Overclocking (Main Thread)

rowdyhawk212 said:I'm planning to overclock my Phenom II x4 955 3.2 BE. I was thinking about pushing it up to 3.8 GHz.
I have a chance to snag a Cooler Master Hyper 212 at a decent price. It's rated for up to 130W TDP, and since the 955 is stock at 125W, I'm wondering if this thing will actually cut it for an OC, or if I really need to step up to some beefier cooling setup.
Thanks!

Look, a high-end air cooler is honestly going to do a better job than some cheap AIO liquid setup anyway.

I used a Ninja 3 for ages and it kept my FX8150 running at 1.5V and 4.9-5.0GHz while staying under 60 degrees.

My solid recommendation would be the Cooler Master Hyper 212 which goes for around $100 or just shell out more for the Noctua NH-D14.

If I were picking up something new, I’d probably just grab a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo, but I could snag a Scythe Samurai ZZ for $33.
Does that mean I actually need something beefier?

rowdyhawk212 said:If I were buying new, I’d probably grab a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO, but I could snag a Scythe Samurai ZZ for $33.
So, am I actually gonna need something beefier?

The Hyper will get the job done.

Unless you're planning on some serious overclocking.
Honestly, I'd still suggest the Cooler Master Hyper 212 since it costs a tiny bit more and it's just better.

P.S. Anything other than the stock cooler is a massive upgrade.😁

EDIT: Looking at the benchmarks, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 absolutely crushes cheap AIO liquid coolers.
The only real headache is the size and weight, because this thing is a total beast.

Hey everyone, could someone please explain how I go about overclocking an AMD FX-8300?
I'm running a Gigabyte GA970a-DS3P and a Fortron 500W Hyper power supply.

What kind of Cooler are you running?

Timothy Kim60 said:What kind of cooler are you running?

LC cc 95

You aren't going to get any massive overclocking out of that Cooler, so I’d suggest capping it at 4GHz and keeping your voltage as low as possible.

Do a bit of reading first before you dive in:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1434322/a...i-bios-example
http://www.overclock.net/t/1318995/o...ra-owners-club
http://forum.pcekspert.com/showthread.php?t=248861
http://www.overclock.net/t/1348623/a...us-motherboard

Basically, you need to go into your BIOS and disable Turbo Boost, Cool and Quiet, APM (Application Power Management), C1E, and C6. You should also enable LLC if necessary.

To hit 4GHz, you'll need to bump your CPU ratio up to 20 (since 20 x 200 = 4000MHz). Even if you have a particularly bad piece of silicon, you should be able to hit 4GHz at 1.35V—though I'm not sure what kind of temps you'll see with that Cooler. With a high-quality chip, you might even manage to stay well below 1.3V. Ultimately, you'll find your sweet spot through testing.

Regarding temperatures and how to run a proper stress test, I've outlined the reasoning here (it's more detailed there and in those links, so I won't repeat myself). The principle remains identical; the guy in the guide just undervolted his AMD FX-6300, whereas you'll be working with higher numbers because you're overclocking by raising the multiplier. Your goal is the same: find the lowest stable voltage for your set clock speed, tailored specifically to your hardware (your specific CPU sample, motherboard, and Cooler).

Timothy Kim60 said:You won't get any massive overclocking out of that Cooler, so I'd suggest aiming for 4GHz at most with the lowest voltage you can manage.

Do a little reading first, then take a look!

http://www.overclock.net/t/1434322/a...i-bios-example
http://www.overclock.net/t/1318995/o...ra-owners-club
http://forum.pcekspert.com/showthread.php?t=248861
http://www.overclock.net/t/1348623/a...us-motherboard

Basically, you need to disable Turbo Boost, Cool and Quiet, APM (Application Power Management), C1E, and C6 in the BIOS, and turn on LLC if needed.

To hit 4GHz, you’ll need to set the CPU ratio to 20 (since 20 x 200 = 4000MHz). Even with a subpar chip, you should be able to hit 4GHz at 1.35V, though I'm not sure what kind of temps you'll see with that Cooler. With a great chip, you might even go well below 1.3V. You'll have to find out through testing!

Regarding temperatures and how to run a stress test—and why you need to—check it out here (it's more detailed there and in those links too, so I won't repeat myself). The principle is identical; he just undervolted his AMD FX-6300, whereas you'll be working with higher numbers since you're overclocking by raising the multiplier. Just aim for the lowest stable voltage for the clock speed you've set, based on your specific hardware (your particular CPU sample, motherboard, and Cooler).

Can all of this be done without entering the BIOS, maybe via CPU Overdrive in the AMD Control Center?

