PC compont Degradation

[G-RFRY 1,707]

Interesting subject.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMHUz16MuYA

Aggressive OC can degrade your PC faster. 

[martin-w 3,234]

On 2/7/2020 at 12:48 PM, rjfry said:

Aggressive OC can degrade your PC faster. 

 

That was very interesting. I think most of us are aware that aggressive overclocking causes greater degradation though. 

[G-RFRY 1,707]

I was surprised that biggest cause of PC components failing was Voltage and not heat as software measuring is not that accurate.  

[ryanbatc 12,799]

Well the two are basically related.  More voltage more heat

[G-RFRY 1,707]

Not overheating.

[stans 702]

The more current that is pulled through a conductor, the more heat is generated.  So when overclocking, the CPU is going to need more current.  The increased heat generated has the potential to degrade any component through which it must pass. 

[Noel 4,486]

Intel's comment regarding absolute minimum and maximum ratings tables only defines voltage as the significant driver of degradation, though heat will contribute it's ultimately voltage that does it.  Put another way you could bake your CPU in the oven at 80C for 10y straight, take it out and it would still run fine at stock voltage.  Take that same CPU sitting at ambient temp of 21C and try and ram 1.85v thru it and see how long it runs.  I've run my 3930K now for over 6 years at 4.3gHz at 1.30v hyperthreaded on air for an average of 4-5h/day and it still runs great.  When I bump up to 4.42gHz core voltage needs to go to 1.33v, and after that is all diminishing returns.  The practical difference in thru put between 4.3 and 4.42 is a grand total of 2.7% increase, so is hardly worth it in terms of coping with high CPU demand scenarios.

 

Edited February 9, 2020 by Noel

[alexmartinez09 1]

On 2/9/2020 at 6:24 AM, rjfry said:

Not overheating.

He isn't comparing the right voltages. He should be comparing his results to the Motherboard's CPU VCORE, which reads very close to his measurements (~50mV or 0.05V). The reason for this spread is the fact he is using a PSU lead as his ground, which is a long way from that motherboard lead through cables that have ... resistance!

Motherboard companies design and test these things thoroughly as electrical flow is the most important part of the entire computer. I'm not saying that they are delivering the most efficient clock/voltage ratio, but their reported volts and frequencies are accurate. It's up to you to find a sweet spot that maximizes efficiency if you are into that, otherwise stock voltage and core is tested to be safe for the long run...

[alexmartinez09 1]

On 2/9/2020 at 10:55 AM, Noel said:

Intel's comment regarding absolute minimum and maximum ratings tables only defines voltage as the significant driver of degradation, though heat will contribute it's ultimately voltage that does it.  Put another way you could bake your CPU in the oven at 80C for 10y straight, take it out and it would still run fine at stock voltage.  Take that same CPU sitting at ambient temp of 21C and try and ram 1.85v thru it and see how long it runs.  I've run my 3930K now for over 6 years at 4.3gHz at 1.30v hyperthreaded on air for an average of 4-5h/day and it still runs great.  When I bump up to 4.42gHz core voltage needs to go to 1.33v, and after that is all diminishing returns.  The practical difference in thru put between 4.3 and 4.42 is a grand total of 2.7% increase, so is hardly worth it in terms of coping with high CPU demand scenarios.

 

1.33 V will not decrease your CPU's lifetime by any significant amount. Did you know that most stock voltages climb to 1.45 V+ during turbo boost? 

It is a function of temperature/volts/silicon quality and many other things. The transistors within the CPU silicon actually degrade over time because of the molecular reactions (specifically the collision of electrons that create the resistance) happening within them, which results in heat. As the resistors get thinner, the performance decreases. This will happen even at stock voltages as it is the principle of thermodynamics! More volts = more heat = the faster they get thinner. The thinner they are, the faster they degrade! It's an exponential relationship.

[Noel 4,486]

On 2/13/2020 at 8:54 AM, alexmartinez09 said:

More volts = more heat = the faster they get thinner. 

Like I said, it's volts that drive the RATE of degradation, just as Intel's data sheet attests.

Edited February 14, 2020 by Noel