Overclocking Overload!

D

Denamian

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 14, 2005
Messages
198
I would consider myself to be above average in terms of general computer knowledge, but nowhere near the level of most of you guys on this forum, so I'm here because I'm admittedly in over my head.

I'm totally new to the world of over-clocking (just started researching and making attempts about 4 hours ago). My system specs are in my sig.

I'm trying to grasp the basics here, but it seems like I am missing something.

It all started when I was trying to get my RAM up to the tested speeds. Delivered at 5-5-5-18-2T 800MHz - I was aiming for their tested/accepted numbers of 5-5-5-15-2T 1066MHz.

I noticed that when I changed my ram to these timings, then ran a scan with CPU-Z, that my ram was actually running slower (267.7MHz, with a FSB: DRAM of 4:3) - as opposed to the 400HMz and 1:2 that I had at default.

So I started reading up on all of this, and how the FSB has to be higher in order to get the ram's frequency up higher. I found a chart laying it out, and it said that in order to get a DDR-533 (which would double to my desired 1066) with a 1:1 ratio (I understand that 1:1 is preferable if at all possible) - I would need to be running the FSB at 266 (Default is 200 for me).

So I was thinking, what the heck, I can up the FSB for the ram timings, and tinker with the processor a bit while I am at it.

I experimented with ASUS's AI Overclocking utility, just to get a better handle on how exactly everything functions. I tested it our at 15% with an acceptable processor result (upped me to 2.99GHz) - and that set the FSB to 230 as well (multiplier for the processor was 13 I believe). And that made the CPU's voltage 1.3125. I tried a 20% system-wide with the AI Overclocker after that, and was unable to POST.

At that point, I went into manual mode, and started tinkering. I've been unable to POST with a 266FSB.

Can anyone toss me a bone here?
1) Is 266FSB the correct number for what I am looking to do?
2) Are the numbers I am looking for with the FSB: DRAM possible with my setup? From what I could gather from the article, it should be.
3) What am I missing when I clock up from 230FSB to 266FSB that is preventing me from clearing a POST?

Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!
 
You need to work on getting the rated speed stable first before you are factoring in an overclock on those that may or may not be possible. The higher you get that fsb the higher the cpu voltage is going to need to be. As long as the mobo is pulling spd timings off those sticks (I only bother saying this because mine currently doees not) just leave the timings set to auto and incrementally bump the fsb up adding voltage as necessary. Im not sure exactly what your specific options are going to be in your bios but set the divider manually. Once you get it running at 1:1 with the memory at 800 mhz then you can worry about the memory overclock. The difference between those timings you listed is so slight that thats not really what you need to be worrying about, just aim for the speed. Just be patient and tinker sometimes it takes some time for it all to make sense.
 
because you own a black edition CPU you do not need to play with the memory multiplier.. just set it to 1066 in the bios and set the voltage to 2.1v it should stabilize it.. with an AMD black edition cpu you only need to change the multiplier.. work your way up 1 at a time and stress test each time you raise it.. til it becomes unstable.. then drop it down the last one that was stable.. then run a stress test for a good few hours.. see how it does if its stable then you can screw around with the FSB trying to get it to the bleeding edge if you want..

so ill simplify it here..
start off at the stock 200x13 multiplier..
go up to 200x14.. stress test for about 45 minutes.. should be good enough to show that its stable at that voltage..
then bump it to 200x15 go into windows do the same thing again.. if it fails.. go back into the bios and bump the voltage up 1 notch.. keep doing this til it becomes stable at that voltage..
then bump it up to 200x16 and do the same process again.. if it fails bump the voltage up again..

*warnings*
-watch your temps.. the phenom I's run really hot..
-do not exceed 1.6v at any time.. that is beyond the recommended limit for that processor and will void the warrenty and could shorten the life of the cpu..

i say it all the time.. but overclocking is all about trial and error.. but atleast you have a black edition CPU which makes it much easier for a first time overclocker..

btw if you ask about overclocking an AMD cpu make sure you state that its an AMD system.. otherwise you get answers like Dreavis gave which has absolutely nothing to do with overclocking an AMD system..

if ya have any more questions feel free to post them and ill try my best to answer them..

also i recommend looking up multiple reviews for that processor, since most will have overclocking numbers on them.. take a look to see what kind of limit you should expect on the overclock..
 
you can still go for a higher bus speed, 266 is reachable

you need to make sure that your Hyper Transport bus speed
doesn't get wacked out by that, so make sure the HT multiplier
is going to keep the HT bus speed close to expected value

with your CPU on that board, should be 4000MHz
 
Sorry I wasn't clear about the AMD system part, I guess since it's my board, I am used to thinking of it as an ASUS mobo, but not everyone would necessarily know that. My apologies.

