Asus Sabertooth 990FX

It stays cooler then my old board.
But.
On Prime95, after the cpu reaches 64 degrees, core 6 drops off.
I did not reach temperatures like the old board, of like 76c.
It seemed to wanna stop at 64c.
So now, my next venture is slightly better cooling for a near stable overclock.
Been able to get it to 4.0, without it freezing, but it's still not fully stable, if I am losing cores, after a certain temperature.
I believe it'll be enough for most of what I do wanna run, just as long as I don't max out to 100%, the way Prime95 does.

Where to go next. What next?
I have given liquid cooling a thought.

All and all, it's better then my old board, and feels better.

Dropping out one core like that during a Prime95 test almost always means that you don't have quite enough vcore yet so add a tad more but only if your core temps and socket (CPU) temps will permit. Max safe CPU/socket temps are in the 65-70c range and max stable core temps are in the 60-65c range for that processor. You might want to wait until you get a better cooler.

Yepper, I'm with Trents on this one. The stock coolers don't offer much headroom for overclocking. A $30 Hyper 212 would likely get you to 4.4 ish also ensure that your fans are maxed out for the most airflow possible through the case.

^Yep.
Mine does 4.5Ghz on the 212.

It's not a bad clocker though.

Cooler: Stock Heat Sink And Fan

Click to expand...

I don't OC my self but when I build a new PC (AMD or Intel) I always get a better cooler to put on it.
Something that can handle 200W+.

You might want to look at this cooler: http://www.ebay.com/itm/CORSAIR-CAF...?pt=US_CPU_Fans_Heatsinks&hash=item19f4b2fd0c

It's huge and will cool better than the CM Hyper 212 Evo. It's much easier to install since it fastens with a clip using the motherboard's stock socket rails. The CM Hyper 212 Evo is one of the more difficult coolers to install IMO and you pretty much have to take the motherboard out to do it. I've used the Corsair A70 and can attest to it's efficacy. Very close to being the equal of the Noctua NH D14.

Food for thought, while the CM 212 Evo is a darn good heatsink for the money, if you watch Ebay, you can sometimes find used heatsinks that will outperform it for around the same or even less money. I purchased 2 Prolimatech Megahalems and a Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120 for less then $20.00 with S/H and they both outperform my CM 212 by a pretty good margin. I was able to get my Fx 8350 stable up to 4.6 on both of them with headroom temperature wise.

EDIT: Trents beat me to it.

Good point, Manny, about going for a used cooler on ebay.

Fievel, do you have a PayPal account and is ebay an option for you? Wasn't sure how that would work for you with the payee arrangement.

Well we're all on agreement here then, that I need better cooling. That will come sometime in the future. Paypal is currently not an option, as I have no bank account which I can use. They require some kind of backup funds account, and I just currently can not set one up. I have many other things I want to get in the future, as I also want to build my old board into a system for my roommate.

I have a pay as you go Mastercard, which I can use. I just need to load money onto it. That I can use on Newegg, where I got the Motherboard from. I also got a side fan, so as to help keep the motherboard a little cooler. They are built ready for that fan, they just don't come with it.

I am still considering liquid cooling, as it would keep it under the 64c goal of mine. I believe if I get a pretty good system, it should keep the cpu close to room temperature, as long as the water has a good chance to cool. I want to piece one together, but unfortunately I don't have access to using ebay currently. Maybe in the future, I'll figure out some way of opening an account. I would have to request extra funds for that. That is something I might do soon anyways, but for a new Fievel Mousekewitz stuffed animal. The eyes are almost rubbed off my current Fievel. It's what I get for cuddling him so much.

The cpu temp goal is 50c or less if possible. Then I know for sure, I should have a stable overclock.

What you need to take into consideration for the cooler is how far you plan on pushing it! Since Ebay isn't an option then buying new on the Egg is the likely choice. If you're not looking to really push the cpu then the CM 212 Evo is perfect. If you're planning on pushing around 4.5+ then water cooling is your best bet or really high end Air such as Phanteks or Noctua. Though, you also need to figure out if a 2*120mm rad H20 unit will fit, I wouldn't even consider a single 120mm radiator. It most likely will if it's the case in your signature but double checking is the best bet.

Mandrake4565 said:

What you need to take into consideration for the cooler is how far you plan on pushing it! Since Ebay isn't an option then buying new on the Egg is the likely choice. If you're not looking to really push the cpu then the CM 212 Evo is perfect. If you're planning on pushing around 4.5+ then water cooling is your best bet or really high end Air such as Phanteks or Noctua. Though, you also need to figure out if a 2*120mm rad H20 unit will fit, I wouldn't even consider a single 120mm radiator. It most likely will if it's the case in your signature but double checking is the best bet.

Click to expand...

Well yeah... there is a lot of room at the top of my case. If I take that 200MM fan out, I could probably fit the radiator of a water cooler up there. I can take a piece off of the top there, to have easy access of the 200MM fan, and possibly place in a radiator.
It's amazing how much room there is there. I believe something pretty big might fit in there. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0&cm_re=liquid_cooling-_-35-181-060-_-Product
Might fit.
So I am keeping these and other models like it in mind.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...re=liquid_cooling_am3+-_-35-103-181-_-Product
Cheaper, and AM3+ is actually listed.

In the long run it may save you money to set up a paypal and an ebay account as you would then be in a position to buy used components or to even buy things in our own forum classified section. Once you have made 100 posts I think you have access to the forum classies.

Yes - I agree if you can do it, water would be the better choice for you than air.

As for what to look for, try to get a kit with the largest rad you can since that will only improve cooling efficiencies. Be sure to do some research with what might be best for your particular situation such as the case you have the system installed into. Some kits while providing a larger rad might not be the best, this is why I suggest checking them out, esp from the standpoint of problems reported concerning leaks and the pump. Doing a custom watercooling setup is another way and it can be tailormade to your system's requirements but you'll have to set it up yourself and is more expensive, yet will normally do even better.
I use a custom setup for my systems and I can push things rather hard for watercooling as these guys can attest to.

The ultimate factor of course is always $$ - That's a question only you can answer related to how much and where you want the funds to go.

Dr. McCoy said:

Yes - I agree if you can do it, water would be the better choice for you than air.

As for what to look for, try to get a kit with the largest rad you can since that will only improve cooling efficiencies. Be sure to do some research with what might be best for your particular situation such as the case you have the system installed into. Some kits while providing a larger rad might not be the best, this is why I suggest checking them out, esp from the standpoint of problems reported concerning leaks and the pump. Doing a custom watercooling setup is another way and it can be tailormade to your system's requirements but you'll have to set it up yourself and is more expensive, yet will normally do even better.
I use a custom setup for my systems and I can push things rather hard for watercooling as these guys can attest to.

The ultimate factor of course is always $$ - That's a question only you can answer related to how much and where you want the funds to go.

Click to expand...

Well thanks.
Both are good ideas.
Buying parts, and then placing together a kit is a good idea. But as you mentioned, it can get more expensive. I placed a kit together already. It was back in 2004/2005, as I had a Pentium 4 system. 2.6ghz @ 3.25 for the entire time I ran that system. I had an old psu, which I used to fill the system, so that I could keep it far away from the Pentium 4 to fill it. And then I placed everything in there.
What was weird about that one is, for a while, I had a bucket next to my computer, as a reservoir. But even without it, it still only ever got a little over room temperature. If I find I don't like ready built water coolers, I'll build one down the road.