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E5200 "safe" overclocking..

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I am a bit of a n00b when it comes to overclocking. Having recently given my E5200 a little boost from 2.5 to 3.0GHz I was wondering how much further I can push it.

I am currently running on air with an Alaska(?) cooler. At higher cpu loads I hover in the high 40's. Its not a games PC however I would like a little more oooopppfff when it comes to running mulitple apps like DW/PS and Illustrator

Many Thanks

Karl
 
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Need to do some reading first to make sure your applied overclock is actually stable. Just because the machine will post and run at 3GHz, doesn't mean it isn't making errors.
 
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Whats your voltage?you should be able to achive that speed on stock voltage or less.The max safe temp for 45nm is between 70-100*C.Also you should get a cooler like this one here http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-026-AR&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395.Will do the job very well.I have one of this on my little brother's PC and keeps his Q8200 @ 3.1Ghz 1.19v between 19-24*C idle and 35-38*C under full load.Your E5200 should be able to reach 3.3-3.4Ghz with about 1.18-1.20v.It also depends on your mobo and RAM so a little info on your PC will help.
 
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Its stock voltage on an Asus P5N73-AM Board. Voltage on CPU-Z is showing 1.192V.

Not sure what the RAM is but is showning DDR2 @ 239.6 MHZ.

The machine runs 24/7 as its running VM Ware servers for some backup hosting services so would like a little more but not compromising stability.

Has been running 3 solid days without any issues.

Thats the cooler I already have. The stock one popped off when and popped the mobo so I didnt want to chance another intel one.
 
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Well the 1.192v for 3.0Ghz is stable as far as I can say but just to be sure you should stress test the CPU a little.You could also increase it to 3.2Ghz with 1.20-1.22v.
 
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I've been running it solid since the nudge up - even a stress test didn't upset it and it never went higher than 53c.

I don't think I'll be pushing it any further though. Thanks for the advice.
 
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<1.45V at normal temperatures is considered the safe limit on a good board/psu for Intel 45nm.

On an el chepo G41 board you arnt going to want to push it past 1.37 imho.

Default voltage on a lot of E5200s was 1.22, so at less than this and 3ghz,52deg you are not pushing this chip in the slightest, at the moment.
 
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Now thats impressive!!

Even more impressed with your temps. Even when idle my temps hover between 39-41 with an Arctic Cooling Alpine 7 Pro.

I don't have any fans in my case other than the CPU cooler and leave the side off the case. Maybe its time to invest in a decent case with some directional air flow.

I might try for 3.4 and see how it goes. Will be time for a new graphics card soon too - the NV 8400GS is a bit long in the tooth.
 
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I have an E5200 in my girlf's budget gaming machine running at 3.6GHz, has been rock solid for months on a cheapo Gigabyte G31 motherboard, all voltage settings on auto.

I used a LGA775 cooler from a Intel Xeon (was a bit space limited because it's all built into one of those small Silverstone Sugo cases).

I've never bothered checking temps and voltages tbh, but I might just do that now and post back, if it helps.
 
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Now thats impressive!!

Even more impressed with your temps. Even when idle my temps hover between 39-41 with an Arctic Cooling Alpine 7 Pro.

I don't have any fans in my case other than the CPU cooler and leave the side off the case. Maybe its time to invest in a decent case with some directional air flow.

I might try for 3.4 and see how it goes. Will be time for a new graphics card soon too - the NV 8400GS is a bit long in the tooth.

How it's going K@rl? Your OC stable now?
 
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I didn't get a chance to do it last night but will sort it when I get in.

If I push it to 12.5 x 272 will I need to increase to 1.20v?
 
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Possibly. I would say the only reason not to wack it straight up to 1.35v and then >3.5ghz is because you dont need the speed and would sooner save on power bills.
 
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its now running @ 3.2 at 1.212 and has been running prime95 for a couple of hours without any issues at all. Pretty happy with the temps too - they seem to be maxing at about 51/52

Many thanks for all the help. Time to sort a new Graphics card out now :)
 
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you really think so - the machine is on 24/7 so dont want to stress anything too much. Might try for 3.4 in the week if its still running stable.
 
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you really think so - the machine is on 24/7 so dont want to stress anything too much. Might try for 3.4 in the week if its still running stable.
You could always put SpeedStep (E.I.S.T.) back on (once you have confirmed your OC is stable), so it will reduce the multipler and reduce power consumption when your PC is idle or not under load....that's what I did for my dad's E5200 PC which is overclocked to 3.8GHz.
 
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I've also reduced my OC to 3.8Ghz for 24/7 use and enabled Eist, Speedstep and TM function.

2mcunns.jpg
 
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