Kind of a general OC question

[alex666]

Hi all. I've recently built an ASRock Z68 Extreme3, i5 2500K, et al. I've been able to get the i5 up to 4.5GHz. I've been able to do that by simply bumping up the mult to 45, make some changes to Intel Speed Step (disabling).

But here's my question: I have left all my voltage settings at auto, which is the default, and I've gotten a stable OC with stable cool temps and a stable vcore of roughly 1.30 (1.1 is for the default i5 speed of 3.3GHz). I've tried a fixed voltage (1.32) and offset mode and I see absolutely no differences in voltages or temps per the bios and other mobo monitoring software. At another forum, I've been criticized for using auto voltage settings, that my voltages and heat will spike excessively, but I'm not seeing it. In the past, when I've OCed, such as my i7 Lynfield Gigabyte system in my sig, I have set a fixed vcore, but since the i5 only requires upping the mult, I initially tried it with vcore set to auto and it seemed to scale just fine. I figure, it the auto voltage settings are working and I'm not getting excessive heat or any problems, whyt not?

In the title, I said this is a general OC question. It is in the sense of whether at least some auto settings (even auto voltage settins) can be used when OCing, assuming a stable OC.

Am I missing something here, effects that might not show up on any monitoring software on in the available bios readings? BTW, I'm using a CM 212 Hyper Pluls for a hsf, and under full load my temps are in the mid-50s, at idle, they are in the low 30s.

Thanks.

marty

[AMDScooter]

Think the people on the other forum are full of it. Use your observations.. not their claims. I use the "auto" voltage settings to OC my 2500k on my MSI P67 and it works just fine. No "spikes"in temp or volts. I run 4.6Ghz and the MOBO bumps the vcore to about 1.38v on it's own under load and scales well under 1v when idling.

[alex666]

Think the people on the other forum are full of it. Use your observations.. not their claims. I use the "auto" voltage settings to OC my 2500k on my MSI P67 and it works just fine. No "spikes"in temp or volts. I run 4.6Ghz and the MOBO bumps the vcore to about 1.38v on it's own under load and scales well under 1v when idling.

Here are the comments I recieved:

"I am no OC expert and would recommend you checkout my guide a few posts above but leaving all Voltages at AUTO means your Vcore for cpu will sky rocket when it is pushed leading to levels that you do not need or want but the system will think you do. It will raise temps extremely fast and there is just no reason for it even if you have the best cooling in the world. Just sharing my 2 cents and a penny or two more."

and

"Yes, never leave your vCore on Auto unless you are running stock multiplier.
If you want it to run a steady speed just use the Fixed vcore method."

I do not want to get into a nah-nah-nah sort of thing with the other forum. These are good folks, and I will make no mention of my thread here at PC Per. But I question the validity of these claims. I have OCed my i5 with both auto voltage settings as well as offset and fixed voltage settings and just get no difference.

Thanks for the feedback.

marty

[oldbrave]

It all depends on your motherboard and how the bios is written.
A lot of boards when the vcore is set to auto will set the voltage to a reasonable level, but when you try and OC the cpu or you put it under a reasonable load will increase the voltage well beyond what is actually required which will result in a very noticeable spike in temperature.
I very much agree with AMDScooter's "Use your observations" method and suggest you do what works for you, not necessarily what others say you should do.

[Activate: AMD]

yea it depends a lot on the board, and even then I have yet to see a bios that will cause vcore to "skyrocket". It might use a little more vcore than you'd be able to dial in yourself, but if it ain't broke, I don't see a need to fix it.

[alex666]

One thing I've been able to glean, which I had not thought of, is just how good the i5 2500k is, that it OCs to 4.5GHz without breaking a sweat. So the cpu seems to not be under a great deal of stress, so to speak. And from what I've read, 4.5 is an easily obtainable OC, and probably represents the sweet spot for this chip. But push it much beyond, like to 4.8 or above, and apparently the voltage will really climb when set to auto, and so do the temps.

I have not really pushed my chip, I'm very happy wit 4.5GHz, it's stable, and this is going to be a family computer, so I want stable. I'm very very happy with 4.5GHz. If I was gong to be the primary user of this system, I'd probably push it much farther.

marty