Amazing Zosma!

[mjw21a]

Zosma didnt get a lot of bad press, its a cut down thuban. It got some but not like Bulldozer.

Hmmmm, I didn't know they made cut down thubans.... I'm assuming less cache? Whenever they've done this in the past its usually led to far higher clocks than the drop in performance from less cache. Sounds like a winner to me

Can you still buy these new? You can only get FX series chips over here these days, or Athlon II X2's.....

 

[Neuromancer]

lots of people seem to be popping up with 960Ts now, so I am assuming yes, I think like thuban they are not manufactured anymore though.


still available on newegg here in the US but at $125.. which for me adds 7% tax.

might be able to find an american to buy one for you and ship chip only to you for under $10... if you find a good deal on one.

 

[rescuetoaster]

Hmmmm, I didn't know they made cut down thubans.... I'm assuming less cache? Whenever they've done this in the past its usually led to far higher clocks than the drop in performance from less cache. Sounds like a winner to me

Can you still buy these new? You can only get FX series chips over here these days, or Athlon II X2's.....

Sure you can.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103995
It quite frequently has a 15 dollar off code too, so you could pick it up for 110 like me.

And no the cache isn't cut, it's still 6mb of level 3, and 512kb per core level 2. They are literally just Thubans that for whatever reason had one or two cores fail AMD's quality testing. Not all 960T chips will unlock and be stable, but you usually can at least get one of the two disabled cores to unlock.

 

[mjw21a]

Newegg don't ship to Australia unfortunately mate

 

[Niku-Sama]

amazon?

this is good to know, however the egg sold out the day before i was going to put my order in. i'm a bit concerned that they might not get any more of them aswell

 

[rescuetoaster]

I had to set my vcore to 1.475 in bios with LLC on Auto to be stable at 19x on six cores.

So would you say that is a safe vcore to run daily? Assuming temps stay within range of course.

 

[trents]

It's certainly safe for the CPU if CPU socket temps and core temps are within limits but one has to also take into account motherboard components. If a motherboard has good sinks on the chipset and mosfets it should be fine but if it doesn't it might shorten the life of the board. If in doubt, touch your finger to those components when the computer is idling and when under load. If they are too hot to be able to hold your finger on without pain then voltages need to be toned down a little. As far as the CPU itself, if temps are well controlled then 1.55 or so is about all I would feel comfortable with for 24/7. Others would go higher.

 

[givmedew]

I don't really like to go past 1.4v on load in the cpu-z window since this cpu is only rated to 1.4v max and other CPUs from AMD are rated higher. There is a reason why AMD rated these lower. I can hit my 4.0GHz on all 6 cores at 1.404 I am on the XSPC RS240 kit that is $120 at frozencpu once you put in the discount code.

My CPU temp in ASUS thermal radar is 42c CPU 42c VCORE1 and 31c PCIe 1 which I have found ranges between 1-5c higher than the core temps under load when I had just 4 cores running. AMD says you can not consider idle temps accurate on the core since there is not a thermometer inside the chip so it is best to find out the difference between your core and socket temps at full load after it is warmed up.

The problem I am now having with my motherboard or cpu is that anytime I up the CPU/NB multiplier the system wont boot. But for some reason if I leave it at the normal multiplier and just use the CPU BUS Frequency I am fine. I have no idea why. I was also able to get to 1900MHz on my ram (vengence 1866 9-10-9 LP) but I am driving myself crazy trying to get my CPU/NB and HT Link up!

 

[trents]

I don't really like to go past 1.4v on load in the cpu-z window since this cpu is only rated to 1.4v max and other CPUs from AMD are rated higher.

I respect your personal preference in this matter but I would remind you that your are saying this to a community of people who, for the most part, have decided that they are willing to push the envelope to get more performance. That's what "overclocking" implies. Not only that but most of the veterans around here will tell you that temp is more important to CPU safety than is voltage per se, at least to a point, and that unless you get into extreme voltages, voltage is only an issue because of the bearing it has on temps. Now that is apart from considerations of stress on the mobo. But we are talking CPUs here anyway, right? So what I'm saying is that good cooling renders concern (within reason) about voltages a moot point.