I was under the impression that I would need to finish toying with the FSB before I spent too much time on the RAM or CPU though, because right now, I am not able to successfully get the RAM up to the 1066 mark, which I was under the impression was due to the FSB's current speed of 200.

As for what monkey said about setting it straight to 1066... are you sure about that? Because right now, it's at 400 (and x2 makes 800) so if I set it to 1066, wouldn't it be trying to double to 2132? I thought 533 was what I needed for dual channel memory to hit 1066 total?

Artless, do you have any idea approximately what multiplier might get me in the 4000ish range? Just something I can jump off from? I'm guessing that my numbers in this category have been a major player in my inability to POST with the 266 bus speed.

Also: any recommendations on a program to use for stress testing?
 
Just so you guys know, here's what I'm looking at for the CPU part of the BIOS. I'm putting my best guesses in here for you to take a look at.

FSB Frequency: 266
PCIE Frequency: 100 (default)
Processor Multiplier: 13x (default)
Processor-NB Multiplier (I am assuming this is the HT?): 10x
CPU-NB HT Link Speed: 400MHz

Processor voltage: 1.4v (just a guess at a start point below 1.6v that might be high enough)
Processor-NB voltage: (?????) it's on auto right now
DDR Voltage: 2.1v
Northbridge Voltage: (auto)
Southbridge Voltage: (auto)

Am I in the right ballpark? C&C welcomed and appreciated!
Thanks!

P.S. How do the multipliers work? Does it make any difference how you arrive at the number?

Meaning: is 5x800MHz = 4000MHz "better" or "worse" than 10x400MHz = 4000MHz?
 
Basically you are looking too boot..then make stable. I am not a pro at oc'ing amd's but since I know you have been hanging for a couple hours I'll try to lend a hand...PCI-e freq just leave as it is. NB and SB leave auto, you arent trying an OC big enough to need those. like sirmonkey1985 said just change the multiplier. Play with the voltage, of course in small increments. If it wont post and memory settings are right then more than likely you are probably just short on voltage. You won't hurt it by going a little to high to test, its mainly long term use that causes problems. Your goal is lowest cpu voltage yet still stable. Pretty much trial and error, once you can boot you work out the nuances.
 
For the multipliers part of your question, higher multipliers typically require higher voltages. I don't know enough about amd's to get you a full breakdown and I wont try too. Just remember the fsb is what you are aligning with everything else.
 
DReavis said:
For the multipliers part of your question, higher multipliers typically require higher voltages. I don't know enough about amd's to get you a full breakdown and I wont try too. Just remember the fsb is what you are aligning with everything else.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that still helps.

I'm looking at this now for my settings.

FSB Frequency: 266
Processor Multiplier: 10x
Processor voltage: 1.5

Processor-NB Multiplier: 5x
CPU-NB HT Link Speed: 800MHz

Processor-NB voltage: (?????) it's on auto right now

===

The processor multiplier is fixxed now, I understand how that works a little better. the 266x13 I had before would be way too high. I'm going to start with 10 for a POST, then work my way up to as high as 11.5.

CPU voltage... I'm just ballparking on 1.5. I think that should be plenty. I'm just paranoid about getting too close to that 1.6 barrier if I can avoid it.

I'm pretty happy with the 5x800MHz solution I found for the HT. Nice low multiplier (lowest I could get). So hopefully that will work out well.

It's kinda just the voltage for the HT that I am hung up on now. I will probably give it a try on "auto" if nobody knows for sure, but I would feel a lot better having some sort of a ballpark number to work in there manually if possible.
 
What is your default CPU core voltage and what are you at right now? 1.5v seems to be pushing it a little unless you have a high-end cooler. Are you monitoring your CPU core temperatures as part of each test? The voltage will significantly increase temps.

Also, just from past experience with my Q6600, I find that sometimes increasing the core voltage too much is unnecessary when you can bump up the Northbridge voltage a little. Not exactly sure how this works, but I was able to lower my core voltage by a tiny bit after I increased NB voltage by a modest amount.
 
By the way, this quick read might help: http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/processors/amd_phenom_9850/index.shtml

The reviewer's motherboard didn't allow increases in core voltage, yet the CPU hit 3.00ghz stably with only an increase in multipler to 15x... so you probably don't need any more than 1.45v unless you plan on breaking 3.5ghz or so.

