Fx 8320 overclock with or without stock heatsink/fan

[dave1642]

Hey guys,
So I purchase a GA 970A-UD3 along with a FX 8320.
Im Running with an evga GTX 660 and 8 GB DDR3 1600 RAM.
Also have an Antec Earthwatt 650 psu all housed in an Antec 902 case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129097

When I purchased this setup, I was given free steam and Uplay downloads for Hit Man Absolution, Farcry 3, Tomb Raider, Bioshock Infinite, and Sleeping Dogs. (Gotta Love micro center).

Anyhow,
I haven't had much issues with gaming, (although I get over 35c in cpu temp while gaming). But I would like to use quick boost to get 4.1 ghz. (hoping that will let me increase a couple of settings in Tomb Raider).

Ive been reading that I would need a new heatsink/ cpu fan to achieve cooler temps while gaming while over clocked.

Im looking at the: "Hyper 212 Evo" from mico center, but am unsure that will achieve what I want it to achieve. (or if its even compatible with my AM3+ socket...)
http://www.microcenter.com/product/373900/Hyper_212_EVO_Universal_CPU_Cooler

im looking to spend between $30-$50 but will spend more if I need to.

the 902 is a full atx case, so I shouldn't have to worry about clearance. And the mobo is spread out pretty well, so im not to worried about the evo fitting.

What Im asking is what kind of cooler should I get?
Is the 212 evo good enough?
If the consensus is no, then what would you guys recommend?

Currently I try not to game for more than an hour as to avoid heating my cpu over 30-35 c....
any help is much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[dave1642]

I was unzipping a few big files, (20gb), and realized my cpu temp was hitting 44c...
getting kind of worried.....
are those kind of temps normal? or safe?
Help!

 

[mlcaouette]

Your temps seem fine, but I wouldn't do any overclocking on a stock HSF.

A 212 evo/+ should do OK with a overclocked 8320. I wouldn't expect you to be able to push the chip very far before reaching thermal walls though.

The 212 evo is one of the best budget coolers so if that is all you can afford to get than do so. Just know that there are better more expensive options out there that may or may not be worth saving for, depending on how far you want to push your cpu.

Just an fyi, most people try to stay below 55C core temp during heavy cpu tasks.

 

[dave1642]

Your temps seem fine, but I wouldn't do any overclocking on a stock HSF.

A 212 evo/+ should do OK with a overclocked 8320. I wouldn't expect you to be able to push the chip very far before reaching thermal walls though.

The 212 evo is one of the best budget coolers so if that is all you can afford to get than do so. Just know that there are better more expensive options out there that may or may not be worth saving for, depending on how far you want to push your cpu.

Just an fyi, most people try to stay below 55C core temp during heavy cpu tasks.

Thanks a lot man!
Im actuaully gearing up to go to microcenter now....thinking about the corsair water cooler since I have around $60 to spend now.

you've been a great help! Kudos!

 

[mlcaouette]

I wouldn't waste my money on a Corsiar AIO. It won't perform much better than the 212 evo. Then again I'm kinda a water cooling crazy person so I have warped views on value.

I'm happy to have helped, but to help you further I'd suggest that you don't rush in purchasing something, take your time reading reviews and comparisons so you can get the best bang for your buck.

Best of luck with your cooling endeavor my friend!

 

[Wisecracker]

Disable Turbo, and see if you can run all cores at 4GHz while keeping your temps below 60c. This should not be an issue with your stock cooler.
Keep an eye on your volts, as that will drive your temps. GB motherboards have been known to over-volt on *Auto* so you may wish to consider taking manual control.

The Corsair H60 is likely not a good option for you to OC beyond 4GHz. The CM 212+ would be a much better option.

 

[dave1642]

I wouldn't waste my money on a Corsiar AIO. It won't perform much better than the 212 evo. Then again I'm kinda a water cooling crazy person so I have warped views on value.

I'm happy to have helped, but to help you further I'd suggest that you don't rush in purchasing something, take your time reading reviews and comparisons so you can get the best bang for your buck.

