1055t + m3a78

[esfera420]

Hey everyone,


Im new at overclocking, but i've already looked a lot of information to try it.
Basically, i have some doubts about my bios settings, because i can't change a lot of things
that i see in the forums (like nb or ht things, to let it really @2000mhz.... i really dont know how to set it... i just can set HT link to it, but when i use the fsb raise, it raises too (i check @cpu-z)

My config:

AMD Phenom II X6 1055t (stock:2.8ghz today: 3.5ghz)

Cooler Master Hyper212+

DDR2 4GB (stock: 400mhz today: 500mhz)

MB Asus M3A78

CORSAIR CX600w

HD4670 - 512mb GDDR3



I've setted "cpu/ht reference clock" @ 250mhz (250mhzx14=3500ghz). Vcore @1.4v

There are some pics, i just wanna know if i`m making it right, and if im not, i would really apreciatte any helps to me. Also, wanna know how (if possible) raises it. I wanna check the maximum OC that i can do, to choose the best
config to my uses (MOST games then softs)

(AMD Overdrive with prime95 for about 30min - great temps so, not a problem - check the volts, please)

(CPU-ID)

Thanks for your help! And sorry the bad english!

 

[trents]

Welcome! The thing you need to do now is to test for core temps and stability under full load. Please download and install HWMonitor, a free temp and voltage monitoring program. Open HWMonitor on your desktop and leave it open while you run another free program, Prime95, for 20 minutes. Prime95 will load the processor to 100% or full work load. Run the Prime95 "blend" test for 20 minutes as I said. Then post pics back to us of the HWMonitor interface immediately after the test is finished. HWMonitor records max, minimum and current temperatures and voltages. If at any time your "core" temperatures exceed 65c, stop the test. If you cannot pass the test (lockup, blue screen, computer restarts, or core temps exceed 65c) it means your current overclock settings are not really stable.

 

[trents]

Make those max core temps 60c instead of 65c before you stop the Prime stress test, just to be on the safe side.

 

[esfera420]

VERY glad for the answer.
But actually, the first pic is after a prime95 test for 30min... but i`ll do all that again with the software that u recommended to read infos.
But, inicially, is that ok to the HT link @2500mhz?! This is my fear, cause i always read that it's very needed to stay around 2000mhz to be safe (and stable)

 

[trents]

Okay, I see the core temps now. The "nucleo" label didn't compute with me at first. What is your native language? Spanish?

Well, 2500 mhz for the HT Link frequency will not give you any better performance than the stock 2000 mhz because that bus does not come close to being saturated even at 2000 mhz. Increasing the HT Link above stock, however, may help with stability. Some say the Thuban core CPUs are most stable when the HT Link stays in lock step with the CPUNB frequency. I'm not sure that is always the case but I have found that if the CPUNB frequency is too far separated from the HT Link frequency then it tends to hamper stability. I like mine with the CPUNB frequency at 2600 and the HT Link at 2200.

To confirm your system is truly stable you need to pass a Prime95 blend test of at least 2 hr. in duration. Your temps and voltages look great if it's stable at that core voltage.

What is your CPUNB voltage set to? Increasing that to about 1.225-1.25 for the Thubans helps with stability.

My biggest concern for you with regard to stability is your high ram frequency. Your ram is rated for 800 mhz and you are running it at 1000 mhz. It may be stable at that speed, however, if it is good quality ram and especially if you add a little to the stock voltage. If it doesn't prove to be completely stable, try 1.85 volts on the ram.

 

[esfera420]

Okay, I see the core temps now. The "nucleo" label didn't compute with me at first. What is your native language? Spanish?

Well, 2500 mhz for the HT Link frequency will not give you any better performance than the stock 2000 mhz because that bus does not come close to being saturated even at 2000 mhz. Increasing the HT Link above stock, however, may help with stability. Some say the Thuban core CPUs are most stable when the HT Link stays in lock step with the CPUNB frequency. I'm not sure that is always the case but I have found that if the CPUNB frequency is too far separated from the HT Link frequency then it tends to hamper stability. I like mine with the CPUNB frequency at 2600 and the HT Link at 2200.

To confirm your system is truly stable you need to pass a Prime95 blend test of at least 2 hr. in duration. Your temps and voltages look great if it's stable at that core voltage.

What is your CPUNB voltage set to? Increasing that to about 1.225-1.25 for the Thubans helps with stability.

My biggest concern for you with regard to stability is your high ram frequency. Your ram is rated for 800 mhz and you are running it at 1000 mhz. It may be stable at that speed, however, if it is good quality ram and especially if you add a little to the stock voltage. If it doesn't prove to be completely stable, try 1.85 volts on the ram.

Hahahahhaha thats okay, dude.
Im brazilian, so it's all on portuguese. Also, i made the tests with your software and it gave me great infos again. Nothing too far from that one that i've posted.
I NEVER HAD UNDERCLOCKED my ram... so i've tried today, putted on 333mhz and raises the fsb to what i want, to see where could i go, without memories influence. I can boot up from 3.7ghz, but prime returns me a fatal error, saying that something should be 0.4 and was 0.5. So now i see the HT blocking me!!! heheheheheh.

