AMD Phen II x4 955 Overclocking setup

[cdawg_82]

Current setup

COOLER MASTER UCP RS900-AAAAA3 900W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS

COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

ASUS Crosshair III Formula AM3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard

CORSAIR XMS3 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit

XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor

SAMSUNG F1 RAID Class HE753LJ 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM

SAPPHIRE VAPOR-X 100269VXL Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 (Crossfire setup maybe)

The most important thing to me is to run a safe OC setup. I am a newbie when it comes to OCing, so if anyone could help me out or show me some guides on how to OC without blowing something up. My setup will be designed for High-end gaming, so if you know anymore tricks to improve graphics or fps please feel free to share. Also, do i need to wait for a break in period before I try to OC my new computer. Thanks!

 

[OvrClkr]

try reading this first......

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-overclock-athlon,2161.html

 

[cdawg_82]

I have read that page and another guide. I have the crosshair III mobo so i can easily get a 3.8ghz OC from doing the computer level up option but I can do the same with just changing the multi to 18x. The computer level up seems to mess with memory and voltage a lot though. Which would be safer? Also, like I said I am very new to the scene but my cpu voltage seemed weird I will post the numbers when I get home today. What are the main voltages I need to be concerned with?
lastly, Do i need AMD overdrive hardware or can i stick to using strickly bios from my mobo

 

[OvrClkr]

Use the bios when you overclock, try to get used to it and in no time you will get the hang of it.... Yes you can achieve 3.8Ghz by raising the multi alone but make sure you set you voltages correctly, normally 3.8Ghz will require 1.38/1.4v depending on your mobo's mood.... As long as you dont overvolt and your temps dont exceed 58/59c under LOAD you are fine.....

 

[cdawg_82]

1.38/1.4v cpu voltage? I have tons of voltage cats. for my bios just wondering if Im looking at cpu voltage. Does the voltage stay at a consistent 1.38 or does it jump around a little bit, if it is not suppose to jump around what does that indicate?

 

[OvrClkr]

1.38/1.4v for the CPU and the same for the NB, some mobo's like less volts on the NB vs. the CPU but this is just so you can get an idea of what you can use....

As far as "jumping around" as long as you set the correct voltage in the Bios you don't have to worry about the volts fluctuating since that is normal CPU operation...

CPU-Z will show that the volts are indeed jumping around so dont worry about that as well.....