Overclocking (Main Thread)

It looks like you've already cycled through quite a few options... maybe you just ended up with a dud chip. You could try bumping up the FSB instead of the multiplier, then dialing back the 😁RAM ratio.

By the way, that motherboard isn't exactly top-tier—it’s an older chipset (basically a repurposed AM2+ board) with 4+1 phase regulation and no heatsink to help cool the components.

I'm not entirely sure what else I'd suggest since I haven't done much overclocking on junk boards like this one. 🙂

So, I'm running an AMD Athlon II X3 455 at 3.3 GHz...
Running on 4GB of DDR2 at 1066MHz in dual channel... yeah, that’s basically what we're working with here...
Just a standard 512 GB SATA II hard drive... nothing to write home about, really...
Motherboard: ASUS M4A78-E (got the original driver CD too)...
So, I've got this Gigabyte HD 5570 with 1GB of DDR3 just sitting here... honestly, it’s the whole bundle if you're interested...
Power supply: 500W...

I've been scrolling through these forums for a bit trying to wrap my head around how to actually test my CPU, but honestly, I'm feeling a little lost... could someone maybe point me toward a solid tutorial specifically for my CPU and motherboard setup? I could really use some guidance here...

Check this out first: http://www.overclock.net/t/1002985/a...inner-friendly

And also this: http://planetoverclock.com/editorial...locking-friendly-guide/

Since you don't have an unlocked multiplier, you're going to have to bump up the FSB—which means you really need to keep an eye on your NB clock, RAM clock, and HT link clock, because they're all going to scale up automatically whenever you crank that FSB.

The motherboard is actually pretty decent for overclocking, so you shouldn't run into much trouble there—just make sure to dig through the BIOS section of the manual, since it'll tell you what everything actually does. Are you running a decent cooler or just some stock crap?

thanks for getting back to me, I honestly thought you could 😢 I'm just running this stock crap right now, so I wouldn't try pushing it too hard, maybe just up to 3.5 / 3.6, just so my games run a little smoother... 😁 I actually bumped up the GPU using that software and it’s definitely performing better, you can really feel the difference when I jump into a game, so just one more thing, if I pull the battery out of the Motherboard will everything reset, like the BIOS and all those CPU settings?

That's right, pulling the battery resets the BIOS settings.

Jumping back in here—I decided to go another round with overclocking this Phenom 965. Managed to hit 3.6GHz at 1.456v without temps crossing 50c, even though AMD says 62c is the limit. But honestly? Anything past 3.6 is pure chaos. I tried pushing it to 3.9GHz at 1.51v, but the system couldn't even survive 4 minutes of Prime95 stress testing before folding. So yeah, I'm playing it safe with this one for now.

It’s probably the Motherboard that's bottlenecking you.

Hey everyone, I could really use some guidance on overclocking my Q8200. To be honest, I’ve never actually messed with CPU clock speeds before, so I’m looking for some experienced folks to walk me through the process. What should I be looking out for? What’s the best way to approach this step-by-step without breaking anything? I’ve spent some time digging through various threads online, but I’d much rather have someone give me some direct advice tailored to this specific chip. I've attached a shot showing my CPU temperatures while idling... Thanks in advance!

Rest of the build:

ASUS P5KPL-AM
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Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 + LC CC 95 Cooler
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AMD Radeon Sapphire HD6850 Vapor-X
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4GB (2x2) DDR2 800MHz
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Corsair CX430
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250GB Hard Drive
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MS Case, 2x80mm Sharkoon Fans
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Windows 7 64

Your motherboard isn't exactly built for heavy overclocking, so I wouldn't push things too far 😬

http://forum.pcekspert.com/showthread.php?t=88200

It might be best to give this a read...

I'm not really planning on doing any heavy overclocking since my cooler isn't exactly top-tier, but I might push things just a little bit. Honestly, seeing that 2.33 GHz sitting there... it just feels a bit underwhelming 😬

Does the ability to Undervolt i3 Haswell and the IB processor depend on the Motherboard, or is it locked just like overclocking?

Undervolt i3 Haswell. I read multiple threads claiming this actually lowers temperatures.
Exactly how and where in the BIOS? One needs to be careful. I don't even own an i3, let alone anything modern; I'm still running an older dual-core.
I generally undervolt my GPUs. It helps significantly with heat and noise. In fact, I set my current card to its absolute minimum voltage right at startup. It isn't possible for every card. Manufacturers always set voltages to the maximum so that every GPU passes testing easily. They just end up generating unnecessary heat.
As for the CPU, I only slightly overvolt when overclocking. If the CPU requires too much voltage to remain stable, I stop the overclock and revert to a stable setting with just a minor overvolt. In practice, my CPU needs 1.17V; I give it a maximum of 1.20V.
My overclock sits between 21% and 28% because my RAM overclocks quite well.

