80s is too much (or, depending which program you use for testing). What I've been reading around forums (overclockers, xtremesystems) bringing the SB into 80s range is basically risking the damage.Here on AVSIM, people are even more conservative, prefer to keep it below 1.4.Did you ever try Linx with AVX installed? That one give's you an idea how much your CPU can be pushed, even if Prime95 doesn't do it. The point is not how much P95 heats it, or FSX, but rather how much can it go. If a program can overdo it, then you are risking peakings which temperature measurement programs can't measure but sure are there.AVX basically pushes 10 degrees higher, but not only for a brief moment, so it's pretty measurable.And why water, because the cooler itself is working differently: it's cooler and it's way more effective at handling peak temperatures. With a closed loop system, the temperature is going to rise quickly if CPU demands it. With a watercooling loop it's gonna take an hour at least, if not longer.You can go 1.52. Heck, even more. And I'm afraid the speculation is never going to be over. It's not possible to know what your chip is going to hold and for how long. It's only what you are ready to risk.I have mine set at 1.46 I think for 48x, sometimes I run 1.51 for 50x. But since I see rather no difference, I just back down to 48x and mostly keeping it here.And I know the risks. I'm quite ready to get a new CPU if this one blows.

Right,well I was getting 80 degrees when I was overclocked at 5.2 @ 1.48volts, now I'm in the 60s on full load @ 4.8Ghz and 1.35volts so everything is good. I'll probably mess with it more but I saw no performance drops from 5.2 to 4.8 so I'll see.

Yeah,I get that but why would having a custom loop be different than having an H100?

An H100 may be filled with water, but it's cooling properties are in the same ballpark as the high end air coolers. A good custom waterloop will easily run 10 - 15ºC cooler than any of those.I don't know the technical reasons why it's accepted that you can run higher Vcore with those kits, I'm not into liquid cooling. At the end of the day it's just a few MHz anyway.

An H100 may be filled with water, but it's cooling properties are in the same ballpark as the high end air coolers. A good custom waterloop will easily run 10 - 15ºC cooler than any of those.I don't know the technical reasons why it's accepted that you can run higher Vcore with those kits, I'm not into liquid cooling. At the end of the day it's just a few MHz anyway.

A few that FSX sees no performance increase from too. hehe

A few that FSX sees no performance increase from too. hehe

FSX or any other game probably....I saw no performance drop in Battlefield 3.

IMO, it's better to stay at a reasonable overclock, than risk everything trying to get the absolute maximum out of your CPU. I have no experience of overclocking whatsoever (my i5 2500k was factory overclocked to 4.5Ghz, but I throttled it back to 4.3Ghz in the BIOS when it consistently failed one of the Prime 95 tests). I prefer to keep it at a safe level (temperatures never exceed 65C during those tests), rather than push it to the limit for nothing more than bragging rights. The small performance increase between 4.3Ghz and (let's say) 4.6Ghz isn't worth the extra risk......IMO, of course.

IMO, it's better to stay at a reasonable overclock, than risk everything trying to get the absolute maximum out of your CPU. I have no experience of overclocking whatsoever (my i5 2500k was factory overclocked to 4.5Ghz, but I throttled it back to 4.3Ghz in the BIOS when it consistently failed one of the Prime 95 tests). I prefer to keep it at a safe level (temperatures never exceed 65C during those tests), rather than push it to the limit for nothing more than bragging rights. The small performance increase between 4.3Ghz and (let's say) 4.6Ghz isn't worth the extra risk......IMO, of course.

Totally understand....

I'm at 5.0GHZ @ 1.39volts. I guess this is the best stable clock/voltage ratio I can get. I'm happy now :D

I'm at 5.0GHZ @ 1.39volts. I guess this is the best stable clock/voltage ratio I can get. I'm happy now :D

Nice. Running now @ [email protected] running on Ultra High seems to have ironed everything out for me.

LLC running on Ultra High seems to have ironed everything out for me.

Same, My LLC is set to 100% aka. Extreme...That helped A LOT.

Same, My LLC is set to 100% aka. Extreme...That helped A LOT.

:D

Same, My LLC is set to 100% aka. Extreme...That helped A LOT.

I also run LLC on Extreme, but careful with that as it will overvolt on demand, meaning that you will actually get more Vcore at higher loads (negative Vdroop)So if you run some extremely intensive tasks like AVX stuff, your Vcore will actually be much higher. Mine goes up to 1.39V on Linx + AVX.No big deal if you know what you're running at all time, but just in case I have set an alarm in Speedfan to warn me if my Vcore gets past 1.38VWith Ultra high it usually cancels Vdroop which should be fine too. It probably won't pass an AVX test but there's no overvolt risk

I also run LLC on Extreme, but careful with that as it will overvolt on demand, meaning that you will actually get more Vcore at higher loads (negative Vdroop)So if you run some extremely intensive tasks like AVX stuff, your Vcore will actually be much higher. Mine goes up to 1.39V on Linx + AVX.No big deal if you know what you're running at all time, but just in case I have set an alarm in Speedfan to warn me if my Vcore gets past 1.38V

Good to know. I've actually noticed that in CPU-Z but since I only game and use FSX the voltage will definitely be fine.

