I'm not really hard core when it comes to overclocking. I'm usually happy with 30% as long as I can keep the CPU in the 50-60 degree Centigrade range with premium air cooling (xigmatek direct touch h/s for the win - YEAH!!! S1283 is great)

I run prime 95 and boinc concurrently - that's the best test I've found although Linpack is supposed to be pretty good too. I'd heard Orthos was good but haven't used it.

There are probably hundreds of OC tools. I even found a collection of them at one point but don't remember what it was called.

There's a lot to know so it's easy to get overwhelmed but I'm sure there are tutorials out there. Most might relate to specific chips. Those will be quite technical, but you should be able to find a general overview some place. There's probably even a "dummies guide" series book on it.

Also, everyone who has gotten seriously into OC'ing has destroyed hardware in the process. For most it is a sort of badge of honor. So if don't have a backup system and can't afford to lose any hardware, then be extremely cautious.

edited for inappropriate language...cih

I don't think there's any benefit in over-cooling. So long as the chip is safely within it's operating temperature, it's not going to experience any thermal damage.

The benefits of not cooling so aggressively include reduced energy consumption, less noise, plus you can save money: http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2...-data-center-temperature/

I re-use the heat from my machines by back flowing a heater vent. Since the heater here is convective and has no fan, the fan that pumps the heat away actually improves the heaters performance beyond the pre-heating the machines put out. In the summer, I duct the heat outside so not to fight the thermal sink in the front room.

The sink is just a 2" copper pipe that goes about 35' straight down. It has a pump to move the water cooling in the pipe past a pair of small car radiators that sandwich a box fan. This makes it so I don’t need an air conditioner even on the hottest of days for only 85W.

So part of going green is learning to use less power and get more out of it by design. Like using the heat from the back of your fridge to preheat outside air into the kitchen, or vent it away in the summer. Reducing the effect the oven has on this efficiency battle.

Twil,



I have to move soon and its the middle of winter, so I removed it. Otherwise I would take some pics. But the drill was the 1/2" pvc tube blowing water from a garden hose. I built a cougher damn to channel the water from under the house, trapping excess mud. Also a 4" collar pipe is good to keep the mud out of the work area. Once the 1/2" pilot is drilled, redrill with the 2" pvc. The 2" copper sections thread together to make a 20' section. Then run a 10' section of the 2" pvc for at least 5' into the ground. I went 8' and then the tube was long enough to pass through a trap door inside the house. Air is pulled in from near the ceiling past the radiators and out across the room. The fan and the water pump are connected to the same fan motor controller. So if its hot, you just turn it up.

I live in a bottom floor flat, so no one needed ever know. Where I go next, I think they wont need know either, unless I get a second story flat. But even if they do, only 2 hoses are needed to move the water to and from the second story. And if done right, is seen as an addition. So I doubt they would complain.

Its cheap too! the whole thing cost about 100usd. What gets me is why it isnt more used. If you water cool your machines, you can plug right in and reduce your power supply loading. The pump and the fan are AC, just need a way to turn it up and down automatically.

This heat recycling seems to be interesting enough to start a new thread

What do you all think?