Overclocking Q9400

[sk8hockey]

i have overclocked my q9400 to 4ghz with my 3000rpm 120mm ultra kaze.
i use an EVGA 790i Ultra motherboard.
i uped my cpu voltage to 1.567 and motherboard voltage to 1.550. is this safe?
the temperature is at 53C max can i push it further?



Mobo: EVGA 790i Ultra
CPU: q9400
GraphicsCard: GTX 280
RAM: 2x2GB OCZ 1800mhz
HDD: Samsung 500GB 7200rpm
Power Supply: 650W Coolermaster
CPU Fan: Ultra Kaze 3000rpm 120mm

 

[robert4561]

thats some hardcore voltage

 

[ubertiger]

I bet that fan is bloody loud at 3000rpm

 

[mildiner86]

do your really need it at 4Ghz :s

im sure 3.4 would do all of ur gaming needs for now.

temps seem fine voltage is high though

why not play it safe and run at what u need, just cause u can have 4 ghz doesnt mean u need it.

 

[tobensg]

I would agree with mildiner. No point in pushing things, you may even fry your CPU overtime at those volts. Your current setup is more than enough for any game at the moment.

 

[mamw93]

I wouldn't go any higher unless you have the money for a new computer.

 

[sk8hockey]

my fan isn't as loud as i thought it would be. my case is plexiglass so when i close the side it goes pretty silent.

anyway the 4ghz clock was only a test to see if it is stable. i leave it at 3.8ghz with only slight difference in voltages.

but can the voltage damage the CPU even if the temps are low and how what is the max temp of this cpu?

by the way, the game i use it for is ''CRYSIS''

 

[sk8hockey]

soz typo on "low and how what is....."

 

[jwdaigle]

Im a noob to overclocking, and came across your thread. I have the same CPU, and plan to experiment with OCing it on my Gigabyte m9400 board.

I would like to start with reading some FAQs and Guides, but havent found anything that talks about which CPU coolers work well, and more importantly how to cool my nVidia northbridge chip.

Could you point me towards some good references please?

Wow, 4Ghz, that seems way over the top - I was hoping to get to 3Ghz to speed up my Blu Ray encodes

 

[cjl]

Yes, 1.56 is too high for a 45nm CPU. The Intel recommended voltage is 1.3675 at most.

 

[sk8hockey]

jwdaigle: i couldn't find ur mobo on gigabyte website could u please send me a link. and do u mean cpu or the actual northbridge chip?

cjl: the intel voltage limit is bull as many other people overclock beyond it and i couldn't even reach 3.0ghz on it. i just want to know if voltage damages the cpu at low temps too

 

[jwdaigle]

Whoops, sorry. I meant the Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H, which is an nVidia m9400 chipset mobo. As far as cooling, I was asking about both. For different reasons - I have 2 of the boards. I use one as an HTPC so want to cool the Northbridge/GPU, and the other one does my encodes so I want to overclock and keep the CPU cool. The CPU does very little on the HTPC, so cooling is not much of an issue.

For CPU cooling, Im considering the Scythe Mugen 2 or the Xigmatec Dark Knight 1283. Since it is primarily a encode machine, noise is not all that important as long as it doesnt sound like a 747

Again, thanks for any help,

Joe

 

[one-shot]

I actually have two Scythe Ultra Kaze 3K RPM fans. Although mine are at <1500rpm. At full speed the fans are very very loud. The voltage is much to high for a 45nm CPU.

 

[mamw93]

Run 3Dmark Vantage for you CPU... if all goes well then you're fine. If not then down it until you can run it fine.

 

[sk8hockey]

jwdaigle: i would go with the Scythe Mugen 2 as i heard there are people having troubles with the other one with mounting. with northbridge i honestly have no clue.

at the moment my comp is down cause i'm still waiting on my OCZ 1800mhz RAM to come. had to return my old G.Skill as it wasn't EPP 2.0 supported.
therefore can't do any tests for another 10 days

 

[cjl]

jwdaigle: i couldn't find ur mobo on gigabyte website could u please send me a link. and do u mean cpu or the actual northbridge chip?

cjl: the intel voltage limit is bull as many other people overclock beyond it and i couldn't even reach 3.0ghz on it. i just want to know if voltage damages the cpu at low temps too

That was my point. Voltage alone can damage the CPU if you are significantly above the limit through electromigration. 1.55 is significantly above the limit - whether or not you are keeping it cool.It will work for a while, but the stability of the processor will degrade over time.

 

[jwdaigle]

OK, thank you. Curious, did you choose the Mugen because I mentioned it or do you think another heatsink is "better".

One final question for anyone - is this particular forum a good one to lurk in to learn overclocking in general, or are there better places for my education?

Thanks to all -

 

[sk8hockey]

if you realy want the best heat sink then get the coolermaster v10 that is the best i've seen so far.

if you want to learn about overclocking just post some questions up. you can also learn from youtube or sites like extremeoverclocking or overclocking.com

 

[jwdaigle]

Wow, now thats a beast! $140 at the 'egg. It looks like an old fashioned air filter assembly from a 70's hot rod

As far as posting questions up, I prefer to lurk somewhere and read first, before I start posting - I know I hate it when noobs dont do their homework first before clogging up the works.

With that said, I guess I shouldnt have shot this off either

Thanks for your help-

 

[cadder]

3.8GHz sounds a lot more practical. I ran mine at 3.8 for awhile, temps stayed below 50 with a Xig 1283 cooler. I didn't really need that speed so I dropped it back to 3.4 for everyday use.