AMD Phenom II x4 925 and MSI 870S-G46

demon34140

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Hey i have a AMD phenom IIx4 925 with a MSI 870S-G46 board, wanting to overclock it but dont really understand the guides cause..well im slow when it comes bo BIOS and really need it dumbed down.

My heatsinks are:

CPU: cool master hyper 212 plus (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065)
Northbridge: VIZO VIZO-NBC-101-CPR Copper Sleet Chipset Cooler (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835425007)

Anyone know a safe margin i can OC too with this CPU/MB? and give a really really dumbed down version on how to OC it in BIOS cause i cant find the thing for it anywhere..
 

Z1NONLY

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Here's a cut and paste from my post on a 1045t thread the names that gigabyte uses may differ slightly from your MSI BIOS:

I have my 1045t OC'd to 3.4 Ghz with all 6 cores running. It could go higher but, I'm limited by heat because I can't fit a bigger cooler in my case.

I recommend getting some free software first. CPU-Z and HWmonitor, and prime95.

CPU-Z will show you frequencies, voltages and ram timings.

HWmonitor will show you temps. *Be warned* HWmonitor was showing my core temps 10 degrees lower than they actually were. The temp labeled "TMPIN2" was actually tracking perfectly with the core temps shown in AMD Overdive. So look for the highest temperature other than your video card. (many video cards can safely run at hotter temps than your CPU.) The hottest one on my Gigabyte 990 fxa ud3 (other than the video card) is the core temp. Try to keep it below 55C under full load.

Prime95 is the program that will stress test your computer to see if it can remain stable and cool under load. 2hrs of the blend test with no errors and no overheating is a general rule of thumb for a stable OC.

Now for the fun stuff.

Go into your BIOS and lower the multiples for your CPU and your Ram by a few steps. (The 1045t won't let you increase the multiplier above stock)
Then disable turbo (aka "core performance boost" )
Then find your CPU Host clock control and set it to "manual"
Then You should be able to change the "CPU Frequency" (I'll call it FSB) (This is before the multiplier, so it will be low. Mine started at 200)
Now increase that variable by a bit.

I recommend balancing your FSB and your "memory clock" (RAM) multiplier to a point where your ram is back down to stock speeds after you bump the FSB. So raise your FSB to something like 250 then adjust your RAM multiplier down so that your RAM us running at or near stock speeds.

Now move on to your CPU clock ratio. With the faster FSB, you will be able to run your CPU at higher frequencies with a lower-than-stock multiplier. I eventually took mine all the way back up to 13.5 with a final frequency of 3.4 Ghz.

I would recommend starting with a lower multiple that gets you just a couple hundred Mhz boost over stock at first. Then test for stability and heat. Run prime 95 for at least 30 minutes if you want to see your hottest temps. The blend doesn't get things hot until about the third bank of tests.

If things look good, go back into the BIOS and bump the multiplier some more and re-test.

My MB got rather ambitious with the voltages when I left it in auto, so use CPU-Z to keep an eye on core voltages. Many recommend just staying under 1.45 volts. I recommend not going any higher than you need to for a given clock speed. This will help keep heat down. I ended up using a negative offset "CPU voltage control" of -0.075 volts. This brought my core voltages down to about 1.344v at full load.

*note* I'm scraping the floor on voltage with my particular chip/speed. One notch lower and I get BSOD. You may be able to go a little lower or you may need a little more voltage for your chip and clock speed.

Now just test and adjust and repeat.

Generally speaking:

BSOD means you need more voltage, and/or less speed.

Overheating means you need less voltage and/or less speed. (or a better cooler for your CPU.)

If you get to the point where your temps are good and your computer is sable, and you still want to go faster (than ~3.4Ghz), you can go back and bump up the FSB. But remember to adjust your RAM multiplier back down to stock-ish speeds.

You can OC your RAM later, but that gets a little more complicated as you may have to adjust CAS timings and RAM voltages to make it work. Keeping your RAM at stock speeds should give you one less thing to worry about while you probe the limits of your CPU.

Good luck!

 

demon34140

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Thanks man! but i cant even get to my bios for whatever reason, when i hit escape it just brings me to how i want to boot windows, got a solve for that?
 

demon34140

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yeah it was the delete key, turned my oc genie on and im at 3.3ghz now but im sure i can go higher cause im only at 35degrees still..
 

demon34140

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Like how do i specifically change the settings i tried and it wouldn't let me get to those numbers to change it.
 

Z1NONLY

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You normally have to change the designation for a given variable from "auto" to "manual". Then the variable should be accessible.

Also, when changing the value, sometimes it only recognizes the numbers above the letters as apposed to the group of numbers to the right side of the keyboard.
 

demon34140

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umm ok ill try that, i want to get to 3.6ghz but idk how to mess with ram timing and all that, is that going to be a problem?