FX-60 Only 3% overclock

[Tatt3]

Hey. I'm trying to see what I can get out of my setup and I'm only able to achieve a 3% overclock using Asus built-in overclocking profiles. Somehow, it just seems like I should be able to get a little more than that. My setup is below. Let me know what you guys think I should try. Thanks.

AMD FX-60 + Asus A8N32-SLI
4GB OCZ DDR400 @ 2-3-2-5
BFG 7900GTX

Right now I have a 3% overclock and at max load I'm at <= 110°F.

Again, thanks in advance.

 

[Aids]

Is it just straight up NOT letting you, or are the temps getting to high?

 

[3Ball]

Just go into your bios and up the multiplier one time and you will have 2.8ghz a 7.692% increase and on air cooling 2.8ghz is good, plus im not sure you will be needing more!

Best,

3Ball

Antec NeoHE 550w PS
Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro
AMD Athlon 3700+ Sandy - "Arctic Freezer 64"
2gb (2x1gb) Patriot Performance Memory (2.5-3-2-5)
Sapphire X1900XTX 512mb
(2x120gb WD SATA HD's) - Raid 0

 

[Tatt3]

Is it just straight up NOT letting you, or are the temps getting to high?

I can set it to like 5% and reboot but it won't post. It comes up to a black screen with a white blinking cursor and that's it.

Just go into your bios and up the multiplier one time and you will have 2.8ghz a 7.692% increase and on air cooling 2.8ghz is good, plus im not sure you will be needing more!

I'm water cooled and I can't seem to find a way to change the multiplier. Any ideas?

Thanks to the both of you for your input!

EDIT:
Ah... so you have to disable Quiet'n'Cool to change the multiplier setting.
<sarcasm> Good thing that's in the manual. </sarcasm>

With a 14x multiplier I'm peaking at around 113°F under max load. I'm pretty sure I can go higher but I don't have the money to blow anything up so I wanted you guys' opinion. Thanks.

 

[RichPLS]

At a 14x multiplier you are already oc'd 200MHz to 2.8GHz, stock is 2.6GHz at 13x

 

[Tatt3]

At a 14x multiplier you are already oc'd 200MHz to 2.8GHz, stock is 2.6GHz at 13x

At 14x multiplier, the system is perfectly stable, and my CPU temps didn't increase by a whole lot. I tried 14½x multiplier and Windows would boot but didn't handle testing under load very long. At 15x multiplier the system wouldn't even boot.

Do you think that asking for more is too much? Am I just not being realistic about my expectations? Thanks again.

 

[Aids]

What motherboard are you using?

 

[weilin]

i think u might have to loosen up ur ram timings.. its DDR 400 and by default the HT is 200. so the ram might not be rated for anything higher than 200 with such tight timings. You might have to go shopping for DDR500 or something like that or loosen timings.

 

[Tatt3]

What motherboard are you using?

Asus A8N32-SLI

i think u might have to loosen up ur ram timings.. its DDR 400 and by default the HT is 200. so the ram might not be rated for anything higher than 200 with such tight timings. You might have to go shopping for DDR500 or something like that or loosen timings.

I haven't tried increasing the HT after adjusting the multiplier. It's still at 200. Do you think that adjusting the multiplier would have any effect on the RAMs communication thought the HT bus? I would think that because the bus is running at the same speed that there really shouldn't be a problem.

 

[someguyy]

"I would think that because the bus is running at the same speed that there really shouldn't be a problem."

it wouldnt.

 

[weskurtz81]

Don't forget to up the CPU voltage when you increase the multiplier..... If I am correct I think your board tops around 1.5v to the cpu..... give it 1.5 and see how high you can go.... you should be able to break 3ghz on air. Let us know.

 

[Tatt3]

Don't forget to up the CPU voltage when you increase the multiplier..... If I am correct I think your board tops around 1.5v to the cpu..... give it 1.5 and see how high you can go.... you should be able to break 3ghz on air. Let us know.

Right now I'm at 1.3875v. I haven't over-volted the NB or SB yet, do you think that could be causing a problem as well? Thanks.

 

[weskurtz81]

100% sure..... all you really need to worry about is your cpu voltage.... I wouldn't go much over 1.5v..... it doesn't seem yield any results on AMD cpus..... and be careful when you do go above that.... but 1.5 is safe.... bump the voltage up.... and for safety precautions I would make sure the fan is full on while doing it.... once you find your max stable OC then play with the rest of the settings to make the desirable.

