Share your degradation reports on the 2500K/2600K

Wanted to make this dedicated thread to degradation reports/stories that you have on the 2500K/2600K.

Even if your processor has not yet degraded feel free to post your record here so that you can comeback to it later on.


Maybe we could use this format;

CPU:
Vcore(bios):
Vcore(DMM):
VTT:
vDIMM:
PLL:
Mobo:

Comments:


I'll start with it..
CPU: 2600K
Vcore(bios): Normal using +0.115v offset
Vcore(DMM): 1.454v loaded
VTT: 1.120v
vDIMM: 1.520v
PLL: 1.600v
Mobo: Gigabyte UD4-B3 F3D bios

Comments:
I've had this chip running for about 2 weeks now and there seems to be no degradation yet at these voltages, Now I've went down to 4.5Ghz at 1.352v.
Gonna observe in like a month if things go down south.

CPU: 2500k @ 4.5ghz
Vcore(bios): 1.2850v
Vcore(DMM):
VTT: 1.13v
vDIMM: 1.5867v
Mobo: MSI p67a-GD65 B3

Running fine for over 2 months.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CrazyNutz

CPU: 2500k @ 4.5ghz
Vcore(bios): 1.2850v
Vcore(DMM):
VTT: 1.13v
vDIMM: 1.5867v
Mobo: MSI p67a-GD65 B3

Running fine for over 2 months.

---

IF im understanding this thread at all, why did the above poster "POST" if there was no degration???

Im @ 1.435V for a 24/7 OC of 4.85GHz on water cooling.... No issues as of YET:up: Crossing fingers chip will last another 6-7months!

I may have titled the thread incorrectly but feel free to post if you dont have degradation yet, this will serve like an online record.
Falkentyne has degraded his chip even at 1.260 as he says.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Falkentyne

Yeah if you've been at that vcore for awhile at full load, I think you *will* see degradation on your minimum vcore you need for stability. You may want to retest your lower overclocks to see if the minimum vcore has risen on any. I'm busy beating the living hell out of my first 2600k by running it at 5 ghz 1.51v load HT on (I was at 5.3 ghz HT off 1.59v for a few days till eventually Black Ops would BSOD before being able to load a map); trying to see just how much abuse and torture the chip will take, and how much it will degrade completely, as well as at what voltage any futher degradation will stop.

And I'm not even degrading it with prime (it's WAY too hot to run prime at those voltages, anyway); it's just degrading using windows or playing bad company 2 or black ops or other games, and the temps are no higher than the 70's....

Once that's done I'll retest at 4.5 to see how hig h that rose, too. Last test at 4.8 ghz would BSOD in 20 seconds with prime small FFT at 1.392v, while 4.7 was solid. I don't care if I kill this chip; I still have my other one that can do 4.5 ghz at 1.260v load 12 hour blend stable, but even that degraded some...used to do 1.236v at 4.5 ghz and 1.416v rock solid at 5 ghz....now needs 1.440-1.452 at 5 ghz....

---

6 weeks at 5ghz 1.55v so far no issues. 2500k, have been running lots of blend tweaking memory (vccio 1.13, vdimm up to 1.7). Watercooled, maxing out at 70c prime 81c linx.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PiLsY

6 weeks at 5ghz 1.55v so far no issues. 2500k, have been running lots of blend tweaking memory (vccio 1.13, vdimm up to 1.7). Watercooled, maxing out at 70c prime 81c linx.

---

your sir, HAVE BALLS!:up: Im on highend water and I wouldnt ever feed these fragile CPU's 1.50++

2600k - gigabut ud4 w/f3 bios .... no overclock :P

CPU is poor anyway - if it degrades its an excuse to have another go (maybe 2600k this time). Its stubbornly refusing to show any signs of problems though :lol:. 3.95ghz stable stock cooler stock vid (1.23v) - pants!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Demo

I may have titled the thread incorrectly but feel free to post if you dont have degradation yet, this will serve like an online record.
Falkentyne has degraded his chip even at 1.260 as he says.

---

My CPU didn't degrade BECAUSE of 1.260v.

It degraded from 1.236v to 1.260v (for 4.5 ghz) due to Prime and game tests (black ops/Bad company 2) at 5 ghz 1.404-1.440v. The CPU had previously been a rock at 1.236v at 4.5 ghz as long as I never went to 5 ghz. And 1.404v used to be stable at 5 ghz, now it needs 1.440-1.452v, and this affected the lower overclocks also.

BTW my first 2600k is degrading fast, but i'm doing it on purpose. Some HT off game tests for a few days at 1.59v at 5.3 ghz, and long term gaming at 5 ghz 1.52v ht on. Trying to find exactly how long and at what range it will happen.

4.8 ghz 1.39v BSODs instantly in prime now. 4.7 ghz doesn't, though.

Once I've burnt this chip to a crisp, I'll hopefully know what to do to prevent the 2nd one from ever needing more than 1.272v for 4.5 ghz 12 hour blend, but if THAT Happens, judging by both chips having the same frequency/MP walls, it will be almost identical to how the first 2600k performed when brand new....

Is there a link to intel stating what the max operating vcore of the 2500k/2600k chips?

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=52214
I've looked, but no vcore is mentioned. Am I missing something? There's no "vid voltage range" like in other CPUs listed on the same site. :shrug:

Edit:

So I came across this quick thread on another forum basically stating there IS no safe "range" standard set by Intel. Each chip is unique.... a unique snow flake... or some BS like that...

http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/...d-voltage.html

I guess this is why the thread is here.... I still have no idea where people are getting 1.38 or 1.4v as "safe." :shrug:

CPU: 2600k from 7th Jan
Frq: 5Ghz
Vcore(bios): 1.50v LCC100% ( 1.52v load )
Vcore(DMM):
VTT: 1.15v
vDIMM: 1.65
Mobo: P8P67-EVO

Degrade after 4/5 days. End up dead days after.

CPU: 2600k from 15th Jan
Frq: 5Ghz / 5.1Ghz
Vcore(bios): 1.38v / 1.43v LCC75% ( 1.37v / 1.41v load )
Vcore(DMM):
VTT: 1.1125v
vDIMM: 1.65
Mobo: P8P67-EVO // M4E

0 Degradation

I think some chips will just die early, others will run strong with no issues even at voltages above spec. I have pwnded quite a few chips waaaaaaaay above what is considered safe for a couple months now with no issues, maybe just lucky IDK.

