BIOS settings --- FX-8350 --- ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Killer

Hello!
Before anything else here are the specs of the PC we're talking about:
CPU --- FX-8350
Cooler --- Corsair H80i(with custom fan speed ~1300RPM)
RAM --- 8GB 1866Mhz Kingston HyperX Fury Red(kit of 2)
Mobo --- ASRock "FatLady" 990FX Killer
GPU --- Sapphire R9 270 Dual-X OC
PSU --- Super Flower Golden King Pro 600W(80+Platinum, non-modular)
Storage --- Intel 520 SSD 120GB + WD Caviar Green S-ATA II(5 years old but still good for mass storage, no bad sectors)
ODD --- Some old ASUS DVD/RW on S-ATA
Case --- Corsair Graphite 230T
Cooling setup:
---Front:2 120mm intakes with dust filters(stock Corsair)
---Floor: 120mm intake, no dust filter,(stock Corsair - the one who came preinstalled as exhaust at the back)
---Back: H80i's fans push&pull -exhaust
---Top: 140mm intake (Cryorig XT140) - for cooling the VRM and bringing fresh air for H80i
I will add another XT140 in the other top slot and on XF140 on the floor(i am pleased with Cryorig's price/performance/quality ratio, as well as sound levels ~1200RPM)

Okay the reason I need your help is to determine the proper and stable settings for my setup.
The settings I made thus far are for:
-CPU Voltage: 1.35(stock as far as I know for FXs)
-Multiplier:21 (4200Mhz a slight OC)
-Disabled CnQ, Core C6, and it was a third setting(i think Enhanced State C1E or sth like that)...anyway...power saving features..so that it runs at max speed all the time

The rest is on auto.
Reading bob4933's topic on this board i saw some settings made to CPU_NB, HT Link and so on that might help with stability.
I have had only one issue with the system since I bought it in July, i had random freezes while doing basic stuff(music with foobar, YT) but in games, prime ,AIDA64 etc..it never crashed. I figured it were some problems with Windows(previous 7) and drivers. Now I'm running Windows 8.1 with no problems whatsoever.
Temps are good(as i am writing this post):


In games it never got past 52 socket and 43 cores.

Thank you in advance! And should you need any further details(i.e. screenshots, photos), ask me.

Also i feel like I can undervolt the CPU...since i ran with it for about one month at 1.25V at 4Ghz with no freezes BSODs or other stuff,but when I bumped it up to 4.2Ghz I decided to give it 1.35V just in case...i'm new in OCing so i would be grateful if you could enlighten me.

You are really already at the point where you are on your own to figure it out. That sounds bad but hear me out...

Every system is different, so what one person's chip may be stable at (even the exact same CPU and mobo) yours may not be. You say you are stable already in W8.1 and the name of the game is to be stable at the lowest possible voltage. So its time to lower the voltage in small increments and stress test for stability.

Yeah i was thinking of it, but hey why not seek for help before i do something that i might regret afterwards?
I could use some tips.
I'm not asking for exact settings, though i admit it, it sounded like that.
One particular thing concerns me:


The BCLK is not 200 neat, and so does the HT Link, since it's based on BCLK. And shouldn't it be at 2600Mhz default? I didn't change it because i thought something might break.

Ok a couple things here Torques
You're right the HT link for the 8350 is 2600 which some BIOS don't set up correctly. Here's a link for OC on the bulldozer core but it certainly applies to piledriver as well. http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=688663
I have to wonder about your fan set-up. 4x intake and 1x exhaust doesn't balance very well. I know you feel the top should be intake but I would likely turn that one around and add a second one up there. I prefer a slight positive pressure in my case but you're pumping in 4 times what you can pump out this is going to cause build ups in some areas. This is what you would be looking for in case flow cool air in at front and bottom warm air out top and back.



When It comes to setting as E_D says it's very system dependent but if you can give us some screen shots we would have a better idea of where you are sitting ATM. What we like to see is CPU-z maintab, memory tab, spd tab and also HWMonitor while under load with P95 blend.

Okay will start a P95 blend right away and will let it run for as long as possible then come back with results.

As for cooling. I opted for the top intake because of the VRM heatsink.
Because of the fact that i have a liquid cooler it means that if i swap the top fan as exhaust...no air would reach the VRM heatsink. If I had a classic tower cooler, then the airflow between its fan and exhausts would cool it as well.
I tested with that fan as exhaust, but the temps were still low on CPU and everything else, except VRM which was literally frying. As it is right now it's slightly warm at touch

Id rather you get spot cooling on the VRMs and get the top to exhaust personally.

Torques said:

Okay will start a P95 blend right away and will let it run for as long as possible then come back with results.

As for cooling. I opted for the top intake because of the VRM heatsink.
Because of the fact that i have a liquid cooler it means that if i swap the top fan as exhaust...no air would reach the VRM heatsink. If I had a classic tower cooler, then the airflow between its fan and exhausts would cool it as well.
I tested with that fan as exhaust, but the temps were still low on CPU and everything else, except VRM which was literally frying. As it is right now it's slightly warm at touch

Click to expand...

This is what we do here to fix those issues

Unfortunately I don't have clearance for spot cooling on the VRM...because that was my first thought when i checked the VRM heatsink.
Also in the top spot i can fit only slim 140mm fans, since H80i's rad won't allow me to fit a normal 25mm thick fan.

