Overclocking an FX-8320

Matthew-san

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I'm going to be overclocking my CPU (8320) for the first time, as a matter of fact, this will be the first time I have overclocked anything so I was hoping for any tips or things I need to know before I start. I have the standard heatsink that came along with my processor and I intend on overclocking it to 4.0 GHz. Is my heatsink adequate enough for a .5 boost or do I need to look into something more advanced? On average, my processor runs at 41-52 degrees celsius, depending on what I'm doing.

I don't have AMD Overdrive installed, so is there any way I can download it online, and what programs should I use to monitor the overclocking process? Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
 

Matthew-san

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Like I said, I only want to increase the speed to 4.0 GHz and I imagine the highest I would go is 4.2. I'd like to avoid a liquid cooling solution but anything else would be fine. Are there any popular aftermarket CPU coolers you would recommend?
 

Matthew-san

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Earlier when you said case I thought you meant how I much I intended to overclock my CPU but I see now that you meant my actual gaming case. The dimensions of my case are 20 x 7.50 x 17 inches. It's a Mid Tower and I believe the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO should fit fine.
 

Matthew-san

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The Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO arrived today and I got it installed, but boy, it was huge pain to install. You were right SR-71 Blackbird, it is a very big cooler! I had to take apart most of my computer in order to get it installed but I'm already seeing and hearing the benefits it's giving me. It's much quieter than the standard FX heatsink I had my CPU temperature has dropped dramatically. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to squeeze both it and my side case fan in so, at the moment, I'm leaving the case open to allow for more airflow. I'll probably start overclocking this afternoon, or tomorrow. I do have a few questions before I start. I heard something about lowering the memory frequency or latency or something like that, should I do that first before I do anything else?