OC on Phenom II X4 840 (95) watt not registering.

Hey guys! I'm applemao. This is my first post here, but I've been into computers for a long time Glad I found this forum!

Ok, so, the question.

I have a Phenom II X4 840, Gigabyte M68MT-S2P Mobo, 4GB Corsair DDR3 RAM (One stick), 550 Watt ULT-H550W Ultra PSU, 1 TB Seagate HD, And of the moment, just the crappy built in graphics (sigh, no moneys).

Ok, so the problem is, when I try to up the Freq. Clock (or FSB, they name them wrong sometimes) even just to 210 (from 200), (I also set all the voltages manually, nothing is set to auto, even the memory is all manual, though I didn't change any numbers.) Nothing different shows in CPU-Z or Windows 7. I disabled Cool N Quiet, And i Can't find any Speed Step or ELCI (I don't know if that is Intel only, whatev).

Power settings on windows are set to High performance.

This question has been asked on a number of forums, and they all just say what is above.

I know the 840 isn't the greatest overclocker, but I just wanna bump it up a little bit.

And when I restart into the BIOS, the settings are just as I set them.
And whenever I start up, It says "CPU now in safe mode please resetting (lol bad english) cpu frequency."

Then I press F1 to continue, and go along my merry way.

Also, (sorry for all the problems!) After I bump up the F. Clock a little, It takes like 45 seconds just to POST. After that, runs fine, Prime 95 runs it just fine. (max temp ever reached under full all-core load: 50 C.)

I think, when I get into Windows, it is lowering the clocks. Even when I push them too 100% they stay at the Default Clock.

Sorry for all the info, if more detail is needed, I'll happily provide it!

Thanks to all!

-AM

EDIT: I forgot, I also enabled manual CPU Unlock, and unlocked all of the cores. If this affects anything.

Try turning you're core unlock off as this can sometimes have a detrimental affect on oc'ing Plus there is no need for it to be turned on as you allready have a x4 and there's no more cores to unlock . Good luck

Well I tried turning off unlock, and still no dice.

Every time I try to OC it and restart, it takes like 45 seconds (long time) to POST.

Then it says cpu is going into safe mode. I have the Cool N Quiet feature disabled as well. But I press F1 and boot up fine into windows, clock speed goes back to default.

Any more help is greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!

-AM

Are you running the hybrid firmware in you're bios (ecc I think it's called ) as that can also trip things up , I think it's listed on the same page as the core unlocking options ( atleast on my giga it is ) if so revert back to the normal setting and try that .

applemao said:

(I also set all the voltages manually, nothing is set to auto, even the memory is all manual, though I didn't change any numbers.)

EDIT: I forgot, I also enabled manual CPU Unlock, and unlocked all of the cores. If this affects anything.

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You are setting too many things to even begin your trouble shooting. (start again)

1.load optimized defaults in BIOS (leave everything on auto except for #2 below)

2. start playing with fsb very slowly -bump it 5% fsb to 210

3. if you get into windows, post CPU-Z screens for CPU, memory, and spd - also post HW Monitor screen for temp while running prime 95

If you don't get into windows with just a 5% bump, you got a stinker of a cpu for overclocking. Just go into windows at default settings and post the same screens as I mentioned above.

Here it is.

The 5 % overclock worked! Woo! I know it's a little, but I'm excited now!

So Cool N' Quiet doesn't affect it whether enabled or not?

I didn't get an error this time either.

I'm gonna try 10-12 % now.

So what about voltage and memory??

-AM

Ok, so I now have tried to up the F. Clock from 200 Mhz to 235, BAM EXPLOSION!

Just kidding, actually now everything goes straight back to stock clocks when I boot into windows!!!!!!!!

Is this because of the Cool N' Quiet, or not enough voltage?

Thanks!

-AM

EDIT: tried disabling CnQ, didn't work.
When I reboot, it shows the modified clock settings in BOIS just like I set them.
Plus, the system takes like a whole minute to POST, and then it sticks on the CPU info for another 30 seconds until the keyboard is activated.

And I keep getting the cpu safe mode crap. There must be some hidden setting I can't find....I'll keep looking for a SpeedStep (what is the AMD equivalent?) type thingy.

