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Safe overclock?

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data1

Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2009
Hi
I want to overclock my AMD 630 but just so thats its "safe". I guess no overclocking is perfectly safe but I was hoping to overclock 10-20 %. And i figured leaving the Voltages alone just trying overclock with current volts is safer?

Here's my PC:
CPU: AMD 630 x4
RAM: Kingston PC3-10700 (667 mhz)
MOBO: Asus M4A89GTD PRO


So can some one advice me is it safe to use AMD overdrive to rise CPU multiplier about 10-20 % ? I think my RAM is good for overclocking with default settings?

Thx
 
Have you read the overclocking guides in this section? It's a great place to start will likely answer all or most of your questions. (read the Dolk guide in my signature).

By 630 I am assuming you mean the AthlonII x4 Propus 630? This is not a Black Edition processor and has a multiplier that only goes to x13. The way you overclock a locked multiplier chip like this is by raising the HTRef. The HTRef is at 200Mhz stock (200Mhz x 13.0 = 2.8Ghz), you have a great board and you'll likely max out the chip before the board, which is good. I could go on and on with overclocking steps, but it's all said in detail in the guide. Read that first and then post any questions you have here :)

As far as "safe", this is something I have questioned many times. It really all depends on how long you want to keep your hardware. Running high voltages and clocks will degrade your hardware quicker, shortening its lifespan. However, mild 10% - 20% oc's will most likely have little effect on lifespan as long as voltages and temperatures aren't too crazy. For AM3 chips like yours, under 55C full load on the cpu is recommended for an overclock and for stock cooling I'd say less than 1.45 vcore, and maybe a little more with decent air cooling.
 
Hi ty Dooms101, i have overclocked before but my question is how far can i overclock without touching CPU voltage and RAM settings ?
 
Hi ty Dooms101, i have overclocked before but my question is how far can i overclock without touching CPU voltage and RAM settings ?

Well it's really something you'll have to find on your own, as you know not all chips are created equally. From what I know about the 640, many people can get it to 3.4Ghz pretty well on stock volts (1.4v). What kind of cooling do you have?

If you are going to overclock you're going to have to mess with ram timings and dividers since you'll be pushing the HTRef higher. The frequency at which ram operates is the product of the ram divider and the HTRef. Your ram is DDR3-1333Mhz effectively, or simply 667Mhz; this is the product of a 10/3 divider. So if you want to get 3.4Ghz for your cpu, you'll need a 243Mhz HTRef; however 243Mhz x (10/3) = 809.5Mhz ram, or effectively 1619Mhz. Your RAM will definitely need tweaking, either by loosening timings and bumping voltage, or simply by lowering the ram divider. If you want to leave ram timings and voltage alone, then a 8/3 divider will give you pretty close to your stock ram speeds (1296Mhz).

A little more information about your cooling and setup would be useful. I hope my explanation was clear enough, I am pretty tired.
 
Hi I have stock cooling in CPU but huge case fan above the CPU.

The ram is currently running at 668 mhz but JEDEC #4 (In CPU-z) shows value of 685 mhz , does this mean I can overclock without adjusting ram settings until the ram frequence reaches 685 mhz ?

Is it the point when RAM frequency reaches its limit that u have to adjust All the ram settings or set the multiplier?

Btw Your explanation is great!
(except I have Amd 630, not 640.)
 
Ah well 630 runs at 2.8GHz so the numbers are still right :D

Well some ram is able to overclock like a bat outta hell without adjusting a thing, this is something you have to test. My ram is spec'd for 1600Mhz 9-9-9-28 1.65v, but has no problem going to 2000Mhz without adjusting a thing. Most ram wont do this.

A good procedure is to set the 4 major multipliers to their lowest: ram divider, cpu multi, HTLink multi, and cpuNB multi. Then set all the voltages, like cpu vcore, cpuNB voltage, and ram voltage. Then push the HTRef clock up by 10Mhz increments starting at 210Mhz while going into windows and seeing that it is stable to the desktop. Once you can't boot or get into windows, bring the HTRef down by 5Mhz increments until you are Prime95 stable. Once you've got something stable, then you will known your max HTRef clock. My board likes around 315Mhz. I'd bet your board would be in the 270Mhz - 315Mhz range.

Once you know how far you can push the HTRef you can max out your CPU. So after you've found your max HTRef report back and we can continue from there.
 
Ok Here's what I got:

IN Bios:

CPU BUS = 210 mhz
CPU/NB = 1050 mhz
HT-Link = 210 mhz
DRAM = 840 mhz
CPU DIV = 7 (default = 14)

I couldnt get CPU BUS over 210.... didnt change any of the volts.. not sure which volt to change if u want to go over 210 ?

Edit: Btw I havent yet figured where to see default CPU/NB Mhz. i set it to 1050 assuming its lot lower than default.
 
Ok Here's what I got:

IN Bios:

CPU BUS = 210 mhz
CPU/NB = 1050 mhz
HT-Link = 210 mhz
DRAM = 840 mhz
CPU DIV = 7 (default = 14)

I couldnt get CPU BUS over 210.... didnt change any of the volts.. not sure which volt to change if u want to go over 210 ?

Edit: Btw I havent yet figured where to see default CPU/NB Mhz. i set it to 1050 assuming its lot lower than default.

Show a CPUz screenshot of the cpu page, spd page, and memory page.
 
Well my PC crashed after awhile in windows and i set the defaults after that
so i dont have the settings in cpu-z now.
 
What ram divider did you use? 210Mhz max HTRef seems ridiculously low. Did you manually set the voltages?

the bios doesnt give ram divider but list of ram mhz.

I didnt touch the voltages.
 
Then drop the RAM down to 333 (or 667 if it lists it that way).

800 is lowest :(


Edit: the values for RAM are 800-1064-1333-1600

1333 is correct for my ram i believe
 
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:-/ No sig so I mistook this for a thread where the OP had DDR2. :shrug:

Maybe I should have just said, "Turn the RAM down one notch below it's rated speed."?

NP.
ya its turned down a notch or couple
 
Ok Ty.

Wish some one could give me some additional info how to proceded I'd apreciate that. Thanks!

Should i try raising the voltage of CPU?
 
You'll need to turn off CoolNQuiet and C1E in BIOS. Then find and set the following values manually (unless stated otherwise):

HTRef (CPU frequency): 200 MHz
vCore: 1.35v
CPU Multiplier: 14
cpuNB VID: 1.15v
cpuNB multiplier: 8x
HT Link multiplier: 8X

NB chipset: auto
SB chipset: auto
RAM voltage: 1.55v
RAM speed: 533 MHz (DDR3-1066)
RAM timings to match CPU-Z/SPD tab for 667 MHz


RAM timing labels (CPU-Z = BIOS):
CAS# Lat = tCL
RAS to CAS = tRCD
RAS Prechrg = tRP
tRAS
tRC

Run CPU-Z to check the that the settings have been entered correctly. Your processor should be at 2800 MHz, HT Link at 1600 MHz, cpuNB at 1600, RAM at 533 MHz with the right timings. Check that RAM is running dual-channel unganged mode.


You should also download and run OCCT OR Prime95+CoreTemp for at least 5 minutes and note the temp near the end before you stop the stress test. It's important to know how hot the processor is running to avoid problems. :)


BTW
I would not use AOD to overclock. In fact, I'd uninstall the program. Use CPU-Z for your system information.
 
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