What voltages are safe?

[cupholder2.0]

So I finally replaced my older Intel mATX 945G with the MSI 975X PLATINUM (2.1).Using a PD 950, it will overclock fine but it wants lots of voltages to be stable at higher speeds. For example, at 4.5 Ghz it wants 1.53Vcore, 2.4 mem Voltage and 1.7 PCIE volts or it will not run stable. To pass 5 gigs I need even more voltages. Even though, now that my cpu is lapped and runs cool even at 1.58volts would it be safe to reach such voltages? Everything is air cooled, I don't know how much higher I can take this thing. I hope this is just some bios problem and it will be fixed with an update.

Thanks

[xpsentity]

Keep in mind at those voltages that chip is drawing quite a bit on that PSU, which in itself can cause instability.

Look up the max rated voltage intel lists for that cpu. Anything over that, it can seriously shorten the life of it.

Beyond those two issues, provided you are comfortable with the temps..

[Stigma]

Its the power supply on the motherboard that is will crap out rather than the PSU, unless your PSU is actually being pushed beyond its limits that it.

In other words, running on a 1000watt PSU won't help if your motherboard has a poor power regulating system, and you really need a ton of voltage.

Generally though, you can push the Vcore up pretty damn hihg as long as you have the cooling to handle the extra heat. It takes a lot of voltage to actually break the CPU.

For the conroe, I'd consider up to 1.6volt "safe" , but with good enough cooling (ie really good water, or preferably phase), I'd consider trying up to 1.8volts. Some have even gone up to 1.9, but at that point I get sweaty hehe. I don't think thats good for the core in the long run. I personally wouldn't run more than max 1.7 for a 24/7 setup, and not without some serious cooling.

-Stigma

[Stigma]

Ops, Sorry I see your not using a conroe now that I read it again. Please disregard hehe... Sorry, my mind is all conroe filled these days, no room for the older models in my head it seems =P Not sure what voltages is safe for those to be honest, as I never really used the D series

-Stigma

[xpsentity]

Its the power supply on the motherboard that is will crap out rather than the PSU, unless your PSU is actually being pushed beyond its limits that it.

True, though the new MSI board is up to the task. I was thinking more along the lines of the 480w PSU getting the 12V overloaded. I've seen some power draw figures around for D series when OC+High Volts, it ain't pretty. If the PSU has been fine up till now, no worries.


Generally though, you can push the Vcore up pretty damn hihg as long as you have the cooling to handle the extra heat. It takes a lot of voltage to actually break the CPU.

Degradation over time is more a factor when running high (Over intel spec max) voltage 24/7. Unlikely you'll have a magic smoke moment when on air with decent temps. I'm not saying your cpu will just up and die, but it could start to lose overclocking potential over time. I'm not so sure how much of a factor this is with these, but it was :( with Northwood.