Best of luck with your cooling endeavor my friend!

Thanks Wisecracker,
And yeah...wish I woulda read this before I bought the h55...
I had a pretty hectic time installing it, but now that everything is running, (also purchased a 60gb ssd, yay!), Im pretty satisfied...
did a bit of stress testing without over clocking, and boy did I push this thing.
I was running crysis 3, tomb raider, dead space 3 AND hitman absolution all in window mode while switching simultaeneously between gamingand internet browsing, AND watching american pie reunion....not sure how over kill or necessary/unecessary this was but it was super neat to do since my temps did not go over 30c and maintained 25c for a better part of the time...

I guess I can still return it and get something else...but how bad could this cooler be? for it to do what I just described, WITHOUT it being overclocked?
Do you guys think I would be risking damage or putting myself at risk by oc'ing to say; 4.10 - 4.20?
I mean so long as I can maintain below 45c I should be ok right?

Again, Thanks alot guys.

 

[Wisecracker]

Some batches of the FX-8320s seem to be much more efficient in power consumption. It looks as if you have a really sweet processor that runs nice and cool.

Lower-cost sealed water units are fine. Their advantage over aftermarket air cooling is typically in acoustics, not necessarily temp efficiency.

IMPORTANT!: Your BIOS allows you to save multiple profiles. Be sure to save your "Base Profile" As you tweak on your system, save those tweaks as a separate profile from your *Base*

As long as you keep your temps below 60C at full load, everything is dandy. It is conceivable that you could easily run 4.1GHz base WITH a higher Turbo. Enjoy finding the sweet spot for your Piledriver.

I would also suggest verifying that your backup BIOS is the same as your main BIOS. See your motherboard manual for details.

 

[dave1642]

Thanks Wisecracker....very helpful.
Im running cpuid, "hwmonitor" for the first time and cant tell heads from tell as to what my voltage temps are telling me...
currently not overclocked, I took a screen pic, but cannot figure out how to post it...
wish I could show you guys.

 

[mlcaouette]

Post the screenshot using a image hosting site such as photobucket or imageshack.

 

[dave1642]

Took this after doing some downloading and unzipping...computer was on for maybe an hour or two before I took this picture.

http://s1342.beta.photobucket.com/user/disposablechild832/media/Cpuid_zps96440b83.png.html?sort=3&o=0#/user/disposablechild832/media/Cpuid_zps96440b83.png.html?sort=3&o=0&_suid=1362712655750006483649009156339

 

[Wisecracker]

Download a stress utility like OCCT and post a screenshot with your rig at full load.

Things are looking good!

 

[dave1642]

installing it now...not familiar with the program; hopefully its pretty straight forward.
stay tuned for pics!

ok here we go:
#1, http://s1342.beta.photobucket.com/user/disposablechild832/media/firstrunocct_zps33aabef1.png.html?sort=3&o=2#/user/disposablechild832/media/firstrunocct_zps33aabef1.png.html?sort=3&o=2&_suid=136276325431009683162520051234

#2, http://s1342.beta.photobucket.com/user/disposablechild832/media/secondrunocct_zps4018c243.png.html?sort=3&o=1#/user/disposablechild832/media/secondrunocct_zps4018c243.png.html?sort=3&o=1&_suid=1362763200207038008035850084765

#3, http://s1342.beta.photobucket.com/user/disposablechild832/media/thirdrunocct_zps69920d10.png.html?sort=3&o=0#/user/disposablechild832/media/thirdrunocct_zps69920d10.png.html?sort=3&o=0&_suid=136276311629309469232004271822

 

[Wisecracker]

32.25C at load is dang-near amazing. Almost unbelievable - LOL - but your H55 water must be doing a bang-up job.

The only other recommendation I would give you -- Run OCCT, and checks your temps under load with the Gigabyte monitoring utility.

Compare the readings in the Gigabyte utility to the HWMonitor and OCCT temps.

 

[dave1642]

32.25C at load is dang-near amazing. Almost unbelievable - LOL - but your H55 water must be doing a bang-up job.

