PhenomII X3 720BE, High-Voltage Overclocking, not stable for longterm?

[nightsc]

Current spec.
Asus M3A780-EM
AMD Brisbane 5200+ 2.7GHz
Windows XP SP2

I'm playing WoW and since it require at least 3.5~4.5GHz to run pretty smooth under 1680x1050+ with all effects on.
I'm planning to get 720BE then OC it to at least 3.7GHz
but people said the CPU won't last long with this high voltage, at least 1.536V...
They would rather get E8400 thanx to it's low voltage and easy 4GHz, but I'm on AM2+, not 775

any comments or suggestions?

Thank you.

 

[someguy7]

Intel and AMDs cpus operate in different voltage ranges.

WoW does not require 3.5 to 4.5ghz cpu. Where in the heck did you pull those numbers from. There has never even a cpu released at 4ghz.

My suggesting is you do more research becuase you're info is obsurd. If anything you need a new gpu to play at higher resultions. Not cpu.

 

[Dekasav]

Do you know that you'll need 1.536V yet? The number is specific, so it sounds like you have it, but the rest of your message doesn't sound like it. I think the X4's have hit 3.8Ghz under 1.55v, the X3's should do it significantly easier, so I wouldn't say you'll need that much voltage.

 

[keithlm]

Actually WoW runs smooth at 1680x1050 with all effects on if I use a single video card and an old AMD 4800+ at 2.5Ghz. It has absolutely no problems.

Running it with a PHII 940 and tri-fire 4850's gets me 300+ FPS in some places. (Like it matters...)

In big towns you won't see more than 25-50fps no matter WHAT video card or CPU you have.

Now Lord of the Rings Online is a completely different story....

 

[nightsc]

3.5 to 4.5GHz is on E8400 case, I haven't try if 720BE is the same since I don't have it yet.

This is a guide made from GameSpot
http://www.gamespot.com/features/6202200/p-6.html
"Adding additional cores didn't seem to help, but faster clock speeds improved performance."

Here is some reviews about 720 OC
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3512&p=11
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/phenomii_720_810_am3/3.htm

I had also try with better VideoCard, Asus 4850 512mb lent from my friend and I was able to play under 1280x900 with 99% effects on, only shadow off.
It lags sometimes if there's lots and lots mobs, eg. Outdoor 25man Sartharion&Tenebron, but beside that, it's much better.

I know I still need better CPU, just not sure if 720BE is stable with this 1.536 voltage.


Thanx alot

 

[someguy7]

The cpu will make no difference at all higher res. But if you're playing at 1280X900 that is pretty low of res for most gamers.

1920x1200, High Quality
Core2 Extreme QX9770 @ 3.20GHz
28
Core2 Extreme X6800 @ 2.93GHz
28
Core2 Duo E6600 @ 2.40GHz
25

Extra cores dont help. Higher clock speeds past about 3ghz core2 will not help. Parts of games that are very crowded will have lag no matter what.

If you want to turn on more stuff and player at a higher res its all graphic cards. Escpially for a old game like wow.

Do not waste money on cpus to get high frames in super crowed citys. It just wont happen. The brisbane at 2.7 should be fine with a new gpu.


And just stop with the stable at this set voltage figure. One each cpu is different even the same exact model. Two. After a certain point the clock speed makes no difference at all so overclocking it that high is a waste anyways.

 

[nightsc]

I was still getting lag with 4850 under 1280x900, that's why I want to OC my next CPU 720BE

Here is someone using Q6600 4G with GTX280
http://www.worldofwar.net/forums/showthread.php?t=420187
"Even going from 3.6g to 4g gave me an average of 10+fps more."

Forgive me for making example with Intel's CPU, I just can't find any AMD specs from WoW players.

Thank you.

PS. WoW is indeed a 4 years old game, but after 2 expansions, it's system requirement has been increase a lot.
Plus, it's a MMORPG so there's always some encounter with lots of players and mobs.

 

[Shadow703793]

^Are you sure it's not network/internet lagg?