I also think sometimes people make changes to OS, drivers, maybe change out vga, or other hardware, bios's etc. and one day the system doesnt run stable at the same voltages, they say "my chip is degrading". Just my opinion.

CPU: 2500K
Frq: 4.8Ghz
Vcore(bios): 1.36 ( 1.4v load ) LLC: level 3
Vcore(DMM):
VTT: 1.51
vDIMM: 1.65
Mobo: P67 ASrock Extreme4

Dead! Lasted 2 months

CPU: 2500K
Frequency: 4GHz
Vcore: 1.09V
Default voltages everywhere else.
Mobo: Asus Sabertooth

Report: No degradation thus far. 8+ hrs prime stable and LinX w/ AVX 20+ runs stable. Running SMP F@H 24/7 for 1 week so far. Plan to run at these setting until water gets here. Once I have water I plan to do between 4.5 and 5.0 24/7, but I will update here when it happens!

Does anyone know where to measure Vcore via DMM on the Asus Sabertooth?

Iv been running 1.5 on load with no degration at all for 3 months now.

Surely that's NOT on air cooling....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Falkentyne

Surely that's NOT on air cooling....

---

I just hit 98c for 10 min stress testing it on AIR lol,closed case also!

http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/9984/71785970.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Skratch

http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/9984/71785970.jpg

---

You've had it at that vcore for 3 months?
:shocked:

When you first bought the chip, what would happen if you tried to use something like, 1.47 or 1.48v for full load?

Even though Mine's a 2600k with HT, I'm seen some pretty hefty degradation just in the last couple of days at 1.52v...

I run the chip with all intels power savings on,like on idle its at 1 volt and depending on how much load it will go up to 1.528 volts.I just ran a 32m pi and it never went over 1.44 volts.

This chip was always a 5-5100 mhz chip as it would hit close to 97c at 5.1ghz.

Its been overclocking exactly the same as it was when I first got it.

This is also with 4 sticks of 2133 ram for 8gb and 1.65 on the memory

edit here is what it looks like with no load.You sure its not your mother boards caps that are dying.

http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/9553/15514618.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Falkentyne

My CPU didn't degrade BECAUSE of 1.260v.

It degraded from 1.236v to 1.260v (for 4.5 ghz) due to Prime and game tests (black ops/Bad company 2) at 5 ghz 1.404-1.440v. The CPU had previously been a rock at 1.236v at 4.5 ghz as long as I never went to 5 ghz. And 1.404v used to be stable at 5 ghz, now it needs 1.440-1.452v, and this affected the lower overclocks also.

BTW my first 2600k is degrading fast, but i'm doing it on purpose. Some HT off game tests for a few days at 1.59v at 5.3 ghz, and long term gaming at 5 ghz 1.52v ht on. Trying to find exactly how long and at what range it will happen.

4.8 ghz 1.39v BSODs instantly in prime now. 4.7 ghz doesn't, though.

Once I've burnt this chip to a crisp, I'll hopefully know what to do to prevent the 2nd one from ever needing more than 1.272v for 4.5 ghz 12 hour blend, but if THAT Happens, judging by both chips having the same frequency/MP walls, it will be almost identical to how the first 2600k performed when brand new....

---

So what do you plan to do to prevent it from degrading ?

Now you guys got me pushing this thing again.Im going for another max 3d attempt lol

:rofl:

Hey, every overclocking thread needs a guinea pig :clap:

:)

I don't think a lot of ppl will have problems with load temps less than 80c and vcore at 1.4v or less.
Yes for some that will mean running at 4.6-4.8ghz instead of 4.9-5.0ghz but then again Ivy isn't too far away...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Skratch

I run the chip with all intels power savings on,like on idle its at 1 volt and depending on how much load it will go up to 1.528 volts.I just ran a 32m pi and it never went over 1.44 volts.

This chip was always a 5-5100 mhz chip as it would hit close to 97c at 5.1ghz.

Its been overclocking exactly the same as it was when I first got it.

This is also with 4 sticks of 2133 ram for 8gb and 1.65 on the memory

edit here is what it looks like with no load.You sure its not your mother boards caps that are dying.

http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/9553/15514618.jpg

---

The thing started degrading in the FIRST two days after first using the chip, every time I kept running it at 1.44 or higher vcore. It's DEFINITELY not the motherboard, that's for sure. Unless you think TWO different UD5 boards degraded. It's the CPU.

Well when you get your new chip I can try your old one to see if you want.Make sure you dont have some setting that boost the voltage and currant with load in the bios set wrong.With my board I can adjust one step up on the currant limit and it shoots the voltage from 1.4-1.50 once it see load.

Im running an asus board so Im not sure what your bios has for power settings

Since Thorougbred cpu up till SB I never had a chip that degraded, it just died

I just hit tmax of 98c for 5ghz in linx. I did 3 passes and stopped because it was right at 97-98c and Im on air cooling.

Maybe the 2600k degrade faster but I have been abusing the hell out of my 2500k since the day I bought it amd its still clocking the same.

Hyperthreading could make a big difference. Can't really say. I haven't really tried with HT off at lower speeds/voltages, but I should have kept tabs on that.

As I said though, I'm degrading my first cpu on purpose after the second one went from 1.236 to 1.260v at 4.5 ghz and 1.404v to 1.440/1.452v at 5 ghz. I'm trying to test that stuff so my second 2600k (which still runs at lower voltage) lasts longer. (it originally went from 1.404v to 1.428v just from testing prime at 5 ghz, then I stopped priming and only playing bad company 2, and it degraded more (but not as fast).

BTW I should add:
When I was running 5.3 ghz 1.58 vcore (before that degraded to the point where it would BSOD while loading black ops), I was able to game for a couple of days. I couldn't even load XP with HT on at that vcore...it would just reboot about 20 seconds after the loading bar appeared... but with HT off, I was able to game for a few days in XP. I was able to make it into windows 7 with HT on, to the desktop, but it would BSOD with system service exception...

I was able to make it at 5.4 ghz into XP with 2 cores enabled, though :P

In just a matter of how many days did yours degrade falk?

