Re: Increasing cpu voltage (on Via 266 chipset)

 

[snip]

Increasing the voltage makes transistors switch faster, which generally
allows the CPU to operate reliably at a higher frequency. Both greater
voltage and frequency increase the (electrical) power requirements; with the
same cooling arrangement that means an increase in operating temperature
which can, as I'm sure you know, cause unreliability.


A higher operating temperature will shorten the CPU life; I am not sure what
effect the voltage alone has. In any case, it is likely that if the CPU is
working reliably, it will continue to do so for longer than it is useful.

While increasing the CPU voltage will generally allow the CPU to work at a
higher frequency, in your case - increasing the FSB frequency - you are
running pretty much everything at a higher frequency. If you increase the
CPU voltage and the CPU temperature remains reasonable but there is no
increase in the amount that you can overclock before you have instability
then it is likely that some other component is the weakest link.

Alex