HELP: How to OverClock AMD phenom ii x4 965 and test stability

[alricking113]

Hi guys,
I know there probably been many posted somewhere containing bits of information there and here about overlocking amd and what program to use. I just wanted to post this up to basically get all the information together as one thread so whoever in the same boat as me will have a chance to read it all under same thread without having to research different places.

First Question: How to do overclock AMD phenom ii x4 965 3.4ghz to at best stable lets say 4.0ghz or whatever most people able to push it to get stablity?

Second Question: What program do you use to test system stablity in terms of Temperatures. To see if if you didn't fry your CPU

Thrid Question: What temperature during the testing consider stable vs non-stable? (Like: above 60 degree is unstablity NOT GOOD ... below 60 degree consider stable..)

 

[darkjuggalo2000]

download amd overdrive http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_overdrive.aspx
to overclock it and i suggest using occt torture test http://www.ocbase.com/perestroika_en/index.php?Download
to test the stability....

 

[knilbeci]

the programs you need for overclocking are:

1. everest - this will show you important data information about your whole system like:

baseline for cpu speed, volts, temps
complete spd for your ram which you need to set the correct timings in the bios
(go to the ram manufacturer site and look for your ram specs, take note of the max voltage your ram can handle, do not go above it it will fry)

2. cpu-z this will also show you information about your system including mb chipset, northbridge speed etc, ram spd, video card specs

3. prime 95 - this is what you need to test the stability of your system

*** important notes about overclocking

1. don't be blinded by speed alone, some peeps see an article on the net about maxing out the overclock for their current type of cpu and end up frying the cpu. not all cpus are made the same, it's just being lucky. some cpus can be overclocked to the max while others are very sensitive to voltage

2. i was overclocking mine using 2 methods:

a. using the base 200 mhz and just adjusting the multipliers - this is the easiest to do and won't change the northbridge / ht link speed (this regards to memory) one caution is that people tend to think that overclocking is that simple and then end up frying up the cpu

b. adjusting the cpu bus speed while also adjusting the multiplier, this is better since you can also raise the northbridge speed (this kinda maximizes the speed of your cpu and ram)

if you're new to overclocking don't overclock too much too quickly and attempt to even change the cpu voltage if you dont know what you're doing, one mistake can be fatal for the cpu and for the whole system

try to overclock conservatively, so if your base is 3.4, maybe go 1 or 3 points above, so maybe aim for 3.5, 3.6 and 3.7

also you should make a list on paper the possible overclock calculations that you can think of, combination of alternating cpu fsb and multipliers but don't go above 3.7 or 3700 for now. once you perfected overclocking without the voltage changes then you can experiment some more with overclocking with voltage alterations. goodluck!

 

[darkjuggalo2000]

prime 95 is also a good program but i prefer occt torture test