bsod or an error in prime. ANd the 5 min it was running he never got an error.

Just because you haven't had it happen, does not mean it can't. A bsod is really just a major error that windows can't recover from. This looks like an error that windows can recover from. Vista shuts down the program. It's more than just a rounding error in prime95. My guess is that if he was using xp, and not vista, then windows would crash from the error, as it doesn't try to recover like vista does.

I guess the quickest way to end the argument and prove or disprove that the overclock is at fault would be to go back to stock clocks and try running it. Seems like troubleshooting 101 to me.

What I meant was that the processor was too hot for the clock speed that you are running it at. Your maximum overclock is temperature and voltage dependent, so when the processor reaches a certain temperature it will fail. Upping the voltage a bit may help, but it will make the processor get hotter so won’t improve matters much. Better cooling is the way to go or reduce the clock speed.
I of course assumed that you had it working correctly at stock speeds.

ok ill try running prime on stock speeds. im using an ocz vanquisher cpu cooler btw.