Need advice on overclocking AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE

[bigdog247]

Hello,

I have gone through a few of the forums about overclocking, but I wanted to get some information based more off of my build. This will be the my first time overclocking my computer so any help would be great. Heres is my setup


Processor- obviously a AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE quad core

Memory- OCZ OCZ3G1333LV8GK Gold 8GB PC10666 DDR3 Dual Channel Memory Upgrade - 1333MHz, Non-ECC, Unbuffered, 2x4096MB

Hard drives 1TB 5400 RPM and 320GB 7200 RPM HD

power source- XCLIO GOODPOWER 500W ATX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply

Motherboard- ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

Tower- AZZA Solano 1000 Black/Black Japanese SECC Steel/Metal mesh in front ATX Full Tower Computer Case

CPU cooler- Tuniq CR-T120-EX-SV 120mm Magnetic Fluid Dynamic Bearing Tower Extreme CPU Cooler

Video card- XFX Radeon HD5850 graphics card

Oh and I have an extra 120mm gentle typhonn 14-AP

I read somewhere that it's smart to change out the fan on the tuniq so I am thinking I might use the gentle typhoon for that.

So basically I was wondering at about what level do you think would be safe to over clock and what would be pushing it too far. I have read anywhere from 3.8 to 4.3.

Also if you have any ideas of things I might want to add. I don't want to go way out there with liquid cooling or anything like that but if there is something else that would be good to add to my setup I would appreciate any advise.

 

[bigdog247]

nobody has any ideas of things I can add. What should I look out for when overclocking do I only have to worry about the temps? What is a temp I should keep it under I was thinking anything under 50C would be ok. I have an extra $100 I am willing to spend on my computer so if anybody has an idea of something I should add I would appreciate any advise

 

[simon12]

push it as far as you can keeping the voltage under 1.5 and load temp unser 60C you may get only 3.6 or you could get 4+GHz what cooler do you have?

 

[bigdog247]

well the case itself has 2 230mm fans one on top and one on the side. Also it has 2 140s on the front and one 120 on the rear I also bought another 120 to put into it. for the cpu I have the Tuniq CR-T120-EX-SV 120mm I was told that it was one of the better cpu cooler. It's a full tower not a lot of clutter on the inside so there should be good airflow into it. If you have any ideas that would help cool it down so I can oc it more I would like to know. I don't want to go extreme though like liquid nitrogen or even a water cooling system but if there are option that don't put the computer at high risk I am willing to try them.

 

[4Ryan6]

It will be interesting to see what kind of performance you get from Tuniq's new design, hopefully the new mounting system allows it to be mounted in either bottom to top or front to rear.

I would mount it in front to rear airflow path, and maybe add a 120mm booster fan on a mountable fan bracket such as the Zalman type, mount it between the front case intake and the Tuniq itself, to keep fresh air supplied directly to it.

Since you're new to OCing and you've bought yourself a Black Edition CPU check out the guide link in my sig, and good luck to you! Ryan

 

[bigdog247]

Thank you for the help and the link. What kind of 120mm fan do you think would work best I would like to find something that isn't very loud but gets good CFM. I wanted to get the gentle typhoon ap-15 but they were not instock anywhere I was able to pick up one 1 AP-14 but those are gone now.

 

[4Ryan6]

The fan choice is totally up to you, higher CFM, higher noise, so you have to decide whats tolerable to you or not, my booster fan is in the 70cfm range, my heatsink fans are 110cfm, but they are on fan controllers.

 

[saint19]

After u read the 4ryan6's guide let me know and we can help u to play with the FSB that rise the RAM performance and OC the CPU at the same time.

 

[bigdog247]

I am just about to start OCing actually I am going to have a friend of mine help me by walking me through it but he doesn't know how to overclock RAM. How do you do this? What will it do and how will it affect the RAM in the long run?

 

[saint19]

It's not recommendable OC the RAM since if u don't do it in the correct way u can kill the RAM, RAM controller or something else.

So Why ur friend want OC the RAM?

