OC with GA-970A-DS3P

Hello guys.

I'm having a difficult time wondering if you can have a moderate (stable) OC with GA-970A-DS3P paired with a FX-6300. (of course with aftermarket cooler and good PSU)

Thanks

I wouldn't overclock on that motherboard, it doesn't have the VRM section needed to push these FX processors over stock.

So although they advertise that this MB should handle light overclock you don't recommend OC. This processor has only 95W TDP...

twst said:

So although they advertise that this MB should handle light overclock you don't recommend OC. This processor has only 95W TDP...

Click to expand...

I've pushed my FX-6300 well into the 5GHz range.
I've seen how much heat and power they take.

Don't try it on any motherboard that has a 4+1 VRM with or without a heatsink.

@twst. GA-970A-DS3P, the P after the DS3 is supposed to mean that the board now has digital VRM circuit and also has some form of a heat sink on the VRM mosfets. The "P" version of that mobo is in Rev 1.0 since it is supposed to be a newer model. However in Giga description on the website, I see nothing about the board now being 4 +1 digital VRM. Like I said some of the other boards with the added "P" at end of model have specifically stated the board now had digital VRM.

Now I doubt anyone has acted more in keeping with the "mobo police" than I have with these boards that are generally n0t robust enough to handle *whatever* type overclock some of us get out of out FX processors. And it is very true that the board and cooling will be the first limit to the overclock you can get from an FX processor. Why?

Well your FX-6300 has a base clock speed of 3500Mhz an itermediate clock speed of 3800Mhz and then a full on clock speed of 4100Mhz with ONLY the use of half the cores. Now left in a stock condition the cpu and mobo work together to keep power drawn thru the board to a reasonable level.

Now comes the rub. Normally when we overclock, we have to turn off TurboCore that would boost your clock speed to 4.1Ghz but with only on half the cores and not all of them. We disable TurboCore to GAIN control of the multiplier and then ALL cores come into play or begin to work. Now we don't have the cpu and the mobo working together to keep power drawn thru the VRM circuits to a reasonable level according to the mobo maker.

All the cores on ALL the time is an immediate increase in power drawn thru the VRMs. Some boards (don't have yours nor plan to) still have some control over the power draw thru the VRMs even with TurboCore off and can sense too much current thru the VRMs and will reduce the cpu multiplier and slow the cpu and thus try to save the board. You will see users asking about "throttling" under load and that is what that is. So you clock up some with TurboCore off and ALL cores on and suddenly the mobo may throttle your cpu speed anyway. So much for a good overclock.

Now back into mobo police mode. None of us can tell you that you cannot overclock the newer DS3P mobo. We give advice based on how hot and how much power we have experienced with out own overclocked FX processors.

Sure I can take even an 8 core FX processor and overclock it into the Mid 5.0Ghz range and even run P95 Blend for over 2 hours. I have the very best Asus mobo I could buy and water cooling that cost in the $285.00 range. Not a problem.

If I were you now that you know some of the why we make suggestion as we do, you might try and disable TurboCore and set the cpu multiplier to 19 which would giive you 3.8Ghz cpu speed but with ALL cores on. This may feel more powerful. It should be with ALL the cores in use. You would need to make sure that using HWMonitor "free" from CPUID com that the cpu temp, whatever your Giga board calls it does not exceed 70c and the Core/Package temp does not exceed 62c.

IF the two temps BOTH stayed way below their suggested maxes at 3.8Ghz when subjected to at least 20 mins of P95 running in BLEND mode, then you might try a multiplier of 19.5 for just a hair more speed. Again you better monitor those temps. In my minds eye the BIG overclocks we are used to seeing and doing are out of the realm of doable for you. But you might and should gain at least some extra oomph from all the cpu cores on and not exceeding 4.0Ghz.

Again for clarity, when we overclock FX processor we disable TurboCore to gain multiplier control and this is what turns on all the Cores and shoots the power required thru the roof and brings on the heat all of which can have a less than positive effect on our parts.
RGone...

TMPIN2 is the CPU temp on that board. Which I absolutely hate BTW. But I was over anxious, and didn't do my research before I bought it.

Luke1978 said:

TMPIN2 is the CPU temp on that board. Which I absolutely hate BTW. But I was over anxious, and didn't do my research before I bought it.

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Thanks for the TMPIN2 heads up.

Yeah I hear you about having a hate-on for that mobo. Most of those FX-4170s will do 4.8Ghz pretty easy and stable on a more robust board. Bud of mine used to game with his all the time at 5.0Ghz with real good custom water loop and Sabertooth 990FX.
RGone...

RGone said:

Thanks for the TMPIN2 heads up.

Yeah I hear you about having a hate-on for that mobo. Most of those FX-4170s will do 4.8Ghz pretty easy and stable on a more robust board. Bud of mine used to game with his all the time at 5.0Ghz with real good custom water loop and Sabertooth 990FX.
RGone...

