Overclocking Factors Hierarchy

[GreatestOne]

Overclocking Factors Hierarchy

Ok, I want to compile some type of meaningful list that
includes all the components of a successful max
enthusiasts/gamers overclock for a CPU in the order of
importance. My guess is down below and then I have
some questions as well. All corrections and answers are of
course appreciated.

- CPU type
- Motherboard type
- Cooling system
- Voltage Settings
- Memory/RAM type

Questions:

- Is the max stable voltage setting directly related to CPU heat
or is the responsibility equally shared between all the above
components? I.e., if your CPU is running say under 60C even
on heavy load, is there any reason you cant go higher on the
voltages, I guess mostly the CPU Core/VTT Voltage.

- How important is the NB/SB cooling/voltage settings, and how
many of you have found needs to find better cooling solutions
for those components (aircoolers only of course)?

 

[Acoustique]

time of day / season

My 88gts512 in winter idles at 38 @ 70% fan
Now its summer and iam looking at a 54c idle
my cpu usually at a lovely 28 - 30 now sits at 42

 

[GreatestOne]

time of day / season
My 88gts512 in winter idles at 38 @ 70% fan
Now its summer and iam looking at a 54c idle

Ehhh, dont u have air conditioning and heat? Ya i neglected that because those are external conditions and I think most high end users nowadays live in homes with central air so room temps shouldnt change more than several degrees per season... hopefully thats not a bad stereotype for some people but thats just IMHO.

 

[R-Type]

I would say that is hugely inaccurate, first because the majority of people in places such as the northern US, Canada, northern Europe, or Russia simply don't need central air, and second because the beauty of PC overclocking and tweaking is that you can get into it with almost no budget. In fact some of the sickest 24/7 overclocks I have ever seen come from people who buy cheap or used parts on the budget.

I'm not trying to get down on you or thread crap, just pointing out that these things do play a part. For my priorities I would say

Processor
Heatsink
Motherboard
Ambient Case Temps (factors in case air flow, season, region etc)
Powersupply
Ram

Ram is only last because virtually every motherboard has dividers that let you remove ram from the equation, this isn't optimal, but still doesnt affect overclocks

Ehhh, dont u have air conditioning and heat? Ya i neglected that because those are external conditions and I think most high end users nowadays live in homes with central air so room temps shouldnt change more than several degrees per season... hopefully thats not a bad stereotype for some people but thats just IMHO.

 

[lowteckh]

That is indeed a very bad stereotype. Now if this was a Singaporean forum then it applies, but not for NA - that's what windows are for.

CPU voltage = heat, more you up it the more it generates. To overclock though, you'll most likely also have to up the rest of your voltages - namely ram, NB, VTT depending on your mobo. All that generates heat so I guess they're all related.

 

[BillParrish]

- Is the max stable voltage setting directly related to CPU heat
or is the responsibility equally shared between all the above
components? I.e., if your CPU is running say under 60C even
on heavy load, is there any reason you cant go higher on the
voltages, I guess mostly the CPU Core/VTT Voltage.

If the heat is under control and up to a point where you fry the semiconductor junctions due to voltage stress, you can increase Vcc. However there is usually a curve of diminishing returns where you start to approach either dangerous voltages or too much heat - where voltage increases are no longer effective or a rational person would not accept the risk of damage vs the potential of a minor speed increase. Of course if you have a tray of CPUs to "burn" such concerns are moot.

- How important is the NB/SB cooling/voltage settings, and how
many of you have found needs to find better cooling solutions
for those components (aircoolers only of course)?

Very important. It depends on the quality of the factory supplied cooling and the OC goal. All electronics hate heat and a properly prepared board for a major OC will have the factory solutions for the MCH/NB verified and improved or replaced altogether. Don't forget the power mosFETs for the VRD and I have been known to stick a ramsink on the master clock chip, for starters.