I'll consider buying some new fans these days and rethink the cooling, and then i will start messing with OC-ing.
The main issue here was more or less psychological, because everything has been going smooth and rock solid since day one. It's just that i don' like those numbers .
I'll report back as soon as i figure something.
Thanks!

Small edit:

This is how it stands in that "hot corner".
I'll start priming and lowering the voltages, since this is "the name of the game".

The name of the game is lowering that vcore to its lowest point and you are stable. Once you find that value, then its time to sit back and enjoy your PC!

If you can fit one on the back of the board it helps A LOT. Also you might be able to get a small fan in there, the ones you see are only about 50mm chipset fans held with two sided tape and cable ties. The one off your stock heatsink will work as well.

At the back,on the backplate, i think i can fit the fan that came with the stock cooler. I will get some proper double sided tape(a good one) and stick it there.

Why don't you switch the H80i from the back to the top in push/pull config in exhaust? You'll then have plenty of room in the back of the case to add a fan on the VRMs

Looking at your case pic here

I can't do that, it's a mid-tower...besides..RAM won't allow it, nor the VRM heatsink.

Ya that can be a problem in the smaller cases. Just a bit cramped.

Torques said:

One particular thing concerns me:
View attachment 155344

The BCLK is not 200 neat, and so does the HT Link, since it's based on BCLK. And shouldn't it be at 2600Mhz default? I didn't change it because i thought something might break.

Click to expand...

BCLK not being dead on 200 is nothing at all to worry about. Asrock is usually a tad low when some piece of software is doing the reading and Asus normally reads a little high. Like my CHV reads 200.7 and not dead on 200. I have not lost one second sleep over such since it means nothing but that software maybe rounding up or down to show the reading or they would have had to charge us another $25 or $30 to build a clock circuit that gave exact numbers.

Some motherboards do not set HT Link Speed to 2600Mhz default for FX processors and to have it at 2600Mhz or at 2000Mhz has not shown me any difference in performance. But if you wish...set it to 2600Mhz.

It sounds like your issues were fixed when you moved to Win 8.1 and anything else is just nit-picking and perhaps asking for trouble trying to fix what is not broken. Even testing for the lowest voltage to the cpu is sort of overkill when your temps are okay. Oh don't get me wrong it is fine to know what the lowest Vcore to cpu amounts to but if the temps are fine and the board is supplying what the cpu is saying it should have at stock voltage for itself, then nothing wrong there either.

So it appears you have no true problem. Don't make a problem you do not have since you moved to Win 8.1 and your troubles disappeared or so you have said.

Now if you want to play at tweaking...well go for it. Othewise happy computering with your working system. Just what it seems to me.
RGone...

So red, that writing...!

is usually a tad low when some piece of software is doing the reading and Asus normally reads a little high.

Click to expand...

I thought that is the function of spread spectrum was to move that value around to minimize the effects of EMI or something? In my experience (Intel) they all read about the same, but if its under the rounded off value, its under, one vendor board doesn't go above 100BCLK (intel remember) versus another that is under? That seems different in AMD land... interesting...

@RGone
Yeah the thing is i didn't started the topic because I had a problem, but since this is my first build, i wanted to clarify the things i didn't know for my specific system.
My previous PC is based on LGA775(a core 2 Quad Q8200) and it's pretty old. Many things have changed since then and i decided to go AMD in order to learn how to tweak and OC without paying a stupid amount of money, while still getting quality components and good performance.

Performance-wise, the FX is doing great for me, far better than i expected due to the negative reviews on the internet. It's playing the games i want, renders videos fast and without producing a ton of heat.

I decided to ask you guys because i've been watching the forum and the answers and information you provided and I noticed that you make everything clear so thumbs up.

I will continue researching and tweaking and if there's something unclear i'll not hesitate to ask here.
Cheers guys!

Hey man, questions are not a problem...

...getting straight answers often is tough. Usually not here in the AMD forum sections since those that do the majority of answering > live and breathe AMD or so it seems and they are all of the older level-headed genre.

I have Asrock Fatal1ty 990FX Professional board and it is a shade low on the clock generator and thus BCLK. I "never" run spread spectrum a habit for many years since I don't place my computer next to large amplifiers or speakers or the like. My Asus CHV's all are over on their BCLK. I know it is not fixable since it is the demon in the circuitry.

I have had a Core2Duo quad core processor and honestly what was learned clocking it was still good processing to working with my AMD FX systems. The names of some speeds and such may be different but the process is so generally the same.

Glad to hear your gaming is being good to you. Some complain about AMD and gaming. I think the actual game has a bearing on whether the AMD rig does a game particularly good or not.

The later Asrock 990 Killer board is only missing a CPU_LLC setting in the bios and is not critical until getting above 4.5Ghz or more. You are nowhere near that clock yet. And even then the 'hidden' and not user adjustable CPU_LLC circuit seems to function pretty darn good.

So normal overclocking procedures fully apply. Control heat. Raise FSB or Cpu multiiplier. Raise voltage to the cpu to support the increased cpu speed. Ensure that ram and the other three bus speeds remain in range as you raise FSB/HT Ref Freq. Rinse and repeat as you move cpu speed upward. Testing for stability with P95 Blend mode at every speed increase. Increasing CPU speed by increasing the multiplier does n0t mess with the other three busses that are linked to the FSB so overclocking by increaseing the multiplier of the cpu may be easier at first. Still rinse and repeat with testing, and adding voltage to the CPU to support an increase in cpu frequency and the whole time Controlling Heat.

Luck man.
RGone...