Which chip, demo?
My second 2600k? The second one took months to degrade because I almost -never- ran it at 5 ghz, except a couple of 45 minute prime sessions (since early March) until recently, when I started testing 5 ghz out a lot more. It held steady and firm at 4.5 ghz 1.236v prime blend stable without any degrading, until I started trying to run prime at 5 ghz to get into the 1 hour stable club, and finally managed it (after a bunch of BSOD's and trying to find the lowest voltage possible). (the vcore was 1.404v load). After this, I went back to 4.5 ghz, and saw that 1.236v BSOD'd after 2 hours, which it NEVER did before. I immediately knew why. I went back to 5 ghz and did more tests and saw 1.404v load (1.445v bios LLC1) and 1.450v LLC1) start BSOD'ing. 1.416v load passed (1.455v LLC1), but eventually that started failing too. Then i gamed a bit and tried 1.465v LLC1 and that BSOD'd after about 1 hour and 30 minutes (1.416v load). I tried a quick 30 minute 1.48v LLC1 (1.428v load) which passed, then I stopped priming completely and just started playing bad company 2. I switched to LLC2, because BC2 would only load 4 cores, and the vcore was thus higher. Eventually I saw that (since the vcore would rise under higher load with LLC2), that I would BSOD in the main menu sometimes, and I was using 1.400v LLC2 now, for 1.428v load. Went to 1.405v, was fine for awhile, but eventually, had idle BSOD's on the desktop and in main menu (never inside a map though) after awhile (more degradation at the lower vcore). Eventually went to 1.410v, still BSOD in main menu. 1.415v was fine in game, and on main menu, but had idle BSOD in windows after an initial 5 hour idle session with no BSOD, but had it the next day. Did 1.420v LLC2, which was 1.440 to 1.452v in game, no idle BSOD at all in desktop in 6 hours, but I only did 1 game session at this setting. Went back to 4.5 ghz, saw that I now needed 1.260v load for 12 hour prime. I tried 1.248v load but that BSOD'd after 8 hours. 1.260v passed three times with three 12 hour runs.

Then I swapped chips to my first "worse" one and am now abusing the hell out of it.

Ever heard of a burn in period ? Some CPU's get a little bit more demanding for Vcore after a while... Also what do you expect running +0.3 more vcore than stock, this on air or water with temps due to silly stress testing reaching over 90°C... It's all part of the game...

I didn't run my better (second) 2600k at 0.3v vcore over stock. I only primed for a short time at about 0.16v over stock. I'm *Deliberately* running my first one like that on purpose for the sole purpose of degrading it. (and the second one just some normal gaming at about 0.2v over stock). Where was I complaining? I don't care about the first chip, only the second.

And I didn't start this thread. He asked for feedback, thus I'm giving feedback. I did buy the first cpu and it had a high VID, so I feel like seeing how many volts it can take. Is that a bad thing?

have lost 30-40Mhz on 2 x 2600K (both could do above 5.6Ghz) DryIce at 1.65V bios set with Level 2 Vdroop on these 2 chips from the time started testing them.

On air, they are being run at stock, :D

Seems that extreme cooling allows the chips to be run safely at higher volts, greatly minimizing this effect.

CPU: 2500k @ 4.5ghz
Vcore(bios): around 1.33v
Vcore(DMM):
VTT: 1.2v
vDIMM: 1.65v
Mobo: Asrock P67 Extreme4 B2

Running fine for 3-4 months.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Falkentyne

Seems that extreme cooling allows the chips to be run safely at higher volts, greatly minimizing this effect.

---

I wont say that, atleast in my experience as mentioned above both my chips lost 30-40 Mhz in say 6-7 or maybe max 10hours of benching above 1.65V with Dry Ice. Ofcourse if I would have run Prime 95 for that duration maybe the degradation would have been worst.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Leeghoofd

Ever heard of a burn in period ? Some CPU's get a little bit more demanding for Vcore after a while... Also what do you expect running +0.3 more vcore than stock, this on air or water with temps due to silly stress testing reaching over 90°C... It's all part of the game...

---

+1 I fully agree.

Every CPU I have had since the inital launch of 45nm (e8400) has needed a bit more voltage after burn-in. I just factor this phenomenon in now.

CPU: 2600k @ 4.8ghz 24/7
Vcore(bios): around 1.48v in windows 1.46v
Vcore(DMM):1.48
VTT: 1.2v
vDIMM: 1.68v
Mobo: Gigabyte P67A UD7

Ive slammed my chip with lots of 12 hour prime , she used to do 4.8 at 1.430 vcore , now she needs more juice , also think changing my ram from 1600mhz to 2133mhz stressed my cpu a bit more

Which LLC option do you use The Real 7? Is that 1.48v dmm reading at load? I do not trust software reading on my UD7. I always assume that bios set ~ real vcore. I still need to check with a dmm to verify Sin's readings with his board.

How much more juice, real7?

Would running the mem at 2133Mhz (vDIMM 1.520v) some how accelerate the degradation?
Also those who posted so far are using VTT at 1.15 ~ 1.200v, how do I exactly determine when I need to up the VTT and when to up or lower PLL voltages?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chuchnit

Which LLC option do you use The Real 7? Is that 1.48v dmm reading at load? I do not trust software reading on my UD7. I always assume that bios set ~ real vcore. I still need to check with a dmm to verify Sin's readings with his board.

---

I use LL1 , I use to not trust the software reading but I tested hard with idle and loads , and i can tell you without a doubt the reading are on point in software , look couple pages down in the ud7 forum I have pics with the software and the dmm at same time :up:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Falkentyne

How much more juice, real7?

---

well my chip used to do 1.430vcore in bios and used to pass at 5.0 easy , now shes needs 1.480v - 14.90v to remain stable at 4.8 , for 5.0 i need something like 1.550v now . . . is this settling or degration ,I would say a bit of both

I've been crunching for almost 1 month now at 1.5v (for 4.88) but the temps are typically 58 deg C. What is the consensus on "safe from degredation" temps? or put another way can we look at this from a temp point of view, regardless of voltage?

:|

wow

i think that another important information about it it's the stepping

however i hope that these cpus are only unlucky

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Demo

Would running the mem at 2133Mhz (vDIMM 1.520v) some how accelerate the degradation?
Also those who posted so far are using VTT at 1.15 ~ 1.200v, how do I exactly determine when I need to up the VTT and when to up or lower PLL voltages?