Thanks in advance. Look, I’m not some total newbie when it comes to PCs, but this is basically my first time diving into CPU overclocking. I spent two whole days straight reading guides and tutorials to figure out how to push this thing to 3.6 GHz.
The problem is, every time I try tweaking stuff in the BIOS, the PC just restarts a bunch of times and kicks me right back to the factory settings. Then the BIOS throws an error message saying everything was reverted to default because of a mistake (something about the voltage change).
Here’s what I tried: set the Core speed to 9*400
set system memory multiplier to 2.0
bumped Core Voltage-1 from 1.225 to 1.25
PCI frequency at 100MHz
RAM timings at 5-5-5-18
I didn't touch anything else. I read somewhere that I should probably mess with the RAM voltage and some other stuff too, but honestly? I didn't have the guts to touch it...
If any kind soul out there could actually write down exactly which settings I need to tweak in the BIOS to make this work, I would be seriously grateful. :-)
Once that's sorted, I'll run a stress test with Prime95 and see if the damn thing holds up.

CPU: E8400 (3.0 GHz), stock cooler
RAM: 2 x 2GB DDR2 MHz Dual channel, DRAM frequency 400 MHz (so that means an 800MHz effective clock, right?), pretty sure it's Kingmax
HDD: 512 GB SATAII
Motherboard: Gigabyte EP45-DS3 c0
GPU: sapphire HD 4870 512mb DDR5
PSU: 550W Fortron, I think

One more thing: am I gonna screw something up by pushing for 3.6 GHz? I'm low-key freaking out here. Also, is this crappy stock cooler even going to handle an OC like that?
I read online that it should be totally fine, but I really want to know what you guys think.

You are on the right track, but you won't succeed this way.
Tell me, what is your normal CPU HOST FREQUENCY?
You should increase it via that frequency, but at the same time, ensure you don't exceed
the 800MHz RAM frequency. Overclocking memory isn't easy; you need incredible luck to reach speeds like mine with certain Corsair sticks,
which run at 1100MHz even at -0.1V = 1.70V.

You also need to uninstall or disable certain Gigabyte Software in startup so they don't mess with your Motherboard while you are overclocking now or in the future. Otherwise, if you set everything up perfectly and it works, you boot Windows, that Gigabyte Software starts up, begins dropping the CPU voltage too low, and you end up with a Blue Screen of Death, a reset, or something worse...
You have to make a choice: either you overclock and need about 5 to 10% more power, or you disable those features to save some electricity.

Now, regarding the important BIOS settings,
set CPU EIST FUNCTION to DISABLED.
Disable C.I.A. 2 and similar features.
Set PERFORMANCE ENHANCE to STANDARD; don't try anything else, or it won't be stable.

Your CPU cooler MUST be excellent, otherwise, you can't overclock much before a standard cooler overheats the Capacitors near the CPU, ruining them before you know it. Something like a Thermalright True Spirit 140 is great; spend real money on a decent cooler once and you'll have it for 10 to 20 years. That cheap junk will just end up in a cardboard box when you sell your CPU one day.
That’s all. I don't know your exact BIOS, but I have something similar, so I know.
Modern CPUs have all sorts of built-in functions, so you have to think and understand them; overclocking a CPU is harder now than it used to be.
They can throttle clock speeds, boost them, and manipulate voltages; they've added even more
Enhanced CPU halt C1, C2, C3... steps...
That is the bare minimum you need to watch and configure. If you do, you might actually succeed in hitting 3.8GHz, though you may need to bump the voltage slightly soon.
You could push further, but you would certainly have to crank up the voltage significantly, making it run like crazy and consuming far more power.
The smartest move is to just slightly increase the CPU voltage from where it is now. Maybe just a tiny bit more.
Do not, under any circumstances, increase the Memory voltage. You'll kill it prematurely, and I can tell you right now, it doesn't help the overclock. You can buy faster memory, but it's expensive and uses low-quality chips—be careful, because those chips often won't even work properly at normal speeds with normal voltage! They require higher voltage just to stay stable.
But if you push them, they die after six months or so. Memory with standard speeds lasts 20 years without issue.
It might work for some people, but I had two different brands of high-speed memory fail on me back-to-back: Adata and Geil. Never again. One wouldn't even boot, and the other was so unstable it caused chaos in Windows, corrupting my registry more and more until it was impossible to find the cause...
Every CPU has some headroom; I've overclocked them all—Intel, AMD, and back to Intel—for the last 25 years or more.
I hope I didn't explain all this for nothing only for you to go out and overclock with a stock cooler... there is a massive difference if you buy a high-quality cooler that provides all the necessary mounting hardware for current and older sockets. You need to check that carefully first.
You can use a basic one for testing while you try, but don't keep pushing it with a stock cooler.
And you won't get much of an overclock that way anyway...
Also, look at your power supply; you haven't even checked that yet. That 550W rating on the label means nothing.
What matters is how much current it delivers on the 12V rail, which powers both the GPU and the CPU, and that takes a lot.
Want a great power supply? I didn't buy one myself, but I researched options online, and on the
Corsair website, I found everything I needed; it was excellent.
You see how stores don't tell you what's actually important, like the 12V output! All these shops are clueless, looking left, right, up, and down...

