Overclocking causing CPU throttling.

[silversuns]

So i just started overclocking and the first thing i noticed is i cannot get a stable overclock with stock voltages. The highest i can get on my 8350 is 4.2 on stock voltages. If i want to go to a higher clock it take wayyy more voltage than it should to be stable in prime95. I was looking at what other people voltages were and saw that people were getting 4.5 on stock voltages . If i want to get to 4.5 i need 1.48 v to get it stable and then it throttles in prime and ITB. Now this is my first attempt of overclocking the last time i overclocked it was on my old 960t. I'm thinking its my motherboards power delivery that is holding it back since it is a budget 990fx board from asrock. Any help at all would be appreciated.

 

[Z1NONLY]

If your temps are good, disable APM in your BIOS.

Bulldozer used this feature to keep the TDP below rated wattage under full load. (automatic "throttling" even with good temps.)

It's sounds like the feature is still in use with Pile driver.

 

[silversuns]

The thing is i did that and i also disabled cool n' quiet. My temps don't go over 40C on prime. I can't see how that's possible but i'm looking at hardware monitor and i'm running prime at stock speeds and its says 33C. I knew an h100 was good but i didn't know it was that good. Also prime is only using 94-98% of my cpu and my clocks go from 3.68 - 3.82. I think im not using the right version of prime since i am running Windows 8.

 

[steddora]

I'm not absolutely sure what the AMD variant is, but I've noticed many intel boards have a power limit for the processor. APM, however on an intel board you can't disable it and it must be changed to allow the processor to fully open up. There is a long and short duration power limiter on these boards and maybe there is some variant on the 990fx?

Also, those temperatures scare me. Why? Prime95 on blend should easily take any processor to above 40C if not higher. Even undervolted to 1.075v, my 2600k at stock speed hits over 45C in prime95 with my fans at full blast.

Either way, the throttling is almost assured to be some sort of power limiter/power saving feature of the motherboard. Key is to find it.

 

[silversuns]

Also one thing i have noticed is my stock voltage is 1.2 which is really low. Im running intel burn on max and its hitting 48 C but its still throttling @ stock. It throttles down to 35% usage and then it shoots back up again.. I think it might be my motherboards power delivery that's not giving enough voltage. I ran it with the stock cooler and my voltages were fine but now that i have my h100 installed all my temps are bouncing around...

 

[Z1NONLY]

If your temps are bouncing around, it could be heat-related throttling.

Try using different software to check your temps and see if you get different information.

 

[silversuns]

I just ran blend in prime 95 i also installed the Amd monitor and it said my usage was at 100% the whole time. It might just be a glitch in the task manager in windows 8. I also ran cpuz and it kept at a stable frequency of 3.9 ghz instead of bouncing around. It still doesn't explain the voltage being at 1.2v instead of the stock voltage of 1.35.

 

[silversuns]

Also in Hardware monitor it has a separate cpu temp that reads 52C instead of the package temperature that stayed at 30C. I would show you but i dont know how to add a picture to the thread.

 

[Z1NONLY]

If it's actually holding its clock speed and your temps are good, I wouldn't worry about lower than-stock voltage. (Unless it's unstable)

 

[silversuns]

So i cant overclock until i get a better board? My board by the way is a As Rock Extreme 3 990fx board.

 

[Z1NONLY]

If your board lets you up the voltage, and multiplier, your should be able to OC.

(Of course you need a decent PSU and some aftermarket cooling too)

 

[silversuns]

Best answer selected by silversuns.