FX8150 4.0 Overclock how to?

[Madcamper]

Hello everyone! I'm sure this has been asked many of tims. I have just recently installed a new motherboard and processor into my system and I am wanting to overclock my processor. I had a i5 775 which was easily overclockable with turbo boost software, so I'm not sure how to overclock manually with correct voltages etc. this is my setup:

MSI 970A-G46 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
AMD FX-8120 Zambezi 3.1GHz Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor FD8120FRGUBOX(default clocked to 3.6)
CORSAIR H80 (CWCH80) High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
PNY VCGGTX560TXPB-OC-S GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card x2(one is Nvidia brand)
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ
Rosewill RP600V2-S-SL 600W ATX12V v2.01 SLI Ready Power Supply

I would like to start overclock to 4.0GHz. I only know of one piece of software off hand to be used for monitoring, CPUz. If anyone has a nice guide, or can help guide me yourself(would be easier to learn that way) to help me understand where to start with voltages etc and how to know what settings are safe to start out with. Thanks!

 

[noob2222]

http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte/46237-bulldozer-overclocking-guide-performance-scaling-charts-max-ocs-ln2-results-coming.html

good place to start gathering information. AMD overdrive software gives you real time cpu monitoring, temp, speed, voltage and core useage status.

 

[Madcamper]

I have over clocked my CPU to 4.4 GHz. I use a tool called click bios II to overclock. I have also noticed that my second 560 card, according to CPUz, are not the same as my GPU1. but in the MSI afterburner, they are both the same, so maybe it is just a CPUz problem? My BF3 is stuttering a bit for being overclock to 4.4 GHz so I'm not sure what is going on. I think maybe it might be the RAM, buit I'm not sure. What options should be disabled in BIOS aside form the turbo core and genie options?

I also notice, when I sit here and watch CPUz, the Core Voltage, and Core speed go up and down. I have everything back at default right now (3.6GHz) and the core speed fluctuates between 1400 MHz to 4200 MHz with x7 multiplier to x21.5 the core voltage fluctuates between 1.027 to 1.456 V. not sure why it's doing that instead of just staying stable?

 

[chizzops]

I have over clocked my CPU to 4.4 GHz. I use a tool called click bios II to overclock. I have also noticed that my second 560 card, according to CPUz, are not the same as my GPU1. but in the MSI afterburner, they are both the same, so maybe it is just a CPUz problem? My BF3 is stuttering a bit for being overclock to 4.4 GHz so I'm not sure what is going on. I think maybe it might be the RAM, buit I'm not sure. What options should be disabled in BIOS aside form the turbo core and genie options?

I also notice, when I sit here and watch CPUz, the Core Voltage, and Core speed go up and down. I have everything back at default right now (3.6GHz) and the core speed fluctuates between 1400 MHz to 4200 MHz with x7 multiplier to x21.5 the core voltage fluctuates between 1.027 to 1.456 V. not sure why it's doing that instead of just staying stable?

Sounds like a Cool N Quiet type of modulation; if you're not needing the juice, it tones down the cpu by lowering multiplier and voltage. Don't think it's Cool N Quiet with the new processors, though--could be wrong.

 

[noob2222]

I have over clocked my CPU to 4.4 GHz. I use a tool called click bios II to overclock. I have also noticed that my second 560 card, according to CPUz, are not the same as my GPU1. but in the MSI afterburner, they are both the same, so maybe it is just a CPUz problem? My BF3 is stuttering a bit for being overclock to 4.4 GHz so I'm not sure what is going on. I think maybe it might be the RAM, buit I'm not sure. What options should be disabled in BIOS aside form the turbo core and genie options?

I also notice, when I sit here and watch CPUz, the Core Voltage, and Core speed go up and down. I have everything back at default right now (3.6GHz) and the core speed fluctuates between 1400 MHz to 4200 MHz with x7 multiplier to x21.5 the core voltage fluctuates between 1.027 to 1.456 V. not sure why it's doing that instead of just staying stable?

Thats all inherent in the cpu design. There are "C" states.

Cool and quiet is when the cpu is idle, 1400 mhz, 1.027V <- don't need to disable, runs perfectly fine with it on, low idle power draw and temps are a good thing.
C1E is the power saving state, 2800 mhz, i think 1.15v <- disable C1E for less fluctuation esp when overclocking
Normal state, stock speed, 3.6 ghz at 1.325v i think (1.275 for 8120 @3.1 ghz)
Turbo speed, 4.2 ghz, 1.456v. <-- disable for sure, your going faster anyway, so this just adds voltage, and thats bad.


There is also an internal slight voltage modification within each speed. This is where Load Line Control comes in. max out LLC to reduce or eliminate the additional voltage changes. Your overclocking, the last thing you want is extra voltage because the "low" state isn't stable. It just pushes the "high" state higher than required.

 

[Madcamper]

I'm noticing for some reason in bios, I cannot go past 1.40 volts on the CPU voltage. I am at stock speeds right now and I am still unstable while in game. 3.600MHz 1.336V I took out two sticks of RAM to see if it was an issue(down to 4GB now) but it is still stuttering. Could it still be RAM or would else could it possibly be? Could it be a faulty processor or motherboard?

I bought http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0359910

They look like they have the exact same specs as my G. skill except these are two 4GB sticks, not 4 2GB sticks. Hopefully the G. skill just went bad during the rebuild and this new corsair will make it all work.

 

[noob2222]

I'm noticing for some reason in bios, I cannot go past 1.40 volts on the CPU voltage. I am at stock speeds right now and I am still unstable while in game. 3.600MHz 1.336V I took out two sticks of RAM to see if it was an issue(down to 4GB now) but it is still stuttering. Could it still be RAM or would else could it possibly be? Could it be a faulty processor or motherboard?

