Help Overclocking AMD Phenom 9950 Black Edition

[moe2o56]

Hi guys i am looking into overclocking my phenom. Here is what i am running, AMD Phenom 9950 Black Edition 140 watt, ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe Motherboard, Kingston Dual Channel HyperX Ram, 2 Sticks at (2024mb each), ATI Radeon 4670 1gb Memory DDR2, Thermaltake V1 Heatsink, and a Cooler Master Centurion 5, ATX Mid Tower Case. Now before i upgraded my heatsink i was running the stock one that comes with the processor, it was at an idle temp of 50C, now with the new Thermaltake V1 installed i am idling 35-38C. Those Temps are with stock overclock at Multiplier 13, FSB 200, the core speed is 2.6ghz, with a core voltage of 1.312 V. I am wondering how to overclock this processor to a nice speed to increase performance and maintain stability, I play games like Call of duty World at War, FarCry 2, and other high graphics games. If i missed anything you guys need to know, just let me know and i can get u the specs. I appreciate it

 

[topper743]

Raise the multiplier to 15 or 15.5. Set the Vcore to 1.25-1.28. 200x 15 or 15.5 = 3.0GHZ or 3.1GHZ respectively. You can OC you GPU also with the autotune in CCC. Say 840 freq and 985 mem, don't go crazy on the GPU.

 

[moe2o56]

Thanks Topper i appreciate your input, anyone else have any suggestions?

 

[kirvinb]

that really all you need to do...topper pretty much told you everything..your heatsink is a good one so you shouldnt have any problems

 

[codyray10]

I just picked up a 9850BE about two weeks ago popped it in and raised the multiplier to 15 to give me 3ghz and also relaxed my ram timings to 5-5-5-18 on stock voltages and it runs fine with no problems. When i would try 15.5x multiplier it would boot windows fine no problems but when i would try to run benchmarks it would usually bsod. And 50 degrees on that stock cooler is crazy! I'm using the stock one on my cpu and it keeps me at 38-39 degrees. Maybe my antec 900 has something to do with that, who knows!? Anyway, what i said is pretty much what these guys have told you already. Good luck though

 

[topper743]

Oh.....

 

[astrotrain1000]

Umm, you said the stock volts were 1.312 V, but topper said to put the volts at 1.25-1.28. I don't know anything about this cpu but it seems, I assume, that to overclock you need to raise the voltage not lower it. As long as temps are fine anything 1.4 or less would be OK. Some overclocking sites go to 1.5 but I wouldn't feel comfortable running one at that on a regular bases.

 

[topper743]

Do Not go to 1.4+V, a good possilility that you will regret it if you do. The Phenom @ 125w (mine) 140w (yours) is already a hot processor. Only with extreme cooling solutions and a lot of know how should you attempted that kind of voltage and then only if you don't care if you have the cpu for long. If you poke around on the net you can find some higher 3dmark06 scores than mine but less that 100pts on the cpu score. Of course the better the GPUs and the more of them the better score. However since you are asking the "how to" question and are new to this try a mild OC and work from there.

http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/white_papers_and_tech_docs/GH_43375_10h_DT_PTDS_PUB_3.14.pdf

http://www.hwbot.org/ResultBrowseByProcessor.do?cpuModelId=1665

 

[4Ryan6]

@ moe2o56

My AMD 9950 BE is the 125W series, I'm presently running a 16X multiplier @ 3200mhz or 3.2G, my Vcore is 1.4250V, I'm air cooling with a Zalman 9700.

All other settings are stock default settings, you may or may not be able to reach these settings with the 140W series of this Phenom on air, so proceed at your own risk as it is with any OCing adventure.

Since you're running an ASUS M/B make sure you manually set your system memory timings and the DDR2 slot voltage for your memory modules, thats very important to attain a solid OC.

The key to a good AMD unlocked multiplier CPU overclock is to keep it as cool as possible, no matter how good of a CPU cooler you have, good case airflow is of utmost importance.

Make sure all wire clutter is tucked out of the way inside the case and enough case fans are operational to supply and exhaust the air.

So what are the results or problems you've gained so far, and how is your OCing adventure coming along?

 

[moe2o56]

Im running the Multiplier at 16x with 3200mhz or 3.2ghz and it seems to be stable now but still haven't figured out how to set system memory timings and the ddr2 slot voltage in the Basic Input Output System(BIOS). People were telling me that i should make the ram timings 5-5-5-5-18, like codyray10 up in this page. Can u please tell me how to set the ram timings in bios, i would really appreciate it. Thanks

 

[4Ryan6]

@ moe2o56

Enter the BIOS setup;

Under the Advanced Tab;

Select Jumper Free Configuration;

Set AI Overclocking to Manual

That will open quite a few things you didn't have access to.

