OverClocking help and guidance

[cctaylor88]

Well I honestly don't even know where to begin, as I have never even attempted to overclock before. The only thing that may be a problem is that I don't have any "aftermarket" cooling or heat sinks, but I don't want to do anything crazy as far as the overclocking goes. Just want to squeeze out whatever stable and safe performance I can!

Basically before I begin I want to know what I'm doing...

What software should I download, as I assume there will be a lot of trial and error involved with this

Ram: g.Skill Ripjaws 8gb

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2

Motherboard: ASUS M4A87TD/USB3

Power: 600W

Case (to show fans/cooling): MidTower

Also.. I always notice that on start up when I see my BIOS screen I can press 4 to their "ASUS core unlocker" or whatever...

CPU-Z is saying that my CPU "Core Voltage" is sitting around 1.332 V
Also... the RAM I purchased states that it is a CL9 but CPU-Z is saying that the CAS Latency is at "11.0 clocks" why would this be?

 

[cctaylor88]

up

 

[kiezz]

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/274820-11-black-edition-overclock-raising-multiplier-guide
The guide for overclocking

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/261868-11-overclocking-club
And there is some really useful info here

 

[mlcaouette]

Read the guide that kiezz suggested and do yourself a favor and read a couple more until you have a good understanding of all the information.

As for the ram manually set voltage/timings/speed in bios to eliminate any motherboard errors when it auto configured the ram.

You will be able to get a lot more performance out of the chip with a cheap aftermarket HSF like the 212+ or evo and it will be quieter than the stock HSF.

 

[cctaylor88]

Alright so with stock everything I managed to get my CPU from 3.2GHz to 3.61GHz... my idle temperature went from about 39C-40C to 42C-43C is that pretty acceptable? I ran a prime95 stress test (the small FFTs) for 7.5hrs last night and I got 0 errors and 0 warnings...during which Core Temp had my maximum temp readings reach 69C during the 100% load stress tests...is this acceptable?

I mean I don't know how often Ill come close to loading my CPU usage to 100% (as prime95 does) as I don't game often at all, so I am assuming these numbers should be sufficient. As a reference, I have 4 tabs open currently and one virtual textbook (college) and my CPU temp is reading 42C.

Okay, I have heard plenty about buying a new aftermarket HSF..if I do this how difficult of a process is it? I have zero experience with this, and I have already went through a good deal of stress when I flashed (successfully) my BIOS a few weeks ago, I dont have to completely take the mobo out of the tower to install a new HSF do I?

 

[mlcaouette]

If your case has a cutout behind the motherboard tray then removing the motherboard may not be necessary.

69C is way to high, set a manual fan curve for the cpu fan so once it hits about 54C it is running at 100%.

I highly recommend you just get a aftermarket cpu cooler, it doesn't have to be too expensive the 212+/evo will work just fine.

 

[cctaylor88]

It sounds like in order to replace my HSF with a new HSF I will have to take my motherboard out of the tower all together which I really don't feel too comfortable doing as literally everything is connected to the motherboard and there are wires I would have to disconnect and reconnect everywhere..I feel like I would phuck this process up.

Also how can I manually adjust the cpu fan? In bios... i was in my bios all last night and saw nothing pertaining to the fan. MOBO=M4A87TD/USB3 CPU=AMD Phenom II x4 955BE

 

[mlcaouette]

You can use speedfan or some other fan control software like it.

It is not hard to rewire a case, everything that needs to be hooked up is described in detail within the motherboard manual, I stick with my recommendation that you need aftermarket cooling.

 

[cctaylor88]

What ranges of CPU Voltage should I shoot for? I am currently at 1.380
What about
CPUNB voltage
CPUNB frequency (may be expressed as a multiplier)
And perhaps, memory voltage

 

[Mousemonkey]

up

Don't...

Bump posts


http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/283384-33-read-first