Overclocking AMD Phenom II 965 BE -- Where to start?

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Tenderness

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Jun 18, 2012
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Hello there!

I would like to overclock my CPU, as I want to get a bit more performance out of it. I have been reading up on the internet and on the forumes here, but I have a very troubling question about the voltage my CPU is running on, which i would like to get answered before moving on to the actual overclocking.

Before i start overclocking, i have to figure out the voltage for my CPU. Specifications says 1.425 is the maximum, but on AUTO CPU-Z is reporting my CPU to run at 1.504V.
How come this is the AUTO value, I assume it's actually not healthy for the CPU? I havn't touched any voltages in the BIOS, but would like to know if i should do something about this?

Going on to overclocking, the CPU is running at 3.4 as a standard, so I imagine a 3.8-4.0 aim is pretty solid?

Bios gives me the option to overclock through 'Smart' settings, increasing by percentage, but I am not sure that this is actually a very "smart" way to do it ^^.

Going into advanced settings gives me the option to manually increase CPU frequency by x17 @ 3.40MHz, x17.5 @ 3.50MHz, x18 @ 3.60Mhz and so on. Is this where i set the value, and if so, what do i do with the "overclock mode" setting which allows me to change CPU Frequency and PCIE frequency? These states numbers at 200 and 100, which I don't know what means, and so I am unsure of what I should actually alter.

Lastly, do i have to change the voltage for the CPU, or can setting the MHz for the CPU suffice?
 
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Mt Power

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Jul 17, 2012
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Hello,

first off i would "start" here.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274820-29-black-edition-overclock-raising-multiplier-guide

obviously you dont want to use the auto tune. you're gonna want to raise the multiplier to your targeted frequency. the voltage is going to be trial and error. you want the lowest possible voltage for your cpu to run. staying below 1.5v is a great idea. you can look through some threads or the oc club to get an idea of where the voltage should be. remember not every cpu is the same.

leave the pcie alone!
 
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T

Tenderness

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Yes, i installed one some time ago, because the stock one was a pain, and i wanted to get as low as i could. I'm now running at 38 degrees on load in very CPU intense situations, so I believe I'm covered on that front.
 
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T

Tenderness

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I already read through that guide, but i was thinking if it would be possible to start without altering the voltage. That guide mentions using the AUTO option for voltage, but I'm not sure that i can trust that, since it's running my cpu at 1.5 now, while it should just keep it down to 1.4 since i havn't really messed about with anything else but the memory.. Or am I wrong?
 
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Tenderness

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So how do i get around this? Doi just pull it off AUTO and set it for something around 1.342, and then 3.8 MHz in CPU frequency?
 
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rex4235

rex4235

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Yup
 
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Tenderness

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Alright. I have got it to boot at 3.8 GHz, but i had to set up the voltage a bit.
How do i make sure that my system is completely stabl? I'm not sure how to run prime95, but i hear that that was a good tool for stress testing. How do I set up a program in that, so i can make sure my computer is stable?

Also, it seems that CPU-Z is generally showing the voltage to my CPU as being 0.250 V higher than the value I set it for in the BIOS, is this concerning?
 
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Tenderness

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That does look like a pretty good guide, but I'm just not sure exactly what to do with that NB frequency? It seems like there is some more to it than just "setting at between 2600 and 3100" as he explained in the guide. Do i just turn it up a bit, boot, and then run prime95 to see if it works? (and then just continuing with doing that until i can't get it up further without crashing?)

I'm not too confident with just messing around with the numbers, as I know it can cause damage if I don't do it correctly, so i want to be sure.

Edit: Is it really necessary to mess with the NB frequency and voltage? The first guide linked in this thread stated that such things should be set for the manufacturers ratings, and NB and HT stuff should be set to auto or default values. Should i leave this stuff on auto, or is it best to mess about with it before i start with CPU multiplier and voltage?
 
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4Ryan6

4Ryan6

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The Auto CPU voltage was to discover what voltage your motherboard would automatically set to get a starting point for manual voltage setting.

To begin, leave the CPU voltage on auto and increase your stock multiplier by .5, and see if you can boot into the OP/SYS, if you can, go into the BIOS look at your health and see if your M/B reports the voltage its using for that increase and record it.

