Biostar A780L3G Overclocking

I bought a Biostar A780L3G MAtx Mobo & AMD 560 Phenom II CPU (3.3 Ghz ) at MicroCenter for a whopping $100.

As I was using this for my dedicated Linux rig, the 3.3ghz of the cpu was fine, but as an overclocker I wanted more.

I could not unlock the additional 2 cores in bios, so I moved on to increasing the CPU speed.

Currently the rig is coasting along at 3.7 Ghz, a decent overclock. This with stock timing of the memory and stock voltages - (a Gkrellm window is also shown for temps with the stock AMD HSF) -



You can change the FSB but I found the motherboard too unstable, as it changes other things as well.

After searching the web I found that the Bios has a setting that allows fine tuning of the multiplier and other setting.

First, get into the Bios and get to the Performance Menu ( 1 )

Then select CPU Tuning ( 2 )



Scroll down to Custom P-States ( 3 )



Then Enable Custom P-States ( 4 )



Once you enable the Custom P-States you will be able to see the advanced settings.

Here is what my Phenom II 560 CPU settings ( Core FID ) ( 5 ) were, 16.5 x 200 = 3300 Mhz



When you hit enter you will get to select other Multipliers. I selected 18.5 for 3700 Mhz ( 6 ) , the overclock I am currently using -



After selecting the multiplier you can hit F10 to save and then the mobo will reboot.

As you can see in the above pics there are a lot more settings available to you.

Not bad for a budget motherboard/CPU combo!

Have you stress tested with Prime95 blend for 15 minutes to check for core temps under load? I assume the temps you are showing are idle temps and they don't mean much. Download and install HWMonitor and Prime95. With HWMonitor already open, run the Prime95 blend test for 15 minutes and let us know what your core temps are. If they begin to exceed mid 50s then discontinue the test. The Prime95 test will also test for stability of your overclock settings.

trents said:

Have you stress tested with Prime95 blend for 15 minutes to check for core temps under load? I assume the temps you are showing are idle temps and they don't mean much. Download and install HWMonitor and Prime95. With HWMonitor already open, run the Prime95 blend test for 15 minutes and let us know what your core temps are. If they begin to exceed mid 50s then discontinue the test. The Prime95 test will also test for stability of your overclock settings.

Click to expand...

I haven't done extensive stress testing as I am (as I said above) using the stock HSF.

Also you are mistaken when you say "they don't mean much".

They mean a hell of a lot because this isn't a "look at my overclock" thread, it's a "how I overclocked using the A780L3G motherboard" thread.

When I replace the cooling solution I will do more extensive testing. And I do know how to do that as I've been doing this kind of thing for a while.......

Hopefully this thread will help some members overclock this hardware better.

Sorry. Didn't mean to insult you. I did notice that you had quite a few stars under your name but I've run into that with posters who have just been out of the overclocking loop for several years.

trents said:

Sorry. Didn't mean to insult you. I did notice that you had quite a few stars under your name but I've run into that with posters who have just been out of the overclocking loop for several years.

Click to expand...

It's not the stars, it's the mileage-

3.8 Ghz by changing the multiplier only -

(CPU-Z is incomplete due to errors in the Linux emulator)

...

I did not change it from Auto, but when I get home I will check the settings.

I got that board in a combo deal from micro center as well with an Phenom II 840 for the same price! I swear the place has some* unbeatable deals. I havent put it together yet but its good to know its got alot of nice features, thanks for posting this shon! Keep us updated

Yesterday I replaced the heatsink fan with a Coolermaster Hyper TX3 RR-910-HTX3-G1 -



I turned off the motherboard fan control to run the CPU fan at max and ran prime95 without errors for about 2 hours.

The temps never exceeded 43C and no errors were reported.

The HSF made a huge difference as the stock HSF would hit 50C in about 20 seconds.

This all at 3.8 Ghz & all settings on auto.

Here's a screen shot of it loaded up (I just ran it for a few minutes) -

3 cheers! It was a good move to improve the cooling. Makes a huge difference.

I've always liked the TX3 - cheap (I'd gotten the ones I had for $12-$15...), effective, and even quiet if you keep the fan controls on the motherboard in the fan's sweet spot. Nicely done overclock so far!

The rest of the hardware & software - http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=674786

I have the micro atx Biostar A780L and I'm running a sempron 2300+ x2 on it and it's overclocked to 3.2Ghz from 2.2Ghz. I ran it through intelburntest 250 times at standard stress and 32 threads. It passed. I ran the 250 time test about 5 times and it passes everytime. It runs super stable. There's one thing it does which is annoying. Since my FSB is at 291 every time i boot it up or restart or anything it says bios cmos reset to many cold resets or something. I have to press DEL - f10 - enter. Then it's back to 3.2 and I can boot into windows. How do I get rid of this stupid bios posting issue? If i back it down I believe it'll go away, How do i get it to post correctly at 291? It's perfectly stable. That's 291x11=3201.