 

[someguy7]

1280 by 900 is a low res for gaming. Thats why the cpu plays a bigger role. Lots of players and that the lag doesnt come from cpu. Your 1st post says 1680x1050 now you say 1280x900.

If you're a low res that puts the load onto the cpu. If not its all gpu after a certain ghz. Your own link from gamespot shows that.

Keith also already summed it up. "In big towns you won't see more than 25-50fps no matter WHAT video card or CPU you have."

 

[nightsc]

@Shadow703793
200% sure it's not

@someguy7
My 1st post said I want to play with 1680x1050+ (1920x1200)
but I can't, so I downgrade to 1280x900.

50fps even in big towns is pretty enough/high.

Alright, I'll try 720BE first.
If it still lags, OC.
If it still lags, 4850.

Thanx again.

 

[someguy7]

You cant play at the res because of the gpu. GPU is what matters at those resolutions. And yes it is internet lag/network lag when your dealing with the big cities.

It will lag no matter what you do. Good luck but in IMO you are just wasting money.

 

[nightsc]

I have to change my 5200+ anyway, it still lag outside of the big towns even with 4850 under 1280x900
as you said, the CPU plays a bigger role in a low resolution, so why shouldn't I change it?

Thank you.

 

[someguy7]

It just doesnt make sense thats why.

You can upgrade your cpu to get slightly better fps in low res gaming. Or you can keep your current cpu and upgrade the gpu and get better fps at a higher res.

The goal here is to take the bottleneck away from the cpu(low res) and toss everything onto a gpu that can chew up and spit out WoW without breaking a sweat at the higher res.


Again look at think link you have with a 1920x1200, High Quality test.


Core2 Extreme QX9770 @ 3.20GHz
28
Core2 Extreme X6800 @ 2.93GHz
28
Core2 Duo E6600 @ 2.40GHz
25
Core2 Duo E6320 @ 1.86GHz
22


A core 2 qx9770 at 3.2ghz gets only 6 more fps than a 1.86ghz core2. Thats over a 1ghz speed increase for 6fps. Again this is why you upgrade your video card.

from 2.4ghz to 2.93 gets you 3fps. Anything higher in ghz results in nothing.


This is complete no brainer. You update the GPU. Just like you do most of the time for a gaming machine. You only need to update the cpu when it bottlenecks the gpu at higher resolutions. Its foolish to upgrade a cpu to play at lower resolutions.


Upgrading your cpu to play wow is nothing but a waste of money. No if ands or buts. If you feel like wasting money on a pointless upgrade then go for it. Along with what kieth shadow and myself have said I cant figure out or way simple way of putting it.

If you have a 4580? You mean 4850 dont you? Why on earth would be play at 1280x900. You shouldnt be running at a low res to stress the cpu. That is just flat out stupid to do that.

 

[nightsc]

lol, yah, I mean 4850, sorry for the typo.
I got it from my friend, he lent me so I can test which one I need most.
but no, I didn't test with high resolution and I can't anymore...damn it...

Let's make an example how I lag in game...
outdoor 25man raid, resolution 1280x900
without 4850, if there's 50 spells and 50 mobs, WoW will freeze for 6 secs
with 4850, it will not lag anymore with 50spells/50mobs, but if there's 100spells/100mobs, it will still lags.

So I should get my own 4850 first, pop up high resolution
if it still lag, then 720BE

is that right?


Thank you

 

[Helloworld_98]

Well your current CPU is going to bottleneck the GPU a bit but I think a little overclock will stop that.

 

[jimmysmitty]

Yes go GPU first then CPu if it still needs anything. Only reason is if the CPU may bottleneck. Or try as the last guy stated and get the 4850 and OC it to get rid of the CPU bottleneck.

And as per your thread title, any CPUs lifetime will be lowered greatly with high voltage OCing. Thats why you look for a CPU that OCs good on the stock voltage and then is able to OC even more within its spec voltage range so you avoid any possible chance of killing your CPU faster. And don't forget to get a good HSF as stock ones do not work well at all for OCing.

