Overclocking help : how do u decide what voltages to use

NI_t3n_IChi_RYU

New Member
I read ppl increasing the voltage on the cpu's to get more power from them, but how do u decide how much?

Is it like 0.1v per ever 1 mhz u go up by.

Help me out

Thx :)
 
you dont decide. you only overvolt if the computer fails a prime95 test.
thats because adding frequency barely adds heat in comparison with adding voltage.
 
they overvolt because it increases the maximum amount that they can raise the frequency. for instance i overclocked my processor for 2 to 2.4ghz without overvolting. in order to get to 2.6ghz (without it crashing) i had to overvolt it to 1.55V... and by doing so it created more stability even though it did raise heat a lot... i gained 200mhz on top of my original 400mhz overclock.
so generally, if you raise the frequency too much and there isnt enough voltage for the chip to run at that frequency, then it might crash.
 
Guess and Check is a good process for finding stability with your computer.

Start with your stock configuration
2.0GHz = 1.4v (for example)

I want 2.2GHz. But simply upping the multiplier or bus speed results in a crash. Should I bump it to 2.6v right off the bat and test it? NOOO!

Go in the smallest increment your motherboard allows. Usually it's .025v at a time. So, set it to 2.2GHz and try 1.425v, 1.45v, 1.475, 1.5v, etc.

As fade2green mentioned, to "test for stability" you need a benchmark such as prime95. But there are a multitude of benchmark softwares. Once you can get 2.2GHz to run "stable" (find your own definition of that word), then you've aquired the correct voltage for that setting.
 
If you do a couple volts at a time you could overheat/fry something. You always want to go in small increments, at least until you are familiar with your hardware/settings.
 
ye i dont wana do that. Wen i get my conroe e6400 i hope to overclock it a little bit. Wana get practising on this computer b4 i start oc my new setup. Is there any water cooling for the core2duo yet?
 
basically i overclock 3-5mhz on the core speed, as other like to call fsb or bus speed... until windows wont boot, then up the voltage one step until it will boot.
if you up the voltage three steps, and it still doesnt boot.. then dont up it anymore and lower the core speed/fsb/bus speed 5-10mhz until it will boot. then prime95 it until you get no errors. you can add voltage to prevent errors in prime95, or decrease the frequency 3-5mhz again...

with an e6400 you wont need any overvoltage unless you go like... past 3ghz lol. those processors you'll find are VERY overclockable. many have gotten them to like 3.6ghz on air cooling, past 3ghz on stock cooling easily.
 
ok so i wont have to bother with voltages on my e6400. so with the e6400 is it siimply a case of goin into the bios and just increasing the core speed every 3-5 mhz until it doesnt boot?

do u know of any water cooling for it. i want a silent pc :)
 
you don't need water cooling. it should run cool on air with a fairly decent (an quiet) air cooler. i suggest the big typhoon with its stock fan. puts out 16db of sound, which is very very silent. i have a couple of thermaltake thunderblade case fans and i think theyre like 22db or so, and i can't hear them at all... especially while playing music or gaming.
yea, you probably won't need to mess with voltages.
you might want to use a memory divider if you overclock a bunch, or maybe raise the timings a little bit. the memory overclocks itself along with the cpu when you raise the core speed/fsb.

read up a little. you can find some useful information in here
http://www.computerforum.com/16346-overclocking-101-oc101.html
 
bother with what?
it oc's itself along with the cpu, but you can use a memory divider... which is basically a memory multiplier thats less than 1... for instance if you set a 166mhz memory divider on a computer like mine, with fsb/core speed of 200mhz, then the memory would be 166mhz... its like multiplying it by 166/200 which is .83, so .83*200=166mhz.
if you were to overclock the fsb/core speed to 240mhz instead of 200mhz, then it would likewise multiply 240mhz*.83 and come up with about 199.2mhz... which would be the memory speed.
there are all sorts of memory dividers and fsb/core speeds out there.

with your core 2 duo it'll have an fsb/core speed of 266mhz default, and the cpu multiplier is 8 so it's approximately 2.13ghz correct?
well, it depends on what memory you get, and im not 100% sure how the memory controller works on an intel motherboard... but it will overclock it along with the core speed/fsb... and if you overclock it too much it could be a problem... meaning you could get the cpu to 2.6ghz and it wouldnt boot, when the cpu isnt the problem, the memory is the problem. you could get past 3ghz with that processor on default voltage though, if you use a memory divider... or you could raise the memory's voltage too, or loosen (raise) its timings.
 
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yep, anytime. just dont put my email all over the internet, though gmail does filter spam very well...
im gonna take that off there, just pm me if you forget... lol kinda tough to forget that though.
 
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