You can also use CPU-Z out in the operating system to monitor output voltage and operating frequency.

Then increase another .5 multiplier and do the same process recording the voltage changes as the multiplier increases, this is helpful in learning how much voltage change it takes to increase the multiplier a step at a time, however this is only if your M/B reports this voltage, unfortunately some do not.

Continue this process until it refuses to boot, now you have come to the point that you'll have to manually set the CPUs Vcore voltage to continue, it helps as a starting point if you were able to learn the voltages your M/B had automatically set, because you could use that information as a Vcore starting point and increase each boot attempt by 1 voltage increase until you successfully boot into the OP/SYS.
Click to expand...

I wrote the guide to help those new to overclocking get what they wanted from their CPU, arriving at a 24/7 stable overclock, it's a great first step if you have little to zero overclocking experience.

The guide will work for you just fine, but you need to follow it and read all of it.

I has helped thousands achieve their goals and will help you too if you trust it to do so.



 
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Tenderness

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I have read through that guide, and I will start by just upping the multiplier, but I can't set my Voltage on auto. If i chose to change the multiplier, I'm forced to manually set the Voltage too :(
 
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Tenderness

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Thanks, I simply have not been able to find that important piece of information anywhere! It helps understanding stuff quite a bit ^^
 
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4Ryan6

4Ryan6

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Well to get you in the ballpark and these voltages may be a little high or low for your 965BE as all hardware is different regarding CPUs and the rest of the hardware, motherboard, memory etc.

My 965BE ran:
4.0g at 20X x 200mhz at 1.400v
4.2g at 21x x 200mhz at 1.456v


 
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Tenderness

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Well, if i just boot up my pc with all the CPU stuff on auto (3.4MHz), it sets the voltage for the CPU at 1.4-somethingish.. So far i havn't even got it to run prime95 test on 3.8MHz @ 1.425V without crashing...

But since every single piece of hardware is different, does that mean that i might have to go up to 1.45 or over to even get it stable at 3.8MHz. Or should i just aim for 4MHz already?
 
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4Ryan6

4Ryan6

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It depends on where the rest of your BIOS settings are set at, if they're set as suggested in my guide then the only missing piece of the puzzle is the CPU voltage.

You're using too much voltage for 3.8ghz not too little, if the rest of your settings are as listed in the guide.

The OCN guide is a more aggressive guide the guide here at THGF is more conservative and targeting a rock solid 24/7 overclock, use one guide or the other do not combine suggestions from both.

If you had the knowledge you need right off the bat, you wouldn't be using a guide in the first place, you'd be writing them.

So whichever guide you use trust the setting suggested you set at regarding everything else in the BIOS.

You said you couldn't set the voltage on auto, but if you're not set on manual for your voltage settings, you are on auto.

 
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Tenderness

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All the CPU options with multiplier, Voltage as wellas NB multiplier and voltage are packed in the same AUTO/MANUAL option, so it's either set everything manually, or adjust nothing..

As of right now, I havn't touched my NB, so it's sitting at 1.1V and 2MHz, while my RAM is set at the 9-9-9-27 and 1600MHz that it's rated for. (Just like the guide recommends)

I have been able to get a stable overclock at 3.6MHz with 1.4V, but I just don't seem to get anything stable if i don't set the volt up pretty high. Running the blend test on prime95 will only work if I keep it this high. One Voltage step below 1.4 will cause it to fail within a few minutes, and 2 steps down from 1.4 just gives BSOD.

I belive it's the RAM that might have to be adjusted though, because it seems like the Small FFT test runs fine at lower voltages (Need more testing on that though.) Will look more into that tommorow. By then i will find out how low on Voltage i can get while still getting the Small FFT test to run. I guess it's just all about adjusting RAM after that?

Can anyone tell me if I am even moving in the right direction, because it just seems like my motherboard has a weird way of doing stuff :(
 
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rex4235

rex4235

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Correct me if Im wrong, but NB and RAM (so long as they're at stock values) shouldnt need to be touched. If you can't achieve stability, I would guess you have either a supply of power or MB issue (not necessarily a problem, just a limitation). It could also just be a poor overclocking chip.

