Playing around with the NB is one of the only ways I have forced the use of the clear cmos jumpers, and no there is no easier way, unless you have a motherboard with a button replacing the jumpers.
I have only been able to run 2400mhz NB, bumping the volts to 1.3v, but it wouldn't pass stability. All attempts to run 2600mhz, regardless of the voltage, required a cmos clear. My daily NB is at 2200mhz stock volts, and that passes all stability tests.
AMD chips will see synthetic benchmark improvements from NB oc, but real world advantages are debatable. on the flipside, NB oc can stabilize high cpu overclocks, as I have only been able to stabilize 4.0ghz with a 2200 NB, and any attempts to run stability tests at 2000 NB failed.
Results will vary.
I respectfully suggest you start your OC from scratch. Reset your Bios to default, then change all auto settings to manual (especially memory timings, but also including NB + HT multipliers, and voltage controls) but replicating stock settings.
Some settings, when on Auto, will vary during the operation of your PC, eliminating a stable platform from which to deduce and eliminate issues. These variations have to be eliminated for a stable OC procedure.
From this point with all stock values on manual control, I would test the memory to be sure that it isn't the weak-link. Memtest is an accepted memory testing program. If it passes, you can move on. If it fails, then you may need to lower the speed of the memory, or raise timings, or both to achieve stability. If nothing works to stabilize, your memory may be a hardware issue that needs to be resolved.
Assuming the memory passes stability testing, I would then move on to seeing if there is any OC headroom at stock voltages (not auto!) Since the 940 is a BE chip, then this can be done by bumping just the CPU multiplier, probably best in 0.5 increments. Stability test each bump. If you are going to use Prime95, use small FFTs test, as it is known to produce the most heat and find CPU errors the quickest among the P95 presets. It barely stresses the memory. Blend is the opposite, as it stresses the memory the most out of the 3 presets, and is also a decent test for memory stability, but doesn't produce as much heat on the CPU as small FFTs.
I would leave the NB alone until you hit a stability wall that even massive volts can overcome, and even then, only increase the NB by the smallest increments when in this situation.
Always work on keeping the voltages as low as possible. The speed of the CPU doesn't matter for longevity as much as the volts and heats. In fact, I would venture that a chip OC'd on stock voltages would live longer than a stock speed chip being overvolted.
If none of this helps, then you may just have a leaky chip that likes the volts and makes a lot of heat. While for daily use, OCing chips like these are limited, for extreme overclocking these types of chips are bees knees, hah.
It depended on all the components being top performers, such as: a good radiator, good pump able to move lots of water through large hoses and of course, a drip-free circuit. It's a pain to setup and unless you spend hundreds...forget about it.
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