AMD fx 8350 freezes no matter how small OC is

[alex561858]

was waiting for some time to upgrade from stock amd cooler to corsair h100i
after installation and and some set up i decided to give it a try and see how far this guy can go in clocks

Asus Crosshair Formula V z
amd fx8350
corsair vengeance 16gb 1866
cooler master GX 650
xfx 7950 dd ( not OC)
Win 7 x64

looked around and saw that mostly everyone sticks to 5Ghz

new fancy bios confused me so badly, but i finally found ratio and multipliers, voltage was tried in two combinations - 1.488 and 1.5v

ratio was left on 200 ( tried 215 but it affected RAM which i don't wana touch)

when it comes to multyplier it got dissapointing - i tried everything from x22 to x25

i boot insto OS but when i just start prime 95 it just hangs no matter what

i cried for some time and decided to go for AMD software.
waited for hours to test all the speeds.
CCC told me i'm good at 5.4Ghz, obviously it hanged
5.3 - hanged
5.2 hanged
and so on
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/oc_images/images/smilies/banghead.gif
tried amd stabilyty test instead of prime95 - no luck

so the question is -

WHY U NO WORK??????
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/images/smilies/rain.gif
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/oc_images/images/smilies/bawling.gif
would it be my psu????
cuz at the moment of building the rig i had pnly 1 4pin for cpu power
when MOBO had 8 pin and 4 pin ( i used half of 8 pin )

pleasepleaseplease advise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[RGone]

The first thing would be to download the overclocking software tools: CPU-z, HWMonitor and Prime95.

The next thing to do would be to check core and CPU temps at stock frequencies and voltages to get an idea of how much overclocking headroom you have from a temperature standpoint, which is the main limiting factor.

To check those stock condition temps: Open HWMonitor on your desktop and adjust the slider and frame so you can see the core/package temps section and the voltage section. Leave it open while you run the Prime95 blend test for 20 minutes. When that is done, attach a pic of the HWMonitor interface with your next post. To attach a pic, first crop and save the image to disc using Snipping Tool in Windows Accessories. Then click on the Go Advanced button at the bottom of any new post window. When the Advanced Post window appears, click on the little paperclip icon which will load the file browser and upload tool. The rest is obvious.

Next you need to be able to:

1. In bios, first disable: Cool N Quiet, Turbo, C1E and C6 and APM.
2. In Windows Control Panel Power Options configure it to High Performance.

These first two measures should disable all the "green" power saving stuff that cause erratic frequencies and voltages.

Then In bios, you will need to be able to manipulate:
1. CPU core voltage
2. CPU multiplier
3. CPUNB voltage
4. CPUNB frequency (may be expressed as a multiplier)
5. And perhaps, memory voltage

If you can locate those controls in bios you will be off to a good start and we can advise more specifically with regard to their adjustment. The terminology you encounter in the particular bios you are working on may vary somewhat from what I have used so be aware of that.

If you have a CPU with an upward unlocked multiplier, now just start increasing your CPU multiplier by .5x.

After each increase run a 20 minute Prime95 blend test to check for stability.

Always have HWMonitor open on the desktop to monitor core temps. Max stable core temp is typically 55-58c, somewhere in there.

When you first fail the 20 minute Prime blend test, increase your CPU core voltage by .025 and retest. If you still fail, add another .025 vcore. Then retest, repeating the pattern outlined. Stop adding vcore when your reach 1.5 or core temps exceed the parameters mentioned above.

Failing the Prime test can mean blue screen, spontaneous restart, lockup or one of the Prime core workers dropping out. Post back after you have added two increments of vcore or hit the mid 50's core temp wall. When you post, attach pics of HWMonitor from your last Prime95 blend run and give us a report.

 

[Bobnova]

The PSU is a dubious one and a single 4p CPU plug for a FX chip is on the low end too.
A quick and dirty PSU power output test would be to leave the CPU at stock and run a solid GPU load. Unigen Valley is new, pretty, and brutal. If the GPU test runs, it's not the PSU output.

