advice needed for x4 955 overclock, please

[kevpc]

hi all. have read lots of posts but still need help please. my machine specs are:
asus M4A78 Pro mobo, Bios Rev: 1501
OCZ 700watt Fatal1ty psu
AMD phenom ll x4 955 cpu
2x2gig 800 mhz DDR2 Crucial 1.8volt Ram, 6.6.6.18
Zotac 9600 GSO 512meg Graphics card
used Arctic Silver paste on stock heatsink and fan, so air cooled

so far, after all the reading and still being totally confused, all i have done is changed the cpu multiplier from x16 to x18 and upped the cpu voltage from 1.350 to 1.450. cputemp tells me that temp is 36-37 degrees at idle, and goes to 61 degrees max when running OCCT v 3.1.0 for 30 mins under 'large data set' setting (not long i know, but at least no BSOD so far). i would like to get to stable and cool 3.8 gig if possible. what i dont know and obviously why i am here to find out is, should i already have changed anything else? should i change anything else now? if i just up the cpu multiplier to x19 to get the 3.8 gig o/c what else will i/ should i change to maintain a stable and reasonably cool system?

please be gentle with this overclocking virgin. remember, i am at the stage now that most of you were at some months/years ago. i dont want to get my machine to 4.5gig, just a bit better than it is now. without some careful coaching, no one learns anything new. hope someone is able and prepared to advise me using very simple to understand steps.

many TIA

 

[DirectorC]

You're not supposed to raise the voltage until your system shows signs of instability. And even then only by .025 at a time (meaning you should have gone to 1.375 only after OCCT failed with overclock stock volts, and slowly bumped it up from there until reaching stability). You're flushing insane voltage through that CPU for no reason.

Also, I skip OCCT and test directly with LinX: http://www.youwatched.com/datajay/linx-setup.exe

 

[Lionheart]

You're not supposed to raise the voltage until your system shows signs of instability. And even then only by .025 at a time (meaning you should have gone to 1.375 only after OCCT failed with overclock stock volts, and slowly bumped it up from there until reaching stability). You're flushing insane voltage through that CPU for no reason.

Also, I skip OCCT and test directly with LinX: http://www.youwatched.com/datajay/linx-setup.exe

Wat he said!

 

[kevpc]

tnx for replies guys. my apologies. i unwittingly left out that had BSOD with x18 cpu multiplier and 1.400 volt. sorry. so from what you have said, i should have upped the voltage from 1.4 to 1.425 and rechecked? if that still BSOD, then increase again by a further .025volts until is stable? will reducing the voltage also reduce the temp? i also asked, should i make any other changes, if so, what? appreciate your help greatly.

 

[Exeodus]

For 3.8ghz, set the multi at 19, turn the CPU voltage to 1.5, then run OCCT for a hour. Standard test is fine. I have had chips pass 25 passes of Linx but fail OCCT within 10 minutes. If it fails, up the voltage to 1.55 max. Try to not let the chip go past 65c. I have overclocked quite a few AMD Phenom and Phenom II chips, and most overclock about the same. Once you reach the max it will run stably on stock voltage, it takes about .5 volt to go up 100mhz.

Example: 3.4ghz = 1.35
3.6ghz = 1.40
3.7ghz = 1.45
3.8ghz = 1.50

Also these are just general guidelines, all chips are not the same.

 

[kevpc]

tnx for reply, Exeodus. have left cpu voltage at a 1.450v and upped the cpu multiplier to x18.5. will run OCCT and see what happens. if all ok, will try upping to x19 and 1.500 volts and test again. know i have asked before but is there anything else to change or should everything else be left alone? haven't changed fsb at all (can it even be changed?). think is set at 200. will that be ok?

 

[JrRacinFan]

See the above post by chaos killa. The way he is depicting an overclock would be the best route as not all chips are the same. It may even need the same voltage for 3.8Ghz to what you're running currently.