To my doubts, i've checked benchmarks, and now after some reboots, i'm working STABLE and with 7k on passmark @3.62ghz with 259x14 .
Gonna try lowing a little bit more the fsb to see if i get increase on passmark.

About the voltages, in my bios i've setted:
+150mv to vcore
+50mv to nb
and for rams, it's something like 1.86v. Should i keep this voltage even with the underclock? Or should i bring back to auto?

And one more thing... I CAN'T make any changes to my HT, at least i think, my bios just gives me 2000mhz or minus, and when i check the system here by softwares, it's exactly on my busx10.

Really glad with your help, my friend.

 

[trents]

Maybe you already understand this so forgive me if I seem to insult your intelligence. I don't mean to. You do not have a black edition CPU, meaning you cannot raise the core multiplier to overclock. Instead, you must rely on the HT Reference, also known as the front side bus (fsb) and typically referred to in most bioses as "CPU Frequency". I'm sure you realize that much by now. Anyway, when you overclock with the HT Reference, since it is the "master" bus of the system, the other bus frequencies like HT Link, CPUNB, and the ram also speed up. So if you start them at stock frequencies they can quickly become so high that they create instability. They usually need to be downwardly adjusted at some point in order to compensate for this.

Take HT Link and the CPUNB for instance. The HT Link frequency and the CPUNB frequency are both a multiple of the HT Reference. At stock they use a 10x multiplier. So with the stock 200 mhz HT Reference frequency, their frequency will be 2000 mhz (200x10) if you increase the HT Reference to 250, the HT Link and the CPUNB frequency will be 2500 (250x10). To lower them, lower the multiplier. For instance, if you lower the multiplier to 9x, the HT Link and the CPUNB frequencies will now be 2250 mhz. Understand?

Somewhat the same with the ram frequency. It grows with the HT Reference and can become too fast to remain stable. So what you do is to lower the starting speed of the ram, which you have done. If the ram is rated for 400/800 then start it at 333/666 if you must overclock with the HT Reference. By the way, 400 is the ram bus frequency of DDR2 800 ram. Some bioses and some software like CPU-z report the ram bus frequency rather than the DDR2 transfer rate. The ram bus frequency of DDRx ram is half what the DDRx transfer rate is. Hope this helps.

 

[esfera420]

Maybe you already understand this so forgive me if I seem to insult your intelligence. I don't mean to. You do not have a black edition CPU, meaning you cannot raise the core multiplier to overclock. Instead, you must rely on the HT Reference, also known as the front side bus (fsb) and typically referred to in most bioses as "CPU Frequency". I'm sure you realize that much by now. Anyway, when you overclock with the HT Reference, since it is the "master" bus of the system, the other bus frequencies like HT Link, CPUNB, and the ram also speed up. So if you start them at stock frequencies they can quickly become so high that they create instability. They usually need to be downwardly adjusted at some point in order to compensate for this.

Take HT Link and the CPUNB for instance. The HT Link frequency and the CPUNB frequency are both a multiple of the HT Reference. At stock they use a 10x multiplier. So with the stock 200 mhz HT Reference frequency, their frequency will be 2000 mhz (200x10) if you increase the HT Reference to 250, the HT Link and the CPUNB frequency will be 2500 (250x10). To lower them, lower the multiplier. For instance, if you lower the multiplier to 9x, the HT Link and the CPUNB frequencies will now be 2250 mhz. Understand?

Somewhat the same with the ram frequency. It grows with the HT Reference and can become too fast to remain stable. So what you do is to lower the starting speed of the ram, which you have done. If the ram is rated for 400/800 then start it at 333/666 if you must overclock with the HT Reference. By the way, 400 is the ram bus frequency of DDR2 800 ram. Some bioses and some software like CPU-z report the ram bus frequency rather than the DDR2 transfer rate. The ram bus frequency of DDRx ram is half what the DDRx transfer rate is. Hope this helps.

Firsst i gotta reafirm that u are giving me great infos. I actually already known a lot of what u told me now, but aaaalways glad for any helps, i've learned too!

My point is: I don't have this multiplier from HT on bios. I would really like to test it, i think it would give me more options. Do u know if i can do anything about this?!?

And i really enjoyed the idea of giving the ddrs lower frequencies. When i saw that i thought: im so stupid! Off course! Now they are running beautifully, @431.7mhz (pretty ok for a 400 sstock)

Now i've noted another interesting thing; I don't know if it's something from prime, or from my cpu/mb....my cores down with the multiplier after some time. Problem?
i've updated these new pics from HWmonitor:

 

[trents]

Do you have Cool N Quiet still enabled in bios? If the core multiplier drops only at idle, this could be the reason. Actually, you need to turn off all the "green" power saving technology that could cause this: Cool N Quiet, C1E and Turbo. Disable them all in bios. Then go into Windows Control Panel Power Options and configure it to High Performance.