EDIT: nevermind, seems like I way overestimated the overclockability of the 9850... I just read some ridiculous review in which 1.6v was needed just to reach a measly 2.97ghz. Maybe you should set 3.0ghz as your target and see what happens.
 
aznofazns said:
What is your default CPU core voltage and what are you at right now? 1.5v seems to be pushing it a little unless you have a high-end cooler. Are you monitoring your CPU core temperatures as part of each test? The voltage will significantly increase temps.

Also, just from past experience with my Q6600, I find that sometimes increasing the core voltage too much is unnecessary when you can bump up the Northbridge voltage a little. Not exactly sure how this works, but I was able to lower my core voltage by a tiny bit after I increased NB voltage by a modest amount.
Click to expand...

To answer your first question, the default is 1.328v according to CPU-Z. So it's looking like something in the 1.4 to 1.5 range will be necessary.

As for the rest... these last two postings of numbers, I haven't actually tested yet. I was just grinding down the numbers a little bit until I had a better handle on things before I went back to manual switching.

I read a review on overclocking a 9950BE with this motherboard, and they said they got a stable overclock with 245x13 at 1.5v.

I figured if that was true, I should be able to hit 266x11.5 with 1.4 or 1.5v for a decent OC, with some pretty stable numbers. That will also leave my FSB sitting in the right place to get my ram up to 1066, and have a 1:1 FSB : DRAM ratio.

I won't know exactly what the CPU voltage will end up being yet, because I'm not going to go manual on it until about noon on friday, just to double-check things, and hopefully get an answer on the CPU-NB voltage.

I'll definitely do a lot of tweaking with the voltage on the CPU though once I get a stable POST. Because I Know the Phenom's run hot as it is, and I'm just using stock air cooling (which the affore-mentioned OC used as well - but I still need to be careful).

As always, thanks a ton guys! I'm learning a lot.
 
aznofazns said:
By the way, this quick read might help: http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/processors/amd_phenom_9850/index.shtml

The reviewer's motherboard didn't allow increases in core voltage, yet the CPU hit 3.00ghz stably with only an increase in multipler to 15x... so you probably don't need any more than 1.45v unless you plan on breaking 3.5ghz or so.

EDIT: nevermind, seems like I way overestimated the overclockability of the 9850... I just read some ridiculous review in which 1.6v was needed just to reach a measly 2.97ghz. Maybe you should set 3.0ghz as your target and see what happens.
Click to expand...

I have a 9950, not a 9850 :) But yeah, my goal is something in the 3.0 to 3.1 range. I'm actually not too worried about ramping up the CPU that much, just enough to break the 3 barrier (ish).

I am concentrating more on the clocking of the ram, and the FSB: DRAM ratio. As I said in my other post though, I'm hoping to be able to hit a 1:1 ratio ( :D ) with my most-recently-proposed test setup.
 
Ahh, my questions have been answered!

I found some of the HT info that I was looking for in my motherboard specs. And I found the rest in a completely un-related thread that I had started in the processor sub-forums where I was asking about which processor to recommend to a friend who is building his first PC. (Seen here)

Near the bottom of the thread "christof139" spills the beans on the HT numbers:

The base FSB and HT speed = 200MHz (they are the same) on I believe all the CPU's and mobos, the actual difference is made up by the HT Multiplier that varies from 9x (1800MHz HT speed) to 10x (2000MHz HT speed) to 20x plus (@20x = 4000MHz HT speed), just like a CPU Multipler. It is advisable to sometimes lower thre HT multipier and/or the CPU multipier when when raising the FSB/HT base speed considerably above 200MHz, especially for AMD CPUs with 1800MHz HT (3600MHz actual as it's a 2-way street) since it seems not many 1800MHZ HT CPU's and mobos like HT speeds too much above 1800MHz, but it depends on the silicon and the mobo etc. Seems the newer PH2's and AM2+ and AM3 mobos can handle the higher OCed HT speeds better than the older AMD CPU's and mobos with a base 1800MHz HT speed.
Click to expand...

From the motherboard specs, I now know that with HyperTransport version 3.0 I am looking for a HQ Frequency of 2.0 to 2.6.

And from "christof139" - it sounds like I need to change my multipliers. Since (like ram) this number is doubled, I need to be looking for a multiplier that gives me half of the MHz that I am looking for.