The only other recommendation I would give you -- Run OCCT, and checks your temps under load with the Gigabyte monitoring utility.

Compare the readings in the Gigabyte utility to the HWMonitor and OCCT temps.

WOW! thats really great man!
Yeah, I was concerned about the accuracy of the temp readings considering I was touching 44-47c prior to the cooler while unzipping and installing multiple programs. guess I could run hw monitor while running occt; unless you insist I run the Gigabyte utility..I had no idea that the h55 was going to help this much...^_^
although Im sure my case has something to do with it also...
3 speed 120mm on side, 2 x 3 speed intakes on the front, another 3 speed 120mm exhaust that I flipped to work as an intake with the H55 radiator, lol. And the big boy 200 milli on the top that is also a 3 speed...
this rig screams when turned all the way up, (Antec 902).

I still have yet to overclock, as my speeds are more than satisfactory since I installed the SSD.
This is the first build I have done for myself, and from what you are telling me, I did a good job.

Will post some screeners of occt and hwmonitor.
If I were to use the Gigabyte monitoring utility, where would someone go to run that app if they didnt know where to locate it???

 

[Wisecracker]

Gigabyte Support & Downloads - Utilities: Easy-Tune 6

AMD OverDrive (AOD) is also a fun utility for testing over-clocking settings from within Windows, and includes system monitoring tools, stability test, etc. You may either lock in the OC settings from AOD in Windows, or exit, reboot, make changes and save them as a profile in your BIOS (which is normally how I roll).

All signs point to a great rig for you - keep us updated as to your progress, take your time and enjoy the experience!

[:lutfij:4]

 

[mlcaouette]

installing it now...not familiar with the program; hopefully its pretty straight forward.
stay tuned for pics!

ok here we go:
#1, http://s1342.beta.photobucket.com/user/disposablechild832/media/firstrunocct_zps33aabef1.png.html?sort=3&o=2#/user/disposablechild832/media/firstrunocct_zps33aabef1.png.html?sort=3&o=2&_suid=136276325431009683162520051234

#2, http://s1342.beta.photobucket.com/user/disposablechild832/media/secondrunocct_zps4018c243.png.html?sort=3&o=1#/user/disposablechild832/media/secondrunocct_zps4018c243.png.html?sort=3&o=1&_suid=1362763200207038008035850084765

#3, http://s1342.beta.photobucket.com/user/disposablechild832/media/thirdrunocct_zps69920d10.png.html?sort=3&o=0#/user/disposablechild832/media/thirdrunocct_zps69920d10.png.html?sort=3&o=0&_suid=136276311629309469232004271822

Just one problem with your temps here you need to run the stress test for at least an hour to get a better idea of max temps under load, also for me prime95 and LinX usually seem to stess my cpu more than OCCT. Other than this minor hiccup your temps are really good, I'm looking forward to seeing how far you can overclock your chip.

 

[dave1642]

Just one problem with your temps here you need to run the stress test for at least an hour to get a better idea of max temps under load, also for me prime95 and LinX usually seem to stess my cpu more than OCCT. Other than this minor hiccup your temps are really good, I'm looking forward to seeing how far you can overclock your chip.

An hour?
Im getting 37c after an hour of gaming...and gamin gdoesnt stress out my cpu like occt does....Im not questioning you, Im sure you know much more than I do in regards to this kind of thing; But are you sure I have to run occt for a whole hour?

 

[mlcaouette]

Well, by no means do you have to. Just if and when you overclock, you'll want to know how hot your chip is going to get and that is the best way to find out.

 

[dave1642]

Disable Turbo, and see if you can run all cores at 4GHz while keeping your temps below 60c. This should not be an issue with your stock cooler.
Keep an eye on your volts, as that will drive your temps. GB motherboards have been known to over-volt on *Auto* so you may wish to consider taking manual control.

The Corsair H60 is likely not a good option for you to OC beyond 4GHz. The CM 212+ would be a much better option.

