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Lynnfield Can Take The Heat, But Should It?
The enemy of both stability and longevity, heat changes the characteristics of silicon in a way that eventually makes it unsuitable for use in a logic circuit. Heat damage can sneak up on overclockers quickly, such as the 59 degree Celsius stability limit we encountered when overclocking AMD’s Phenom II. Similarly, many of our Core 2 Duos responded unfavorably to temperatures over 65 degrees Celsius.
But hasn’t all that changed with the advent of Lynnfield, a core that can just withstand temperatures of up to 100 degrees Celsius? We have, after all, been flirting with 95 degrees Celsius regularly while testing the overclocking capabilities of motherboards, yet still reach stable clock speeds of over 4.3 GHz.
Although our Core i7-870 sample raised the temperature level at which we had to put on the brakes, its temperature limit coinciding with our cooling and voltage limits happened by mere coincidence. Surely a platform that operates so close to its thermal limit on an open test bench would be unsuitable for use in a closed case, since the higher ambient temperatures would cause thermal throttling (Intel’s automatic speed reduction) at anything close to full CPU load. Liquid cooling could help, but recent tests have shown that anything less than a dual-fan radiator version often provides unsatisfactory results. Most users don't want to bother with a high-end liquid configuration, and most cases don’t support those enormous radiators. For the sake of builders, it’s time for us to track down the best possible air-cooling solution.
Read on: Link Removed
The enemy of both stability and longevity, heat changes the characteristics of silicon in a way that eventually makes it unsuitable for use in a logic circuit. Heat damage can sneak up on overclockers quickly, such as the 59 degree Celsius stability limit we encountered when overclocking AMD’s Phenom II. Similarly, many of our Core 2 Duos responded unfavorably to temperatures over 65 degrees Celsius.
But hasn’t all that changed with the advent of Lynnfield, a core that can just withstand temperatures of up to 100 degrees Celsius? We have, after all, been flirting with 95 degrees Celsius regularly while testing the overclocking capabilities of motherboards, yet still reach stable clock speeds of over 4.3 GHz.
Although our Core i7-870 sample raised the temperature level at which we had to put on the brakes, its temperature limit coinciding with our cooling and voltage limits happened by mere coincidence. Surely a platform that operates so close to its thermal limit on an open test bench would be unsuitable for use in a closed case, since the higher ambient temperatures would cause thermal throttling (Intel’s automatic speed reduction) at anything close to full CPU load. Liquid cooling could help, but recent tests have shown that anything less than a dual-fan radiator version often provides unsatisfactory results. Most users don't want to bother with a high-end liquid configuration, and most cases don’t support those enormous radiators. For the sake of builders, it’s time for us to track down the best possible air-cooling solution.
Read on: Link Removed
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The article discusses the impact of heat on silicon components in computer systems, particularly in the context of overclocking. Here are some key points highlighted in the article:
- Heat and Silicon Degradation: Heat is detrimental to silicon components in logic circuits, leading to changes that can make them unsuitable for use over time.
- Previous Temperature Limits: In the past, processors like AMD's Phenom II and Core 2 Duos had stability limits around 59-65 degrees Celsius, respectively.
- Advancements with Lynnfield: Lynnfield processors can withstand temperatures of up to 100 degrees Celsius, a significant improvement over previous generations.
- Overclocking and Thermal Performance: The article mentions reaching stable clock speeds exceeding 4.3 GHz with temperatures close to 95 degrees Celsius during testing.
- Concerns with High Temperatures: Operating near the thermal limits on an open test bench could pose challenges in closed cases due to higher ambient temperatures potentially leading to thermal throttling.
- Cooling Solutions: Liquid cooling was discussed as a potential solution, but mentioned that single-fan radiator versions might not provide satisfactory results, while high-end liquid configurations could be cumbersome for users and case compatibility.
- Advocating for Air Cooling: To address the challenges posed by high temperatures and thermal management issues, the article suggests the need to explore efficient air-cooling solutions for better heat dissipation.