Your HT Link and CPUNB frequency adjustment in bios may not show as 2x, 3x, 4x . . .10x but it may show as 400, 600, 800, 1000 etc. which would show the product of the stock HT Reference frequency and the multiplier. Those numbers would be different if they represent the product of the current HT Reference frequency and a multiplier, if there is adjustment capability at all for that in your bios.

 

[trents]

Would you please create a "Sig" with the details of your system so that we don't always have to scroll back to your first post? This is a common courtesy on the forum. To do this, click on Quick Links at the top of the page and Edit Signature. You can use mine for a pattern if you like.

 

[trents]

Here's your HT Link frequency adjustment. Looks like it may be pretty limited, either "Auto" which is probably what you have in use now or if set manually, only up to 1000 mhz which is pretty low.

 

[esfera420]

wassup my friend!!!
Man i'm really happy with your infos
i've founded what was my multipliers, and look, @my bios, i take 2ghz not 1ghz @ maximum.
This manual must be different, i don't know.
Now take a look at my results!

Thanks to you, i found where to change the HT multiplier!!! hahahah
thanks a lot!!! Now i will keep looking for more infos...
gonna try to understand about the timings of the ram, could it give me
more increase u think?

One more thing, i've changed the enery to high performance, it wasn't on that option.
And i've disabled the Smart Q-fan also, u think it's necessary? (the others was off already)

And, my sign is on now!!! heheheh
Hugs from BR!

 

[trents]

Good morning! At least it's morning here on the west coast of the US.

Looks like those core temps in HWMonitor are being read at idle. I need you to have HWMonitor open during the time you run Prime95 blend for 20 minutes. We need to see what the load temps are. Could you do that again please?

Glad to see you are making progress with the HT Link setting. Now we need to make sure it's stable at those new settings and that the core temps are in the safe range.

The memory frequency looks more under control now and if it is stable I wouldn't mess with the timings. It doesn't make much difference performance wise.

Disabling Smart Fan will cause the CPU cooler fan to run full speed all the time. If you don't mind the noise, that's an okay thing to do. Smart fan enables you to have the fan run slower when the system isn't under heavy load and the processor is not getting very hot. But Smart fan must be calibrated correctly in order to speed up the fan the appropriate amount as the CPU temperature rises under load.

Thanks for your Sig (not "sign" but Signature). Please add info about your CPU cooler (stock now, right?) and your case make and model. You can edit the info later if you get new parts.

 

[esfera420]

Wasssupp, trents!

Now i'm working @3808mhz stable @Prime95 for 20min. here the pic:

The problem that i still notice is that lowering multiplier... it's turning to 7,5 @2000mhz(aprox) the cores. I don't know actually what it could be. There's nothing more to look i think so. Is that a block or something?

And look, to take this fsb, i had to underclock agian my memories, now they are like this:
(note that i've got greater values on passmark... around 7300 now) memories looks like the same score.

About my case, i really dont know his model... hes a "satellite" case. But he's big, has a little cooler to refresh the hd's (not important) and nothing more. I just let the front open, to get some fresh air on the front, to help the CM-Hyper 212+. (Now i've noticed, i forgot it hahahhaha my bad).

See ya!

 

[trents]

Did you disable all the green, powersaving stuff I discussed in post #9 when you first brought up the dropping multiplier problem?

Check to see that you have the latest bios version installed. Your current bios version will be reported by the CPU-z "Motherboard" tab. Compare that to what is available on the Asus website for your board.

 

[esfera420]

Yeah, actually i've disabled everything!!!! Ps: In games im not feeling this reduce. Downloading GTA IV back to try (with the HD4670 it's not too funny as with a 1gb 256bits vga hahahha) this.
And yes, i've downloaded the bios from site before installing my phenom II. I had a phenom x3 8650 before it.
Thanks!

 

[trents]

If you are getting downthrottling and you have already disabled the green stuff then it's probably due to the motherboard TDP not being able to handle the power draw of the overclocked CPU. Your board is kind of overmatched with regard to that Thuban six core CPU.

 

[esfera420]

Did you disable all the green, powersaving stuff I discussed in post #9 when you first brought up the dropping multiplier problem?

Check to see that you have the latest bios version installed. Your current bios version will be reported by the CPU-z "Motherboard" tab. Compare that to what is available on the Asus website for your board.

Yeah actually i think it must be problems like this, any hardware making it lows the multiplier. The strange is that this mobo supports to 140w cpu. According to HWmonitor, it gets @MAXiMuM 134,40w.

 

[trents]

It may not be the TDP then. It could be that the CPU represents newer technology that the motherboard just can't quite sync with that of the board. They are one and a half technology generations apart. We see this same kind of thing with AM3 motherboards whose bios is retrofitted for making them compatible with the AM3+ bulldozer CPUs. They are only partially compatible in many or most cases. Do you understand what I mean?

 

[esfera420]

yeah yeah i got it!!! Thanks my friend, i`m really glad with your help!!!! I came here with 3500mhz and now getting out with 3800mhz thanks a lot!!!! If u wanna close the topic, no problems. By the way, any suggestions for mobo? around 100-150US$? Oh, and im planning to get a HD 6870 in september. And yeah, it is a 80% gaming objective, my desktop