Overclocking my AMD Phenom ii 3.4ghz x4 965 SOME MORE

joelcen52

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Jan 6, 2013
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so i recently took some friendly advice about overclocking my processor to a safe 3.8ghz just by changing the multiplier to 19x. So now i want go even further into a stable 4.0ghz if possible. I have seen people do this but have no clue how to approach this safely. But first i want to know if it is okay to do so, so here i have my most recent stress test from prime95:

http://tinypic.com/r/2ll0v7q/6

My CPU and cores dont seem to want to go over 55C, which i know is good. but i know other variables need to apply. which is why im wondering if i have enough "free space" to bump my CPU to 4.0ghz?
any recommendations will be very helpful, thanks.

Also, here are my computer specs:

CPU- AMD Phenom ii 3.4ghz 965
MOBO- ASUS M4A88T-V EVO/USB3
RAM- 16 GB (4x4) G-SKILL RAM 1333 (a little unnecessary i know..)
GRPHX CARD- XFX RADEON HD6870 1GB 256-BIT
CPU COOLER- 120mm ZALMAN CNPS9900ALED with RC33P 800rpm ~ 1,300rpm
 

mlcaouette

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Apr 25, 2011
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Well your temperatures are close to max but you might be able to hit 4.0Ghz before you reach 55C. It will likely require a bump up in vcore depends on your chip though.

OCing your N/B up to about 2600-2800Mhz will bring you better performance than the extra 200Mhz on the cpu.
 

ocmusicjunkie

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Jun 6, 2012
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You should actually have a bit of room left in terms of temperature. Not sure how long you had ran the stress test, but HWMonitor shows the max CPU at 52c despite the max core being at 55c- that generally mean it was only briefly reading the core at that peak. If temps become an issue, I would be curious how many fans you have running inside what model case, and if everything is running at full speed. The chart here shows that your cooler should only be about +2c hotter than mine with a 125w thermal load- which means you should have the ability to get the cooling for 4ghz under control with what you are already using: http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2595&page=4

I would start off by kicking up the multi and just seeing what happens. You might actually be just fine without anything else. If you do need to change anything to get stable, I'd start off by increasing the Vcore voltage two "+" steps at a time, starting by entering the number BIOS shows as being currently used into the field where "auto" would be by default, then hitting the "+" on your keyboard twice without changing fields. That should put it somewhere around 1.455 from where you look to be at now. Remember anything under 1.55v is technically okay, and 1.5v is certainly safe. Just no need for big jumps. You could also bump up the NB/CPU the same number of steps from where it sits now, and finally bump the NB itself up to 1.15 to start super conservative. All will increase thermals slightly, but also help with instability. You could also set your memory manually to 1.5v, assuming it's 1.5v rated memory. The Asus boards tend to run just under by default (1.48-1.49) for some reason, and if you are pushing things, the less adjustments the system has to make itself the better.

As was mentioned above, you might want to consider increasing the NB from 2000mhz to 2200mhz at the very least, and ultimately see if you can't go up to 2400mhz with a 3800mhz processor clock. This could be done along with/before/after the CPU bump- you may be happy with the gains you net here first before tackling the CPU if it becomes stubborn.

:hello: