I5 overclocked by default to 4.1GHz (42x)! Help!

Trumple

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Sep 3, 2009
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Hey folks,
I recently built a new computer (about 2 weeks ago)
Everything went well, and I was impressed with the new system
I just opened up CPU-z today and noticed something very strange. It reported my clock speed was 4.1GHz (a massive jump from the default of 3.3GHz)
At first I was certain it was a misreading. I shutdown and checked what the BIOS reported - it reported 3.3GHz, so I thought I was in the clear. I wanted to double check, so I downloaded RealTemp and Speccy - they both reported 4.1GHz! I began to realize something was overclocking my CPU, and I didn't want that (this is a brand new CPU, I'd like to make it last!)

I installed the ASUS AI suite (note: I did not have the AI suite previously, and I had no other OC programs) and force underclocked it using the multiplier to something more reasonable (32x) to 3.3GHz (stock speed)

Now, I'm asking why would something in the OS overclock it by default to over 4GHz? In the AI suite, if I click "OS defaults", it jumps up to 4GHz again. I'm completely perplexed, and google didn't show anyone with anything similar
My second question is how much have I damaged my CPU (or simply shortened the life of it) by running it at such frequencies for over 2 weeks? I've been doing some pretty CPU intensive stuff...I'm shocked it was so stable at such frequencies (no crashes or anything)
Lastly, I would like the turbo feature to work correctly - Asus AI suite appears to override it, so I might need to look at a different solution to 'tie' the clock frequencies down (preferably, I would really like to not have to use the AI suite at all)

Cheers for any info, I'm more mystified than anything else, I'd just like to know what caused this!

P.S the turbo multiplier is 37x, so it's not that!
 
Be thankful that it can go that high without any tweaking unless it is making your system unstable. HWinfo64 to really confirm the clocks but any way most would love to have a multiplier that high on a non k version i5.
 

nbelote

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Honestly I would test system stability on that default clock and see if it's worth keeping. If it's stable and doesn't creep near or above 100 degrees C, I'd think about it.

As far as damage goes, if it locks up then you turn it down a notch. Rinse, repeat. You can only really damage your CPU if it overheats and they're built to lock up and/or downclock if they get too hot so that they don't break. Intel has good thermal management controllers. And even if it does overheat you have to do it over an extended period of time for it to cause physical damage.

The bottom line? Experiment away.
 

Sonny73N

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Update your BIOS and set to Optimized Default. If it still OC itself, obviously the TurboBoost is not working correctly. RMA it quick.
 
I favor nbelote's approach: test for stability while monitoring core temps at load.

Where I differ is the temperature threshold. I would not operate above 70 C for any extended periods.

I, along with the experience overclockers here, also favor using the BIOS, not Windows utilities, to overclock.
 

aviral

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Is this overclocking causing any hindrance to your system.If no then leave it as it is because now a days system are pretty well smart enough to clock their frequency according to the applications that are performing at background.

My system sometimes also reaches to 4GHz with intel turbo boost technology for fraction of seconds with stock cooler that was also a great surprise to check that how could it reach 4GHz when the turbo boost technology for i5-760 2.8 GHz is limited to 3.33GHz.

But reading from many forums, I found that sometimes a mobo can really cause a difference as well as the processor chip for overclocking within the same category.

So I just like to say that if you don't find any problem with that frequency just use it as well.And take this as a gift from your system that you are very lucky to get 4GHz speed without any worries and manual tweaking.
 

beetlejuicegr

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Download Prime 95 and a cpu temp monitor utility. Run it, if you see temperatures (when prime95 is making your cpu work 100%) rise over 65 celsius, RMA it with the excuse of " If it still OC itself, obviously the TurboBoost is not working correctly. RMA it quick."
 

robustus64

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If im not mistaken thats just a single core reaching that not all 4 it will jump extra bins when only one core is needed that is why it goes so high... it should be fine leave it alone if its stable and cool...
 

Trumple

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Thanks for the replies. I wrote this when I was very tired, and so I missed some vital information:
it's actually an i5 2500k (so it's supposed to overclock)
As far as stability goes, it worked really well.
For anyone looking for help with the same problem, I found a solution.

For some reason, the BIOS would report the correct default clock speed, as it would be at 33x. However, AI tuner in the advanced section of the BIOS was actually changing the OS default multiplier to 42x, thus the speed jump to about 4.1GHz.

Thanks again for the reassurance guys, I'll probably overclock it again to something similar in future!