Stability Question

[Yellowhello]

Hi guys,

I had my E4300 at 3GHz for a while now. It was running fine at very reasonable temps, and passed 8 hours worth of Orthos.

Now, I was playing the Quake Wars demo, and the computer freezes up me, and I can't get out of it, so I have to restart the computer. Upon Windows booting up again, it froze at the boot up screen, so I figure it's a stability problem.

I go into the BIOS and set the CPU down to 2.4GHz from 3GHz, and I boot into Windows fine and the Quake Wars demo runs fine.

My question: Can OC setting come "undone" at random or over time, and can the CPU lose stability over time, under the exact same conditions as when I first OCed?

Thanks,

Nate

[Telexen]

Hardware can become less stable over time. That's what happens when electronics are run outside of their specifications. There's a number of things it could be though.

Never rule out HDD corruption because of overclocking either ;)

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by Telexen

Hardware can become less stable over time. That's what happens when electronics are run outside of their specifications. There's a number of things it could be though.

Even if it was under extremely reasonable temps? (think 32c at idle and ~45C at load, temps by CoreTemps)

[Telexen]

It's not just temperatures that can damage the hardware. It's a tough thing to explain, and this analogy is not 100% accurate in all aspects...but you can in a way compare it to a component's actions near the end of it's lifespan. That's not to say your CPU/mobo/whatever is dying, it's just not able to do what you're trying to do anymore.

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by Telexen

It's not just temperatures that can damage the hardware. It's a tough thing to explain, and this analogy is not 100% accurate in all aspects...but you can in a way compare it to a component's actions near the end of it's lifespan. That's not to say your CPU/mobo/whatever is dying, it's just not able to do what you're trying to do anymore.

How much longer does my CPU have do ya think, LOL? Or how much lontger can I have it OCed?

[Telexen]

Originally Posted by yellowhello

How much longer does my CPU have do ya think, LOL? Or how much lontger can I have it OCed?

There's no way of telling, especially since it depends on the kind of load (both literally and figuratively [overclocking]) you put on it. I'm sure that if you find a reasonable OC speed and leave it there it will last for years; nearly, if not just as long as it would normally. I have no way of knowing what that is for your CPU, but if you've been over 3ghz, and it sounds like it's stock is 2.4ghz, maybe try around 2.7ghz - 2.8ghz.

The key to long lasting OCs is making sure that you're not pushing the CPU near it's absolute limits. We all want to gain a little more performance out of our hardware, but you don't need to find it's absolute maximum and drop it slightly.

I usually look around and find what other people are getting on similar hardware - and I mean almost exactly the same hardware - so you have an idea what your maximum is and shoot for ~75% of that,

[Quakindude]

I'll agree with Telexan. I'll benchmark and run my computer for a few weeks at the max O/C I can get out of a processor, but once I'm used to it and on to regular computing chores, I typically knock my O/C down a bit. This E6600 I have maxed out at 3.45Ghz at one point. I ran it at 3.375 for a few months. I now run it 24/7 at 2.9Ghz.

[Yellowhello]

Alright, thanks guys, for info.

[PrOLifIC_onE]

My first thought was DUST. I could be wrong about your situation, but over time many people get a build up of dust that can slow and hinder the HSF and/or case fans. I have seen some even build up enough in a few months that started affecting stability. Also, if there was any case movement there is a slight possibility of your HSF isnt seated as well as it was when you originally installed it. So, I would make sure the dust is all blown out and maybe remove the HSF, clean it and the CPU, then reseat it.

What Telexen and Quake said are true but I just wanted to cover other possiblities. Even if neither of these are the cause of your issue, other people may have a similar issue.

[Telexen]

It's a good point; the problem it causes would be bad contact for the CPU/RAM. Dust in general would only cause bad temperatures.