 

[Tatt3]

100% sure..... all you really need to worry about is your cpu voltage.... I wouldn't go much over 1.5v..... it doesn't seem yield any results on AMD cpus..... and be careful when you do go above that.... but 1.5 is safe.... bump the voltage up.... and for safety precautions I would make sure the fan is full on while doing it.... once you find your max stable OC then play with the rest of the settings to make the desirable.

So are you saying I should or should not over-volt the NB/SB?

 

[rodney_ws]

I had similar experiences with that Asus overclock utility and an AMD X2-4400... that utility is NOT a substitute for knowledge. Mine only OC'd 5% using that tool if I remember correctly... in reality I now have an 18% overclock... so clearly it was not choosing optimal settings.

 

[Tatt3]

I had similar experiences with that Asus overclock utility and an AMD X2-4400... that utility is NOT a substitute for knowledge. Mine only OC'd 5% using that tool if I remember correctly... in reality I now have an 18% overclock... so clearly it was not choosing optimal settings.

I tried the percent setting in the BIOS as opposed to the OC utility. What settings are you using to get your 18% overclock? And what board are you using? Thanks.

 

[weskurtz81]

I am not saying it will mess your NB up, but, I have never experienced a higher OC from over volting the NB. I have tried it with 5 different K-8's and 4 different mother boards. 2 Ultra D's, 1 DFI SLI DR, and my current Asus A8N Premium. The best way to try to OC, since you have a unlocked multi, is bump the mulityplier up 5.... and then boot windows. Then do it again.... and once you can't boot windows, bump the voltage up a tad. But if you are too impatient for that, as I sometimes am, I would turn the voltage up to 1.5 and go until I can't anymore, then back it off a hair until it is stable, and then once it is stable with 1.5 volts, turn the voltage down until it becomes unstable again.... then bump it back up the the lowest stable setting which I achieved.

 

[Bungsta]

I am not saying it will mess your NB up, but, I have never experienced a higher OC from over volting the NB. I have tried it with 5 different K-8's and 4 different mother boards. 2 Ultra D's, 1 DFI SLI DR, and my current Asus A8N Premium. The best way to try to OC, since you have a unlocked multi, is bump the mulityplier up 5.... and then boot windows. Then do it again.... and once you can't boot windows, bump the voltage up a tad. But if you are too impatient for that, as I sometimes am, I would turn the voltage up to 1.5 and go until I can't anymore, then back it off a hair until it is stable, and then once it is stable with 1.5 volts, turn the voltage down until it becomes unstable again.... then bump it back up the the lowest stable setting which I achieved.

You mean bump the FSB up by 5mhz, right?

What everyone is trying to say is that you should just up your cpu voltage to 1.5v, then try your 15x multiplier again. Also, like they said, you may need to loosen your memory timings a little, I would set the memory at 3-4-4-8, then find your top stable cpu speed, then go back and tighten the memory until you find your stable memory timings. Good luck

 

[weskurtz81]

ooppss.... LOL yeah, I was mixing my words up there. Just up the multiplier a little.... obviously not just by five. Go up .5 or 1 and boot windows, and keep going like I previously described.

 

[Tattysnuc]

I'd strongly recommend you don;t use Asus AI, but manually overclock.

I got to grips with the basics using http://www.short-media.com/review.php?r=300

Remember to read through your manual also to see how to unlock the multiplier. You do need to go onto manual FID if I remember rightly...

Damned BIOS. Why cant you access it in windows.... One day.....

Me.

 

[armeniandave]

I strongly suggest that you check out the forums on this website: extremeoverclocking.com
I bought an opteron 170 and didnt know a thing about overclocking and after reading the forums I was able to go from 2ghz to 2.6ghz on air. I could go more but thats all I wanted to get. Read the forums on AMD specific processors. Good luck.

 

[weskurtz81]

Well, overclocking a Multi-Unlocked chip is pretty easy. Just keep in mind, you will not get much over 3ghz, and you may not even get that. They don't scale that high over 3ghz.

 

[gersson]

read up on OCing. What's your memory? You sound like you don't know know what you're doing...

The built in Asus OCing bios option are PURE AND SLITHERY BullShiz. Set it to manual and set the options yourself. 1.5v is as high as I'd go and load shouldn't get higher than 55*C.

Really, there's not much to say without referring you to an OC guide:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=28&threadid=1497607&enterthread=y

 

[mad_fitzy]

I had to increase mine to get my cpu stable.

 

[rodney_ws]

Asus A8N SLI with voltage at ~ 1.47. Because I'm an idiot and bought value RAM I had to back the memory down to 333 (from 400) and that OC to 2.6 put it back about to stock speed. If you're running an FX-60 and expect to OC, I hope you have a quality power supply.

To repeat... that Asus utility is NOT a substitute for a little bit of reading and research on your part.