Intel i7 920 D0, good everyday overclock?

PermaChanged · 12 Dec 2009 at 00:23

Hey all,

I was wondering, what can be used safely as an everyday overclock with low voltage?

Currently I'm running 3.6ghz with 1.18v (200x19) temps creep up to around 75 using core temp after a about 30mins on Prime 95.

Is this a good overclock to be keeping the system at constantly? Should I continue to lower the CPU voltage until the system starts acting up?

Heres a link to the Screenshot of my O/C, please tell me what else I can do.

Thanks,
Jonny

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f289/Rusteh101/Overclock.jpg

ejr22 · 12 Dec 2009 at 01:10

Rusty_Noob said:
I was wondering, what can be used safely as an everyday overclock with low voltage?

It depends entirely on your particular chip and what voltages it needs to remain stable at different settings. There is not a set figure which all i7 920s adhere to unfortunately.

I would say that your overclock looks OK - I normally say that anything less than 80c @ load is acceptable (obviously the cooler the better though), over 80c is dodgy ground imo.

You may have already done so but personally I would test any overclock with Prime95 for longer than 30 mins, more like 4hrs+.

setter · 12 Dec 2009 at 01:26

What board, ram and more importantly what cooler are you using Rusty noob, i7's do tend to run pretty toasty when overclocked, but even with half decent air cooling they can clock to 4ghz with reasonable temps. The max voltage reccomended for the cpu is 1.4 vcore.

PermaChanged · 12 Dec 2009 at 01:48

Sorry, full spec is....

i7 920, Gigabyte EX58-UD3R, 6gb OCZ 1600mhz, X1900XT, Artic Freezer 7

I'll eventually change to a better air cooler and 5850 graphics card.

Thanks,
Jonny

Essexraptor · 12 Dec 2009 at 02:00

My system is near similiar and runs at 50 - 52 C under load at 3.6 Ghz OC but, the CPU cooler is a bit more beefy

setter · 12 Dec 2009 at 02:04

For my own i7, 1.18 took me to 3.6ghz as well, its only when i went to 3.8ghz i had to up the vcore and qpi/vtt voltage, 1.2750 vcore and 1.300 qpi/vtt, (same voltages worked for 4ghz as well) id say that the arctic freezer wouldnt be an ideal cooler mate if you want to push higher, im using the thermalright ultra extreme 120 with 2 fans in push pull, highest temps at 4ghz are 73-69-68-67, it is a pretty expensive cooler particularly when you factor in the price of 1 or 2 fans to use on it, but ive had it on 3 intel quads now and its more than paid for itself.

Essexraptor · 12 Dec 2009 at 02:10

Ditto Setter's comment

When I push my rig to 4 ghz I get a mean temp of 70 c over 4 cores and the Coolermaster V8 is no slouch

Brett82 · 12 Dec 2009 at 03:29

Sure that is fine for 24/7 but i would change that freezer 7 asap.

PermaChanged · 13 Dec 2009 at 02:39

Down to 1.168 vcore, temps dropped to around 70, according to coretemp, under full load on Prime for over an hour. On the gigabyte EasyTune screen the temp only reads 58.

PermaChanged · 9 Nov 2010 at 22:01

Thought I should update this thread.

I managed to get up to 3.8ghz Prime stable with temps well under 70 degrees with a change of cooler, to the Noctua DH-14.

I'm running 1.2v in the bios which translates to 1.136v in CPU-Z with 200 x 19, also got my ram running at the full 800mhz it's rated for.

setter · 9 Nov 2010 at 22:05

Looking good, temps are very good and voltage too, you should go on and push for 4ghz.

PermaChanged · 9 Nov 2010 at 22:10

It hits 4ghz quite easily, but it does need a voltage bump on the qpi as well as core, with that the temps go up a little too.

I don't think the temperature and voltage increase are worth it for that extra 200mhz, would be good for my e-peen though, but saying that I can't see any real world difference between stock and 3.8

setter · 9 Nov 2010 at 22:13

Yep, the voltage tends to need ever increasing increments therefore increasing temps, though saying that thank god it's a little colder now, seeing a nice drop on temps on my own rig.