---

well I don't know about accelerate the degradation , but for me the rule of thumb has always folowe, the more aggressive the ram , the more vtt and vcore you need to keep stable , I can run 1600mhz tight timing at stock vtt and a bit lower vcore , so in theory with slower ram I could probably easily get a better overclock with stresses the proc less
how do I exactly determine when I need to up the VTT and when to up or lower PLL voltages? Great question dude following the bsod guide doesn't seem to work always cause 101 and 124 could either be vtt or vcore :confused:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by the_real_7

well my chip used to do 1.430vcore in bios and used to pass at 5.0 easy , now shes needs 1.480v - 14.90v to remain stable at 4.8 , for 5.0 i need something like 1.550v now . . . is this settling or degration ,I would say a bit of both

---

:shocked:

Is the chip still needing more vcore or has it flattened out?
If you run at 4.8-5.0, are your voltages still needing to be increased?

I had 2 2600K with sign of degradation...

2 things was common in both CPUs:
- Both was at 1.5v Vcore, VTT around 1.3v, PLL Auto, vDIMM 1.5v
- And Bad clockers.

One with P8P67 WS Revolution (B2) and the other MIVE (B3).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Falkentyne

:shocked:

Is the chip still needing more vcore or has it flattened out?
If you run at 4.8-5.0, are your voltages still needing to be increased?

---

so far flattened out hopefully . . . but then again I haven't been priming just hitting linx lately ,

Will see how long mine lasts but guys you are not degrading your chip in 2 days.Ever since I started overclocking new chips will always break in and as soon as they get more volts they always want more volts.Im running 4 sticks of 2200 ram at 1.66 volts and pushing it and have no problems.

some of you are basically giving the chip stock voltage to hit 4.5 ghz lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Skratch

Will see how long mine lasts but guys you are not degrading your chip in 2 days.Ever since I started overclocking new chips will always break in and as soon as they get more volts they always want more volts.Im running 4 sticks of 2200 ram at 1.66 volts and pushing it and have no problems.

some of you are basically giving the chip stock voltage to hit 4.5 ghz lol

---

Says the guy hitting 98C on load... :ROTF: ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dr_sharp

Says the guy hitting 98C on load... :ROTF: ;)

---

stock intel coller and closed case LOL and my chip is still doing exactly what it has been for about 4 months now.

I just ran linx with 4gb of ram for 5 passes and I have 4 sticks of 2200mhz ram and 1.66 volts on the memory controller.

it hit 98c for over 10min and guess what? my chip is still running 5ghz haha

I get no blue screens or reboots at all.This thing is rock stable.

It hits 98c on linx and prime and It will never come close to those temps in normal daily use.

99c it will throttle so by intels specs the cpu is still fine,most mac book pros hit 90c with normal use.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Skratch

stock intel coller and closed case LOL and my chip is still doing exactly what it has been for about 4 months now.

I just ran linx with 4gb of ram for 5 passes and I have 4 sticks of 2200mhz ram and 1.66 volts on the memory controller.

it hit 98c for over 10min and guess what? my chip is still running 5ghz haha

I get no blue screens or reboots at all.This thing is rock stable.

It hits 98c on linx and prime and It will never come close to those temps in normal daily use.

99c it will throttle so by intels specs the cpu is still fine,most mac book pros hit 90c with normal use.

---

Dude - if you're comfortable with those temps, that's all that matters. Don't let me or anyone else deter you from running high clocks.

However, IMHO, anything above Intel's recommended 74C max temp is suicide whether it be in the short term or long term. If 4 months is long term to you - wonderful :clap:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dr_sharp

Dude - if you're comfortable with those temps, that's all that matters. Don't let me or anyone else deter you from running high clocks.

However, IMHO, anything above Intel's recommended 74C max temp is suicide whether it be in the short term or long term. If 4 months is long term to you - wonderful :clap:

---

Those temps Im hiiting is only when doing 100% load like linx with 6GB of ram ect.

My setup never sees over 65c in normal daily use.

I can run intel burn test with 1 gb of ram selected and it wont break 70c

I only brought up the 98c to show that I have no degration and Iv hit those temps while trying to see my max stable overclock.

normal use will never see those temps,heck im at 30c right now

-40c 1.7vCore 1.155vCCIO 5827mhz still max and stable as day one, couple months now :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Splave

-40c 1.7vCore 1.155vCCIO 5827mhz still max and stable as day one, couple months now :D

---

Is that a 2500k or a 2600k?

Yeah you're on subzero, so you're definitely not going to get much degradation. So far everyone I've seen who's on extreme cooling and high voltages have lost maybe 50 mhz at most. And 1.5 VCCIO? Wow....why so high? Hypers?

This sounds like a great idea:- forums posts are usually biased toward things that go wrong, and I was starting to think that all 2500/2600 chips were going to degrade.

Would it be helpful to add lot number / date / place of manufacture to the data collected to see if there are any consistencies?

I haven't bought a board yet, had just saved enough when the SATA bug was announced, then the Z68 came along, now these more frequent stories of
ion seep / whatever is causing these degrading clock / voltage problems. Could be that the Ks are a relatively small jump in price because the few bins a non-K will give are all that is sustainable?

This makes things difficult: I really need a new computer :)

Model: i7 2600K
Batch: L040B698
Mobo: Asus P8P67 Pro

4.6 GHz
BCLK: 100.1
multi: 46
vcore (BIOS): 1.275
vcore (load): 1.352 - 1.392
LLC: none (standard)
VRM Current: 100%
VRM Frequency: 380 KHz
VRM Phase Control: Manual: Fast
VRM Duty Control: T.Probe


Been running WCG and other stuff since Janurary. No noticable degradation yet.
Average temps: 65 - 75
Temps spikes during the recent heatwaves: 80 - 84C (sustained for about 5 hours until I woke up and saw it :rofl:)

It'll be running at 4.2 GHz for the summer. My AC can't keep up... :(

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Skratch

Those temps Im hiiting is only when doing 100% load like linx with 6GB of ram ect.

My setup never sees over 65c in normal daily use.

---

I see... do you use prime95 for stability testing? Curious to see if you're 8hr stable and what temps you see, if so.

Lot number and date of manufacture are irrelevent, as the CPU's aren't even fabbed where they are packaged.