 

[Niku-Sama]

this is a good point, the reason i didnt push my 720be very far is because there was a 0.2v difference between stable clocks and i couldnt get any thing inbetween so it seemed a wasted effort to go from 1.3v something to 1.5v something and not get any thing stable in between.

now if i would have gone that spread in voltage and say got a stable speed at 1.45v or something then it might be worth pursuing

 

[drosera01]

About TDP,
Kinda scary......my unlocked Phenom II x2 555 (now Phenom II x4 B55) is overclocked to 3.89 Ghz with GA-870A-UD3 board. Hwmonitor reads TDP upto 167W while stressed and drops to 140W idle.
Am i pushing it too much for this CPU and this Board?? I donlt know what is the max TDP for this board is, as i havent seen it in obvious writing any where. Please expect some opinion ......... I dont want to burn this system..... rather drop some GHzs.
In terms of temp of CPU and cores.......I think i am okay. Prime95 for few hours takes it upto 61-63 socket means still below 55 core. (and oh yes, i had done extensive testing to offset socket temp to get estimated core temps)
Opinions please.

 

[trents]

Software TDP estimates are pretty inaccurate a lot of the time. I have a actual in line watt meter to really measure wattage differentials and I find that HWMonitor overestimates the TDP. What you need to do is the feel the mosfets with your finger while you are running Prime95. If they are so hot you cannot keep you finger on them because of pain, they are too hot and you need to dial down your voltage and your overclock. The mosfets are the most sensitive motherboard component and I'm guessing your board doesn't have sinks on them.

 

[Neuromancer]

I am in pretty much agreement with trents.

However 1.475 is a little high.. 1.4 would be great, 1.45 acceptable. It all depends on your LLC settings and what is your stock VID. most of those chips are 1.3-1.35 stock so 1.475 is not even a 10% increase. If you have a lower vid chip though.. than you need to watch yourself.

10% for 24/7 seems reasonable to me. (assuming everything else trents mentioned)

 

[givmedew]

About TDP,
Kinda scary......my unlocked Phenom II x2 555 (now Phenom II x4 B55) is overclocked to 3.89 Ghz with GA-870A-UD3 board. Hwmonitor reads TDP upto 167W while stressed and drops to 140W idle.
Am i pushing it too much for this CPU and this Board?? I donlt know what is the max TDP for this board is, as i havent seen it in obvious writing any where. Please expect some opinion ......... I dont want to burn this system..... rather drop some GHzs.
In terms of temp of CPU and cores.......I think i am okay. Prime95 for few hours takes it upto 61-63 socket means still below 55 core. (and oh yes, i had done extensive testing to offset socket temp to get estimated core temps)
Opinions please.

It was a total newb mistake which I am a newb. But the very first overclocking experience for me was a phenom x4 2.2GHz which I got to 2.6GHz because the board just didn't have the options to increase the voltage any higher lol.

So my first REAL overclock was the PII 555 I ran that thing x4 and got her to 4.1GHz and then POP FIZZLE TINY BRIGHT FLARE LIKE FLAME came right out of the motherboard. I pulled the power cord and took a look at the damage. You could barely see the damage to the mosfet but you sure could smell.

Needless to say the MOBO and the CPU where destroyed.

That is my costly lesson and hopefully my only lesson.

I now am using a Sabertooth 990FX which is total overkill for my 960T because I could easily get the same 4.1GHz OC on a M5A97 in fact I did have that OC on that board but I sold the board and bought the Sabertooth just have the higher level of solidness and also because it had external sata that not only is powered but also supports the multiplex ability where you can run multiple SATA drives over 1 single eSata cable as long as your eSata controller and your enclosure support it.

I got it on sale for $185 and the M5A97 I sold for $90 so it was not that bad.

Also AMD gave me a 565 to replace the 555 and MSI said NO WAY as for replacing their fried mobo!

 

[drosera01]

It was a total newb mistake which I am a newb. But the very first overclocking experience for me was a phenom x4 2.2GHz which I got to 2.6GHz because the board just didn't have the options to increase the voltage any higher lol.

So my first REAL overclock was the PII 555 I ran that thing x4 and got her to 4.1GHz and then POP FIZZLE TINY BRIGHT FLARE LIKE FLAME came right out of the motherboard. I pulled the power cord and took a look at the damage. You could barely see the damage to the mosfet but you sure could smell.

Needless to say the MOBO and the CPU where destroyed.

That is my costly lesson and hopefully my only lesson.

I now am using a Sabertooth 990FX which is total overkill for my 960T because I could easily get the same 4.1GHz OC on a M5A97 in fact I did have that OC on that board but I sold the board and bought the Sabertooth just have the higher level of solidness and also because it had external sata that not only is powered but also supports the multiplex ability where you can run multiple SATA drives over 1 single eSata cable as long as your eSata controller and your enclosure support it.

I got it on sale for $185 and the M5A97 I sold for $90 so it was not that bad.

Also AMD gave me a 565 to replace the 555 and MSI said NO WAY as for replacing their fried mobo!

What Motherboard were you using???