What actually kills a CPU when OCing?

Ducky Spud · 31 Mar 2009 at 22:20

So like the title says, what is it that kills or damages the CPU? Is it just heat or are there other things to take into account? Do increased voltages cause direct damage (not just increased heat which may later cause damage).

Just wondering as my VCore is already at 1.52V but cant get over 3.2Ghz, though I know I should be able to get to 3.5Ghz easily. My temps are around 19C - 22C idle and never get over 46C when running prime95. Now I know CPU's can be run a lot hotter than that, but Im just wondering if increasing my VCore more(already raised 0.2V) will cause other damage besides the extra heat?

Thanks

Ducky Spud · 31 Mar 2009 at 23:25

So I should be reasonably risk free for now, if anything goes wrong it should just shut down automatically? Know its done that when voltage hasnt been high enough, but wasnt sure about voltage being "too high".

Any idea on how high the vcore can go before electromigration becomes a major issue? or should I just take it to the point my temps get to around 60 and leave it should still be fine? (which is what I was going to do)

Thanks for all your replies

Ducky Spud · 31 Mar 2009 at 23:53

Big.Wayne said:
Heh Ducky Spud you sound like you have a nervous temperament which may not put you in good stead for overclocking!

Ive overclocked 2 other PC's before this one, and this is already running 1.2Ghz more than stock haha. Just know its capable of 3.5Ghz easily and some lucky people with good chips have got it over 4Ghz! Anyway, this is the first time Ive properly pushed a CPU as far as I can, just want to make sure Im not going to kill it, which it sounds like Im not

Ducky Spud · 1 Apr 2009 at 11:09

DELETE

Ducky Spud · 1 Apr 2009 at 11:11

Well bumped into a problem when incresing my vcore. Goes up in tiny increments (0.0125 I think) until it gets to 1.6V, then it just jumps up to 1.8!! Far from ideal but booted it up anyway, ran prime95 for a bit and doesnt get over 68 so its not too bad, plus when gaming the highest I saw was 53. Got it upto my target of 3.5GHz easily at the voltage and just left it there, might see how much further it will go later

Theres still the electromigration thing which might be reducing the life of it quite a bit, but its a £40 processer, its no big deal if it dies really I guess haha, excuse for an upgrade!