Is this a safe overclock?

I've got a Phenom II x6 1090t here, and I'd like to run it at 4.0GHz. I've got it set right now to run at that clock with the voltage set to 1.325v from the stock 3.2GHz with 1.3v, but I'm not so sure if I should leave it like this or not.

According to a lot of people including AMD themselves, the maximum operating temperature of this chip is 62C. Now when I run Prime95 and stress it out, the temps go up to about 65-67C according to CoreTemp. However, I've been thinking about how P95 maxes out the CPU, 100% across all cores. My question is, would it be safe to say that I'll never hit 100% across all 6 cores and simply run this OC anyway? I've played some games (Minecraft, Skyrim, BF3; all cpu-intensive games), and the temps never touched the 50C mark.

overclocking temperature oc amd temps 1090t overclock phenomx6

asked Jul 13 '12 at 21:17

MrAnthology
86●5●6●11

You should join an overclockers forum. Post your specs and see if anyone sees a bottleneck or learn how to check for them. You may be able to get 4 out of it with liquid cooling but that's a lot of effort if you're not going to be able to use the results.

(Jul 13 '12 at 22:39) ClosetFuturist

I've already got it at 4GHz. I don't want to sound like an idiot, but did you read my question? If you didn't understand I can reword it, but I thought I explained it well enough.

(Jul 13 '12 at 23:11) MrAnthology

Oh the voltage setting got it to 4. I'm sorry I misunderstood.

(Jul 13 '12 at 23:27) ClosetFuturist

What I'm really asking is that if the core temperature is going over the AMD suggested max temp on full load by about 5C, would it be safe to assume that I can still run this overclock, knowing that I'll never hit that level of load with what I do? I've played cpu-intensive games, and I haven't hit 50C yet on it, even though I get 65C at 100% load.

(Jul 13 '12 at 23:32) MrAnthology

As long as you keep the temps down it will be ok. 50c isn't bad for air cooling. It will make your thermal compound dry out in a few years as apposed to several. It's a good habit to re-apply when you upgrade.

(Jul 13 '12 at 23:46) ClosetFuturist

2 Answers:

oldest newest most voted

Doctor, Doctor, it hurts when I do this! Well don't do it then!

Overclocking's a gamble, pure and simple. The odds may be stacked in your favour. It could well be very low risk but it is never no risk. You simply have to ask yourself the questions that all gamblers have to ask. Can I deal with the consequences of losing? And is the prize big enough to make it worth it?

answered Jul 14 '12 at 10:09

dunfiddlin
1.2k●4●18

It is safe to over clock as long as you can take the extra head away.

If you are using stock cooler then DO NOT RUN IT OVERCLOCKED!

They are made to work with stock settings.

If you want to OC I would go with a nice cooler that is $30 or more in the tech shops.

answered Jul 13 '12 at 21:38

Jackster1337
8.4k●177●213●300

I'm using a Cooler Master Hyper n520. And like I said, at FULL LOAD the temps go beyond AMD suggest max temps by about 5C. But my reasoning is that I'm never going to hit that across all 6 cores like in prime95, which would seem to be true since I've only hit just under 50C doing what I normally do. The question was am I right in thinking that way?

(Jul 13 '12 at 21:50) MrAnthology

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