I also run LLC on Extreme, but careful with that as it will overvolt on demand, meaning that you will actually get more Vcore at higher loads (negative Vdroop)So if you run some extremely intensive tasks like AVX stuff, your Vcore will actually be much higher. Mine goes up to 1.39V on Linx + AVX.No big deal if you know what you're running at all time, but just in case I have set an alarm in Speedfan to warn me if my Vcore gets past 1.38V

I run @ 1.38V @ 4.8. Should I drop the voltage some?

Good to know. I've actually noticed that in CPU-Z but since I only game and use FSX the voltage will definitely be fine.

Yeah, what I like about Extreme LLC is that it adjust depending on CPU load and in FSX for example it runs at a nice 1.33V

I run @ 1.38V @ 4.8. Should I drop the voltage some?

This is how I go about OCing:1.- Test on stock clocks. Make sure it's all stable, temps are fine, see what's the stock Vcore (VID) to have an idea of what to expect from the chipShould run on stock clocks for a week or so and pass a few hours of Prime95, OCCT or the likes2.- Decide what Vcore you are ready to push. For SB, 1.375V is my max. It's full load Vcore what matters, Vcore in windows at 100% load, not what is set in BIOS3.- Downclock your RAM. This is to get RAM out of the stability equation. Setting it to 1333 CL10 or something like that will ensure RAM doesn't interfere with your CPU overclock, and that you'll be certain when you hit the chip's limit it will be the CPU limit, not the RAM crapping out. This is more of a legacy thing since older platforms overclocked with BCLK and that has a bigger effect on RAM, but I still do it with SB5.- Set a manual / fixed Vcore and multi to reasonable values to start testing. Something like 1.35V and 4.4GHz for example4.- Get to know your board's Vdrop / Vdroop and Load Line Calibration habilities. What you want here is to get those 1.35V you set in BIOS in Windows.Vdrop will lower your Vcore in Windows so while idle it will be something like 1.34V. Vdroop will further drop your Vcore at full load, maybe 1.33 or 1.32VStart upping LLC till you get exactly or as close as possible those 1.35V you set in your BIOS at full load and idle in Windows. Monitor temps while you stress test and don't let it go over 80ºC5.- Once Vdrop & Vdroop are cancelled, set your Vcore to your maximum, 1.375V for example using manual Vcore in BIOS. Check again you have no Vdrop & Vdroop by booting into Windows and stress testing for a short stint. Monitor temps while you stress test and don't let it go over 80ºC. You should now have 1.375V at full load and idle too (to check idle Vcore you wil need to switch off power saving modes, Speedstep, C1E, C3, C6 report)6.- Now that you have your maximum Vcore in place, start bumping your multi 100MHz at a time, and stress test thoroughly. Repeat until you hit the chip's limit. Monitor temps as you increase the frequency!7.- Once you know what frequency your chip can take, start lowering your Vcore till you find the minimum it will run at you max overclock8.- If you want to use the power saving modes, you'll need to switch from manual to offset Vcore modeHere's how to obtain the offset value to get the Vcore at which your OC was stable in the previous steps (in manual mode)this are the approximate values for each LLC level. I believe this table was made at 4.6GHz. Not sure thoughSo for example, if you want 1.35V and your LLC is set to Ultra High, set your offset to -0.010.Boot into windows and open CPU-Z. Stress test for a minute to see what full load Vcore you have and see if your Vcore is where you want it to. Lower? raise it in BIOS and try again. Higher? lower it in BIOS.Once you have your offset, you can enable C1E and EIST. Check if it throttles down to 1.6GHz and 0.9 - 1V while idle, and stress test again for 8+hours. Monitor temps and Vcore while you do9.- You now have (hopefully) a rock solid CPU overclock, time to focus on memory speed.Set your RAM speed, timings and voltage at what your sticks are rated and stress test for 8+hours. Monitor temps and Vcore while you doIf you want to overclock your memory, do so, and stress test for 8+hours. Monitor temps and Vcore while you do

I would never run extreme llc on multi 48 or above, depending where your vcore is at 48x. As dario said, it can go higher than set.That is why i prefer offset and c1e, which in combo drops both vcore and multi!But llc has been tested and beaten to death on forums and there is no definitive answer whats better. I only prefer not going "extreme" if not necessarily needed.