 

[EQPlayer]

Reading these replies, I get the impression a lot of you haven't played WoW. The game IS generally CPU limited, even at a good resolution. The graphics are so old that most system slowdowns come from the CPU bogging down, and this is even with a decent processor.

 

[someguy7]

No. What I gather from the WoW players is they actually have no clue about how computer hardware effects gaming.

 

[BadTrip]

^+1

 

[radnor]

Reading these replies, I get the impression a lot of you haven't played WoW. The game IS generally CPU limited, even at a good resolution. The graphics are so old that most system slowdowns come from the CPU bogging down, and this is even with a decent processor.

Wow can be played by almost anything. Except for Intel IGPs. Even then, it can be played at lowered resolutions.

@OP

This thread is silly. I have a 4850 and a 4800 X2 (OC to 3Ghz). I play at 1680x1050. All bells and whistles are up Anti-aliasing included.
Only borks up a bit when im on a addons frenzy, and on a crowded area. The rest ? 60 FPS because Vsync is On.

I do have 4Gb of ram. And in wow that makes a diference.

Or you have 1gb of ram, or something is terribly wrong with your machine.
Hell, my little brother plays with a Athlon 1800+, 9600XT 256MB, 2GB ram @1280x1024 and runs (almost) perfectly.

Something really wrong with your description. Yes we all Play Wotlk Expansion.

 

[Kari]

amount of ram might be limiting factor as well. if it cant hold all the stuff required for the effects an textures and whatnot it will slow down while swapping data to and from the hdd.

I've been playing one free mmorpg that really eats all the ram on my old rig. The swapping starts when entering cities/dungeons with lots of action and it really slows it down to a crawl for a while untill it gets all the needed data into the ram and flushes some of the old 'not needed' stuff to the hdd. But if there's lots of different ppl running past me all the time it just keeps on swapping. Out in the field it runs just fine without any hiccups.

If I shut down other memory hungry apps before gaming it doesn't slow down as badly (especially the BOINC client that uses some 200-300MB while crunching data) The game seems pretty happy with 1.2gigs of ram and the rig only has 1.5gb so it's a tight fit

I've been running the game in windowed mode and kept the windows taskmanager open on the side to see the memory usage in realtime.

 

[nightsc]

No. What I gather from the WoW players is they actually have no clue about how computer hardware effects gaming.

Alright, just order MSI 4850.


They do know how it effects WoW, they all got some High-End VideoCards, 260/280 GTX or 4850/4870 and by OC their Core 2 from 3G to 3.5G or even 4GHz does give them some 20+ FPS increase.


Thank you.

 

[someguy7]

The ones posting in this thread know nothing. Its clear as a bright sunny day

 

[ocre]

Looks fella, seems everyone here is lashing a bit. As most ppl know WoW uses a lot of memory. even if you have 2 gigs, eventually you will be swapping more and more with your virtual memory. Your virtual memory is your page file stored on the harddrive. You said you get lag for like 6 seconds and that couldnt possibly be from your cpu. Thats not what i would call lag. When others have said something is wrong with your system they are right. Who would like having a better CPU/GPU if they could afford it. More power to you. I think if you want it and have the money why not get it. Would it fix all of your wow issues? I think its more on your harddrive than anything else. If your drive is slow than a new drive will do you much more good than any cpu/gpu. It probably is cause 6 seconds would be like running a P2 or something. If you cant get a new drive or dont want to a fresh window install and wiping the drive of all you can spare would greatly improve any system that hasnt been taken good care in the OS department. More memory would also help if you dont have a lot. So for wow I would say Memory first if you havent got much, then harddrive, next video card, last cpu.
For your system thats the order, that should give you the most results first to the least. Unless your harddrive is ultra fast then it would have to be the OS. WoW is demanding but not a cpu or gpu killer. It takes a lot of memory, when you play it the more your harddrive is used. Also the servers will cause you to lag in certain places in the game, that is fact. What most ppl where trying to get to you was that you might be disappointing when your new cpu just doesnt seem to stop those six second lags. I just cannot imagine that being your cpu. You have a better cpu than most people who play wow. At least from the ones i know