More to the point would be something like default serial VID @ 3.3 or 3.4 ghz, as just about the ONLY identicator of how well a CPU will overclock, is the default VID; usually the lower the VID, the less vcore it will require (this is sort of self explanatory). But oddly enough, the hotter the chip may tend to be.

There ARE some good high VID clockers, but a lot more dogs are high VID.

BTW, if anyone cares, I managed to compensate for SOME of the degradation on my lower VID 2600k @ 5 ghz (and at prime blend @4.5 ghz at 1.236-1.248v load) by raising the PLL voltage to 1.86v. This helped with some of the idle/light load 0x124's I was getting at 5 ghz, with "creeping" degradation (meaning starting to get idle bsod's after several days of playing BC2 at 5 ghz), as well as slowing how fast they occured in prime at 4.5 ghz at 1.236-1.248 load. (1.260v load is prime blend 12h stable). By raising the pll voltage, I was able to stay on the desktop at 5 ghz (1.410v BIOS LLC2, 0.01v lower than before) for 1 hour idle, and in the main menu in bad company 2 for another hour before I got bored and closed it. (previously, it would BSOD 0x124 in the menu but not on a server).

I Guess the point was that I was getting 0x124's on this chip, while my heavily degraded one *always* 101's in prime blend without enough vcore (Now you guys see why I experiment).

1.260v is like my VID for 3.4Ghz on my 2600K, pretty darn nice chip!

But Im a bit confused on my VID sometimes after a CMOS reset it shows 1.240 or 1.255

Haha, I know why.
When you reset the CMOS, the turbo multiplier is enabled for 4 core usage. So the multiplier is +1 higher than the default. Notice that whenever you reset the CMOS, the 2600k posts at 3500 mhz?
When you go into your BIOS and disable the turbo options, you're back at normal (either 33x100 for 2500k or x34 for 2600k), then the VID shows properly.

BTW I restabilized 5 ghz again, partially. Dropped my vcore by 0.01v and raised the PLL to 1.86v, and I was able to stay in the bad company 2 main menu for an hour without a 0x124 error popping up, and in the desktop for another hour. I'll try one more test with leaving bad company 2 idle, then I'll go back to my worse 2600k and degrade it some more some some volts. No idea if it will pass again or not, though.

See if it can do 24hrs idle :D

BTW, would 1.392 be a safe ildle voltage? Loads at 1.380v

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Splave

-40c 1.7vCore 1.155vCCIO 5827mhz still max and stable as day one, couple months now :D

---

Still going strong:up:

Same here:D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Falkentyne

More to the point would be something like default serial VID @ 3.3 or 3.4 ghz, as just about the ONLY identicator of how well a CPU will overclock, is the default VID; usually the lower the VID, the less vcore it will require (this is sort of self explanatory). But oddly enough, the hotter the chip may tend to be.

There ARE some good high VID clockers, but a lot more dogs are high VID.

---

Imo, VID, batch etc. doesn't make any difference in term of Mhz. wall.
SB K chip that can go 57X+ is out there in retail channel, but it won't carry any specific mark...unless Intel decided to bin it:D

Not interested in degrading my cpu leaving at 5 ghz for no reason. I'm done doing stress testing...I want to game.

BTW it passed 1.5 hours being idle in bad company 2 menu with pll at 1.86v (Default PLL used to BSOD there within 15-30 minutes).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Falkentyne

Yeah you're on subzero, so you're definitely not going to get much degradation. So far everyone I've seen who's on extreme cooling and high voltages have lost maybe 50 mhz at most. And 1.5 VCCIO? Wow....why so high? Hypers?

---

You sure about that claim ? we have easily lost over 100Mhz on some AMD CPUs subzero... It's not always just about cold...

Also when pushing SB, there's no Mhz left to squeeze out as it will refuse to post windows, detect the HDs,...

Splave uses 1.15Vcio :p

Like said before some CPUs have a burn in period. If you only need a small voltage increment to keep the same clocks stable, so be it... is it really degredation? dunno for sure...
Failing a stability test can have multiple reasons and is not necesarrily only the CPU too blame... mostly it's the moterboards circuitry or new biosses that influence the vcore setting...

Losing 100 mhz is not the same as losing 300 mhz if you were on air at the same settings, Lee :) 0.03v rise is a lot different than having a 0.08v rise. And maybe i made my claim come out badly; all I was saying was, you're going to have less degradation on subzero than you would on air, at high voltages.

Wonder if its anything to do with vccio? All you guys reporting degradation running vccio 1.2v+?

Mines never needed to be over 1.16v when you get the memory subtimings right, even up to 2250mhz. Maybe ive just got a good IMC, who knows. Still itd be interesting to plot vccio against degraded chips.

Nope, 1.05v vccio only. And you will never get 0x101 from vtt problems. usually degradation affects the cpu cores directly and causes 0x101. 0x124's can be the result of IMC or the clock stability/PLL or other reasons.

Cpu 2600k @5418 (52x104,2) for benching only.
Vcore (Bios) 1,59
Vtt 1,12
vDIMM 1,693
Cpu on watercooling, 54 celcius max
Mobo ASUS P8P67 PRO


After 50 days cpu needs 1,6 for 5318.
Pretty big degradation

2600k, bought on release day, 24-7 5Ghz 1.418v. Has been frozen about a dozen time @ 1.6v. When it was new I got 5768Mhz, now it does 5758Mhz so I lost 10Mhz in total.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Falkentyne

Yeah you're on subzero, so you're definitely not going to get much degradation. So far everyone I've seen who's on extreme cooling and high voltages have lost maybe 50 mhz at most. And 1.5 VCCIO? Wow....why so high? Hypers?

---

its 1.15 :rofl:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Eldonko

2600k, bought on release day, 24-7 5Ghz 1.418v. Has been frozen about a dozen time @ 1.6v. When it was new I got 5768Mhz, now it does 5758Mhz so I lost 10Mhz in total.

---

nows that definitely settling if you'd had since day 1 and those speeds and has only lost 10Mhz lol , nice chip :up:

Well I lost about 0.03v vcore on my better 2600k for sure. Was perfect at 4.5 ghz 1.236v for two months, but after repeated prime tests (between 1-3 hours, multiple times) at 5 ghz, the entire CPU degraded across all ranges, so that 4.5 ghz now requires 1.260v for 12 hour prime blend, and 5 ghz requires about 1.440v (not priming there anymore). Started noticing more problems after using LLC2 to keep my idle voltages low, by having BSOD in BC2 main menu (but not while in a game) or idle on desktop; originally had some BSOD in BC2 in game at 1.40v bios (1.428v load), raised to 1.410v bios for 1.440v load, in game bsod's stopped but idle/main menu bsod's happened.

