AMD Phenom II x6 1055T Thuban 2.8ghz Overclocking Help

[AntBoogy90]

Okay, so i'm pretty new with overclocking.. i recently overclocked my gpu and things have been going smooth since. I wanted to play Everquest 2.. and soon found out that its engine relies on the cpu rather than the gpu, so my card is worthless for this game. I experienced a lot of graphical lag, and after a while i decided i wanted to overclock my cpu.. but that could cause my mobo to fry if i do it wrong, so here i am looking for some guidance to possibly build and help me with overclocking my cpu. I'm also wondering if my mobo is good for overclocking this particular processor; my motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-880GA-UD3H.

I overclocked just a tad bit using the BIOS mostly and AMD Overdrive.. i got my cpu to go from 2.8ghz to 3.15ghz.. and performance significantly increased on my computer. I turned off Turbo Core technology, still have my cpu locked, and i disabled the Cool & Quiet technology as well. I'm stress testing as i type this, and i'm receiving temps of around 70°C using OCCT and Core Temp.. is that good? When my cpu is idle, i receive 48°C to 50°C. I'd like to add that it's pretty damn cold in my basement too lol, and that everything is stock fans for cooling.. i have a Cooler Master case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227). Anything i might need for cooling, i'm willing to shell out some cash. If there's anything i need to put up for you guys to help me, i'll be more than glad to provide.

My specs are as follows..

Processor: AMD Phenom II x6 1055T Thuban 2.8ghz (3.15ghz now)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-880GA-UD3H
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 5670 1GB x2 crossfired and overclocked
Power Supply: Raidmax Hybrid 2 RX-730SS 730w
RAM: 4gb x2 (8gb physical, 20gb virtual)
Hard Drive: 500gb WD Caviar Blue

Any help would definitely be appreciated. I'm also not exactly sure what to provide for you guys to help me.

 

[neo668]

Allow me to help you start off your journey before the big boys wake up.

Please download and install CPU-z and then upload screen shots of these three tabs: "CPU", "Memory" and "SPD". That will tell us a great deal about your system and your settings.

You will also need to download CPUID Hardware Monitor and include screenshot of that as well. This is to monitor your system's temperatures as you OC.

Good luck.

 

[dkizzy]

If you are using the stock cooler I would highly recommend picking up an aftermarket cooler. The coolermaster hyper 212 coolers are quite affordable and offer satisfying performance.

 

[AntBoogy90]

Thank you for responding I will post the screenshots of CPU-Z now and I will also include a screenshot of the stress testing over 31 minutes..

CPU:


Memory:


SPD:


HW Monitor:


OCCT:


I believe that to be sufficient?

 

[AntBoogy90]

If you are using the stock cooler I would highly recommend picking up an aftermarket cooler. The coolermaster hyper 212 coolers are quite affordable and offer satisfying performance.

Thank you for the recommendation. I will look into that, as i have many slots for fans to be put in. I only have the front fan for my case and the stock cpu fan (which is loud as hell, and i planned on replacing it soon).

 

[trents]

Those temp pics appear to reflect the CPU at idle. That doesn't tell us what we need to know. Please run Prime95 blend test for 10-20 minutes with HWMonitor open on the desktop from start to finish. Then upload a pic of HWMonitor. We want to see what max core temps are under full load. Prime95 will produce that condition. If at any time either your core temps, TMPIN0 or TMPIN1 exceed 65 C. Stop the test, though I think you will be unstable before that. We want to make sure you don't fry your CPU.

Before you do that, however, lower your CPU core voltage to about 1.35-1.375. You now have it at 1.47 at a core frequency of only 3150 mhz. You shouldn't need nearly that much voltage to be stable at 3150 and lowering your core voltage will lower your temps which will be very limiting until you replace that stock cooler. Speaking of which, before you buy that CM Hyper 212+ evo you'd better check your case width to see if it will accommodate that tall cooler. The case will need to measure 8" from outside to outside of the side panels to have enough clearance.

 

[AntBoogy90]

Whoa, yeah.. I used Prime 95 blend test and TMPIN1 reached 73°C rather quickly. Should i underclock back to default settings?



Not even a minute went by and it exceeded 65°C. Should i let it run 10-20 mins anyways or should i just have stopped right there? I don't know much about overclocking, so i'm definitely willing to learn so that i become more computer savvy.

Oh, i'll do that now and lower the voltages, i just read your edit.