Sorry for not checking in sooner, but I was doing some spring break celebrating.....one thing led to another and a debate turned into me returning my gtx660 and purchasing the MSI 7970 .....quite a jump I know. Also purchased 8 more gigs of ram, so I'm running 16gb (4x4gb sticks).
Anywhoo,
I've overclocked just a bit with the 8320 staying within that 35c - 40c comfort zone, but I didn't see/feel any difference while oc'd....HOWEVER you suggested turning off turbo and clocking each individual processor to 4.0 GHz. The thing is I don't even know to how to begin doing something like that....the only way I know how to overclock is by going into easy tune, setting clock to 4.0 and restarting.
Can you give me a quick rundown on how to do that ? I'm sure it along the same way I fixed my ram. (Found it was clocked at 1333 MHz and got it to 1600 from inside the bios, but I accidentally changed a number and luckily it was the right one.)

What I've started doing was over clocking the 7970 to play crisis3 with the graphics setting turned all the way up
Now that is really something to see.....but after about half an hour of doing that my GPU temps hit 60c. Of course I have all fans
, including the GPU fan turned up all the way, but I'm sure I'm getting close hurting my 650w psu.

What my questions are:
A. How do I calculate how much of my psu is being used?
B. if the consensus is me needing to purchase a new psu, how many watts would you guys recommend and does it matter if I go modular?

 

[mlcaouette]

Most of this info is still relevant for fx cpu's:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274820-29-black-edition-overclock-raising-multiplier-guide

PSU calc:
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

 

[Wisecracker]

Disable Turbo, and see if you can run all cores at 4GHz while keeping your temps below 60c. This should not be an issue with your stock cooler.
Keep an eye on your volts, as that will drive your temps. GB motherboards have been known to over-volt on *Auto* so you may wish to consider taking manual control.

The Corsair H60 is likely not a good option for you to OC beyond 4GHz. The CM 212+ would be a much better option.

Sorry for not checking in sooner, but I was doing some spring break celebrating.....one thing led to another and a debate turned into me returning my gtx660 and purchasing the MSI 7970 .....quite a jump I know. Also purchased 8 more gigs of ram, so I'm running 16gb (4x4gb sticks).
Anywhoo,
I've overclocked just a bit with the 8320 staying within that 35c - 40c comfort zone, but I didn't see/feel any difference while oc'd....HOWEVER you suggested turning off turbo and clocking each individual processor to 4.0 GHz. The thing is I don't even know to how to begin doing something like that....the only way I know how to overclock is by going into easy tune, setting clock to 4.0 and restarting.
Can you give me a quick rundown on how to do that ? I'm sure it along the same way I fixed my ram. (Found it was clocked at 1333 MHz and got it to 1600 from inside the bios, but I accidentally changed a number and luckily it was the right one.)

What I've started doing was over clocking the 7970 to play crisis3 with the graphics setting turned all the way up
Now that is really something to see.....but after about half an hour of doing that my GPU temps hit 60c. Of course I have all fans
, including the GPU fan turned up all the way, but I'm sure I'm getting close hurting my 650w psu.

What my questions are:
A. How do I calculate how much of my psu is being used?
B. if the consensus is me needing to purchase a new psu, how many watts would you guys recommend and does it matter if I go modular?

Your Antec Earthwatts 650 should be fine. I had one that showed a bit of 'ripple' at hard loads, but nothing outside of spec. Using a modular PSU is more a matter of personal preference and aesthetics.

Carefully peruse the BIOS section of your motherboard manual. The 'Turbo' and core-boost functions and operation will be readily identified.

You also need to learn the secret Gigabyte handshake for expanding your BIOS options

Grab the AMD OverDrive utility. It has monitoring software, a stability test, and over-clocking tools to experiment (and fully adjust if you wish) your BIOS settings from within Windows.

And, yeah, it doesn't get much better than rocking Crysis with an HD 7970 and an FX- Piledriver.

AND .... I believe the CPU stability test in OCCT is actually LinX. It's not really important to run a full test at this stage of your over-clocking. When you are running 19.5 x 240MHz with Turbo disabled, then yeah, you'll want to test that for temps and stability ...