As for your list of components, IMO a professional OC job will give equal weight to all components of the build. It must work together as a system thus to select components without taking into consideration the system as a whole is a major mistake made by many. I cannot rank them because to put any one item at the top implies that some item has to be at the bottom and I do not accept that as a valid design method. Now we all, well most of us, have budgets we have to live within and you have actually touched on the real tricky bit. Currently about any idiot can get a C2D raise the Vcore to 1.375 set the CPU multi to 8 the FSB to 400, toss in a bump of MCH/NB voltage, set the memory voltage and put in the manuf's performance timings and boot right up to 3.2 on the older 65nm chips or 3.6 on the 45nm's (budget versions of the chips are a bit more of a challenge but you get my drift). The real trick is to within the allowed budget design a selection of components that have the potential to provide the highest performance with stability and reliability and complement each other. The rest is just setting stuff in the bios and doing a lot of testing (actually that is not trivial either but thats another post. )

The largest issue is what is your definition of "max OC" - suicide run, very high bleeding edge where component life is not a major concern, say a year. High performance OC with no compromise in reliability or component life ? Max OC is different things to different people, as mentioned in my sig my machine will go significantly faster but the very minor increase in real world performance on the applications I run is not worth stressing the board as I intend to get another 3 years out of it at least. Also since my most demanding application is a game money is better spent on a video card. If I was a video editor more ram might be the way to go. So just setting a target (unless you are trying to win some contest) of getting the highest CPU speed you can without knowing, for instance, what that high FSB and MCH strap setting has done the the Trd of the memory subsystem is the mark of an amateur.

Of course if there is no budget, you just buy the most expensive stuff you can find, slap it together and if it does not work just keep throwing big wads of money at it until it does what you want (I call this the DOD <Dept of Defense> method).


My my I do get on my high horse dont I, /Hi-Ho SILVER ! Away !

P.S. If by chance you are talking about the system in your sig the best thing you can IMO do is google "heatpipe mod" and do it including a fan on the MCH and make darn sure the VRD components around the cpu socket also have direct air hitting them after you install that new heatsink.

P.S to the P.S. I take it back, on the top of the list should be to understand absolutely and completely how and what each setting in the bios does and what it might affect if changed like the back of your hand.

 

[lowteckh]

Of course if there is no budget, you just buy the most expensive stuff you can find, slap it together and if it does not work just keep throwing big wads of money at it until it does what you want (I call this the DOD <Dept of Defense> method).

That made my night/morning..

 

[evilcartman]

That made my night/morning..

Me too! I LOL'ed.

 

[GreatestOne]

P.S. If by chance you are talking about the system in your sig the best thing you can IMO do is google "heatpipe mod" and do it including a fan on the MCH and make darn sure the VRD components around the cpu socket also have direct air hitting them after you install that new heatsink.

P.S to the P.S. I take it back, on the top of the list should be to understand absolutely and completely how and what each setting in the bios does and what it might affect if changed like the back of your hand.

BillP, u can ride away anytime u want as long as u keep helping out thoroughly like this! Actually, understanding each BIOS setting was at the top of my list, ie, on my mobo, the settings are

- FSB (I pretty much know the basics of this one)
- Multiplier (ditto)

Now the voltage controls:
- CPU Core Voltage (assume its the juice going directly to CPU)
- DDR2 Voltage (assume its juice going directly to the RAM)
- CPU VTT Voltage (seems like set this "termination voltage" to max and increases stability and may be more crucial than even the core voltage; so i guess this works in conjunction with the core voltage)
- MCH 1.25V Voltage (memory controller hub... raise along with others?)
- ICH 1.05V Voltage (juice going into the SB controller; raise along with others?)
- ICH10 1.5V Voltage (I/O controller hub... raise with others?)
- DDR2 Reference Voltage (ie, +2% means it acts like a multiplier for the DDR2 voltage setting or on top of it?)
--- [Are we missing a NB voltage controller?]
- CPU GTLREF 0&2, CPU GTLREF 1&3 (Not even gonna start... instead found what seems like a great site that explains it, but if anyone can summarize, it'd be great... I'm mech-e, not e-e, and all this circuit stuff is bringing back bad memorize from college )

http://www.edgeofstability.com/articles/dfi_p35/gtl/gtl1.html

And if anyone knows of other sites or references that explain these different voltage components of the mobos and their significances I'd appreciate it.