 

[GSquadron]

It is better to hack the amd athlon II 435 with the new MSI bios and u get it really cheap.
It is a triple core and it goes to quad. It overclocks even better than the phenom II 965!!!
Dont forget that the L3 cache gets unleashed

 

[Exeodus]

tnx for reply, Exeodus. have left cpu voltage at a 1.450v and upped the cpu multiplier to x18.5. will run OCCT and see what happens. if all ok, will try upping to x19 and 1.500 volts and test again. know i have asked before but is there anything else to change or should everything else be left alone? haven't changed fsb at all (can it even be changed?). think is set at 200. will that be ok?

See if you are stable after a standard run of OCCT. You can leave all the other settings to auto. You will only want to change to FSB if you intend to overclock your ram or increase the northbridge speed.

 

[Exeodus]

It is better to hack the amd athlon II 435 with the new MSI bios and u get it really cheap.
It is a triple core and it goes to quad. It overclocks even better than the phenom II 965!!!
Dont forget that the L3 cache gets unleashed

Unfortunately there is no guarantee to that. My friends X3 720 unlocked the fourth core and a Gigabyte 790X-UD4P, but not on a 790FX-UD5P. Go figure

 

[GSquadron]

Yes it is true, but it is better not to spend the money and have a try

 

[Lionheart]

Damn, I forgot AMD CPU's require so much voltage!

 

[Kei]

Rather than post in the general OC forum where you will likely get general answers from non owners...just come join us over here and get answers from those of us who've already done what you are trying to do or better.

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79551

The processors do NOT require huge amounts of voltage all the time depending on what your other components are. Even the stock 3.2Ghz can run on as low as 1.20v and be 100% stable passing every stress test known to man (ask me how I know). Even 4Ghz can be booted and run SuperPi at FAR lower voltages than are quoted in this thread.

Join us...if your chip is capable of hitting 3.8Ghz, then we'll get you there. We've got guys running at 4Ghz running lower voltages than quote in this thread as well.

Kei

(and the screenshots I've shown are on a system that's AIR cooled with a super silent almost passive fan)

 

[kevpc]

ok guys. i upped the multiplier to x18.5 and voltage to 1.500, 1 step at a time, continuous BSOD. just as experiment, tried multiplier at x19 and tried voltage up to 1.525 with same results. bsod all the time. didn't try going backwards with voltage though, as didn't realise it might work. atm am back at x18 multiplier and 1.450 volts. temp goes up to 61 degrees but no bsod so far. what do i try next then chaps? just that little bit higher cpu and stable would be happy.

to Kei. tnx for suggestion. do you want me to put my first post from here as a new post/topic in forum you suggest? dont want to offend anyone that is trying to help me here.

 

[Exeodus]

Rather than post in the general OC forum where you will likely get general answers from non owners...just come join us over here and get answers from those of us who've already done what you are trying to do or better.

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79551

The processors do NOT require huge amounts of voltage all the time depending on what your other components are. Even the stock 3.2Ghz can run on as low as 1.20v and be 100% stable passing every stress test known to man (ask me how I know). Even 4Ghz can be booted and run SuperPi at FAR lower voltages than are quoted in this thread.

Join us...if your chip is capable of hitting 3.8Ghz, then we'll get you there. We've got guys running at 4Ghz running lower voltages than quote in this thread as well.

Kei

(and the screenshots I've shown are on a system that's AIR cooled with a super silent almost passive fan)

I believe that some of these chips can be stable at 3.2ghz with less than 1.35 volts. I however do not believe that these will run 4.0ghz at 1.44 stable. Booting into Windows and a SuperPI run is not a test of stability. My PII 940 would run 3.8ghz in games and benchmarks all day long at 1.45 volts, but would fail OCCT or Prime95 (on all four cores) within four minutes every time. It took 1.50 to get it OCCT stable at 3.6, no amount of voltage would get it stable at 3.8ghz. I may be wrong, but I believe the OP is looking for 24/7 stability, if you can not pass OCCT without a BSOD, you are just not stable enough.