I'll get up in the morning, and start crackin' at it. Hope to have some results by noon or 1 pacific time. I'll keep the progress posted from my laptop.
 
Results! (ish)

I decided it couldn't wait. I wanted to get some numbers posted so people could read and respond as early as possible.

So far my progress is:
CPU = very pleased
RAM = somewhat pleased
HT Speeds = confused

My numbers right now are:

=====
CPU: 3.192GHz (up from 2.6GHz):

FSB: 266
CPU x: 12
CPU v: 1.3625 in the bios - reading at 1.392 in CPU-Z and ASUS PC Probe
Idle: 61*c (essentially the same as before the overclocking)

All of this makes sense, and turned out quite well.
=====
Next we have the RAM:
when left on "auto" it comes out to 532MHz with a 1:2 ratio. (I was aiming for 533with a 1:1 ratio from FSB : DRAM) - but when I up it manually to 533, it drops down to 200-something when I test it and a 4:3 ratio.

The 532 makes sense, because that is double the FSB... but I don't get it. How would you ever get the ram to register as 533 (in order to achieve a 1:1)? The FSB can not be set to a decimal such as 266.5 (which would be the required number for the ram to land on a 533MHz reading).
=====
Finally, I come to the HT

Using 800MHz as the HT link speed, and 5x as the multiplier, I should be coming out to 4000MHz (as I understand it, this number is actually doubled, so it would make 8000MHz, which would be way too high). That being said, when I run at 800x5, I am able to POST, which confuses me, because it should be way too high. However, once I boot up, and run CPU-Z, it lists my HT link at only 1064.0MHz which is just over half of what it should be.

Is there another number that plays into the clocking of the HT system that I have still yet to grasp? If so, is that the "Processor-NB voltage"? I have it on auto right now, because I can't really seem to find any information on what sort of numbers I should be thinking about for a manual config on this one.
=====
Can anyone shed any light on the RAM or HT issues?

As always, the help is MUCH appreciated! :)
 
Denamian said:
Next we have the RAM:
when left on "auto" it comes out to 532MHz with a 1:2 ratio. (I was aiming for 533with a 1:1 ratio from FSB : DRAM) - but when I up it manually to 533, it drops down to 200-something when I test it and a 4:3 ratio.

The 532 makes sense, because that is double the FSB... but I don't get it. How would you ever get the ram to register as 533 (in order to achieve a 1:1)? The FSB can not be set to a decimal such as 266.5 (which would be the required number for the ram to land on a 533MHz reading).
Click to expand...

When you say "set manually to 533," what do you mean? Usually you can't directly set RAM clock, you set FSB, and then the memory dividers.
 
Varmint said:
When you say "set manually to 533," what do you mean? Usually you can't directly set RAM clock, you set FSB, and then the memory dividers.
Click to expand...

My motherboard's bios has the option to directly set the RAM clock.

It doesn't work when I try to set it to 533 though, and I'm assuming that is because that is more than double my FSB.
 
If your CPU idles at 61C then you've got major problems ahead. Idle temps normally should not exceed 45C if you just leave your computer sitting there for 15 minutes (even during the summer). 61C seems more like a load temp.

I think you should try raising the multiplier and lowering the FSB even more.

The northbridge voltage is unrelated to your HT frequency, but increasing it will likely help your overclock become stable.

Oh, and sorry I made the mistake of finding 9850BE reviews for your 9950BE lol.
 
Denamian said:
My motherboard's bios has the option to directly set the RAM clock.

It doesn't work when I try to set it to 533 though, and I'm assuming that is because that is more than double my FSB.
Click to expand...

Can you actually enter in any number for the RAM frequency or is it just a list of 4 or 5 preset frequencies?
 
I lowered my multiplier from 12 to 11.5, as I was running into some stability issues when running higher-performance games. I also upped the voltage a tad so it's just under 1.4 now. Will resume another round of testing, hopefully this level will prove to be stable, and I can eek the voltage down a step or two.

As-is, the idle temp is actually the same as it was at 1.35v. So, good news there.