Cool N Quiet doesn't become a problem until you get into higher levels of overclocking and of course, where that point is exactly will vary from system to system. With CNQ enabled I was getting occasional video lockups on my system (Athlon II X4 Propus) when overclocked from 2.8 to 3.5 ghz. Lower than that would not cause me problems.

There are many things that can cause crashes when overclocking. Inadequate CPU voltage and excessive heat are the most common causes. Memory speed too fast and HT Link speed too high are also likely culprits, especially when overclocking with the system bus rather than just the CPU core speed multiplier.

Please download and install CPU-z and upload screenshots of these tabs: "CPU", "Memory" and "SPD". That will help us spot what may be causing your problem.

Also, when core temps (not CPU temps; they're not the same measurement) exceed mid 50s C. we commonly see instability set in in overclocked AMD systems.

2 posts above you I have that info when I just had it OCed 5 %.

My core temps at idle at 5 % are 25 about, and max temp I have ever seen this proc go under full load is 49 C.

I don't see all the info I need and what can be provided by screenshots of CPU-z tabs. I like pictures, they're still worth a 1000 words. Xmonger requested the same thing in post #5. We have some established ways of helping people around here that serve us well.

You'll find a handy tool called "Snipping Tool" in Windows Accessories that allows you to fame, capture, and draw withe regard to screenshots. There is also a handy tool built into the forum for uploading images if you go to "Advanced Mode". Check out the Paper Clip icon.

Is this alright?

And temps with Prime 95:

Perfect! Thanks. But this represents stock settings, correct? Here's what I suggest you do:
1. Always have HWMonitor open to monitor core temps.
2. Lower HT Link speed to 1600 mhz or 8x in bios.
3. Begin to increase system bus frequency (aka, "fsb" and "CPU frequency") in 5 mhz. increments. Leave everything else on stock settings except the HT Lind as mentioned above. After each increment, test with Prime95 blend for 20 minutes. Repeat this until you cannot pass a 20 Prime95 blend test. From experience I know that if you can pass a 20 minute Prime blend test you are not far from being actually stable.
4. Add an increment of CPU voltage to restore stability. Add another increment if necessary.
5. Retest and repeat the cycle.
6. If at any point your max core temps exceed 57 C. don't proceed any further until you get a better CPU cooler.
7. When you hit a wall, report back with screen shots of the three CPU tabs and of HWMonitor when you hit a wall.

This approach is very slow and tedious but will help you discover when and what is hindering your overclock, not to mention safeguarding against damaging components.

Oh yes, I forgot one other thing you need to do at the outset and that is to lower your starting ram speed from 1333 to 1066. When you overclock with the system bus the ram speed will climb with it and will soon become the cause of instability. Same reasoning with lowering the starting HT Link speed mentioned in the list above in post #13. The HT Link speed doesn't like to rise above the stock 2000 mhz. very much at all.The NB, however likes to climb a little so don't worry about it just yet.

ARGH this is so frusterating.

I did exactly what you said above, except, ram is at 1116 because it can't go any lower or it'll be 840.

Still won't show the changes in CPU-Z, and I still get the safe mode warning.

Should I maybe Lower the Multiplier and Increase the Freq. Clock instead? Multiplier is at 16 X right now default.

-AM

You can put the ram at the lowest setting divider.. the point is just to make sure your not running it "out of spec" while your trying to find your overclocking "walls", doing this takes that out of the equation of what is limiting you.. start from scratch.., and then do what trent said in post 14.. I dont think you did that in the 1hour between his post and yours.

In bios, manually set the ram or memory frequency to 533/1066 instead of the "Auto" or default 666/1333. It will speed up as you increase the CPU frequency (aka, fsb).

I'm sorry I'm necro'ing this a little, but I tried what you said, but first of all, the HT link speed only goes to 5X, not 8X.

Every time I bump up the FSB just a little, I get the "CPU in safe mode please reset CPU frequency" error. Then I go into CPU-Z and nothing has changed!

I have looked all over and there is no power saving settings I haven't turned off.

The BIOS is basically deciding that you didn't mean to do that silly, and here let me fix that for you, your welcome... That board obviously has overclocking options, so i find it hard to believe that there is no way to turn that damn safety off. Logic would assume that there MUST be a setting you are missing. Although logic doesn't always work when talking about something that people made. Have you updated the BIOS on that thing?

Maul555 said:

Logic doesn't always work when talking about something that people made.?

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