 

[bigdog247]

Ok so I am a little lost. I tried O.Cing the cpu through the amd programs using turbo to change the mulitipliers and amd overdrive to stress test and a few different programs to keep a watch on the temps of the computer. At the base multiplier of 16 I have cpu temp of 25c and the motherboard at 28c ( I think it's getting heat from the video card and thats what it's picking up) anyways I get it up to 18 multiplier and it is still stable and has temps of 33c cpu and 37 MB. The thing is when I do I try to change it to a 19 multiplier it keeps turning off the computer it first happened when I put the stress test on it. Though the temp didn't even hit 40c on either the cpu or the MB.

I have been told by a few people that you want to keep it under 50c if you are going to be running the computer for long periods of time. The question I have is was I misinformed about good temps? Second if it's not the temps that is turning off the computer what else might it be? I know it has to have something to do with the multiplier being at 19 cause I have been running it at 18 multiplier for a couple days now and no problems and the highest temp I am getting with ambient temp of about 75f is still 35c for cpu and 38c for MB. Any help with this problem would be greatly appreciated.

 

[4Ryan6]

I am just about to start OCing actually I am going to have a friend of mine help me by walking me through it but he doesn't know how to overclock RAM. How do you do this? What will it do and how will it affect the RAM in the long run?

Ok so I am a little lost. I tried O.Cing the cpu through the amd programs using turbo to change the mulitipliers and amd overdrive to stress test and a few different programs to keep a watch on the temps of the computer. At the base multiplier of 16 I have cpu temp of 25c and the motherboard at 28c ( I think it's getting heat from the video card and thats what it's picking up) anyways I get it up to 18 multiplier and it is still stable and has temps of 33c cpu and 37 MB. The thing is when I do I try to change it to a 19 multiplier it keeps turning off the computer it first happened when I put the stress test on it. Though the temp didn't even hit 40c on either the cpu or the MB.

I have been told by a few people that you want to keep it under 50c if you are going to be running the computer for long periods of time. The question I have is was I misinformed about good temps? Second if it's not the temps that is turning off the computer what else might it be? I know it has to have something to do with the multiplier being at 19 cause I have been running it at 18 multiplier for a couple days now and no problems and the highest temp I am getting with ambient temp of about 75f is still 35c for cpu and 38c for MB. Any help with this problem would be greatly appreciated.

Did you read the AMD BE OC Guide at all?

#1 Do not OC ram when taking the raising the multiplier route to OC, unless you actually know what you're doing, have already arrived at a stable OC and want to tweak it further, if the CPU will tolerate it at the multiplier you're running.

#2 The AMD 955 temp limit is 62c , so anything stress stable around the 58c range is well within daily use.

#3 If you're using the auto OC programs, you'll only get so far.

#4 To run the 19x multiplier will require more voltage [Vcore] supplied to the CPU, and the good thing about the 955BE is it's top voltage is 1.50v, and if you don't supply enough voltage to run a higher multiplier, that's why it will shutdown.

#5 All settings need to be default with memory timing and voltage manually set to manufacturers specs, that's manually set in the bios, with auto overclocking disabled.

If you are taking the overclocking route of raising the multiplier, the Black Edition overclock guide will work for you, if you use it. You should easily be able to run a 19x multiplier with that 955BE, with a little more effort even run a 20x multiplier, try reading the guide, it will work for you if you follow the instructions, seems you don't have anything to loose at this point anyway.

 

[randomhero1090]

I'll be doing the same thing within the next week. So I will be reading the guide over lunch in about 5 minutes

See any issues using this mobo?
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6077065&CatId=5545

...this PSU?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371002

...this cooler?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002G1YPH0/ref=oss_product

 

[Wisecracker]

As fun as it is with the unlocked cpu multiplier, your highest and most stable OC will be found using the clock. Learning the basic terms of the arch and the inter-relationship between the system clocks, CPU, memory controller, HT and RAMs will give you a better understanding of the things going on. That's where the guide will help you the most

Avoid using *Auto* settings for voltages as they tend to to rise too high with increases in clock speed. This raises temps, affects stability and limits your OC.

