Msi 970a-g46 overclocking

[huanwu26]

Hi, the current mobo I have is a msi 970a-g46 which is a 4+1 mobo. It handles well, pretty stable, no problems so far. I starting to think about oc my amd phenom ll x4 965 be 3.4GHz to about 4.0GHz max. But I been hearing some upsetting things about 4+1 mobo and msi (at least about the g45 model) in general about overclocking with the mobo. So I was wondering would I be able to OC my cpu without any problems? Thank you

 

[jthmfreak]

Hi, the current mobo I have is a msi 970a-g46 which is a 4+1 mobo. It handles well, pretty stable, no problems so far. I starting to think about oc my amd phenom ll x4 965 be 3.4GHz to about 4.0GHz max. But I been hearing some upsetting things about 4+1 mobo and msi (at least about the g45 model) in general about overclocking with the mobo. So I was wondering would I be able to OC my cpu without any problems? Thank you

No, you might blow the vrms due to needing more voltage, I wouldn't go past the default turbo on that board if I were you. I blew my last MSI board at 4 ghz and it was a 980. I have the same board as you right now, and other people have confirmed it's a bad board to OC on. Sorry to burst your bubble, just don't wanna see you fry the board.

 

[huanwu26]

No, you might blow the vrms due to needing more voltage, I wouldn't go past the default turbo on that board if I were you. I blew my last MSI board at 4 ghz and it was a 980. I have the same board as you right now, and other people have confirmed it's a bad board to OC on. Sorry to burst your bubble, just don't wanna see you fry the board.

so maybe 3.9GHZ at most

 

[whooleo]

I have the same mobo, same CPU, and have read the same things about this mobo but with that in mind I oced the CPU to 3.8GHz with stock volts which is about 1.419 on that board. I've had no problems so far but yes these VRMs do get hot.

 

[lazy784]

Um, I have a FX-8150 that's OCed at 4.3Ghz

 

[jthmfreak]

Um, I have a FX-8150 that's OCed at 4.3Ghz

Your fx-8150 also is at a higher clock at stock speeds. The 965 is at 3.4. Different cpus are going to require different amounts of voltage to get to the same oc, also some will be much easier since the cpu starts off at a higher clock. And trust me, the 970a-G46 will fry pretty easy. To stay safe I would not go past 1.45v which should net a 600 mhz gain roughly.

 

[lazy784]

Um, I have a FX-8150 that's OCed at 4.3Ghz

Your fx-8150 also is at a higher clock at stock speeds. The 965 is at 3.4. Different cpus are going to require different amounts of voltage to get to the same oc, also some will be much easier since the cpu starts off at a higher clock. And trust me, the 970a-G46 will fry pretty easy. To stay safe I would not go past 1.45v which should net a 600 mhz gain roughly.

Should i stop OCing it? Or should it be ok at this level?

 

[Awtrace]

i have an msi 970-g46 with an FX-8320 and used OC Genie II to OC it to 3.76GHz because i don't have any clue on manual overclocking. I was told that 4.0GHz is the recommended OC if you were to OC it.

What settings should i use on it to achieve this safely?

 

[CooLWoLF]

The MSI 970a-g46 should not be overclocked with any 125w cpu. NONE. NADA. PERIOD. In fact, the only way the 970a-g46 board works at stock speed for 125w chips without dieing is because that board's bios has built in throttling to help the VRMs not blow.

If your overclocking with a 125w cpu on any of the MSI 970a-g series motherboards, stop. Go back to stock, save up for a better motherboard to overclock on. You have been warned.

 

[guggi4]

sorry for jumping in this thread but i have a question:
i have a 970a-g43 board (i know its a bad board now, i regret buying it) with a fx6300 and i was planning to push the cpu to fx6350 frequencies. since the fx6350 is supported by the board officially would it be save? the fx6350 clocks 3,9 base 4,2 turbo, a fx8350 is at 4 base 4,2 turbo but has a module more, so for me it looks like it can handle the oc. any opinions?

 

[CooLWoLF]

sorry for jumping in this thread but i have a question:
i have a 970a-g43 board (i know its a bad board now, i regret buying it) with a fx6300 and i was planning to push the cpu to fx6350 frequencies. since the fx6350 is supported by the board officially would it be save? the fx6350 clocks 3,9 base 4,2 turbo, a fx8350 is at 4 base 4,2 turbo but has a module more, so for me it looks like it can handle the oc. any opinions?

Just stay away from overclocking at all on that board. They simply cannot handle it. Its shocking how MSI made these boards so bad. And the g43 version is particularly bad; it has no heatsink on the VRMs. Get some copper heatsink from Newegg or ForzenCPU and put them on your VRMs.

 

[Awtrace]

well it's been OC'd like this for about a month and a half and i havent had any issues with it...... soooooo idk what you're talking about that it cant handle 125w cpu's. Anyways, thank you for the opinion but i feel safe OC-ing on it and I would still like someone to answer my question

 

[CooLWoLF]

well it's been OC'd like this for about a month and a half and i havent had any issues with it...... soooooo idk what you're talking about that it cant handle 125w cpu's. Anyways, thank you for the opinion but i feel safe OC-ing on it and I would still like someone to answer my question

Look, you don't have to believe me or what I am telling you, it does not make it any less true. This EXACT motherboard has been brought up in many threads, on various popular overclocking forums for its high, known failure rate. You have been OK thus far; that doesn't mean its not going to finally burn out one day. Do a simple Google search on FX-cpu overclocking with that board, then tell me your still as confident as you are now. Start here for a thread dedicated to known VRM failure rates on AMD motherboards: http://www.overclock.net/t/946407/amd-motherboards-vrm-info-database

Not trying to be mean here man, just warning you.

 

[Awtrace]

hmmm well i have it steady at 3.76GHz using OC Genie 2 so I'll leave it at that

 

[CooLWoLF]

hmmm well i have it steady at 3.76GHz using OC Genie 2 so I'll leave it at that

The VRMs blowing has nothing to do with whether or not your current overclock is stable. What will happen is at some point your cpu will hit a heavy load that the VRM will suddenly fail to handle. MSI built throttling into the bios on the g46 boards to compensate for this, but its not foolproof by any means, just a band-aid. It will then blow and likely take your cpu out with it. Is it really worth it for a 276mhz overclock to potentially lose your cpu and motherboard?