VOGONS


First post, by DracoNihil

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I have a really old, like... "first generation" Phenom 2 "Deneb" quad core, I've been using this ever since my father got me a Gateway computer that sold with it.

Now everytime I google I keep finding unrelated errata of overclocking when what I want to do is use the lowest stable voltage and the lowest stable clock rate I can set... Am I backwards for wanting this or does this information just not exist in a easily searchable form?

Can the Sempron series also go any lower?

“I am the dragon without a name…”
― Κυνικός Δράκων

Reply 1 of 13, by ratfink

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old? my main machines both use phenom ii x4 denebs...

Reply 2 of 13, by DracoNihil

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Old as in I have the very first release of the Deneb, that was only available through OEM channels.

“I am the dragon without a name…”
― Κυνικός Δράκων

Reply 3 of 13, by Firtasik

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Run K10stat and find out.

I have Phenom II 955 Black Edition C3 and my P3 state is 800MHz & 0.8625V, but that is conservative.

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Reply 4 of 13, by ODwilly

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If you had one of the original Phenom's I imagine you could go REALLY slow. They have a terrible reputation

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Reply 5 of 13, by F2bnp

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So you want to undervolt and underclock? Honestly, there is no clear guide for this, as each CPU has different limits. My suggestion would be to first set the clock as low as possible and then start reducing the voltage until you hit a point where it's not stable.

Reply 6 of 13, by leileilol

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IIRC it goes as low as 800mhz

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long live PCem

Reply 7 of 13, by Gemini000

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I think a more prudent question would be: Can you damage a CPU by underclocking? Since if you can't, then you could just experiment with different BIOS settings and every time the thing fails to boot you just reset the BIOS to default (even if you have to do it with a jumper) and try again. :P

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Reply 8 of 13, by DracoNihil

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Yeah, it seems using the lowest possible multiplier I can only go as low as 800 MHz, it's better than nothing though.

Gemini raises a good question though, can I actually cause instability and hardware damage doing this?

“I am the dragon without a name…”
― Κυνικός Δράκων

Reply 9 of 13, by Firtasik

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Those CPUs support dynamic frequency scaling (Cool'n'Quiet), so it shouldn't do any damage. Too low voltage will make PC unstable, though.

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Reply 10 of 13, by DracoNihil

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Are there any good testing utilities that can run in boot or on linux to judge current system stability?

“I am the dragon without a name…”
― Κυνικός Δράκων

Reply 11 of 13, by Firtasik

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Ultimate Boot CD has several of them.

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Reply 12 of 13, by nforce4max

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I used to have the last stepping from that generation and it was rock stable as well overclocked to the moon and back. Was surprised that when I upgraded to a Phenom 2 x4 820 that it wasn't that much of a boost. Those oem only E editions with the fixed TLB are faster than people give them credit for and hold well against C2D really well. Some of the Phenom 1s have been known to overclock over 3ghz without the truly massive 140w TDP, I avoided the 140w models like the plague.

On a far away planet reading your posts in the year 10,191.

Reply 13 of 13, by Procyon

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ODwilly wrote:

If you had one of the original Phenom's I imagine you could go REALLY slow. They have a terrible reputation

😢