Everything works off the system clock. With your RAMs you should be able to drop the ratio to 533 and up the clock to 250MHz. The end result (5.33x260MHz) will return your RAMs to spec speed. This considerable benefit will raise the IMC/NB from stock 2000MHz to 2500MHz (nb10x250MHz) - increasing memory bandwidth and reducing latency 10+%.

PhIIs like a little volt tweaking but not too much volts. I would suggest trying to find the lowest volts possible at cpu15x250MHz. I think you will be surprised. 1.34-1.35v would not be uncommon with good cooling.

From that base point you can start working the cpu multiplier with different voltages and see where yah can go.

I'll be doing the same thing within the next week. So I will be reading the guide over lunch in about 5 minutes

See any issues using this mobo?
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6077065&CatId=5545

...this PSU?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371002

...this cooler?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002G1YPH0/ref=oss_product

As above: Learning the basic terms of the arch and the inter-relationship between the system clocks, CPU, memory controller, HT and RAMs will give you a better understanding of the things going on.

1) System clock (frequency)
2) CPU multiplier;
3) IMC/NB multiplier;
4) Memory ratio; and
5) HT link multiplier

Throw in a handful of voltage tweaks and general guidelines (lock the PCIe to 100MHz, ungang the memory controller, etc) and, BOOM! You got it.

Unless you are intentionally planning to sli most folks would recommend the AMD AM3 chipsets over an nVidia chipset.

 

[randomhero1090]

Wow.... I got a lot to learn.

I do plan to SLI. But in a couple of months. I know for a fact that I will need a new PSU (my current card needs 2 - 6 pin PCIe power connections) and of course a 2nd GTX 460. So this board might not be the BEST option, but it should still work.

 

[bigdog247]

Best answer selected by bigdog247.

 

[likewise]

Did you read the AMD BE OC Guide at all?

#1 Do not OC ram when taking the raising the multiplier route to OC, unless you actually know what you're doing, have already arrived at a stable OC and want to tweak it further, if the CPU will tolerate it at the multiplier you're running.

#2 The AMD 955 temp limit is 62c , so anything stress stable around the 58c range is well within daily use.

#3 If you're using the auto OC programs, you'll only get so far.

#4 To run the 19x multiplier will require more voltage [Vcore] supplied to the CPU, and the good thing about the 955BE is it's top voltage is 1.50v, and if you don't supply enough voltage to run a higher multiplier, that's why it will shutdown.

#5 All settings need to be default with memory timing and voltage manually set to manufacturers specs, that's manually set in the bios, with auto overclocking disabled.

If you are taking the overclocking route of raising the multiplier, the Black Edition overclock guide will work for you, if you use it. You should easily be able to run a 19x multiplier with that 955BE, with a little more effort even run a 20x multiplier, try reading the guide, it will work for you if you follow the instructions, seems you don't have anything to loose at this point anyway.

- Hi Ryan, Im sure you have changed your sig since this post or maybe i'm just missing it, but I would really love to get my hands on the guide if you can link me up ... I think I have a pretty good grip on OC-ing (been building and fixing PCs forever) but would like something to follow before I take on my first OC of my 955be... If you could link me to your guide I would really appreciate it. And any other advise given my specs you can offer... Thanks again

 

[4Ryan6]

- Hi Ryan, Im sure you have changed your sig since this post or maybe i'm just missing it, but I would really love to get my hands on the guide if you can link me up ... I think I have a pretty good grip on OC-ing (been building and fixing PCs forever) but would like something to follow before I take on my first OC of my 955be... If you could link me to your guide I would really appreciate it. And any other advise given my specs you can offer... Thanks again

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274820-29-black-edition-overclock-raising-multiplier-guide

It's up top in the stickies. Ryan

 

[likewise]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274820-29-black-edition-overclock-raising-multiplier-guide

It's up top in the stickies. Ryan

thanks