Still struggling with the affore-mentioned RAM and HT though =/
 
ok first off.. you obviously have been reading how to overclock an intel system.. AMD DOES NOT REQUIRE A 1:1 RATIO ON MEMORY! this is a intel thing because they use the FSB to overclock.. where as AMD does not because it uses the Hyper transport link which is essentially the FSB that intel systems use..

so quit trying to get a 1:1 ratio on memory on an AMD system.. it will never happen..

secondly.. 61C at idle you need to reset your heatsink because its not done right.. you are just barely under the max temp for that cpu..

thirdly.. quit reading how to overclock intel systems because none of it works on an AMD system.. especially a Black edition CPU..

and for the repeat edition of what i said yesterday.. you do not need to use your FSB to reach a 1066 clock on your memory.. just go into your bios and change your memory timing to 1066..
then set your FSB to 200 and play with the multiplier and voltage.. there should be absolutely no reason for you to touch the FSB on a black edition CPU to reach 3ghz..


the reason you do not touch the FSB is because the FSB effects everything.. it effects your HTT link speed, it effects the memory timing.. and that can cause a system to become unstable.. especially if you use auto settings on the majority of the bios settings and the motherboard lacks the ability to compensate for your FSB change..

with a black edition cpu shouldnt have to touch the FSB until you can no longer raise the multi and be stable.. at most you would only move the FSB 10mhz after that before it you can no longer make it stable..

im starting to feel like a broken record here..
i know amd systems.. ive been using them since they came out on the market.. ive been overclocking them since the athlon xp 1700.. so i know what im doing..

editied by moderator to remove hot linked image ( thats a no-no - links to pages ok but host your own images)

http://www.cluboverclocker.com/reviews/cpu/amd/X4_9950BE/p3.asp
 
sirmonkey1985 said:
ok first off.. you obviously have been reading how to overclock an intel system.. AMD DOES NOT REQUIRE A 1:1 RATIO ON MEMORY! this is a intel thing because they use the FSB to overclock.. where as AMD does not because it uses the Hyper transport link which is essentially the FSB that intel systems use..

so quit trying to get a 1:1 ratio on memory on an AMD system.. it will never happen..

secondly.. 61C at idle you need to reset your heatsink because its not done right.. you are just barely under the max temp for that cpu..

thirdly.. quit reading how to overclock intel systems because none of it works on an AMD system.. especially a Black edition CPU..

and for the repeat edition of what i said yesterday.. you do not need to use your FSB to reach a 1066 clock on your memory.. just go into your bios and change your memory timing to 1066..
then set your FSB to 200 and play with the multiplier and voltage.. there should be absolutely no reason for you to touch the FSB on a black edition CPU to reach 3ghz..


the reason you do not touch the FSB is because the FSB effects everything.. it effects your HTT link speed, it effects the memory timing.. and that can cause a system to become unstable.. especially if you use auto settings on the majority of the bios settings and the motherboard lacks the ability to compensate for your FSB change..

with a black edition cpu shouldnt have to touch the FSB until you can no longer raise the multi and be stable.. at most you would only move the FSB 10mhz after that before it you can no longer make it stable..

im starting to feel like a broken record here..
i know amd systems.. ive been using them since they came out on the market.. ive been overclocking them since the athlon xp 1700.. so i know what im doing..

editied by moderator to remove hot linked image ( thats a no-no - links to pages ok but host your own images)

http://www.cluboverclocker.com/reviews/cpu/amd/X4_9950BE/p3.asp
Click to expand...

I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to ignore what you said, I asked for a confirmation yesterday, and got none. So I was still doing some experimenting of my own.

I know that the 1:1 thing is more of an intel issue, and I know that it is not required by any means, it's just something I wanted to shoot for personally if it was possible.

I'll go back to defaults, and give it a try.

The main reason that I was worried about your ram recommendation was when my ram was running at 800, it was showing as 400 (x2). That would imply that whatever # it is showing will be doubled, so I didn't want to set it to 1066 directly, and have it try to double that - until i got a confirmation from you, or someone else.

As for the max temp, I had heard that the overload temp was 115*C (obviously too high) - but that the ceiling for acceptable normal use was under 75*C. So I thought I was ok there.

As for reading intel overclocking... I admit that some of it was, when I was looking to learn more about the process in general, but I took most of my literature-based advice from the review that I linked earlier in the thread. Which was an overclocking of a system with my 9950BE, and my exact same ASUS motherboard. In which they concluded,

I was reasonably pleased with the final stable overclock: 3.185GHz air cooled using 245x13 setting - however to reach that result, I had to:

* raise the HT speed to 245MHz
* drop the HT multiplier to 8x
* set the HT speed at 1600x (yes, seemingly redundant setting in the BIOS)
* set Vcore to 1.5V
* set Vmem to 2.1V
Click to expand...

That lead me to believe that the process was more similar than I had originally thought.

I'll save my OC profile though, and give your suggestion a shot. Results to follow.
 