After noticing these were all 0x124's, and noticing that when I tried priming at 4.5 ghz at 1.236 (which used to be stable) to 1.254v load, the crashes were *always* 0x124's (while on my first, heavily degraded 2600k, the crashes were ALWAYS 0x101's, even at 1.3v load). Thought something was strange, so i raised up the PLL to 1.86v, and this greatly delayed how fast the BSOD's happened (1.236v was BSOD in 5 minutes, with PLL at 1.86, it was able to go about an hour and 10 minutes before BSOD). 1.242v bsod'd after about 2 hours with 1.86v pll (instead of 45 minutes without it). 1.248v with 1.88v PLL lasted five hours then gave a roundoff error, instead of a BSOD. 1.260v passed blend 12 hours without raising PLL at all.

Seeing that raising PLL helped (though didn't fully eliminate) the crashes here, and since 0x124's were happening at 5 ghz in BC2, too or desktop, I raised PLL to 1.86v, dropped the vcore from 1.420v BIOS (which also stopped the idle bsod's, as that was about 1.440v in the main menu), to 1.410v and passed 1.5 hours of main menu BC2 just sitting there, and some more time idle on desktop, with no 0x124. so yeah there was still degradation that happened, but I was able to compensate for part of it with the PLL boost. While I still need 1.440v for full game stability, 1.428v is now fine with lighter load thanks to raising the PLL. Pretty sure trying 1.40v bios will still cause crashes, since the vcore change at 4.5 ghz also relates to the vcore increase at 5 ghz (that's why I do my prime testing at 4.5 ghz--to prevent more degradation, and I can find it much safer that way). BTW, after doing the PLL 5 ghz main menu testing, went back to 4.5 ghz again and passed yet another 12 hour blend at 1.260v. So feeling happy, swapped out the CPU for the first 2600k that I can abuse at high vcores at 5 ghz again.

BTW, might be able to be fine without raising PLL and thus having idle voltage slightly lower than load voltage at full speed (from using LLC2 on the 2nd chip), by using offsets to have the CPU downclock when idle...tested on the first 2600k and works quite nicely...5 ghz at 1.5v full load, and C1E making it downclock when idle or light load, while clocking fully at 1 thread full load (as long as C3/C6 are turned off; seems like C3/C6 prevents vcore/clocks from rising fast enough when only 1 thread is fully loaded...I had a 1 thread game (Crossfire) just BSOD in the freaking game lobby in windows XP, when using C3/C6. No BSOD when I disabled C3/C6). Offsets plus C1E or EIST (which do the exact same thing, except EIST is controlled by software and C1E by hardware) definitely work nice to avoid having high idle voltages and dealing with excessive vdroop from LLC1, or not having enough idle voltage with LLC2...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Falkentyne

Well I lost about 0.03v vcore on my better 2600k for sure. Was perfect at 4.5 ghz 1.236v for two months, but after repeated prime tests (between 1-3 hours, multiple times) at 5 ghz, the entire CPU degraded across all ranges, so that 4.5 ghz now requires 1.260v for 12 hour prime blend, and 5 ghz requires about 1.440v (not priming there anymore). Started noticing more problems after using LLC2 to keep my idle voltages low, by having BSOD in BC2 main menu (but not while in a game) or idle on desktop; originally had some BSOD in BC2 in game at 1.40v bios (1.428v load), raised to 1.410v bios for 1.440v load, in game bsod's stopped but idle/main menu bsod's happened.

After noticing these were all 0x124's, and noticing that when I tried priming at 4.5 ghz at 1.236 (which used to be stable) to 1.254v load, the crashes were *always* 0x124's (while on my first, heavily degraded 2600k, the crashes were ALWAYS 0x101's, even at 1.3v load). Thought something was strange, so i raised up the PLL to 1.86v, and this greatly delayed how fast the BSOD's happened (1.236v was BSOD in 5 minutes, with PLL at 1.86, it was able to go about an hour and 10 minutes before BSOD). 1.242v bsod'd after about 2 hours with 1.86v pll (instead of 45 minutes without it). 1.248v with 1.88v PLL lasted five hours then gave a roundoff error, instead of a BSOD. 1.260v passed blend 12 hours without raising PLL at all.

Seeing that raising PLL helped (though didn't fully eliminate) the crashes here, and since 0x124's were happening at 5 ghz in BC2, too or desktop, I raised PLL to 1.86v, dropped the vcore from 1.420v BIOS (which also stopped the idle bsod's, as that was about 1.440v in the main menu), to 1.410v and passed 1.5 hours of main menu BC2 just sitting there, and some more time idle on desktop, with no 0x124. so yeah there was still degradation that happened, but I was able to compensate for part of it with the PLL boost. While I still need 1.440v for full game stability, 1.428v is now fine with lighter load thanks to raising the PLL. Pretty sure trying 1.40v bios will still cause crashes, since the vcore change at 4.5 ghz also relates to the vcore increase at 5 ghz (that's why I do my prime testing at 4.5 ghz--to prevent more degradation, and I can find it much safer that way). BTW, after doing the PLL 5 ghz main menu testing, went back to 4.5 ghz again and passed yet another 12 hour blend at 1.260v. So feeling happy, swapped out the CPU for the first 2600k that I can abuse at high vcores at 5 ghz again.

BTW, might be able to be fine without raising PLL and thus having idle voltage slightly lower than load voltage at full speed (from using LLC2 on the 2nd chip), by using offsets to have the CPU downclock when idle...tested on the first 2600k and works quite nicely...5 ghz at 1.5v full load, and C1E making it downclock when idle or light load, while clocking fully at 1 thread full load (as long as C3/C6 are turned off; seems like C3/C6 prevents vcore/clocks from rising fast enough when only 1 thread is fully loaded...I had a 1 thread game (Crossfire) just BSOD in the freaking game lobby in windows XP, when using C3/C6. No BSOD when I disabled C3/C6). Offsets plus C1E or EIST (which do the exact same thing, except EIST is controlled by software and C1E by hardware) definitely work nice to avoid having high idle voltages and dealing with excessive vdroop from LLC1, or not having enough idle voltage with LLC2...