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If I don't make the jump to Intel I'd love to get a decent 990FX board and give the chip an honest go. But with the uncertainty of when the new designs are going to come out, and what they will be capable of

If I do go Intel, I wouldn't mind shipping this chip off to someone with more recent experience than me to see what it is capable of on a decent board with a good nudge.

Back to the DS3P, I can't say as to whether or not it has digi VRM, as has been said it's biggest downfall is it's power phase. The D3P claims 8+2 for only $10 more. Probably better suited. It's second biggest downfall is lack of CPU_NB voltage control, which results in having to overcompensate with CPU_VID. The voltage is inconsistent, even with the limited LLC settings at high OC's. It is more of an overvolt than a fine tune. In my experience it does nothing to minimize fluctuations, just adds to the bottom line. I haven't tried disabling a core to see if I can get a bigger number, just doesn't seem to be a point to it.

Thank you very much for this information. So as a bottom line, this MB should support a mild overclock of the FX6300 CPU, let's say 4.1 GHZ with aftermarket cooler?. I insist on this MB because i will purchase this bundle on a special price (MB + PROC)

I doubt it'll hold the 6-core stable in the 4GHz range.
Why not wait for a better board on a "special price"?

A friend of mine is selling this bundle.

twst said:

A friend of mine is selling this bundle.

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I wouldn't plan to hold an OC on it, and I'm not sure where its "advertised as overclockable" either.

twst said:

A friend of mine is selling this bundle.

Click to expand...

If it is what you can afford then get it but don't have high expectations. You're much better off getting a quality motherboard for that chip. It's likely that you will not be able to run all 6 "cores" at 4.1 with that board. It's not only the Cpu that will need cooling the VRM section is going to need it also.

twst said:

Thank you very much for this information. So as a bottom line, this MB should support a mild overclock of the FX6300 CPU, let's say 4.1 GHZ with aftermarket cooler?. I insist on this MB because i will purchase this bundle on a special price (MB + PROC)

Click to expand...

@twst. It is "you" that wants to set your own bottom line that the board will hold a stable 4.1Ghz overclock. Not any of us that have posted in your thread. Now you have asked and we generally have answered with what we feel is the truth we know and have experienced.

You insist on this bundle because of price. Well get it. You are on your own. Nothing wrong with going your own way and blazing your own trail. It is your own earned money and not ours.

I have seen that there are YouTube videos for how to overclock that mobo and am sure that of the 1,000's of how to overclock FX processor tutorials out there, that you should easily find out how to overclock that board and processor. I doubt though that any of us really wish to participate in the process.

I suggest that since you insist on that package that you get it and learn your system and have fun. You don't need our stamp of approval to go "your" own way with your own money.
RGone...

ATMINSIDE said:

I wouldn't overclock on that motherboard, it doesn't have the VRM section needed to push these FX processors over stock.

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Ok. I would say that you don't speak from experience. I have this motherboard and I am running it with an FX-6100 overclocked to 1.4250V at 4.3GHz and, belive me or not, it has passed a 6 hour Prime 95 stresstest which is the most insane one ever. I am well aware that this motherboard doesn't have sufficient power delivery for overclocking anything but my pc is runnung at least 6 hours a day 7 days in the week and it has been stable and perfectly working for over one year now. I have applied Enzotech MOS-C10 copper heatsinks to the mosfets and t have two 60mm fans zip-tied togehter pointing onto the VRMs. It works. Although the motherboard only has 4-Pin ATX and 4+1 phase VRM it is stable and reliable. Without the direct airflow onto the VRMs the system freezes short after starting the Prime95, but with the fans running it passes the test perfectly. Everyday I expect the motherboard dying but it doesn't want to die yet. Lets see how long it will survive.

Yes, but Atminside's remarks were in the context of that board when in stock condition.

I would get at least the GA-970A-UD3P

For those who are using the GA-970A-D3P and GA-970A-D3SP looking for stable overclocking; I have found a stable clock speed.

My test using an 8370 Black allows me to go from a 20.0x multiplier to 21.5x for 4.3GHZ total stable. You could possible get a tiny bit out of lower end processors. 200-250MHZ jump with liquid cooling is recommended.

This can be achieved by simply using AMD OverDrive by disabling Turbo mode and moving from CPU Core 0 Multiplier to 21.5x. This allowed me to maintain 4.319Ghz.

One caveat is to only do so using AMD OverDrive. Realistically this may not be ideal after reboot as you need to set this each time you restart, however it is safer and more stable.

A few questions for you.

How long did you test and what program did you use to confirm stability?
Have you not tried overclocking through the BIOS, if not why?

I have no issue with using AMD overdrive to Oc just not as my 24/7 Oc. I will normally use Overdrive to find a stable Oc and then go into the BIOS and set it.

As far as overclocking on that board, it's not that it cannot be done. The issue is more about how long the board will last trying to give these Fx chips the voltage needed to run Overclocked.