I tried what you said, and was greeted with a successful POST, and so far, a successful boot.

FSB is back at 200, with a 15x multiplier (i might push it to 15.5 for fun, but we'll see).
CPU voltage is on auto, but so far it's handling the 3.0GHz at the stock 1.328v. I might up it to 1.35 when I hit 15.5.

resetting the FSB did fix the issues I was having with the HT link. It's back at 2006MHZ (the closest I had gotten was 1862MHz with 8 x 1.4GHz). So that's looking nice.

The RAM is registering as 535.1MHz now when I set it to 1066 manually. Sorry for not taking your word on that. I just got confused when the 400 was doubled to 800, as to why a 1066 wouldn't be doubled as well. But it just halved it for me.

The CPU is idling at 57*c now.
Motherboard is at 44*c (down one or 2 degrees) - it's rated for 500,000 hours at up to 65*c, so I'm good there.

Guess it was a lot easier than I was making it. Thanks for setting me straight, I'm a big enough man to admit when I'm wrong.

I'm glad I took the time to learn all of that though, I know a lot more about how intel systems operate thanks to the reading I did concerning their OC procedures.

In the end, it was easy as pie with my AMD. 5 minutes tops. I guess it's just another reason to be glad I didn't go with intel :eek: :p

I'll try pushing it up to the 15.5x and 1.35v like I mentioned earlier, and do a little stress testing, and make one more post here.

Thanks a ton to everyone that helped! I learned a lot about computer hardware (on both sides of the AMD/Intel fence)! Hope nobody gets their dander in a bunch after my teasing above. All in good fun!

My only other issue so far is that twice now while I've been editing this post, the Vcore voltage has momentarily set off the alarm on my ASUS monitoring software. (Then returned to normal a few seconds later).

I just started using this program recently, so perhaps this is a normal random occurrence. Anything I should be worried about? It's at a 1.33v pretty consistantly, and it wasn't jumping THAT high (just to 1.44). Is this an acceptable spike? If so, I will just raise the tolerances a little bit on my monitoring software.
 
if you stress test it at 3ghz your going to have to up the voltage.. it will most likely fail at the stock 1.32v.. it needs to be some where around 1.36v but your cooling in your case is horrible.. you really need to work on that.. i dont think you will be able to stress test at 3ghz @ 1.36v you will most likely hit the max temp and the system will either shut off or lock up.. time to invest in a better heatsink.. the give away that your case has poor cooling is your northbridge.. its a wee bit high.. standard temp on an amd based motherboard is usually between 30-35C.. since the northbridge doesnt have to control the memory like intel lga-775 and older systems do.. they run much cooler.. so if i was you i would look into better cooling.. your cpu should be idling some where in the low 40's..

also change the auto setting on the voltage to 1.36.. the reason its spiking to 1.44v is that the board is automatically compensating for the voltage needs to keep the cpu stable.. and usually the auto setting is wrong and over-volts the cpu.. so id say no.. 1.44v is not acceptable for a voltage with that overclock and is probably why the system is running extremely hot at idle as well..

in the overclocking world.. auto = bad.. especially on cpu voltage settings.. northbridge you can usually leave it on auto because you will never have to change it on an amd system..

but i told ya its easy as heck to overclock a black edition cpu.. :p its just one of those learning things that people dont relize and automatically assume that they have to overclock it like any normal cpu that has a locked multiplier..


oh and im sorry if that last post made me sound like i was being an ass..
 
sirmonkey1985 said:
if you stress test it at 3ghz your going to have to up the voltage.. it will most likely fail at the stock 1.32v.. it needs to be some where around 1.36v but your cooling in your case is horrible.. you really need to work on that.. i dont think you will be able to stress test at 3ghz @ 1.36v you will most likely hit the max temp and the system will either shut off or lock up.. time to invest in a better heatsink.. the give away that your case has poor cooling is your northbridge.. its a wee bit high.. standard temp on an amd based motherboard is usually between 30-35C.. since the northbridge doesnt have to control the memory like intel lga-775 and older systems do.. they run much cooler.. so if i was you i would look into better cooling.. your cpu should be idling some where in the low 40's..
Click to expand...

Think 1.35 is a lil too low still? Alright, thanks for the info! I'll ramp it up one more notch before I do any stressing. Yeah, I know the cooling is bad. I was just using stock stuff, because I had never over-clocked before this. Is it just the heat sink that's sinking me? Or should I stick another 120mm fan in the case too? (I have one more spot that is currently un-occupied).