I would also try a much lower OC for starters. Try 4.4GHz for starters.


More detail on the CPU power connector:
Each pin is rated for up to 7 amps (I believe, could be wrong), there are two 12V pins in a 4P CPU power connector, that gives us a max rating of 14 amps 12V to the CPU.
That's a maximum of 168w, assuming the PSU can hold 12v to 12v.
The CPU eats 125w at stock, the VRM bits are 88-95% efficienct (varies on a ton of factors), so divide the 125w by the efficiency (125 / 0.88 = 142w, or 125 / 0.95 = 131w) and you have the stock draw through the connector.
That only leaves 37w-26w for OCing. Given that power draw increases linearly with clock speed (it's vaguely close, sort of), 5GHz with stock voltage is 156w with 95% efficient VRMs or 169w with the 88%, over the spec.
Power draw increases with the square of voltage, twice the voltage is four times the wattage.
Given a voltage bump to 1.5vish and an OC to 5GHz, you're well over the max rating for that poor power connector.

I strongly recommend buying a good PSU with the proper connectors before OCing that chip much.


(It doesn't help that the GX 650w isn't the best PSU in the world to start with: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/11/22/cooler_master_gx_650w_power_supply_review/9 It's functional, but that's about it)

 

[Johan45]

That may not be the best PSU but according to newegg it should have a 4+4 pin for atx cpu power. Are you not using both?

 

[WhitehawkEQ]

Win 7 x64

Well, theres your problem (just kidding)

I agree with Bobnova, using a PSU with 4 pin CPU power on a MB that needs a 8 pin CPU power is wrong, look for a PSU with a 8 pin power cable. 650W is fine just make sure of the 8 pin cable and your good.

EDIT: Johan is right, I just looked up that PSU, it should have 2x4 pin connectors on the end of the cable, plug both in.

 

[RGone]

Both 4 pin connectors plugged in by their correct index or you wlll have +12V to GRD and that is not so nice.
RGone...

 

[trents]

Good info on the capability of the 4 pin 12+ CPU power lead, Bobnova. Thanks!

 

[trents]

was waiting for some time to upgrade from stock amd cooler to corsair h100i
after installation and and some set up i decided to give it a try and see how far this guy can go in clocks

Asus Crosshair Formula V z
amd fx8350
corsair vengeance 16gb 1866
cooler master GX 650
xfx 7950 dd ( not OC)
Win 7 x64

looked around and saw that mostly everyone sticks to 5Ghz

new fancy bios confused me so badly, but i finally found ratio and multipliers, voltage was tried in two combinations - 1.488 and 1.5v

ratio was left on 200 ( tried 215 but it affected RAM which i don't wana touch)

when it comes to multyplier it got dissapointing - i tried everything from x22 to x25

i boot insto OS but when i just start prime 95 it just hangs no matter what

i cried for some time and decided to go for AMD software.
waited for hours to test all the speeds.
CCC told me i'm good at 5.4Ghz, obviously it hanged
5.3 - hanged
5.2 hanged
and so on
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/oc_images/images/smilies/banghead.gif
tried amd stabilyty test instead of prime95 - no luck

so the question is -

WHY U NO WORK??????
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/images/smilies/rain.gif
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/oc_images/images/smilies/bawling.gif
would it be my psu????
cuz at the moment of building the rig i had pnly 1 4pin for cpu power
when MOBO had 8 pin and 4 pin ( i used half of 8 pin )

pleasepleaseplease advise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not only will it affect ram frequency but it will affect HT Link and NB (CPUNB) frequencies. They are all tuned to the "ratio" (aka, HT Reference or FSB). That's not a problem as long as you lower the frequencies of these other components as you go to keep them within their capability range so they don't cause instability. That's what we do all the time around here and that's the best way to overclock - using a combination of the multiplier and the "ratio".