LP

Jesse Williams13 said:Thanks in advance. I’m not exactly some total PC noob—I just finally decided to try overclocking my CPU to 3.6 GHz after spending two straight days reading guides and tutorials on how to pull it off properly.
But here's the thing—every time I try to tweak settings in the BIOS, the PC just restarts a few times and kicks itself back to factory settings. Then the BIOS pops up telling me everything was reset to default because of an error (voltage adjustment issues).
I set the core speed to 9*400
the system memory multiplier to 2.0
core voltage from 1.225 to 1.25
PCI frequency to 100MHz
RAM timings at 5-5-5-18
I didn't touch anything else—I read somewhere that you should adjust the RAM voltage and some other stuff too, but I didn't dare touch it...
If any kind soul could write down exactly what settings I should use in the BIOS, I would be extremely grateful. :-)
After that, I'll run a stress test with Prime95 and see how things go.

CPU: E8400 (3.0 GHz), stock cooler
RAM: 2 x 2GB DDR2 MHz Dual channel, DRAM frequency 400 MHz (which means an 800MHz effective clock, right?), pretty sure it's KINGMAX
HDD: 512 GB SATAII
Motherboard: Gigabyte EP45-DS3 c0
GPU: sapphire HD 4870 512mb DDR5
PSU: 550W Fortron, I think

One more thing: can I actually break anything trying to hit 3.6 GHz? I'm a little nervous. Also, is this stock cooler actually enough for that kind of overclock?
I read that it should work without any issues, but I'd love to hear what you guys think.

Can you overclock with a stock cooler? Sure. Is it a smart move? Not really. Try overclocking without bumping the voltage first to see how much the processor can handle on its native voltage. Every single chip is different, so take any OC guide with a massive grain of salt.

Leave the RAM at its default clock and voltage—there isn't much practical benefit to overclocking RAM besides showing off, and it can easily lead to system instability. Keep the CPU:RAM multiplier as close to the memory's native clock as possible.

Try setting the clock to 3.7 GHz first, without touching the voltage, then crank up Prime95 (small FFT load) to see what kind of temperatures you're looking at under load.

Your computer probably crashed because the CPU voltage was too low.

Benjamin King2 said:Can you overclock using just the stock cooler? Yeah, sure. Is it a genius move? Hell no. Try pushing the overclock without bumping up the voltage first to see how much juice that CPU can actually pull on stock settings. Every single processor is its own weird little beast, so take any OC guide you find with a massive grain of salt.

Leave the RAM alone at its default clock and voltage. There’s zero practical benefit to overclocking RAM unless you’re just doing it to flex, and honestly, it’s a one-way ticket to system instability. CPU:RAM multiplier should stay as close to the native memory clock as possible.

First, try setting the clock to 370 without touching the voltage, then crank up Prime95 (small FFT load) to see what kind of insane temperatures you're dealing with under load.

Your rig probably crashed because the CPU voltage was too low.

So what am I supposed to set it to then? Are we talking about the system memory multiplier that I had set to 2.0? I can't even remember what the default was.
So, if I'm getting this right, I don't touch a damn thing except for setting the clock to 370*9 and then wait to see if the whole thing goes south?

Jesse Williams13 said:So what should I set it to then? Is it that system memory multiplier I currently have at 2.0?

The 1:2 ratio (your current 2.0) is probably what you're seeing by default. Usually, you'd drop that down to 1:1.66—or something similar depending on the BIOS—because when you bump up the FSB, you're technically overclocking the RAM too. Lowering it might help prevent the system from crashing.

So, how do you actually change the GPU voltage on an AMD APU if the BIOS doesn't show the option and the software they provided doesn't have it either?

Not a chance—it’s highly likely the motherboard manufacturer just disabled that option entirely.

So, I'm thinking about overclocking my Phenom II x4 955 3.2 BE. My goal? Pushing it all the way up to 3.8 GHz.
I might be able to snag a Scythe Samurai ZZ cooler. It’s rated for up to 130W TDP, and since the 955 sits at 125W stock, I was wondering... is that actually going to cut it? Or am I just asking for trouble and need something beefier if I'm really going to push this OC?
Thanks!