I’d recommend doing it through the BIOS. Let’s be real here: if you're intimidated by the BIOS or just plain dislike navigating it, then overclocking isn't really your scene. Plus, you won't find all the necessary settings available through third-party software anyway.

Timothy Kim60 said:I’d definitely go through the BIOS. Honestly, if you're nervous about diving into the BIOS or just hate messing with it, overclocking probably isn't your thing! You won't find all those settings through random software anyway.

I'm honestly a bit worried about breaking something! I know it shouldn't be that easy, but still... If I overclock it, will my FX-6300 just stay locked at one frequency, like 4GHz, and what am I actually gaining from that? Will the Cooler get louder? Also, the specs say the 8300 hits a turbo of 4.2 GHz—does that mean it jumps up to 4.2 during hardcore gaming?

If you dial in the voltages correctly, you can actually end up with lower temperatures and less power draw than the stock factory settings. However, if you push the turbo too hard, you'll see things climbing north of 1.4v quickly.

Regarding actual performance gains from overclocking—it’s hit or miss. It really depends entirely on the specific workload you're running.

In my experience, cranking that turbo will cause more hardware damage than any actual benefit you'll reap.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answer...rformance.html
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answer...stem-work.html

Timothy Kim60 said:If you tweak the voltages, you actually get much better results! It runs cooler and pulls less power than the factory settings. Just watch out—running Turbo can push it well past 1.4v!

When it comes to overclocking gains—you’ll find them in some places and nowhere in others! It really just depends on what you're running.

You'll end up taking more damage from that turbo than you'll ever actually deal!

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answer...rformance.html
I'm just sharing this link! It’s a really helpful guide on how to handle stem work properly. Hope it helps someone out there!

So, I’m disabling Turbo, APC, C1E, and everything else. I'll set the CPU ratio to 20x, boot up the machine, and fire up Prime95... but then what?

Well, if you check out that stress test link I sent over—specifically post 20 in that thread

Timothy Kim60 said:It's all right there in that stress test link I sent you—just check post 20 in that thread!

So, I managed to hit 4GHz, but now my PC boots incredibly slowly even though temperatures look great. I followed your instructions to the letter! Even after reverting everything back to the old BIOS settings, the slow boot persists. Plus, when I hit the power button, it starts up, shuts down after just 2 seconds, and then finally kicks back on? Help!

That looks pretty standard for that motherboard (the third kit in the photo).



What voltage are you running at? Did you actually hunt for the absolute lowest stable point, or did you just settle on a specific setting?

Timothy Kim60 said:That looks totally normal for that motherboard (the third part in the picture).



What voltage are you running? Did you hunt for the absolute minimum, or just pick a random number and stop there?

To be honest, I didn't even grasp the voltage settings. If I remember right, the voltage is the CPU Vcore, right? You told me to set it to 1.35v, but the max is +0.600v, so maybe I actually set it to +0.100?
It's all good now! I restarted it a few times and it's booting up perfectly fine.

My rig
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K
Liquid cooling via a Cooler Master Seidon 120V Ver.2,
Mobo: ASRock Z97M Pro4
RAM: Kingston DDR3 HyperX Fury, 1866MHz, 16GB (2x8GB), everything else is trivial

I just can't seem to get things stable at 4.4 GHz. I set the all-core ratio to 44 and the CPU cache ratio to 35, leaving the rest on auto. I'm using adaptive Vcore mode, set the Vcore to 1.200V, and left the Vcore offset on auto, which feels about right to me.
It passes Intel Burn Test, but Prime95 crashes every single time, so I guess I'm looking for some advice.

It’s the exact same story with my buddy. He had the same chip and couldn't even touch 4.3 GHz, no matter how much voltage he pumped into it. Since he was running liquid cooling, he didn't hold back at all—he was using a ROG Maximus board too. In the end, he just gave up and settled for 4.1 GHz at 1.2V for 24/7 use. He just ended up with a bad batch, and there's nothing you can do about it...

edit: You didn't mention your PSU, which can definitely help or hurt here. But since your other components seem solid, it's probably not some random driver issue or something like that...

Andrew Fox74 said:It's the exact same story with my buddy's chip; he couldn't push it past 4.3 GHz no matter how much voltage he threw at it, and since he was running liquid cooling, he wasn't exactly being shy about it on his ROG Maximus Gene board. He eventually just gave up and settled for 4.1 GHz at 1.2V for daily use—he just happened to get a bad batch, and there isn't much you can do about it...

edit: You didn't mention the power supply, which can definitely make or break things, but if everything else in your rig is solid, it's probably not some minor nonsense like that...

I'm running a 600W unit, and it looks like my specific chip just won't go any higher.

You should be able to push it all the way to 5GHz😛

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2hzs...9#.VjIW-WvpaUl