At this point I would like to answer several, possible questions that you might have.

Is it enough to run tests with only two utilities to claim that the system is stable?

LinX program warms up the CPU perfectly well, and Prime95 in Blend mode tests not only the CPU but also the memory. However, they cannot give you a 100% stability guarantee. Our experience suggests that successful pass in this two applications will allow the system to do well in any other tests. Besides, these are only preliminary overclocking results. Very soon we will replace our processor cooler and the results may be different (if not the overclocking results, then at least the temperature readings). We still have a lot of mainboard reviews lined up for tests in various applications. Later on we will be able to correct the data accordingly.

Isn’t 87 °C too high for an overclocked processor?

It is relatively high. However, you should keep in mind that it was registered during tests with special LinX utility that creates extremely high processor load. During work in regular applications, we can hardly get close to this value.

If LinX utility creates unrealistically high workload, then why should be use its temperature readings as a reference during our overclocking experiments?

True, to determine the maximum voltage setting you can use any other “heavy” applications from those that you work with on a regular basis or from time to time. In this case the maximum temperature will most likely be lower than with LinX and you will be able to push the CPU even further. However, this approach may be suitable only for you, but not for me. I have no idea what applications you intend to run on your system that is why I prefer to offer you a slight reserve loading the system to its maximum. Following the above described methodology, you will most likely get a well overclocked system that will work stably under any load, but these are just recommendations. You have the right to act as you see fit taking the responsibility for the consequences of your actions.

We have also overclocked an Intel Core i5-750 processor with the nominal clock frequency of 2.66 GHz and 1.225V Vcore. I am not going to go deep into details about how we actually overclocked it, because it was performed following the same exact methodology as Intel Core i7-860 processor. With static Turbo Boost when we increased Vcore by 0.1125 V we could overclock this CPU to 4.0 GHz.

During the dynamic implementation the CPU could work at 3.73 GHz and 0.1375 V Vcore under maximum load. Intel Core i5-750 doesn’t support 12x memory multiplier - it can only work with 10x maximum, therefore, we couldn’t increase the memory frequency, but we could lower the timings.

In case of single-threaded load the CPU frequency will increase to 4.26 GHz.

Now that I was summing up the obtained results, I noticed that both processors required absolutely identical voltage increase for successful overclocking. We increased the nominal core voltage by 0.1125 V with static Turbo Boost, and by 0.1375 V with dynamic Turbo Boost. It is a very interesting coincidence. We are going to check if it remains the case with other mainboards. And now let’s sum up everything we know about the overclocking potential of Asus P7P55D Deluxe mainboard: