NEWB. Need help overclocking

Hey guys. Heard a lot of good things about this forum and it's members. Just registered, I'm a newbie to overclocking and wondered if you guys could help me overclock my cpu. I tried some stuff out with the voltage and multiplier, didn't workout.
MY PC:
modo- sabertooth 990fx r2.0
cpu/cooler- AMD FX-8350 Black Edition Vishera, with ek waterblock
memory- corsair dominator platinum 1866 16gb(4 sticks of 4gb)
psu- corsair ax1200i
gpu- sapphire VAPOR-X 100362VXSR Radeon R9 290 4GB 512-Bit GDDR5
hdd- 1tb western digital black
ssd- SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD256BW 2.5" 256GB
o/s- win 8.1 pro
case- corsair 900d

Any info or advice will be much appreciated. If you guys need anymore info let me know. Thanks
-Sev

I'll leave the details to the pros, but can point you to a guide you should read while you wait...

1.2KW PSU for that?!

"with ek water block"

How big a rad do you have? Have you monitored package temps while stress testing with say Prime95 blend yet. We use HWMonitor to monitor temps and voltages. You should do this with all frequencies and voltages at stock to make sure the cooling is working properly before you try to overclock.

I have an EK Ultimate Performance CoolStream 480 XTX Series Liquid Cooling Radiator.
No I haven't done prime95 blend with stock setting. I'll do it when I get home from work.
How long should I run the test for?

EarthDog said:

I'll leave the details to the pros, but can point you to a guide you should read while you wait...

1.2KW PSU for that?!

Click to expand...

Ya, I would like to read the guide.
Lol, I got the PSU for a good deal from my friend.

What pump is used in the water cooling and guess that radiator is outside of the case?
RGone...

Get us all ON the same page of book and see inside...

...see inside your system way over there.

This is what we need to see for sure and a real good starting point.

Normally during setup and testing we disable C1/E, C6, Cool N Quiet, APC, TurboCore and in windows performance manager itself we set to "performance" mode. That way there are not "other" settings messing with the overclocking process. Some of those settings are not available on all models of cpu but where in evidence we disable for setup of overclock process.

CPU Tab in CPUz from CPUID com


Memory Tab in CPUz from CPUID com


SPD Tab in CPUz from CPUID com


And this is screen capture of HWMonitor (free version) from CPUID com
HWMonitor has been scrolled enough and large enough to show Min/Max of Voltages and includes the CPU CORE TEMPS / "package" temps fully visible. Latest versions of HWMonitor show the CPU Core Temp as " a Package Temp" and is only shown as a single temp since there were never multple, individual core temp sensors anyway.

This capture is made of HWMonitor after it has been open and running on the desktop logging Min/Max temps and voltages while Prime 95 was running Blend Mode test on all cores for at least 20 mins and then the capture of HWMonitor was made and it shows the Min/Max temps and voltages before P95 Blend was started and while running P95 Blend mode and gives much greater insight into how the system is performing without guessing.



In order to attach screenshots of INDIVIDUAL images as suggested, first crop and capture the images with Snipping Tool found in Windows Accessories or equivalent. Then click on Go Advanced, a button at the bottom of every new post window. Then click on the little paperclip tool at the top of the Advanced post window when it opens. Clicking on the paperclip tool brings up the file browser/upload tool and the rest is fairly obvious.

RGone said:

What pump is used in the water cooling and guess that radiator is outside of the case?
RGone...

Click to expand...

I'm using a D5 vario pump. No the radiator is inside my case on the bottom side panel.

Run the Prime95 blend test for 20 minutes. Have HWMonitor open while the test is running. Adjust the program window frame so that core/package temps show. When the test is complete do an image capture of the HWMonitor interface and save it to disk. We just want to see HWMonitor, hot your whole desktop so please capture only the HWMonitor user interface. Snipping Tool in Windows accessories is great for this because it allows you to frame the image.

Then upload the image using the built-in forum tool. Click on the Go Advanced button and when the advanced window appears, click on the paperclip tool at the top. The rest will be obvious.

Ok. just ran prime95 for 20 min on asus optimal mode. Here are the results

Temps are very good but eventually you may need some spot cooling on the backside of the socket area or the VRM section or both.

When you post pics of CPU-z please post not only the CPU tab but the Memory and SPD tabs as well as RGone laid out for you in post #7. We need those other two in the course of helping you overclock so that we have a more complete picture of what the memory settings are in bios and what the mfg recommends for the RAM.

Sorry about that. Just ran prime95 blend again at asus optimal mode for 20 min, these are the results.








What do you recommend for cooling the VRM and the backside of the socket?

What do you recommend for cooling the VRM and the backside of the socket?

Click to expand...

This is a small chipset fan, held on with double sided tape.



A couple more



I would also take it off of Asus optimal and set the ram up manuall to the rated speed/timings and voltage under the XMP-1866 header in that last pic.

+1^. You are under utilizing your ram currently. We strongly recommend using manual overclock settings.

What size are those fans, which direction are the fans blowing the air, and also how do secure the fan onto the VRM?
I tried puting the ram to 1866 in the bios, the computer will turn on but no display and the memory red light will say on, so I left it on auto. What do you guys recommend I do to have my ram run at 1866?

Those fans are about 50mm, I had mine blowing on the parts. Cable ties tape screws whatever it takes to get them secure. Usually a screw will slip inbetween the fins on the HS. For the ram I would suggest setting the speed, timings then add about.05v to the rams rated voltage , so set it to 1.55v and set the CPU_NB voltage to 1.25v and see if it'll boot.

Johan45 said:

Those fans are about 50mm, I had mine blowing on the parts. Cable ties tape screws whatever it takes to get them secure. Usually a screw will slip inbetween the fins on the HS. For the ram I would suggest setting the speed, timings then add about.05v to the rams rated voltage , so set it to 1.55v and set the CPU_NB voltage to 1.25v and see if it'll boot.

Click to expand...

Ok cool, I'll get some fans see how I could set them up.
For the ram should I use the timings written on the ram sticks?

Use the XMP 1866 profile from that last CPUz pic.

Johan45 said:

Use the XMP 1866 profile from that last CPUz pic.

Click to expand...

Ok, thanks. I'll make the changes and run prime95, and post the results when I get home from work.

Yes, those are 50mm fans and blowing down onto the blue VRM heatsinks in the pic Johan45 attached. They are attached to the heatsinks with a piece of double-sided adhesive strip on the fan hub. You can get this adhesive material cheaply in rolls at the hardware store or Walmart. Just make sure you peal the label off the fan hub before you apply the adhesive strip or you will find the glue under the factory label will let go of the fan hub before too long.