As for heat-sinks... what's my best bet? Just go to newegg, and search phenom-compatible listings with a good rating? Or is there something more specific I should look for?

sirmonkey1985 said:
also change the auto setting on the voltage to 1.36.. the reason its spiking to 1.44v is that the board is automatically compensating for the voltage needs to keep the cpu stable.. and usually the auto setting is wrong and over-volts the cpu.. so id say no.. 1.44v is not acceptable for a voltage with that overclock and is probably why the system is running extremely hot at idle as well..
Click to expand...

Thanks! I thought that might be the case.

sirmonkey1985 said:
in the overclocking world.. auto = bad.. especially on cpu voltage settings..
Click to expand...

hehe yeah, I know, I was just trying for a POST and stable boot before I started tinkering with the manual numbers.

sirmonkey1985 said:
I told ya its easy as heck to overclock a black edition cpu.. :p its just one of those learning things that people dont relize and automatically assume that they have to overclock it like any normal cpu that has a locked multiplier..
Click to expand...

Heck yes it is! Oh well, I love computers, and I don't mind having sunk the extra hours into all the reading on locked multipliers and intel systems (in addition to the AMD reading) - it was interesting and informative.

sirmonkey1985 said:
oh and im sorry if that last post made me sound like I was being an ass..
Click to expand...
No problem, lol, sorry for not taking your word in the first place, I was just a little gun shy, and you were the only person that had said something along those lines yet, so I was being paranoid about confirmation.
 
I dinked around and ended up with a vcore of 1.36v like we talked about, with a multiplier of 15.5 (for a clock speed of 3.1GHz - A decent result for a Phenom 1 with stock air cooling. I am satisfied.)

I poked around a little bit for heat sinks. It appears to me that many of the heat sink/fan setups only run in the range of 2000RPM (+/- 10%).

I'm afraid that these will be too slow for me, as my current CPU fan is running at ~3300RPM just to keep my CPU at 59*c (was able to drop it a few more degrees from 61*c) and my motherboard at 44*c.

Is my fan just running so fast because the heat sink that's with it is sub-par? Afraid I'm a little lost on this part. I've always used stock cooling, because I never overclocked.

This heat sink looks like it might be decent. I've always been happy with CM for my other cooling needs (laptop pads, desktop cases, etc). It's a reasonable price, with what appears to be an average fan rating (1800rpm), and a nice/quiet noise rating.

Would this thing cut the mustard for me? It says it's compatible with the phenom x4. The fan speed seems really low to me, but like I said, I don't know much about it. Could that be compensated by the fact that this unit has 5 heat pipes?

Thanks again guys!
 
speed isnt always the important factor with heatsinks.. its more about the size and surface area of the heatsink.. so say take a thermalright ultra 120.. uses a 120mm fan at 2000rpms.. the heatsink its self has 3 times the surface area as the stock cooler that you are currently using.. also heat pipes are something to take into account.. the whole point is to pull away as much heat as you can from the cpu its self..

in your case a xigamatek s1284 would be perfect for you if it fits in the case you have..

here are some options..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233023

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103055

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608002

take a look at those.. and they will give you some idea's on what to get..


and theres nothing to be sorry about.. this forum sections pretty flooded with intel overclocking knowledge.. and theres very few of us die hard AMD overclockers left..
 
sirmonkey1985 said:
take a look at those.. and they will give you some idea's on what to get..
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for the advice. I hate to be a pain in the butt, but I doubt pretty seriously that I can fit a 120mm on my mobo. I'm not even positive if I can swing a 92mm (although I think I can if I move the ram over 1 more slot).

What about this bad boy here?

Good reviews on all of the sites I have looked at. A little on the heavy side at 730g, But 600-something seemed to be the norm, so I didn't think 730 was too out of line.

On MIR for $42USD. 92mm, so it should fit me, with 2300RPM for the fan speed, so it could still get pretty fast for that size of fan, if need be.

4 heat pipes (my current stock has 2).

Dual sided alum fins.

It claims to be able to drop cpu temp by 30%. Which would put me at an idle of 42 (as opposed to the 60 I have now... I was able to eek out another degree with some tweeking). And a load somewhere in the low to mid 50's.

Also, they are claiming a 16dBA rating... pretty nice there.

Sounds good to me. Anyone see anything that I am missing?

Thanks again! Almost near the end of this fiasco :) You guys have been awesome, as always!
 