I bought http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0359910

They look like they have the exact same specs as my G. skill except these are two 4GB sticks, not 4 2GB sticks. Hopefully the G. skill just went bad during the rebuild and this new corsair will make it all work.

Have you updated the bios? there were some ram issues with early bios revisions with bd cpus installed.

also, try adding a little voltage to the cpu nb and ht, should help with stability since it seems MSI limited the cpu voltage on thier 970 board.

This is why I quit buying MSI, their support has gone ... well, just gone.

http://www.msi.com/product/mb/970A-G46.html#/?div=Manual

can't even look at thie bios, to see if there are any hidden settings for you. only thing I can think of is to try updating the bios and as i said, pump a little voltage (default is 1.2v, up it to 1.25V) to the cpu np and ht.

 

[Madcamper]

updating the BIOS was the very first thing I did, updated to 1.6. I will try and up the voltage on the NB and ht. What exactly is the "HT" and what does it do?

 

[noob2222]

hypertransport link, its the memory controller basically, but tied to the other motherboard components.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HyperTransport

 

[Madcamper]

ok, RAM did not fix the issue. I set it to 1600 MHz and it looks like it is at 1600 mhz but using 9-11-11-29, I am going to manually force these to 9-9-9-24 and see what happens. I will also up my voltage to 1.25. I am going to see if there is anyway I can get some screenshots of my bios so I can show you, maybe a video. Maybe that will help you in aiding me of where to look and what to disable/enable.

these are the photos I have been able to take. If there are any others you may need me to take, let me know.

 

[Madcamper]

Ok, so I bought a new graphics card, Galaxy GTX680 and everything seems to be working! I did get a clock interval blue screen but after upping voltage to 1.405 it seemed to be stable while playing BF3. I also applied the voltages you told for me the CPU NB and HT, I think that seemed to help too. Any idea what could have caused the blue screen error? It sounds self explanatory but I'm not sure what to look at due to that error.

 

[noob2222]

usually that error is just the voltage being too low for the cpu to communicate.

also, your screenshots are upside down, kinda hard to read lol.

 

[Madcamper]

whoops lol, fixed them. That's what I figured it was after I upped the voltage to 4.05. Systems seems to running pretty well now. If you see any other settings that I should look at in my BIOS that you see in the pics, let me know. Thanks again noobs

 

[Madcamper]

Best answer selected by Madcamper.

 

[Madcamper]

I'm continuing to get the clock interval blue screen. CPU Voltage is up to 1.42 now. I can play BF3 for several hours and then it gives me that blue screen error

 

[noob2222]

up the cpu nb or the ht another tick, thats the hard part about overclocking bd, too many different voltages to adjust. also, how is the temperature staying? might be getting a little hot.

oh, Another thing it might be is the memory timings, try running it in 2T command rate if its set at 1T or auto. looking at the screens, im guessing its the "sdram cycle time" unless there is a lower option that isn't on the screenshot. its normally "command rate" but i don't see it on the screenshot.

the 1t or 2t doesn't have too much of an impact on performance, but does help stability.

The individual chips will vary, but I got my 8120 to 4.7 ghz at 1.344v to the cpu. If it turns out to be the command rate causing the blue screen, you can drop the voltage down a bit to help keep the temps lower.

 

[Madcamper]

My CPU temperature doesn't reach above about 43-45C. Here are some pics of adjusted clocks and timing.

I put CPU Voltage back to 1.4 since that is where it seems to be most steady. but I can't go past that by much because BIOS won't let me. I could not find the HT Voltage, would it be the HT Link speed? and if so, what number would I choose? I'm not sure how to determine that. What is a safe voltage for SB, NB etc? It keeps giving me the Clock interrupt blue screen message.

 

[noob2222]

its not ht link speed, whats under the ht link control option?

 

[Madcamper]

HT Link Control has, "HT Incomoning LInk Width - Auto, 8 Bit, 16 Bit" "HT Outgoing Link Width - Auto, 8 bit, 16 bit"

 

[noob2222]

I have a feeling the instability is related to the ht link. can't find any information as to where or why MSI changed their ht link voltage setting on the 900 series boards, its there on the 7 and 800s.

might try lowering the speed and see if that helps any. try at 2000 just to test.

could be why some of the reviews pushed the voltage so high on their overclocking, just to kick the ht voltage higher through the cpu voltage.

 

[Madcamper]

I have a feeling the instability is related to the ht link. can't find any information as to where or why MSI changed their ht link voltage setting.

might try lowering the speed and see if that helps any. try at 2000 just to test.

could be why some of the reviews pushed the voltage so high on their overclocking, just to kick the ht voltage higher through the cpu voltage.

Ok, I'll try that. I'll try lowering my CPU VOltage back down to 1.38 or so too. Last time I lowered CPU Voltage lower it crashed a lot quicker. With it at 1.40, it lasts almost all day with only one or two blue screens.

 

[Madcamper]

I put the HT link to 2000MHz and now I am just getting complete crash, no BSOD or anything. The complete crash/reboot started after lowering the HT link to 2000 MHz, though it had happend before, not this quickly and often. I raised it to 2200 MHz in hopes maybe it will fix it. Not sure what else to do. Any other suggestions of what I could possibly do?

 

[Madcamper]

I just got another blue screen, uncorrectable hardware error, I have posted the minidump online here, http://theblackbox.myftp.org/052312-22916-01.dmp
not sure if that will do any good or not. I hadn't received this BSOD before. I have read reseating my graphics card could fix the issue so I will try that.