---

well after 0x124's can be tricky , I base those more i memory problems , to test I take memory to lose as i can , and ramp up processor to full speed if doesn't get 0x124's , a subliming somewhere is causing you hell , the ud7 set sub-timing very hard and unsuitable for priming , you think its proc every time . .
.5 ghz at 1.5v not bad considering its load :) screw it ,there's warranty on these babies
to much prime can be bad at high vcore yes , but at 1.254v shouldn't degrade or chip is bad to begin with , imagine all the people encoding blowing thyre chips ? because overclocked a bit . . . some chips where just built to die ,
I think my chip has settled finally cause I primed all last night and had good and bad results" bad was memory " and she holding , when she starts getting bsod and needs more juice , i reset ud7 and she back to normal 14.40 load 14.90 bios

I should add that Ive never primed for more than a half hour. I think that is the killer for degradation.

last prime95 is more more strong that old version
are u sure that u use always the same version?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by devil_mcry

last prime95 is more more strong that old version
are u sure that u use always the same version?

---

way stronger and yes a probem , so is linx . . . eventually they'll ban these programs cause they aren't keeping up with what fail new architecture , but i run prime from site and no beta garbage

Would running the memory from 1600Mhz to 2133Mhz with a Vtt of 1.080 and vDIMM of 1.520 somewhat also degrade the chip faster?

I'm running a VTT of 1.07 with vddr @ 1.65 24/7 100% load for some time now and I can not report any kind of degradation. Also no ill effects from 1.46 vcore.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Demo

Would running the memory from 1600Mhz to 2133Mhz with a Vtt of 1.080 and vDIMM of 1.520 somewhat also degrade the chip faster?

---

I see a major snowball effect again... people are getting scared... :rofl:

1) Some CPUs degrade, though they are rare. Some withstand the heaviest abuse with loads of high speed rams at ridicilous volts...

2) Also keep in mind that some users not always tell the true story; Degradation of two CPUs in a row... I wonder... :shrug:

3) You guys all love the loadline... coz it makes you prime, run Linx at that precious 1.295Vcore. Ever imagined that bad manufacturer implementation ( soft or hardware wise ) or usage of that setting could create spikes/overshoots etc... there's more than meets the eye... ever wondered why there's Vdroop/drop ?

4) And by all means keep on stress testing , it's good for you and your CPU... :up:

5) I forgot especially raise the PLL to 1.9 ish region !!! It makes the game even better...

Running two 2600K at 4.5 at 1.35Vcore (no loadline) with 4 and 8Gb 2133Mhz Gskill rams at 7-9-7-21 1.67Vdimm... no Vcio adjusting required... games and all my apps run without a hickup... maybe I could aim for lower Vcore, but that's not my interest...

Dont forget that people are always trying different timings and different bios so there is way to many variables.

good call, ambients , humidy matter too... it's not always the CPU either...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Leeghoofd

3) You guys all love the loadline... coz it makes you prime, run Linx at that precious 1.295Vcore. Ever imagined that bad manufacturer implementation ( soft or hardware wise ) or usage of that setting could create spikes/overshoots etc... there's more than meets the eye... ever wondered why there's Vdroop/drop ?

---

w/o LLC I need to set the bios offset to something like +0.090 to get a 1.360v load and that idles at about 1.410v. with LLC Id only need +0.030 to get 1.360v but I dont have the tools to see how much overshoot it does.. Maybe you can give some specific insights to this instead of pointing to a tech documentation ?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Eldonko

I should add that Ive never primed for more than a half hour. I think that is the killer for degradation.

---

No. High Temperature and High Vcore are the "killer for degradation"

Prime simply runs codes to calculate prime numbers, it only uses the CPU for what it was designed to... :eek:

If people choose to run Prime at higher temperature than recommended or at higher voltages than recommended, that this the problem.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Eldonko

I should add that Ive never primed for more than a half hour. I think that is the killer for degradation.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dr_sharp

No. High Temperature and High Vcore are the "killer for degradation"

Prime simply runs codes to calculate prime numbers, it only uses the CPU for what it was designed to... :eek:

If people choose to run Prime at higher temperature than recommended or at higher voltages than recommended, that this the problem.

---

Exactly, If your overclock has you concerned about running prime then you need to evaluate why the hell you are overclocking.

Some people say its perfectly fine to idle at high voltages something like 1.500v since the power draw in idle is very minimal and its just as good as a 0.960v idle and let Vdroop bring it down to 1.400v when the cores are loaded since its actually the power draw that can degrade the CPU and not voltages alone..
Something like 9000v at 0.01amps will have the same effect of 9v at 10amps ?

According to the loadline tables on the spec sheets, 1.52v VID is about 1.48v idle. What someone could do is set a 1.52v in BIOS, NOT use loadline calibration at all (since using LLC goes outside of specifications), make sure their board isn't bugged that forces LLC on you (MSI boards force vrise LLC even if its disabled in the BIOS), then leave the cpu completely idle so its around 1.47 vcore for an extended time, and not have any load put on it (say, like, a day or two), and then go back to their full prime stable setting and see if there has been any degradation. That should put that to rest.

Btw, is it me or have things gotten slightly hostile lately? I saw this way back during the pentium 4 and core 2 days, when some people said degradation was a myth...and I proved them both wrong, when the SNDS/GNDS reports came flooding in later....

Even degraded my X6800 with 1.55v, which everyone said was safe....

No one understood back then the difference between VID and VCC (after vdroop)...and the whole loadline article on anandtech came to the complete wrong conclusion about the voltages...(example: when people said max "voltage" on core 2 quad was 1.362v, this is wrong. That's the max VID, and VID is the voltage target sent through the BIOS, before LLC is applied. The max vcore depends on the load applied to the processor. Removing LLC removes the loadline slope, which helps the chips overclock more, but also goes out of the VRD specifications. Obviously, you're going to be fine if you use 1.35v with LLC, since you would still be within electrical specifications (not for THAT voltage/vid, but if you had used a higher VID without LLC). But 1.52v with LLC for 1.52v load? That's like using a 1.65v VID with no LLC. And max VID is 1.52v not 1.65v ....

Just saying...something to think about.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Demo

Something like 9000v at 0.01amps will have the same effect of 9v at 10amps ?

