Why is "Game Stable" not good enough?

[Jay123]

I don't understand what the problem is with an oc'd CPU that can play games for hours but fails after a few hours of prime95. If it doesn't crash in-game what's the issue?

[TechFan@ic]

Prime95 basically represents stability across the board, an OCed CPU might work just fine on one game but fail completely on another.

Also the subject of overclocking stability is highly subjective, just do what you feel comfortable doing .

[Jay123]

Apart from an unexpected crash, is there any risks to running "game stable" and how long should I run prime95 for?

[Dave :)]

When you're overclocking, you want your CPU to be 100% stable, if you don't check this, you can have unexpected BSODs/crashes. Obviously, no one wants this to happen. Using a 'game stable' overclock doesn't mean your CPU is stable as no game stresses your CPU enough, for long enough to ensure it's stability. It may not crash for the time you play it; however, over time, that instability will begin to encroach into your general usage, and you may find BSODs become alot more frequent as the CPU gets used more and more; stressed more and more. The only way to ensure your overclock is stable, is to run a CPU stress program such as Prime95. This stresses all your cores / threads at 100% load for however long you want it ( generally 12+ hours with no errors means it's as stable as you get).

[Jay123]

Ok thanks, I've prime running now. Trying to get my Phenom II 965BE to 4GHz but every time I raise the cpu voltage I crash within minutes. Any suggestions?

[Wats]

Ok thanks, I've prime running now. Trying to get my Phenom II 965BE to 4GHz but every time I raise the cpu voltage I crash within minutes. Any suggestions?

MORE VOLTAGE. Watch those temps though. Keep it below 60-62C.

[Dave :)]

Ok thanks' date=' I've prime running now. Trying to get my Phenom II 965BE to 4GHz but every time I raise the cpu voltage I crash within minutes. Any suggestions?[/quote']

I can't get my 965BE over 4GHz, others can. But no matter what i try, it's not stable. You may be like me unfortunately and you may have 'lost the silicon lottery'.

[Jay123]

What's the max voltage I should try on my chip, I heard around 1.45V. Does that sound about right?

[Jay123]

Ok thanks' date=' I've prime running now. Trying to get my Phenom II 965BE to 4GHz but every time I raise the cpu voltage I crash within minutes. Any suggestions?[/quote']

I can't get my 965BE over 4GHz, others can. But no matter what i try, it's not stable. You may be like me unfortunately and you may have 'lost the silicon lottery'.

Could I ask what settings you are trying?

[Wats]

What's the max voltage I should try on my chip' date=' I heard around 1.45V. Does that sound about right?[/quote']

AMD says stay below 1.55V. I've gone all the way to 1.7V for suicide runs. My BE is still working now :P Just keep the temps below 60C. Oh and don't go to 1.7V....

[Dave :)]

Ok thanks' date=' I've prime running now. Trying to get my Phenom II 965BE to 4GHz but every time I raise the cpu voltage I crash within minutes. Any suggestions?[/quote']

I can't get my 965BE over 4GHz, others can. But no matter what i try, it's not stable. You may be like me unfortunately and you may have 'lost the silicon lottery'.

Could I ask what settings you are trying?

I'm stable at 3.8GHz multiplier x19 and Bus speed: 200.9 MHz. Voltage 1.425

I'm not happy about the voltage, but any lower and it just BSODs. What type of cooling are you running?

[killerx525]

Another factor is the motherboard which could hold back from achieving your target speed. I've tried 1.6V on my 1090T and it was nerve wrecking but it didn't help in getting 4GHz.

[Helltech]

Others haven't pointed out the real reason you need 100 percent stable. If it isn't stable it can cause calculation errors. These errors can easily corrupt your drives, data, and operating system. I have had this happen to me and lost everything.

​It is much better to get 5 fps less in a game and have a stable system than it is to risk something that bad.

[mgsstar]

If you are 100% stable, it means that you won't make any calculation errors in like Helltech said. No calculation errors meant that the cpu will not create errors that can possibly screw up your data. If you want to test if your cpu is 100% stable, run prime 95 in small fft and blend for 24 hours. Be sure to monitor the temps and make sure it won't overheat.

[xeks]

Prime95 basically represents stability across the board' date=' an OCed CPU might work just fine on one game but fail completely on another. Also the subject of overclocking stability is highly subjective, just do what you feel comfortable doing .[/quote']

Stable is stable.

Apart from an unexpected crash' date=' is there any risks to running "game stable" and how long should I run prime95 for?[/quote']

FFT=10 then you can run it at 12 hours minimum.

[codytappen]

Game stable isn't good enough because calculation errors could corrupt your whole drive. Plus the benefit you get overall is minimal. In other words MAKE SURE YOUR SYSTEM IS FULLY STABLE AND DON'T USE IT UNTIL YOU'VE CONFIRMED THAT. Sorry for the caps post but it is extremely important.

Note: I speak from past experience. This has happened to me.

[Vitalius]

Firstly, FFT reminded me of Final Fantasy Tactics. Favorite game evar (besides a few others), but off topic.

Lastly,

There's another reason you want it to be 100% stable.

See, when you overclock a CPU/GPU, the Silicon slowly degrades (look at TTL's video about the ARES II and he mentions this).

That sounds a lot worse than it actually is. Most people don't notice it. However, if your CPU isn't stable at a high OC, then, as the silicon degrades due to you pushing it faster than the stock settings, it becomes even more unstable.

Now, that only happens within a certain margin.

For example, if I could OC a 1090t to ~5GHz (as a maximum, any higher, and it wouldn't be stable), then OC'd it to 4.5 GHz, used it like that for a few days, then start back at stock and worked my way up OCing again, it would be less stable and I wouldn't make it to 5GHz, I'd likely make it to 4.8 or so.

Now, even if I kept running it at 4.5 GHz after that, even for months, it likely would still OC to 4.8GHz. In other words, this silicon degradation is only for new chips and only affects them slightly, but enough to be noticed.

So, if I OCed my new CPU to the max, then throttled it back down to a decent but not maximum OC, then re-maxed it out, the max OC I could get would be lower.

If you did that with your CPU but kept it at the max, instead of lowering it back down some, it would eventually degrade enough that this max wouldn't be stable any longer. That's why "game stable" isn't enough. Prime95 passing means you have enough headroom to not have to mess with your CPU again for some time.

Edit: I hope that came out clearly. I'm thinking of making a graph to better show what I mean.