Overclocking FX 8370 with Turbo Boost enabled problems

techgal · May 18, 2015

I was reading an article where a tested 8350 was overclocked to 4.7GHz and they had a 5.0GHz turbo boost. I have a Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 and decided to see if I could enable the turbo boost. I am currently on air cooling and have the processor overclocked to 4.4GHz totally stable and enabled the turbo boost to turbo to 4.7GHz to improve upon single core performance. Everything worked but I am having strange benchmarks.

Using Cinebench my single core scores have improved nicely scoring above stock i7 2600K. That is what I was hoping for, improved single core performance!! Yaa!! However when I ran the multi core test I scored an average of 7 points lower than I was scoring before (R15) and lower in Cinebench 11 as well. In both R15 and 11 my single core scores have improved nicely, but I don't understand why the multi core score has gone down as well as my Open GL score.

In my overclock I have almost everything set to auto except for enabling turbo core and setting it to 4.7GHz and I have my vCore set at ~ 1.28. LLC and everything else is set to auto, all power saving options are enabled.

I have tinkered around with the overclock for awhile and I guess what I'm seeing is this: Overclocked with no turbo core in Cinebench R15 I get mutli core score of 720-724, single core score of 108, Open GL of 98-101 FPS. Overclocked with turbo core enabled I get multi core score of 712-715, single core score of 112, Open GL of 94-98 FPS. So which is better performance wise? Is it better with turbo core enabled or disabled?

Cryio · May 20, 2015

An 8 core FX CPU with stock 4.7 and Turbo is called an FX 9590. Hehe

I kid I kid.

You get better single core performance because when the CPU isn't stressed, the CPU can maintain your 4.7/5 GHz frequency for one thread.

If the CPU either doesn't get enough power, be it by a weak PSU, CPU voltage being to low for a given frequency or simple temperature that are too high, the CPU will throttle and WILL NOT maintain the frequencies you set.

If you are putting a heavy strain on all 8 threads, your 4.7 GHz frequency will quickly plummet to 4.2 or smth because of the reasons mentioned above. You need to find a setting which make the CPU stable regardless of workload.

I suggest starting at 4.3 GHz and finding the best CPU Vcore that helps it keep both relatively cool (under 70-80 degrees) and one that allows it to maintain 4.3 GHz even when all cores are pushed. Also, disable Turbo. It doesn't work that way. Keep increasing the CPU frequency by 100 MHz and increase the voltage by 0.025 if needed to maintain perfect stability. Keep your eyes on the CPU temperature and check in Task Manager if your frequency is being maintained. 4K and 4K60 Youtube videos are good tests to stress test the CPU.

PS: For 4.7 GHz on an FX8370, a 1.28 VCore is way to low. You should be nearing 1.5V.
PPS: Usually, a maxed, 4.7-5 GHz FX 8350/70 CPUs can max around 810 points in Cinebench anyway. Here's a link: http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/amd_fx_9590_fx_9370/7.htm . This is an exception though. Most FX 8xx0 CPUs max around 720 points.

cowboy44mag · May 22, 2015

Cryio gave great advice for overclocking on a FX 8350, but the FX 8370 is capable of more at less vCore. I've had my FX 8370 overclocked to 5.0Ghz totally stable at 1.44v. Due to cooling issues I couldn't keep it there for every day use (I have a hyper 212 EVO and two Delta fans in a push pull config) but 1.5v on these chips is excessive for a 5Ghz overclock. The FX 8350 usually maxes at between 4.7 and 5.0Ghz with 1.5-1.55v. The FX 8370 at 1.5 - 1.55v could probably max around 5.2Ghz but they can almost always hit 5.0Ghz at around 1.4 -1.6v.

Everything else is pretty much spot on, make sure you have a powerful enough PSU to feed your CPU and MAKE SURE YOUR MOTHERBOARD IS FLASHED WITH THE LATEST BIOS.

If your going to stick with air cooling I wouldn't try to get it past 4.5Ghz. I spent days trying to go beyond 4.5Ghz on air and just couldn't get it stable and within heat limits. If your going to upgrade to water cooling then I would suggest for the FX 8370:
1. turn off all power saving settings (cool and quiet, ect...)
2. disable turbo core and keep it off when overclocking
3. try to just overclock by raising the multiplier alone and adjust to 5.0Ghz
4. set the vCore @ 1.6v
5. with the Sabertooth 990FX just leave everything else on auto
6. save and reboot
7. launch Prime 95 and run for 20-30 min if totally stable, no errors, try lowing your vCore, reboot and run Prime 95 again for 20-30 min, repeat until you get errors on Prime 95, once you get an error bump your vCore up to last stable setting. Reload and run Prime 95 for 12-24hrs if totally stable then your golden. At this point feel free to go back into bios and enable any of the power saving settings you want

If your staying on air cooling disable your turbo core and see if you can hit 4.5Ghz (about max for air cooling). I was able to get totally stable 4.5Ghz at 1.24v. In real world applications an FX 8370 @ 4.5Ghz is a beast and can handle most anything you throw at it.

Cinebench is a good benchmarking tool, but not the be all end all. However with my FX 8370 when I had it overclocked to 5.0Ghz in Cinebench R15 I got scores of 820-825 and overclocked at 4.5Ghz I get scores of 725-735 with all the power saving options enabled. Once Windows 10 and DX 12 are available and have software support these processors are going to be killer.

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Overclocking FX 8370 with Turbo Boost enabled problems

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