+1 for the S1284

How come you can't fit a 120mm fan? What case do you have? I think you're really going to want a big heatsink with a large 120mm fan if you want to keep your temps down, but I don't know much about that Asus, it could be competent.
 
aznofazns said:
+1 for the S1284

How come you can't fit a 120mm fan? What case do you have?
Click to expand...
Case is in my sig :)

The case isn't the problem, it's the motherboard layout... I'll pull the side panel off, and take a pic for you. Should be up in 5-10 min.
 
all i can say is hell friggin no that heatsink wont cool a 9950 at your present overclock..

on legit reviews test it held on par with the thermaltake duorb cooler on a q6600 @ 3ghz.. which runs way cooler then a 9950.. which the duorb wasnt even that good of a cooler..

also i doubt the motherboards going to limit you on what size heatsink will fit.. the limiting factor will be your case and if its wide enough for it to fit.. and looking at a few pictures of your motherboard.. i dont see a reason why any of those heatsinks i linked to wouldnt fit.. theres plenty of room around the socket.. the only thing i could see is with the memory you have.. unless you have all 4 banks filled.. then it might not fit.. but you can just switch them over to the black dual channel banks which would give you enough room..

looking at your case.. id say the TRUE is probably out of the question.. but the xig's and the noctua should fit...
 
Here are the pics of my case in action.

Whole_Case.jpg


I know, my cabling isn't the prettiest on the planet. Sorry.

CPU_Close.jpg


As it is, my very small heat sink is practically touching the bridge on one side, and the ram on the other.

Even if I scoot the ram over 1 more spot (the most I could do). It looks like that would barely accommodate a 92x92. I really don't see how I am going to squeeze another 28mm in for a 120x120.
 
Ahh, I might have hit the mother load. I finally found some websites specifically addressing the issue of after-market cooling for the 9950. Almost unanimously they seem to be recommending the Freezer 64.

Users are reporting idle temps of 28-30 for Phenom 2. And 35-37 for Phenom 1.

I'm a little bit skeptical on a $30 piece, as that's pretty cheap. But the reviews have me quite interested. 89% of 1700 people giving it a "B" rating or better on newegg, and I found 3 different websites which recommended it for cooling phenom processors.
 
i still think you could fit a 120mm fan in there.. 1 the stock phenom cooler is actually wider then the actual socket.. 2 most vertical heatsinks the heat pipe goes up a half inch or so before the actual cooling fins start.. then the fan.. or if your really worried about it you can get something like this..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233018
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106080

the second one i currently use on my phenom II 940 sitting at 3.4ghz 1.424v @ 50C full load.. but its a wee bit on the louder side when running at 2000 rpms.. also might not fit due to the cooler you have on your memory because the heatpipes stick way out to the sides..

and get this thermal grease.. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020&Tpk=thermal grease

or arctic silver 5
 
sirmonkey1985 said:
i still think you could fit a 120mm fan in there.. 1 the stock phenom cooler is actually wider then the actual socket.. 2 most vertical heatsinks the heat pipe goes up a half inch or so before the actual cooling fins start.. then the fan.. or if your really worried about it you can get something like this..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233018
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106080

the second one i currently use on my phenom II 940 sitting at 3.4ghz 1.424v @ 50C full load.. but its a wee bit on the louder side when running at 2000 rpms.. also might not fit due to the cooler you have on your memory because the heatpipes stick way out to the sides..

and get this thermal grease.. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020&Tpk=thermal grease

or arctic silver 5
Click to expand...

Thank you, yes, I was looking at that grease actually, because it's the same stuff that comes with the Freezer 64.

I'm still pretty interested in the 64, but I will definitely take a good look at your recommendations before I make a decision this Monday.

For the grease. If I do end up getting the Freezer 64, it comes with a stock strip of that exact same thermal substance. Do you think I should still buy the separate grease that you linked? Or in that case, since it's the same medium, should I just use the provided pad?
 
First off, the Freezer 64 is a mediocre cooler. Good for lowering temps at stock speed if you're on a budget, but for overclocking, it's certainly not the best option. I'm going to break away from the trend a bit and suggest the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 instead of the 1284, since it actually performs a bit better due to how the heatpipes contact the CPU base.

As for the question of whether or not it'll fit, I can tell you for sure that the case definitely has room. The only possible problem I can see is the part of the heatpipe assembly that is covering the northbridge. If you could measure the height of that piece relative to the base of the motherboard, I could tell you if you'll have enough clearance for it. I can tell you that it probably won't be an issue though, since I have one and it clears the northbridge heatsink on my board with a decent amount of room to spare.
 
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