Can overclocking cause damage if you don't increase voltage?

Pretty much what the title says, I am going to try overclocking my CPU by increasing the bus speed by 5 at a time to see how high it can go without a voltage increase.
But if I reach the point where it doesn't get enough power for the overclock, can it damage it?
If it doesn't post can the cmos simply be reset to get back up and running again?

2012-12-05T14:11:28Z

either yahoo is not letting me pick best answer or there's a glitch keeping it from showing up in my browser.
Anyway, right now I am overclocking and testing stability in prime 95 and testing performance in cinebench.

My CPU is a Phenom II X4 955 95w revision with a locked multiplier stock voltage is 0.875 CnQ
1.4v full load.

Stock frequency is 3.20 ghz right, now I have it at 3.55 ghz and I am letting the bios set the voltage for now. it hasnt gone over 1.376 at full load yet. The CPU maxes out at 38c in prime95 which is pretty good. The north bridge maxes out at 49c which seems high compared to what it was before overclocking but I read that 80c is pretty safe so I think there's room for more overclocking.
My pc is starting to feel allot snappier when opening programs now and the performance in cinebench seems to be scaling well as it has increase around 10%.

bbassw012012-12-04T13:28:45Z

Favorite Answer

overclocking, done properly, can be a huge boost to system performance. you are on the right track as far as bumping up FSB in small increments until the system acts unstable. then back off the bus speed a little and you should be good for an overclock without using more voltage. prime95 is a good utility for testing stability. as long as you monitor your temps/have good cooling you will be just fine. i have run my q9550(2.83ghz) at 3.4ghz for over 4 years and my i7-920 (2.66ghz) in the 3.8 to 4.1ghz range for 2 years, you just have to watch your temps. as far as damaging the chip from not enough power, i'm sure it can be done but i have never heard of that. damage is usually caused by excessive heat and over-volting the chip (even more heat) you will hit a threshold during your overclocking where the machine will POST, but wont want to load windows properly. this is where you will either back off the FSB, or add just a SLIGHT amount of voltage (take notes of ALL changes). depending on your processor you may have to keep an eye on your Northbridge chipset temps as well, typically 775 proc's. just remember---cooling, cooling, cooling---if you get to where the machine wont POST, a CMOs reset and you should get back into the BIOS. as far as only for the experts??...thats just dumb. how did they get to be experts? overclocking is a great way to learn about your machine and its capabilities, go slow, keep it cool, have fun!! and by the way...monitor your temps

10

Wrokerfella2012-12-04T19:54:10Z

Yes but the pro's of overclocking are met with the adjacent con's. In one hand, yes you have improved quality of speeds but it will burn out a lot quicker. If you are prepared to sacrifice the time you have with the CPU for slight faster speeds then go ahead. I would not recommend this however. Any damage from overclocking can't be reset. You may be able to get it working again but the damage will still be there and it will have reduced the life span.

Hope this helps.

20

Jeevan2012-12-04T20:17:01Z

Overclocking is done by the experts and it is not recommended for new people.
As there are pros of overclocking there are cons too.

So,in your case i wouldnt recommend overclocking..

11

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