 

[kevpc]

am definitely looking for 100% stability. looks like i am stuck with the 3.6 unless one of you clever guys here can suggest something else to try. if so, please make it easy for me to understand, ha ha. any idea why the bsod when going above the x18 even with higher voltage? didn't even like the x18.5 regardless of upping voltage to 1.5. starting to get to 63-64 degrees mark too

 

[Lionheart]

are u using stock cooling?

 

[kevpc]

yes mate. all as in first post. temps dont go above 61 atm in occt. idle at 35ish

 

[Exeodus]

Have you tweaked your RAM settings at all, like set the voltage, timings, etc?

 

[kevpc]

done nothing to the ram, Exeodus. no clue as to what to do, how or why. if 3.6 is where i have to stay unless i know much more than i do to get better results, then 3.6 is where i'll stay. would have liked that little bit more as i said but if gonna be too much of a nuisance to get it, forget it. dont want to put you guys to too much bother. i think stability is the most important thing. am willing to try things if you reckon it will be worth it though, as long as i dont end up killing something completely or have to pull cmos battery out because machine wont boot. that's more grief than the 0.2gig speed is worth

 

[Lionheart]

you got money for a aftermarket cooler, that would help alot!

 

[Kei]

I believe that some of these chips can be stable at 3.2ghz with less than 1.35 volts. I however do not believe that these will run 4.0ghz at 1.44 stable. Booting into Windows and a SuperPI run is not a test of stability. My PII 940 would run 3.8ghz in games and benchmarks all day long at 1.45 volts, but would fail OCCT or Prime95 (on all four cores) within four minutes every time. It took 1.50 to get it OCCT stable at 3.6, no amount of voltage would get it stable at 3.8ghz. I may be wrong, but I believe the OP is looking for 24/7 stability, if you can not pass OCCT without a BSOD, you are just not stable enough.

Thanks for the reply, I'm not telling him that he should be able to run 4Ghz @ 1.440v I'm saying that voltage is not always the answer especially as he's fresh to doing this especially with a Phenom. Throwing more voltage at one doesn't always equal stability...sometimes it's quite the inverse.

I always test my system for stability using OCCT, LinX, Everest Ultimate, SuperPi, wPrime, and AOD in various combinations so I don't play around with half stability systems. However I am inviting the thread op over to the proper thread (that's been going for a long time now after the Phenom I thread closed) instead of going to a forum where it's not likely that he'll get all the helps he needs.

He can look at all the other setups and get advice from current owners, and learn a whole lot about how to attack a Phenom properly so he doesn't waste any time. Perhaps he can get 3.8Ghz stable...perhaps not, but it won't hurt to come on over and learn something.

As for the stock 3.2Ghz speed at less than 1.35v....well I don't know a single one that can't go significantly less than that lol. I haven't tested at 1.187v yet but I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't stable as well.

Kei

 

[Kei]

Ah, I do wholeheartedly advise that if you do want 3.8Ghz stable it would be a very wise (and small) investment in aftermarket cooling. It can be much quieter as well as much cooler if you're smart about it.

I've been running a Xigmatek HDT S-1283 with the stock 120mm fan replaced with a Scythe 120mm fan that outputs 110cfm at max 2000+ rpm setting. I never actually run it even remotely close to that though. I keep the fan (regardless of the overclock including the 4Ghz) in the 100% silent range of 390-490rpm which flows a small amount of air but good enough to keep things cool due to the size of the heatsink and the Artic Silver Ceramique I use. It is however 100% ultra seriously insanely quiet and cools better than the stock setup which is very nice.

Kei

 

[kevpc]

ok. first thing then is which aftermarket heatsink and fan is recommended?
2nd thing is do i need to open a new thread in the 'phenom ll' pages and just copy the info from my first post above? hope it wont offend anyone if i go across to that topic. been nice to have some replies here, which i did not get from other sites.

 

[Exeodus]

Kei is using the perfect cooler for you, the Xigmatek S-1283. I also used in on my PII 940 and it kept it very cool and quiet.

You can get it here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003&cm_re=s1283-_-35-233-003-_-Product