Is my initial overclocking safe ?

[sunnyimran]

Hi everyone

I have done little overclocking experiment on my system, I will stay on it for some time then little more overclock, I wants to know is it OK to go.


My system specs are:

ASUS P5QL PRO
C2Quad Q9400
DDR2 CORSAIR KIT 1GB x 2
XFX RADEON 4350 PCIe
HDD SEAGATE 250GB sata
DVD R/W
PSU from an old DELL-745 machine ( was spare) I believe 350+ watts

Win 7 ULTIMATE

I have changed little overclocking configuration in BIOS.

PCI freq: 100 MHZ

FSB: 363 MHZ


DRAM freq: 435.6 MHZ ( shown by CPU-Z in windows)

FSBRAM 5:6

DRAM timings : 5-5-5-18-52-2T


CPU-Z shows this for CPU

core speed: 2904.2 MHz
multiplier: x8
bus speed 363.0 MHz
rated FSB: 1452.1 MHz
Core voltage: 1.200 v


rest of the things in BIOS are mostly on auto.

PC has stock CPU cooling (that came with processor)

I installed three fans
one front (inlet flow) fan
one side ( inlet flow) fan at bottom of right hand cover
one fan at the back of chasis ( outlet flow)


when windows7 boots to normal,

CPU meter ( win7 gadget) shows near 0% CPU utilization, RAM near 35%)

CPUID Hardware Monitor ( from CPU-Z) shows these temps

on idle

Core #0
Core #1
Core #2
Core #3

all cores near 55 to 60 C

My created Stress for CPU ( just begining, not professional)
I ran 4 instances of winRAR to RAR huge files, that banged theCPU to 100%
then I ran Windows Media Center to play audio /video

CPUID Hardware Monitor ( from CPU-Z) shows these temps

on above LOAD

Core #0 80C
Core #1 71C
Core #2 69C
Core #3 65C


I have'nt ran memtest or prime95 yet, as I said it was my intial experiment

Q. DO I NEED TO LOWER DOWN CORE TEMPERATURES ? infact what should be the permissable temperature in light overclocking ?

I managed to install one more cooling fan on front panel to suck air from front and push in.

that helped me to lower temps by 4 to 5 degree centigrades.

Q. CAN I CONTINUE TO USE IN THIS CONFIGURATION, AS MY PC HARDLY GETS THIS MUCH LOAD OF 100% utilitation?


please suggest

 

[sunnyimran]

any suggestions ?

 

[CFTait]

If I were you, I would try and keep it under 65ºC load. I have read that the Q9400 can get up to 4.0GHz, but you would need better airflow/ cooling in your case to be able to safely reach that. A 300MHz Overclock isn't great, but it's a start, if you can, get a fan for intake directly over your CPU and Heatsink+ Fan. As always, when Overclocking, it is suggested to get an Aftermarket Heatsink and fan, but if you have good airflow in your computer case, there will be no need, but since you are idling around 55ºC+, I would try and get better airflow or a new heatsink. I'm not much into Intels, but I do, do a lot of reading, which helps, quite a bit in gathering up information to answers questions.

If you are anything like me, I like to overclock, but keep the Stock Voltages; which keeps me in the safe zone of not accidentally frying the CPU and possibly taking out the Motherboard with it.

For the best results, get Prime95 and run it now to make sure that you don't Overheat or have gone too far for your Motherboard. If you get a Blue Screen, then go back about 5MHz until you are stable on Prime95. Once you are stable or seem stable, leave Prime95 running overnight; make sure that you do the Blended Test which stresses your CPU and RAM.


One more thing, when you are adding fans in your computer case, take into consideration of the amount of air they are capable of moving, if they have a low CFM, don't get them, try to stay above 30-40CFM.

 

[sunnyimran]

Dear CFTait, Thanks

it seems it is time to buy a cooling solution first of all, Iwas trying to do only as much OC as possible with current stock cooling.

which cooling solution would u recommend, there are plenty, but be it water cooled, or what suites to my case?

it also seems 50C temp on idle is also really good and in days when my ambient temp is also increasing in summer, I am serious about cooling solution.

but for right now, temporarily, should i try to enable these:

'Intel SpeedStep' , the automatic CPU ratio adjuster
and/or
'Intel C1E' support' the automatic CPU voltage balancer

Can I continue to use 50C on idle, generally I am not giving much stress in daily works.


thanks for your reply

 

[Raidur]

High idles are still considere safe but get that new cooling and watch those temps. Anything over 72c is considered dangerous and a no-no.

Try setting your CPU voltage to its default instead of auto.

Thermal controls can be turned on, just remember to test stability afterwards.

 

[sunnyimran]

Thanks Raidur,

I am arranging a cooling solution at my earliest, would be nice of you if u recommend some, by type , like water cooled, ... or which one would be better in high ambient temps.

stock cooling which is not quite heavy in weight, mobo stand vertical coolers would stay horizontol. cooler would stand in those same four holes, would it stress mobo due to its weight etc or should it be mounted by some foundations underneath mobo.

How to fell and decide about other chips temps like NB etc

for CPU voltage ( currently auto in BIOS) I will visit intel for my CPU Q6400 and set that value


thanks forthe tips

 

[sunnyimran]

I found this on intel for Q9400

VID Voltage Range 0.8500v-1.3625v


so what value I set in my CPU voltage setting in BIOS, if not on AUTO.

 

[sunnyimran]

So is there any other site to help Overclocking Starters ?

agian I think google is my freind !

 

[Raidur]

You need to find your default VID for your chip. I know CoreTemp tells you this. Your CPU box (packaging) should as well I believe.

Did you read the C2D/Q sticky overclocking guide? That's a great place to start.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/240001-29-howto-overclock-quads-duals-guide