overclocking

[petrw1]

I have an i5-750 that I am using the standard GigaByte Fast6 Software to OC slightly (2.8 - 3.2).... just over 3 years old
An an i5-3570K that I have OC'd from 3.4 to 4.2...I let the installer do it for me who build the PC....just over 2 years old.

In both cases I have after market Coolers (Noctua for both I think).

Almost NO LL errors (knock on wood) a couple 3 years ago for the 750 but I seem to recall that was during a power outage.
None yet on the 3570K.

However, both have more than their share of "unexpected" shutdowns.

Up to 1 per month on the 3570K; just a couple on the 750.

[wildrabbitt]

Those coolers are supposed to be very efficient. Are you sure you installed it correctly (some but not too much thermal paste,case well ventilated helping the CPU cooler get rid of the heath...) ?

I've just upped it to all 8 cores. The problem might have been that the machine was in a cupboard (hence it was overheating), or else like you say I might not have installed it correctly.

2 cores got work.
The other 2 of the cores say they are waiting for work. I've never seen that before. Anyone familiar with this?

[petrw1]

Originally Posted by wildrabbitt

The other 2 of the cores say they are waiting for work. I've never seen that before. Anyone familiar with this?

Maybe try to "Contract Server Now"

[lycorn]

I am with VBCurtis and TheMawn on this OC subject.
Mild and well controlled OCs may be worthwhile. I have been running an i5-750 with a 20% OC for nearly 5 years, 24/7, and it has been perfectly stable and accurate. I use a Noctua NH-U12P cooler, and the temperatures are in the high 40s - low 50s (C !...) depending on room temperature and on how clean the cooler is. Mind you, it´s important to dismount the fans and clean it thoroughly every year or so to keep it in top notch performance.
Also, I second the advice of running a fair amount of DCs in order to get confident in the stability of the system upon OCing it.

[chalsall]

Originally Posted by lycorn

Also, I second the advice of running a fair amount of DCs in order to get confident in the stability of the system upon OCing it.

That's the root issue.

It's fine to OC if know what you're doing.

Many choose to under-clock to ensure sanity.

[TheMawn]

Originally Posted by petrw1

However, both have more than their share of "unexpected" shutdowns.

While I haven't had any of that on my 3570K my 5930K does shut itself down for no reason on occasion. There are a lot of real life applications where a catastrophic failure is more desirable than its slower counterpart. A pressure vessel that leaks slowly will slowly poison everyone and be a PITA to find (when detected) whereas one that bursts open will set off enough bells to shut the systems down and, barring any immediate casualties, be much better in the long run.

For GIMPS, the catastrophic failure is very noticeable and it at least alerts you that something isn't quite at 100%. Also, because of the 30 minute (default) delay between checkpoints, a sudden "GAAH 1 + 1 = 3 ERROR ERROR BEEP BOOP BEEP BOOP SHUT IT ALL DOWN!!!!" error actually prevents an erroneous residue from being saved, whereas the "slow leak" will produce errors without any other symptoms manifesting.


That being said, it probably behooves us both to actually look into what is causing these problems. Every once in a while I'll see that one of the cores of my 5930K has spiked to 100C although I can't see how often or for how long (my guess is a single sampling time) so I think it's a thermal shutdown as opposed to a BSOD.