---

Not quite to that scale since most things have much much lower breakdown voltages but as far as power goes thats true.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Demo

its actually the power draw that can degrade the CPU and not voltages alone..

---

Voltages alone CAN degrade the CPU. A semiconductors breakdown voltage is dependent on temperature and doping (this isn't a variable for us so ignore it) so it is possible to damage a chip at idle with very high voltages but it can happen at lower voltages during cpu loading because you also increase the temperature due to power dissipation. I have no clue at what voltage it happens at in these chips though. I have been running 1.5V through quite a few 2600k's with no degradation.

Basically an Idle voltage of say 1.5000v is still harmful even if it drops down to 1.380v when fully loaded?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by babalouj

I have been running 1.5V through quite a few 2600k's with no degradation.

---

I think this says alot.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Falkentyne

...and I proved them both wrong, when the SNDS/GNDS reports came flooding in later...

---

If an experienced overclocker knows what they are doing, there should not be any degradation. This has always been the case. If you have "proved" people wrong in the past, then you have "proved" that you are an inexperienced overclocker. Period.

How can experience actually prevent degradation, Im missing something here.. Say both have the exact same hardware down to the atomic level. The other one is a world champion overclocker and the one just some random newbie who followed the 1.5v settings. Same temps and all.

A couple months ago it was Winter and colder. Stress tests will pass at higher speeds with colder temps. It gets warmer out, temps go up a little, and now you need a little more voltage to pass stress tests since they arent operating as efficiently. I usually just drop 100-200Mhz off my CPU speed once it starts getting warmer out.

Yes degredation happens, but not if you are using resonable settings.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dr_sharp

I think this says alot.

If an experienced overclocker knows what they are doing, there should not be any degradation. This has always been the case. If you have "proved" people wrong in the past, then you have "proved" that you are an inexperienced overclocker. Period.

---

^^ Care to explain this please?

Here, I'll invalidate your argument right now:

Person A: 1.65v through a Northwood is perfectly safe, just don't go above 1.7v.
Person B: Uses 1.65v 3.81 ghz, WITHOUT a vdroop mod, vcore drops under load to 1.52v from vdroop. Uses high end cooling, max temps: 60C.

Person B: CPU slowly degrades, after two weeks of having to lower mhz, person B's CPU can only run at 3.70 ghz at 1.65v.

Person A: you incompetent OC'er!!

....
....

1 year later:
Tons of reports of degraded CPU's and a few chips no longer stable at stock, when run between 1.6v-1.7v.

So you're still calling person B an incompetent overclocker, just because his CPU degraded, right? Just because person A's cpu did not degrade at 1.7v?

Sigh...I simply don't understand some people on these forums....I really don't.

@Admin: (nevermind)

No need to leave, just keep the Intel spec sheets in the back of your mind. No need to wave them around each time as mostly anyone cares about them.. You are overclocking and you dial in the voltages, you shoudl be aware of the risks, and take note of high temps... just coz the Intel rates 100°C doesn't mean 90°C load is still good for your CPU. I keep all my Intel CPUs for daily ops around max 70°C LinX or Prime95 loaded.

But also keep in the back of your mind that Intel binned these CPU for their rated speed, extra performance can not be warranted, if you overclock you are running a risk of damaging hardware... degredation is not a myth, but's not a certainty either... some CPUs can withold laods of volts, heat,.. with ease. Others go a bit down in performance or need a slight up voltage after a while... or are ready for hardware heaven :p

There's more than just the CPU that can degrade in performance... loads of factors play a part (see post 84-85-86 to name just a few)... and really man a 0.03 loss, are you really worried about that ?

What's the Intel tech spec on CPU PLL ? Every reknown overclocker here says to keep PLL sub 1.9 --> that's for +5.6Ghz action, you up the PLL for 4.5Ghz to 1.86 to avoid BSOD... Seems something is wrong with the way you got things dialed in... or something wrong with the board/bios/ram combo... (I'm starting to run for the big Dino monster that will come out of his cave soon) eg I run 1.7PLL at 4.6 daily, PCH at 0.95 (old B2 board) On the Asus boards also lots of BSOD at idle with the C states enabled and voltage offset used. I disabled the crap and it runs fine now ( though at idle at 4.6 at 1.35Vcore )

Have you tried another bios, think Sergio still uses F4 bios on his UD7 as it's the best suited for him ( but I could be wrong )

Because it never happened to them thats why they blame other for not doing things right whats funny is that they keep spouting that every chip is different.. someone needs to practice what they preach!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Leeghoofd

No need to leave, just keep the Intel spec sheets in the back of your mind. No need to wave them around each time as mostly anyone cares about them.. You are overclocking and you dial in the voltages, you shoudl be aware of the risks, and take note of high temps... just coz the Intel rates 100°C doesn't mean 90°C load is still good for your CPU. I keep all my Intel CPUs for daily ops around max 70°C LinX or Prime95 loaded.

But also keep in the back of your mind that Intel binned these CPU for their rated speed, extra performance can not be warranted, if you overclock you are running a risk of damaging hardware... degredation is not a myth, but's not a certainty either... some CPUs can withold laods of volts, heat,.. with ease. Others go a bit down in performance or need a slight up voltage after a while... or are ready for hardware heaven :p

There's more than just the CPU that can degrade in performance... loads of factors play a part (see post 84-85-86 to name just a few)... and really man a 0.03 loss, are you really worried about that ?

What's the Intel tech spec on CPU PLL ? Every reknown overclocker here says to keep PLL sub 1.9 --> that's for +5.6Ghz action, you up the PLL for 4.5Ghz to 1.86 to avoid BSOD... Seems something is wrong with the way you got things dialed in... or something wrong with the board/bios/ram combo... (I'm starting to run for the big Dino monster that will come out of his cave soon) eg I run 1.7PLL at 4.6 daily, PCH at 0.95 (old B2 board) On the Asus boards also lots of BSOD at idle with the C states enabled and voltage offset used. I disabled the crap and it runs fine now ( though at idle at 4.6 at 1.35Vcore )

Have you tried another bios, think Sergio still uses F4 bios on his UD7 as it's the best suited for him ( but I could be wrong )

---

I believe he aint worried about the loss, I think its people who actually point to him that the does not know what his talking about. Falk has contributed a lot of information to this thread and the forum compared to the nay sayers.