What is exactly "stable" overclock?

[super300]

Does it mean that the voltage and frequency are stable, and not moving too much up and down? And if it happens, can it damage something? I hear all the times things like "Check if the overclock is stable", and i want to know what it means...

 

[Meyithi]

If there are any side effects (BSOD, reboots, graphical corruption or any other ill effects) it's unstable.

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

Stable means that it doesn't crash under stress testing and/or normal usage.

 

[super300]

Okay, thanks.
And besides that, does unstable frequency have any effects?
And what about voltage? Of course that unstable voltage is not good, but what is considered as an unstable voltage?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

Okay, thanks.
And besides that, does unstable frequency have any effects?
And what about voltage? Of course that unstable voltage is not good, but what is considered as an unstable voltage?

Constantly changing frequency and voltage is just fine. I leave SpeedStep enabled to let it do just that, for lower heat output. No harm in it at all.

It may cause instability at extreme overclocks, but at any normal OC, it's just fine. And it definitely won't damage anything. It's meant to do that.

The only thing that may be a problem is if the VRM's aren't great, so they won't (or can't) provide stable load voltage, but there's nothing you can do about that, except get a higher quality motherboard.

 

[super300]

My MOBO is SABERTOOTH Z77, so i think it will not be a problem...
So i can overclock without any fear?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

My MOBO is SABERTOOTH Z77, so i think it will not be a problem...
So i can overclock without any fear?

Oh yeah, with that mobo, you're great.

 

[super300]

And just two final questions
1) Is there any way to check if i need less or more voltage?
2) I know it may sound stupid, but if the cpu has spare voltage, will the cpu consume more power than what it is supposed to consume without spare voltage, or it will consume more power?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

1. Stress testing as you go is the best way to do that. When it crashes, that's when you need to add more voltage.

2. Yeah, it'll pull more power with more voltage. How much more depends on the amount of extra voltage you need.

 

[super300]

About question number 2, i mean that if the cpu gets for example 1.3v and it realy needs only 1.25v, will it pull more power?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

About question number 2, i mean that if the cpu gets for example 1.3v and it realy needs only 1.25v, will it pull more power?

Yes it will. It'll use the voltage that it gets, no matter what it needs and use more wattage accordingly. Now, you can start off at a low voltage (just high enough to POST) and work your way up to fully stable voltage to help that.

 

[super300]

Is there any disadvantage of using an auto voltage and frequency tuning? You said it is not good for extreme OC, but why?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

Is there any disadvantage of using an auto voltage and frequency tuning? You said it is not good for extreme OC, but why?

Auto voltage generally gives the CPU too much voltage. It's best to use a manual or offset voltage. Auto OC's are usually frowned upon around here, and by myself as well.

My statement about extreme OC's was for using a constant, static voltage by disabling SpeedStep, but that's really not necessary, usually, with a modest OC. 5Ghz+ is what I consider extreme.