Your testing procedures are right, but its the voltage that just seems too high. I didnt have to touch the vcrore until trying to get above 3.7 and you're already way past that @ 3.6
 
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Tenderness

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Yes, this is the exact thing that has been bothering me a bit. In the last few days i have read through several hundred threads about overclocking, and everybody seems to be talking about how every chip is different.. The amount of Voltage needed still just seems a tad extreme in some way.

To go from 3.4MHz to 3.5MHz i had to increase voltage by 2-3 steps, to get optimal stability. That means i went from 1.325, up to 1.35/1.36. To get it up to 3.6 i had to increase it by 3-4 steps more, that means i hit the 1.4V. If I have to follow this procedure, I'm gonna end up at 1.5V before i reach 3.8MHz :(

Running an OC at 3.7 or 3.8 is fine by me, but if you guys have any suggestions as to how i could get above, or at least just confirm that i might have a bad chip, i would be so happy. I could just stop wondering then :)
 
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4Ryan6

4Ryan6

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First of all when you're overclocking you do not start out overclocked just because your memory speed is rated 1600mhz is not an absolute, when your motherboard lists the memory speed 1600(OC), that means it has to be overclocked to run 1600mhz as far as the motherboard is concerned.

There are 3 Kingston module sets of 1600mhz 2 x 2g, I hope These Modules are what you have???

Your memory has to be rock solid starting out you can test overclocking it later after you get stable.

You're going to need to start over from scratch with your overclocking and set your memory speed to 1333mhz with a timing of 9-9-9-24 at 1.5V with a 2T command rate.

To gain full manual setting control with your motherboard in the BIOS under Advanced > CPU Configuration > Overclock Mode = Optimized

Multiplier/Voltage Change = Manual

Set DDR3 Voltage to 1.50v

Memory Configuration > Memory Clock = [667 MHz (DDR3 1333)]
CAS Latency (CL) = 9
TRCD = 9
TRP = 9
TRAS = 24

Everything below these settings on auto except.
MA Timing = 2T

 
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Tenderness

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I have these modules. I just assumed that i had to set the RAM for the timings and voltage adviced by the manufacturer; 1.65V 9-9-9-27 and 800(1600MHz). I'm running 2T command rate as your guide states that as being the most stable. Never thought that 1600MHz was actually an overclock :??:

I have the overclock mode at Async, but i havn't touched any of the variables.. Will try and set that to Optimized like you suggested, and then just move the RAM down to the nubmers you stated.

When i have everything set to your values, do you think this is a more stable way of trying to get my CPU up running at 3.8-4MHz? I'm not sure if I should just set the values, and then go back to working my way up on the CPU, or if you want me to work with the RAM in some specific way, after I've set the values?

I havn't tried to overclock my RAM or anything like that, guess I just thought that the KHX1600C9D3B1K2/4GX just ran at 160MHz as a standard.. (I have another set of RAM (KVR1333D3N9K2/4G) but i switched them out with the new 1600MHz ones.)

EDIT: I just tried setting everything as you suggested. First of all, I don't have an 1.5 option for Mem Voltaged, but i have 1.48 and 1.53. Second; is there a way to read the voltage actually on the RAM when your system is running? AMD overdrive states that Memory VCCM is at 1.8V It says this nomatter what i set the option for, but I'm assuming that this is something else than the RAM voltage, otherwise my RAM would be dead by now(if the value IS RAM Voltage and that it is the correct value.)
 
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4Ryan6

4Ryan6

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Then use 1.53v

You bought the Kingston Intel optimized XMP modules.
Optimized for Intel XMP
Click to expand...
I was hoping you had bought the modules I listed that work well with AMD.

Just because those modules will run 1600mhz (XMP) on an Intel platform does not mean it will do the same on an AMD platform, so forget the 1600mhz and use the 1333mhz settings I listed for you.

Your system memory has to be rock solid when raising the multiplier to overclock the 965BE, which means if you memory was not solid when you were previously testing all that testing was for naught, so you need to start over.

You may even have to drop the memory speed even lower than 1333mhz, to 1066mhz or 800mhz, if you do keep the same timings, then once you're rock solid with no memory failures in Blend Test you can tweak back up for higher performance, to see what your M/B will allow you to do.

 
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