[Jermy]

it seems easier cuz it says it has some special stuff
i dont understand that stuff
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD...us/M5A78LM_LX/

[trents]

Do you have this in use already or are you thinking about buying it?

If all you want is to use the overclocking "genies" in bios or Widows-base overclocking software you probably won't get much help around here. We don't encourage those methods because they have so many limitations. If you are willing to commit to learning to do it through manual bios settings we'll be here for you.

You'd better do some research into how many overclocking tools that board's bios offers. with a 760 chipset, probably not very many. Move up to an 870 or a 970 chipset board would be my advice. It will cost you a few more bucks, however. Even so, I think you will be disappointed in the board you reference above as far as overclocking goes. Realize, too that its limited to 95W TDP CPUs (http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD...A78LM_LX/#CPUS) and even at that if you try to overclock even one of those very much the board probably won't handle it. It says it will unlock cores, however. But that's different than overclocking and there is no guarantee that any given CPU you buy will have viable cores to unlock.

[Jermy]

i read a few of the stickies but im still kinda confused
Im using phenom2 965 be so its unlocked
My psu has 550 watts
And im willing to manually do ot in the bios
I just built it yesterday and im installing os now

And btw how do u add a sig?

[trents]

Jermy,

That CPU is not on the CPU support list for your motherboard. It is a 140 watt CPU! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103692. If you will go to the Asus CPU support list for your motherboard you will see that all the CPUs listed there are 95 watt models. I think you will have problems. Your motherboard's electronics are just not heavy duty enough to safely work with that CPU.

[trents]

You have to have a certain number of posts before you have access to the Sig tool. I think its 5 posts. At that time go up top to Quick Links and Edit Signature.

[Jermy]

Its working right now
what kind of problems might i face?

[trents]

Originally Posted by Jermy

Its working right now
what kind of problems might i face?

Not booting reliably, crashing during intensive use, and worst of all and hopefully not, a fried motherboard. I certainly would not try to overclock it.

Have you done any stress testing and temperature monitoring yet? Here at Overclockers.com we use some freeware programs to test the viability of our overclocking efforts. They are staples in our overclocking toolbox.

1. CPU-z (this program displays lots of information about the system and its settings)
2. Prime95 (this program is our "stress tester" in that it subjects the CPU, memory and motherboard to a heavy load that will expose overclock settings that are not truly stable).
3. HWMonitor (this program displays lots of information about temperatures and voltages of the processor, the motherboard, the video card, the hard drive and the PSU).

My first suggestion is that you download and install these three programs. Open up HWMonitor first and leave it open. Then run the Prime95 "torture" blend test for 20 minutes. Then report back to us what HWMonitor says the maximum "core" and "CPU" temperatures were during that test. If "CPU" doesn't appear in the list of temperatures, then report back to us the information contained in the lines "TMPIN0, TMPIN1, TMPIN2". Sometimes the program reports the CPU temp sensor with a generic label like that. "Core" temps refer to readings take from the processor die itself and are the most valuable. "CPU" temps actually refer to CPU socket temps, read from a sensor embedded in the motherboard below the socket.

Stop the Prime95 stress test if CPU socket temps reach 69 C or if core temps reach 60 C.

[Jermy]

i already have all those programs on my new computer
it works every time i use it

prime95 after 20 minutes

max core temp was 61 with it running blend
TMPIN0 max 59
TMPIN1 max 42

[Jermy]

sig

[RGone]

If you are seriously going to follow thru on overclocking of your configuration, it would be more advisable to make your signature, really a reflection of your actual configuration and not use such 'general' terms since they do not tell much more than a peekaboo of what you have in use.

Take a glance at my signature for some guidance of what is best for information to those who might try and assist you. Good luck.

[trents]

Originally Posted by Jermy

i already have all those programs on my new computer
it works every time i use it

prime95 after 20 minutes

max core temp was 61 with it running blend
TMPIN0 max 59
TMPIN1 max 42

It is widely believed and experienced that with AMD CPUs you need to have a maximum target core temp of about 55 C when overclocking. When your exceed that you run into instability. You are already well past that. You need a better CPU cooler.

[Jermy]

Originally Posted by trents

It is widely believed and experienced that with AMD CPUs you need to have a maximum target core temp of about 55 C when overclocking. When your exceed that you run into instability. You are already well past that. You need a better CPU cooler.

i love my stock cooler
and im not gonna do anything strong and power taking with my comp
does raising voltage change anything?

i might look into cpu coolers but my previous comp idle temp was 52C LOL
it was 8.5 years old p4 using stock cooler

[Jermy]

Originally Posted by RGone

If you are seriously going to follow thru on overclocking of your configuration, it would be more advisable to make your signature, really a reflection of your actual configuration and not use such 'general' terms since they do not tell much more than a peekaboo of what you have in use.

Take a glance at my signature for some guidance of what is best for information to those who might try and assist you. Good luck.

my sig has the link to the actual product if anybody really wants more info on it...

[trents]

Raising voltage makes more heat. We raise voltage so we can overclock the CPU, that is make it go faster than stock. Usually, you can get a small overclock without raising the voltage but a significant overclock requires some extra electrical push. In your case, you say you have an unlocked multiplier. So overclocking your CPU a slight amount might be as simple as just raising the multiplier .5x at a time, run Prime95 for at least an hour to test for stability and while monitoring temps with HWMonitor.

Understand, I'm not encouraging you to overclock but that's the basic method if you want to try it. You've already heard my reservation about the TDP (Total Design Power) mismatch of your CPU and motherboard as well as the inadequacy of the CPU cooler so I take no responsibility if you fry something.

[Jermy]

Originally Posted by trents

Raising voltage makes more heat. We raise voltage so we can overclock the CPU, that is make it go faster than stock. Usually, you can get a small overclock without raising the voltage but a significant overclock requires some extra electrical push. In your case, you say you have an unlocked multiplier. So overclocking your CPU a slight amount might be as simple as just raising the multiplier .5x at a time, run Prime95 for at least an hour to test for stability and while monitoring temps with HWMonitor.

Understand, I'm not encouraging you to overclock but that's the basic method if you want to try it. You've already heard my reservation about the TDP (Total Design Power) mismatch of your CPU and motherboard as well as the inadequacy of the CPU cooler so I take no responsibility if you fry something.

yes
so far my cpu is running at 201 mhz with 17x multiplier because i was bored so added 1 mhz
thats all i have done
how hot shall it be until it's officially "unstable"?

[trents]

The temp threshold of instability is higher when a CPU is not overclocked. As I explained earlier, 55 C. core temp is widely held to be the temp threshold for the onset of instability when overclocking AMD CPUs. But the fact is it will become unstable when it becomes unstable and that you will just have to discover by experimentation in your individual situation. Every combination of hardware components is a little different. Instability takes the form of blue screens, lockups and crashes.

[Jermy]

So basically wat i should do right now is buy a better cpu cooler to overclock ight?

[trents]

Originally Posted by Jermy

So basically wat i should do right now is buy a better cpu cooler to overclock ight?

Yes, and a motherboard with heavier duty power circuits.

[Jermy]

some ppl report that they have temps in the seventies while still stable
should i still continue ocing until that range?
and i dont have enuf money to buy a new mobo cuz this one is new

[trents]

As I said, I would just see how far you can overclock with only the CPU multiplier, no extra voltage. Test with Prime95 for two hours when you think you found the limit and if you can't pass two hours, back off a little on the multiplier. Always, always monitor temps. Safe temp range is under 70C. I wouldn't go over 65C with either the core temp or the CPU temp. With a stock cooler they should be close to each other anyway.