What kills the CPU, voltage or the heat ?

wildman · 11 Feb 2013 at 21:22

This is a question I don't think I have ever found a definitive answer to. I was thinking about this at work after I did a lol install of core temp / cpuid on my work laptop and witnessed something I have never seen in 10+ years of doing self builds. My LeNovo laptop with i3 dual core running a a cool 80°C idle !!!! :eek:

I know the CPU will throttle when it starts it gets too hot, but what actually ends up killing it.

Hypotheically lets say you were running your system under Liquid N2. Technically the hat problem goes away (to a certain extent but if you were running mad voltages would that simply fry the CPU even though you can dissipate the heat?

I admit my understanding of electronics / physics is not great, so appologies up front if this is an ignorant question.

d_brennen · 11 Feb 2013 at 21:26

All three.

e: Electromigration

Feesh · 11 Feb 2013 at 21:26

Great question, also interested to know!

teenwolf · 11 Feb 2013 at 21:27

they both can play a factor.

wildman · 11 Feb 2013 at 21:34

bunnox said:
they both can play a factor.

thats what I was figuring.

but again to my hypothetical theoru of N2 cooling. If you dissipate heat can you run insanely high voltages. High voltages increase heat, cpu's today are designed to throttle when they hit certain temps in an attempt to prevent them lighting up like a christmas tree.

So the main reason we have a voltage cap, is that we understand where the limits are with regards to heat dissipation. But would having high volts (assuring high volts means more amps being pushed across the die) damage the processor even if it was running at sub 40 temps under full load ?

8 Pack · 11 Feb 2013 at 22:22

Both degrades the silicon. The more of either the more degradation takes place. This is especially if you do loads of stress testing when both are present.

mmj_uk · 12 Feb 2013 at 10:54

If you don't increase voltage then heat is rarely a problem with modern Intel processors, in my opinion you're much more likely to kill a CPU overvolting on LN2 than overheating on stock voltage.

A lot of modern GPU's run at over 85C standard due to the terrible blower style coolers they use and I don't think there's anything special about their silicon.

greenbrucelee · 12 Feb 2013 at 20:43

mmj_uk said:
If you don't increase voltage then heat is rarely a problem with modern Intel processors, in my opinion you're much more likely to kill a CPU overvolting on LN2 than overheating on stock voltage.

A lot of modern GPU's run at over 85C standard due to the terrible blower style coolers they use and I don't think there's anything special about their silicon.

This +1

more voltage = more power = more heat = death if go to much.

But there's a lot and loads and loads. In theory from today you could run say an i2500 at 1.42 @ 5GHz with LLC on super duper and it would degrade the cpu maybe by 10 years but you will be 20 years older than you are now and you wont be using that cpu in 20 years time.