overclocking with linux

[Kavrok]

Most problems with overclocking seem to stem from "I got it to boot at 1trillion jigahurtz(enter your speed here) but couldn't load windows". Just wondering what type of success one would have booting to Linux instead of windows?

 

[CTho9305]

Well, when most people compile the kernel, they choose to have it send the HLT instruction when idle (this is what CPU cooling programs do for windows). I think it sends the HLT automatically in the more recent kernels. So, while a windows machine is not halting the CPU until the cooling program loads, the linux machine starts almost immediately. I would think that running a CPU intensive task under both OSes would result in the same stability.

 

[DaHitman]

Well...one thing is that running Linux a processor stays quite a bit cooler than Windows.. Linux automatically turns the processor off for minute periods of time during low use periods which makes the processor cool off... Windows on the other hand..seems to go into this race condition during idle periods trying to poll for user input and causes the processor to stay warmer...There are some utilities you can download and run on windows that will do the same thing though.... but its not the default.

Remember, Heat Kills when OC'ing.

 

[BOFH]

AFAIK Linux ALWAYS has sent the HLT command to the processor. I could be wrong on some really acient version (pre v1 is my guess if any), but all current ones do that. To test stability I have been using burnP6 and burnBX found here. Although it didn't pick up a VERY VERY subtle bug in a brand new p3 850 I just finished fighting.

 

[MGMorden]

My theory is that if you get the processor "stable enough to run windows but not to boot it", then it's not stable. For a processor to be STABILY overclocked it has to be able to do everything that it would do it stock speed, just faster. That includes booting ANY os, running for just as long, no random lockups, no sig 11's while kernel compiling. It should functionally be identical to the stock speed just clocked higher. My experience is that Linux will "let you know" about an unstable overclock a lot quicker than windows though (in windows you sometimes don't know if a cpu is completely stable or not. in linux it seems to crash during a kernel compile almost everytime if the system is unstable).

 

[CTho9305]

my experience is the exact opposite... I could rarely crash linux at 850, but windows had trouble booting / loading the programs at startup. Of course, at really high speeds it would kernel panic at boot, but...