5.7+ Diary

Overclocking Diary

All in this page is with AIR Cooling

CPU Batch: L040B225

Prolimatech Megahalem, with 2 pcs of Silverstone FM121 12cm with adjustable ventilators. The ventilator are installed so the system breath after the ATX 2 standard. The ATX 2 standard is sucking cold air from the front part of the chassis, over the motherboard and the cpu, and out through the power supply and ventilator room just under the power supply. One 12cm ventilator is equipped on the Megahaelem to push the air through it, and the other to push the air out through the backplate of the chassis. For you people that doesnt really know my chassis, I can tell that it is really difficult to make serious airflow in a cooler master stacker. Cooler Master stacker chassis is leaky (full of holes) on purpose, making it difficult to control or make a strong wind-tunnel for the CPU.

But enough excuses.

Facts:

Cooler Master Stacker 830

CPU: Intel 2600K @ 4.8 - 5.4GHz

Cooler: Prolimatech Megahalem equiped with a single Silverstone FM121

Motherboard: MSI P67A-GD65

Memory: 4 x 2 GB Corsair XMS 1600

GPU: Nvidia 470GTX @ 686 MHz, Driver 266.58 win 7 64 bit

ThermalTake Toughpower 850W

Ambient temperature was: 25c

Software installed:

Windows 7, 64 bit

3Dmark06 from futuremark

Coretemp

EVGA precision tool

25. January 2011

First test was to compare the result with the stock intel cooler, which must be a good reference point. If you look in the Intel 2600K@4.8GHz with stock cooler, you will see that I boild eggs on the boxed cooler. So how will the newly equipped cooler help it:

As you can see on the screenshot, the 98C core temperature is now reduced to a max. of 64c which make some room for experience with more power.

I was running out of time that evening, so I just made another test and upped the clock to 4.9GHz and temperature went up to 68C when it peaked... I still have 2 more unmounted 12cm highperformance ventilator in the drawer, to get things as I want them.

Well. My theory about all good Intel processors to be able to take 1,5x factory defaults on air, seems to hold water one more time.

27. January 2011

Some days later on, I had the time to play a little more, so I adjusted the system a bit to see if I could reach the 1.5x factory settings, and it went really well. I am still running with only two high-speed fans in the chassis.

First try was with 5.0 GHz, Internal CPU PLL enable

Temperature is now hitting Intels tcase temp, but what the hell. The system is still running strong.

Next try was with 5.1 GHz

Same, same, system felt stable, but reached 77c on the cores. Only the CPU tests in 3dmark06 hurts.

On my way to bed I though, why dont I try to do a little more, just with the parameters I already set, so I took a few more runs.

Later try was 5.2 GHz, later try was successfull with vCore 1.475v

No problem - or maybe. Unfortunately it cant be seen on the screenshot, but It passed 80c.

Now 5.3 GHz, with a little extra Vcore to make stability 1.53v. I can do with less, but I don't really know the exact limit.

First crash today. In the middle for the firefly forrest test. Not really hot, - maybe 60c on the hottest core. Its definitly just a matter of voltage, and I am to tired for that now. I will soon need to equip more fans, to see if I can get it just a few degrees cooler. I expect it to hit 90c around 5.4c, so I am close to what I expect to be the limit with 2 fans.

Enough for today.

28. January 2011

Just had an hour to mess with computer today. I equiped a second fan to the cooler. In the same time I adjusted the voltage on the CPU a bit, to 1.54volt. CPU ran 3dmark06 without any issues.

5.3 GHz pass.

BIOS Mods so far:

Multiplier: x53

BLCK: 100

Vcore: 1,54

PLL: 1,65

Dram Voltage: 1.645

In lack of time I adjusted the CPU further on to 5.4 GHz with no Voltage adjustments, but had stability issues running the tests, as before, the stability issues are not related to heat, so it is definitly a matter of adjusting power. I need to raise voltage again. I have a feeling that I can do end up doing 5.5 GHz < 93C.

2. April 2011

5.4 GHz CPU-Z validate,

3Dmark06, vcore adjusted to 1.56v, and it adjust it self up under load to 1.64v, so I am out of spec now making it critical to go higher.

7. March

Boot at 5.7 GHz with 2 cores off, and Bios 1.9 beta. Unfortunately it crashed with a BSOD x50, and chrashed the bios too. Lucky for me I have dual-bios. I will have to dig into the x50 error one of the days.