New Overclocker & AMD FX-8120 3.1GHz

[dmittner]

Been custom building computers for almost 2 decades but I've never dabbled in overclocking. Money being tight, I never wanted to risk blowing things up.

Well, upgrading my computer now, I'm willing to throw caution to the wind.

I'm looking to work with the following components:
MSI 890FXA-GD70 AM3+ AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD FX-8120 Zambezi 3.1GHz Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor FD8120FRGUBOX

I've seen a couple reviews stating they've OC'd it to 4GHz and have been able to manage on the heatsink&fan that come with it, so that's all I'm really after. Not super-ambitious. Just a safe introduction to overclocking.

Can someone suggest what settings will need to be changed to what to get the ball rolling?

Thanks in advance

 

[ohyouknow]

Honestly you need to upgrade that cooler because the bulldozer's will run hot when you start overclocking. Pick up a hyper 212+ when you get those components since clearly frying chips is not a good investment =).

*Do not try this following method if you have no intention of upgrading your cpu cooler as it will not be safe*

I have an 8120 myself and overclocking is pretty simple if you're not fine tuning all settings at first. First thing you do when you boot up into bios is to turn off turbo boost right away.
Next, bump up your voltage to something like 1.45 and set the multiplier to 4.5ghz and boot into windows. If you're good into windows restart and slowly drop your cpu vcore down until it is unable to boot so you know the voltage it needs to boot up.

Mine was able to boot at 4.4ghz at 1.29 volts but was unstable. So I'm currently sitting at 4.2ghz at a comfortable 25-27C idle. 37C BF3 load.
If you don't want to mess with that and have a baby overclock just turn off turbo boost, keep everything at auto and slightly bump the multiplier to 8150 speeds of 3.6 or less. Be careful, but highly recommended to invest in a good cooling solution* Cheers and GL

All this I learned from this link, it does a better job of explaining than I just did.


http://www.overclock.net/t/1140459/bulldozer-overclocking-guide-performance-scaling-charts-max-ocs-ln2-results-coming

 

[noob2222]

the stock heatsink will be good for 4.0 ghz as long as you keep the voltage reasonable. When in the bios, as stated, disable turbo as it bumps the voltage to 1.4125V, way more than needed usually, but you won't need over this since the chip runs at 4.0 ghz stock turbo at 1.4125V. The stock heatsink is designed to handle that.

For eliminating speed dips, disable C1E. For reducing voltage spikes, turn LLC (Load Line Control) to its maximum setting.

Simple enough to reach 4.0 ghz is to just up the cpu multiplier to 20x. I wouldn't recommend pumping 1.45v, as I said stock turbo is 1.41, you won't need anything over that and usually will run 4.0 without touching the voltage.

in short, to start, Id say turn off turbo, and change the multiplier to 20x, reboot and if it runs without issues your good. if it crashes, up the voltage 2-3 ticks at a time.

I am not sure what msi voltage changes are but asus are very very slight increments. I currently run at 4.7 ghz at 1.344v. Anything past 4.0 ghz id reccomend as stated the 212 EVO. The EVO is the newer version of the 212 + and runs about 7 degrees cooler, well worth a small $5.

 

[bryonhowley]

I would have to agree with noob2222 I have my FX-8120 running on the same board at 4ghz(20x multiplier). I found the stock heat sink fan to be inadequate for me. It was just to load even at idle. I went with a water cooler, a XSPC 750 RS240 witch keeps my CPU at 29c idle and full load at 35c.

 

[major177]

hi i got amd 8120 running stable at 4.0ghz with multipier at 20 fsb 2200 bus speed 200 voltage is 1.368v i run benchmark for hours never overheat. and i reccomend ram speed of 1866mhz with this cpu for best results. sorry for my mad english ^^ oh and download cpu-z to see ur seettings in windows. disable all that bs like voltage manager, turbo, cool mode etc. just leave performance mode or something like that. if u wanna cheep heat sink just get big ass one for up to 50$ this cpu runs cool at 4ghz. cpu mark or passmark give my cpu 10000+ score ^^ better than lol any intel at this price range.

 

[drake19]

hi i got amd 8120 running stable at 4.0ghz with multipier at 20 fsb 2200 bus speed 200 voltage is 1.368v i run benchmark for hours never overheat. and i reccomend ram speed of 1866mhz with this cpu for best results. sorry for my mad english ^^ oh and download cpu-z to see ur seettings in windows. disable all that bs like voltage manager, turbo, cool mode etc. just leave performance mode or something like that. if u wanna cheep heat sink just get big ass one for up to 50$ this cpu runs cool at 4ghz. cpu mark or passmark give my cpu 10000+ score ^^ better than lol any intel at this price range.

One question,how did you get 10000+ score on cpu mark??i even get 6400-6500!!!I have fx 8120 at 4.2ghz with gigabyte ga-970a-d3 mobo!!!Do i need something to get 100+fps in gw2???

 

[Matt Milne]

3.1-3.4Ghz at 1.279V fx8120. Stable and below ambient temps at idle, never exceeding 50 degrees at 100% load. estimated processor life 8-9 years (48,000 hours+). in cinebench: exceeds i7 cpu performance , matches Xeon performance in OpenGL.

also, fully tested with 8 years continuous use, intel p4 dual core ran 49,000 hours+ at full load with these settings (capped to 3.2ghz).

as a rule of thumb, processor life = 8 years, minus 1.5 years for every 10 degrees over 50C.
or 8 years minus 1 year per 200MHz over stock.
or 8 years, minus 2 years for every 0.1V over stock.

adjustable depending on components, batch materials etc