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AMD Phenom II 940, need help overclocking it

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Hello,
I really want to overclock my CPU to at-least 3.6ghz. Right now I have managed to overclock it to 3.5 at 1.425volts, but going to 3.6, even at 1.5volts would crash the computer. I running at the stock cooler, maybe that's my problem? I do not want to buy another cooler because I am saving up money to build a new PC.

I will give you my temperatures shortly. Thanks for any help.

More about : amd phenom 940 overclocking

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I would say idle. Way too high. but running a graphic intensive game still gives off the same temperature....

Maybe just to test it out I would like to hit 3.6 to see the temperature, but I do not know what voltage setting that I should put on the CPU

Best solution

60 is way too hot for idle. You will probably need to upgrade from the stock cooler. :(  Sometimes the stock cooler is sufficient but, in your case, it looks like you need something better. You could re-apply thermal paste and try again. Maybe the initial application was not very good...

The voltage you end up with will differ from system to system. Too little voltage and your overclock will not be stable (machine will crash often or will not boot). However, more voltage = more heat (which leads to instability) so you have to do a bit of a balancing act. :) 

Here's a good guide for overclocking phenom II's.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596...

If 60 C is your idle temp, I suggest backing off your overclock until you get a cooling solution worked out.

I had my system overclocked to 3.4 for years without any problem. I guess I am going to have to buy a new cooler. Maybe the Cooler Master hyper 212+?

The width of my case is around 8.1 inches. Will it fit?

It seems like a lot of people like that one.

I have this one and it works really well. It costs a little less than the cooler master. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Keep in mind that there can be other limitations to overclocking besides temperature so swapping coolers isn't a guarantee that you'll be able to get 3.6 stable. However, since your temperatures are as high as they are, I think you are probably hitting the heat wall in which case a better cooler will probably help a lot. Either the hyper 212 or the freezer pro will keep you cool @ 3.6.

I've had two 940s. Based on my experience, (and online research of others experience) I wouldn't invest in a better cooler thinking it will dramatically improve the overclock. Most of them max out right around 3.6, often slightly lower, and even then that OC is often not totally stable (though it will pass prime95 for 24 hours). 3.4 seems to be the optimal 24/7 total stable OC.

3.4Ghz can be done via a FSB or a multiplier overclock and requires an ever so slight increase in volts if I remember right. Max operating temp for a 940 is 62C and AMD's listed max voltage is 1.5v. I'd definitely back off until you got a new cooler. But before you overclock any higher, you'll also want to reapply your thermal compound like another poster suggested. If you've been running your 940 as long as I have then your thermal compound is probably dust like mine was last week.

I could run my 940 at 245 FSB (15x245) with 1.5v and it was stable. I needed to increase volts to my NB too but I don't have a temp sensor to read for that so I didn't go any higher on FSB. I kept everything at default ratios so my NB, HT, and RAM were being overclocked too. I had 1066 RAM I downclocked to 800 speeds so I had the room to OC with the FSB. But temps hovered right at 60C on full load and I'm not fond of that. I have the OCZ Vendetta II cooler in an Antec 900 case just for reference. This is all also on a 790FX Foxconn A79A-S. As eighdrunkengods just said though, the new cooler won't guarantee anything except for cooler temps but I think it'll give you a little more headroom if you go with the already mentioned hyper 212 or freezer pro. Just saying your board has alot to do with this.

What board and RAM are you running?

Just to add to my comment above those are overclocks with good air coolers (Xigmatek and the like) and equivalent, cooler master liquid coolers, (not stock coolers) where CPU temperatures under prime95 never go above 60.

475 mm(W) x 233 mm(D) x 530mm(H) <-- those are the dimensions for my case

120 x 79.7 x 158.5 mm <- heatsink ( Hyper 212+)
120 x 120 x 25 mm <- fan for heat sink

So will it fit?

che3zeman said:
475 mm(W) x 233 mm(D) x 530mm(H) <-- those are the dimensions for my case

120 x 79.7 x 158.5 mm <- heatsink ( Hyper 212+)
120 x 120 x 25 mm <- fan for heat sink

So will it fit?


My OCZ Vendetta II is 159mm tall compared to the Hyper 212's 158.5mm and it fits in my Antec 900 v1 case which is 205mm wide compared to your case's 233mm. My case is as wide as your's but my heatsink is taller and it fits so you should be just fine.

Okay thank you. One last thing, my video card is permanently stuck in my PCIE slot because the PCIE retention clip thingy broke off. Will that cause a problem trying to install the heat-sink?

Wow, I said my previous statement all @ss-backwards. Our heatsinks are the same height but my case isn't as wide as your's. Lol still the same result in that it should fit though.

Well, it might get in the way a little. But you should still be fine. If you can, you could take your board out when you get the new cooler (before you install it) and go ahead and use some angle cutters and cut the retention clip off so you could get your card out if you wanted. I've never had a retention clip on my pci-e slot break off before lol.

The radeon 4850 x2 was over heating and was crashing in games constantly. I only had 155$ to upgrade so I sold the card and got a brand new radeon 6850 for 155$ :) . Yes, I know that it was kind a side upgrade but at-least it still has the same or a little better performance plus it runs a heck of a lot cooler, plus dx11 is always nice.

Yea, less heat because it probably uses alot less power lol. I hear dx11 does look better in some games, I've just never been able to see it myself. I'm just waiting for Bulldozer to come out before I upgrade anything. I just hope it's a good release...

I hear ya. But you make sure you come back to us here when you get ready to build that case and we'll get you the best hardware for your money and hopefully cheaper than $1500.

oooh, you're going the whole kit n' kaboodle. In that case you might be about right at about $1500. No worries, we'll see. I may be upgrading too soon if my 940 BE and 4870 can't handle BF3 very well when it releases.

Sorry for the huge delay but the Cooler Master hyper 212+ came in the mail today. it is huge!. Needless to say, I am scared to install it because I am worried that I have remove all my components out and I will end up damaging the CPU. Anyways, Do you guys have any links to an excellent guide to installing this heatsink on a AMD motherboard?

Just installed the Cooler Master Hyper 212+! Everything seems fine for now. My god is it huge. Ill do some prime 95 and some hard core gaming to see the temps, and hopefully now I will be able to overclock to 3.6!

edit: 3.6! Stable so far

I'm stable at 3.6 right now. I don't know if I should overclock any higher. Although achieving 3.8 would be great :p . I will post link for pics later today.


edit: screw it. Going for 3.8ghz. Wish me luck

Well how long did you prime the 3.6Ghz OC and what were the temps and volts at the end? I'd say you don't want to surpass 60C as the max is 62C. Also, 1.5v is the max but I don't think you'll be able to do that with an air cooler and not surpass max temps.

Let me know the stats of your 3.8Ghz OC too. Are you doing these via FSB or multiplier?

via multiplier. 3.8Ghz failed horribly. 3.6Ghz I primed for like an hour but it crashed because the voltage was too low. I set the voltage higher and ran it for I don't know how long and it did not crash. I'm going to stay at 3.6Ghz. Now time to overclock the radeon 6850 >:p . For prime 95 the highest temp was around 55C

55C leaves a tiny bit more headroom if you wanted to try a little more voltage. Not sure though if maybe you've hit that spot where it takes too much more voltage to hit the next small OC. Either way, good luck with the 6850 OC. Game on my friend :p 
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