1055t Overclocking Problems [1. w/ Vcore, 2. w/ 265Mhz-ish Wall]

[Ryan Zauros]

Hi guys, this is actually a two part question. I was originally going to post just for help with trying to overcome a wall it feels like I hit at around 3.7-3.8Ghz, but now there seems to be a problem that I'd like solved first beforehand.

I am a novice overclocker and this is my first system, but I have been reading many forums and been trying to comprehend everything so far. More importantly:

AMD Phenom II X6 1055t
Asus M4A89GTD 890G Pro/Usb3
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Plus HSF (Idle runs from 28*C to 36*C depending on Ghz)
G.SKILL Ripjaw 8GB (4 x 2GB, bought 2 pairs) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) F3-12800CL9D-4GBRLHere
SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active Here

I have been running many different settings over the last two days, for hours. I started working the Vcore down with everything else @ stock to see how low it would go before it wouldn't run at 2.8Ghz anymore. I did a total of 5-6 tests, each time taking the max Vcore it took in HWmonitor and then setting the Vcore in BIOS to that setting. Each time, I noticed I had a Vdroop of around -0.06V while running IntelBurnTest, so setting at 1.344V would actually run down to 1.28-1.308V, setting to 1.308V it would run at 1.248-1.26V, etc. In all the tests, the idle would be the number I set in the BIOS, while running Intel would cause the Vdroop.

Now, that didn't and still doesn't seem bad to me since when running all cores @ 100% it would only run at 41*C and not overvolt the system.

So, I started with the lowest setting I found I could run 2.8Ghz (between 1.2V-1.26V) and began working the Bus Freq up.

Eventually I got up to 250Mhz, in which I had to increase Vcore to around 1.3125 and set my DRAM timings to 8-8-8-24 (if I remember right, it wouldn't boot without tightening the timings, something I had never tried before), 8x and 5.33x multis (i.e.NB & HT 2000 and DRAM 1332.5), and if I remember right I had either disabled C1E, Cool n' Quiet, Turbo, EuP, and both Spreads, and Secure VM by now or had done so in the beginning with the 2.8Ghz tests.

From there, I got 255Mhz by bumping Vcore to 1.33125V.

And from there, I went to 260-265Mhz, which is where I started encountering many BSODs and problems, which will be my second question after we get THIS resolved:

When trying to achieve a stable 3.6-3.8Ghz-ish build, I noticed I no longer had a -0.06V vdroop, but instead it would run idle anywhere from +0.001V to 0.035V (i.e. 1.425V would hover around 1.46V) over the Vcore BIOS setting I used. Now every time I change the Vcore, even to the settings I had tested when I was getting the Vdroop, I still get an overvolt (running at 1.26V in BIOS while HWmonitor/CPU-Z says I have 1.272 idle, which will actually increase HIGHER when doing IntelBurnTest).

To get my point and question across, all of a sudden it seemed like when I hit around 3.5Ghz and started to actually adjust voltages and DRAM timings, my Vcore would instead overvolt and go over my bios setting, even at idle. Now it won't even go back to having the Vdroop, though I am positive it would if I did a CMOS reset.

If I remember right, the overvolting seemed to occur when I adjusted VDDA to around 2.5-2.55v, and I've heard the VDDA is used for stability because it increases the Vcore to allow more voltage in case it needs it (i.e. for stability). If this is directly related to the overvolting occurring, I don't see why setting VDDA back to auto wouldn't solve it...

So, if someone can help me with this problem first, I'll be able to address the original meaning of this thread.

Ask for any additional information and I'll try to provide it. I've never used Prime95, since it seems like a large waste of time compared to a fast and intense 2-10 minutes under IntelBurnTest.

Anyways, thanks in advance guys. Would really like to be able to at LEAST reach a stable 3.8Ghz, and this is proving difficult.

 

[Nerdbox87]

*Edit: Snip - misread your post*

You shouldn't be overclocking with any power saving modes in operation by the way. Disable them all before you start. That way you'll get a static idle voltage and temperature and your CPU will run at your overclocked speed whilst idling. Will also most likely help to stabilize the overvolting problem, as you probably still have some motherboard overcompensation going on.

Make sure all voltages other than Vcore are set to 'normal' or if thats not available on your mobo manually set all of them to their default ratings. (excluding obviously dram voltage, which should be to your RAMs specification)

Also be wary of the other frequencies which also increase with fsb increases (RAM / NB Frequency / HT Link) All can cause plenty of instability.

 

[Ryan Zauros]

disabled C1E, Cool n' Quiet, Turbo, EuP, and both Spreads, and Secure VM by now or had done so in the beginning with the 2.8Ghz tests.

As far as I can tell, there is nothing else to disable. I've disabled everything people usually suggest, and enabled both Load Line Calibration settings.

Also, as I said, I am running one of the settings I previously did while getting the vdroop, the only setting that is changed is the Vcore around ~ 1.33125v, yet I am getting an overvolt, which didn't happen the first time I ran these settings.

I am also aware of HT/NB freqs, I set them within 2000-2200 (7-8x multis). As far as I can tell, I can't downclock the RAM multi to where it is in the 1000-1100Mhz range, but I can to the 1300-1400 range. Unless I'm supposed to tighten timings a lot and do things with voltages to the RAM, I don't know how to get it to boot without the 5.33x multi.

 

[Ryan Zauros]

Okay....seems like I'm not getting much in terms of feedback for this. If the first question can't be solved:

---->Second Question

Can somebody help me figure out settings to get a stable 3.7-3.9Ghz build?

It seems like the jump from 3.5-3.6Ghz to 3.7-3.8Ghz is requiring too much Vcore increase, having to increase from around 1.33125V to over 1.4V, and makes my temps go up to 55-59*C in IntelBurnTest. The overvolting problem doesn't help, as I will set it to 1.4V or something along those lines and instead of a Vdroop, it is overvolting it to around 1.44-1.46V idle/IntelBurnTest.


Apart from that, my biggest problem is how to deal with RAM timings and freq when I get up to that amount of Ghz. If somebody can run me some settings to try, I would be much obliged. I will provide any information needed.

Thanks!