Athlon x4 860k not stable above 4GHz

[epicman2456]

So recently, I've been trying overclocking my CPU because I got a new cooler and I just wanted more performance out of my system. I was aiming for 4GHz, and that was fairly easy so I tried to get it to 4.2GHz. When I raised my multiplier to 41, and stress tested, 1 second in, a crash WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR so I upped the voltage to 1.386v (@4GHz it was stable @1.380v). Still crashing, this time with CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT, so I upped it to 1.392v, still crashing. 1.398v, crash, 1.404v, crash but this time it wouldn't stay at 1.404 during the 30sec of stress testing it did before it crashed. CPU-Z showed that it was going from 1.392-1.404v which is a whole 0.012v, mostly staying at 1.392v. I think it's a PSU problem but I'm not 100% sure. The temps are stable, I use AMD Overdrive to check temps and to do stability tests and the thermal margin stays at around 32C-28C. That's the highest I've ever seen it go, and it only goes there when stress testing. Any tips? Thanks

Specs:
CPU: Athlon x4 860k
GPU: R7 265 (OC Core: 1050MHz Mem:1500MHz but only when playing games)
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper T4
Thermal Paste: Arctic Alumina
PSU: 500w EVGA B1 PSU
Mobo: Gigabyte F2A88XM-D3H
HDD: Seagate 1TB 7200RPM
Case: Corsair Carbide 100R

 

[clutchc]

Have you disabled Turbo Mode in BIOS?
Btw, "thermal margin stays at around 32C-28C. That's the highest I've ever seen it go"... thermal margin goes down as temps go up. Just so you are aware.

 

[epicman2456]

Have you disabled Turbo Mode in BIOS?
Btw, "thermal margin stays at around 32C-28C. That's the highest I've ever seen it go"... thermal margin goes down as temps go up. Just so you are aware.

Yes I disabled turbo and yeah that was just a little typo, I know the thermal margin decreases as temps go up.

 

[clutchc]

Any m/b temps showing high? That board doesn't have any heat sinks of the VRMs.
Try raising the CPU-NB voltage ~0.01v at a time. See if that brings it back to stability. I had to get mine up +0.04v to make it stable. But it never crashed the system with a BSOD.

 

[epicman2456]

Any m/b temps showing high? That board doesn't have any heat sinks of the VRMs.
Try raising the CPU-NB voltage ~0.01v at a time. See if that brings it back to stability. I had to get mine up +0.04v to make it stable. But it never crashed the system with a BSOD.

No difference. Still crashing.

 

[clutchc]

Any m/b temps showing high? That board doesn't have any heat sinks of the VRMs.
Try raising the CPU-NB voltage ~0.01v at a time. See if that brings it back to stability. I had to get mine up +0.04v to make it stable. But it never crashed the system with a BSOD.

No difference. Still crashing.

It could very well be the PSU not able to maintain stable ripple-free voltage when stressed. It could be the board too. Hard to be sure. It might also just be your luck with the silicone lottery. I've had two similar CPUs; Athlon x4 760k and 860k. The 760k wouldn't OC well for me, but the 860k I had was pretty good. Still... 4.2 GHz was the best I could do with it.