 

[moe2o56]

Thanks Ryan i appreciate it

 

[jason1980]

Oh.....


http://i462.photobucket.com/albums/qq347/topper743/screenshot2.jpg

Hey, what is the core voltage you set for the 9950 to hit 3.2Ghz?

 

[topper743]

1.28, I recently got the cpu to 3.333ghz with the vcore at 1.33. I don't agree that one has to run the voltage as high as some of the overclocks I see.

 

[4Ryan6]

1.28, I recently got the cpu to 3.333ghz with the vcore at 1.33. I don't agree that one has to run the voltage as high as some of the overclocks I see.

If every CPU that left the manufacturing plant was identical then we could all get what you did with the same voltages and with the same hardware of course, unfortunantly thats not the case some have gotten a better quality batch of CPUs, out of the production runs than others, and it may require more voltage to get a stable OC.

Even at using a higher voltage to attain a stable OC, everyones suggestions should be cautiously applied and creep up to a higher setting not just go straight to it.

You have an excellent quality batch CPU to attain what you have on lower voltages, and cooling does play a part in all of this, what cooling are you using?

 

[igithepop]

right. some usefull info here i see
my questions:
1. my phenom is ideling at 50-55°C with a Scythe 12cm cooler. whatcha reckon - airflow issues?
2. can this case chieftec aegis ch-05b-b (i'm using it) be fitted with front vents? guessing it should be...manufacturer info on site is scarse on that topic..
i have a top, 1 side and one back vent currently..
cheers!

 

[4Ryan6]

right. some usefull info here i see
my questions:
1. my phenom is ideling at 50-55°C with a Scythe 12cm cooler. whatcha reckon - airflow issues?
2. can this case chieftec aegis ch-05b-b (i'm using it) be fitted with front vents? guessing it should be...manufacturer info on site is scarse on that topic..
i have a top, 1 side and one back vent currently..
cheers!

61c is the thermal limit of the Phenom 9950, an idle of 50-55c is not too good, under load its sure to crash.

Air Cooling Factors
#1 Ambient Room Temperature
#2 Case Airflow
#3 CPU Heatsink Cooling Effeciency
#4 Heat Generating Internal Components [GPUs that exhaust inside the case are not helping the situation]

With the right tools, know how, and motivation, pretty much any case can be modded to improve airflow.

 

[4Ryan6]

Regarding the chieftec aegis ch-05b-b, OUCH!

Its obvious your case airflow path is restricted with that case.

The HDD Carriage seriously blocks the efficiency of any added front cooling fans, my older Cheiftec Dragon had removable HDD carriages, you are limited as to what you can do.

If it was my case, I would add 2 120mm Blowholes to the top, towards the front to clear the power supply and not use the top 5 1/2" drive bay.

You can always buy another case the Coolermaster Centurion 590 has excellent airflow, I have one and haven't had the need to modd it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119152

Just a suggestion.

 

[4Ryan6]

Latest 9950 OC 3.4G @ 1.4375v core using 200 x 17X everything else in stock settings.

 

[jtisgeek]

sweet overclock thats great for a 9950 am beginning to think I just got a bad one casue even with water cooling temps never go over 40c .
I can not get stable even at 3.0 tried just about everything.

 

[4Ryan6]

sweet overclock thats great for a 9950 am beginning to think I just got a bad one casue even with water cooling temps never go over 40c .
I can not get stable even at 3.0 tried just about everything.

Its very important to set your memory slot voltage and memory timings manually, have you done that?

List your full specs?

 

[jtisgeek]

Its very important to set your memory slot voltage and memory timings manually, have you done that?

List your full specs?

Yes I set them to what is listed on the ram voltage is 2.0 also on the ram. What are the loose timings I can try to run?

 

[igithepop]

thanks for the sugestions!

my cooler (scythe zipang) should do the job if all else is in order..i will try to fit smth here and there and see how it goes..
about these 3dmark tests - do you do them on default settings? i did it today to see how far behind i am - vista 64bit ultimate, default bios (mem at 800mhz not max - dunno if it matters) - just over 13000..
will keep in touch on my progres on cooling the basterd

 

[4Ryan6]

@jtisgeek, list your full specs, M/B make and model, Memory Same Same, Etc. Please

 

[4Ryan6]

@igithepop, default settings on 3Dmark06 tests, my settings are in the screen shot.
and the bench was run in WinXP.