 

[AntBoogy90]

After reducing the CPU core voltage to 1.375v and performing another Prime95 blend test, TMPIN1 exceed 65°C again in less than a minute, so i stopped the test again.

As i've asked before, shall i bring everything back to factory settings? And if so, what should i keep disabled (Turbo Mode, C&Q, etc)?

Oh, and the width of my case is 7.5".. i assume that's not the dimensions of the inside.

 

[trents]

Actually, you are going about this rather haphazzardly. You need to be systematic in your approach to overclocking. Change only one variable at a time until you are forced to do otherwise.

I advise returning all frequencies and voltages back to stock and begin overclocking by raising only the CPU frquency (aka, "fsb" and "HT Refrence) by 5 mhz increments, testing with Prime95 blend for 20 minutes and monitoring with HWMonitor after each increase.

Watch the HT Link frequency, lowering it's multiplier as necessary to keep it between 1800 and 2000 mhz.

For now, also keep the NB (aka, "CPUNB") frequency as close to 2000 mhz as you can by adjusting its multiplier.

See how far you can push the CPU on stock voltage without allowing any of those three temp readouts I spoke of above to exceed 65 C.

When you reach that temp threshold, report back with pics of CPU-z tabs: "CPU", "Memory" and "SPD" and HWMonitor.

If any of the Prime95 workers drop out before you reach the 65 C. temp threshold or if the computer blue screens, crashes or locks up (all signs of instability), lower the CPU frequency back to the previous stable speed and report back with pics.

 

[AntBoogy90]

Actually, you are going about this rather haphazzardly. You need to be systematic in your approach to overclocking. Change only one variable at a time until you are forced to do otherwise.

I advise returning all frequencies and voltages back to stock and begin overclocking by raising only the CPU frquency (aka, "fsb" and "HT Refrence) by 5 mhz increments, testing with Prime95 blend for 20 minutes and monitoring with HWMonitor after each increase.

Watch the HT Link frequency, lowering it's multiplier as necessary to keep it between 1800 and 2000 mhz.

For now, also keep the NB (aka, "CPUNB") frequency as close to 2000 mhz as you can by adjusting its multiplier.

See how far you can push the CPU on stock voltage without allowing any of those three temp readouts I spoke of above to exceed 65 C.

When you reach that temp threshold, report back with pics of CPU-z tabs: "CPU", "Memory" and "SPD" and HWMonitor.

If any of the Prime95 workers drop out before you reach the 65 C. temp threshold or if the computer blue screens, crashes or locks up (all signs of instability), lower the CPU frequency back to the previous stable speed and report back with pics.

Gotcha. I'll revert back to factory settings now and let you know how it goes as i do this. Thank you for your assistance, i will write this all down and begin overclocking as far as i can go and keep the thread updated. Once again, thanks for helping me not fry my PC lol.

 

[trents]

Oh, and the width of my case is 7.5".. i assume that's not the dimensions of the inside.

Yes, that's the outside dimension I was referring to and I think I said that.

Then you must not buy a tower cooler with 120 mm fan unless you upgrade your case. Move down to a 92 mm fan-based cooler or better yet, go with water.

 

[trents]

So the first phase of overclocking is to see how far you can push the CPU on stock volts. Voltage increases cause temp increase much faster than frequency increases and with your limited cooling that is a premium consideration.

Hitting the hay now. Nighty night.

 

[AntBoogy90]

Then you must not buy a tower cooler with 120 mm fan unless you upgrade your case. Move down to a 92 mm fan-based cooler or better yet, go with water.

Nice, i was thinking water as well. I want to overclock to at least 3.5ghz.. so i think water will be a good choice to help with cooling.

So the first phase of overclocking is to see how far you can push the CPU on stock volts. Voltage increases cause temp increase much faster than frequency increases and with your limited cooling that is a premium consideration.

Hitting the hay now. Nighty night.

Didn't know that, that's very useful information. Thanks and goodnight.

 

[dkizzy]

Nice, i was thinking water as well. I want to overclock to at least 3.5ghz.. so i think water will be a good choice to help with cooling.

You can hit 3.5ghz on the 1055T on stock voltage usually. Not every chip has the same capability but you can do it on air. Especially with the air cooler I mentioned before. As mentioned earlier see what you can hit on stock volts because your temps won't go up and you will benefit from the increased clock speed.

 

[AntBoogy90]

You can hit 3.5ghz on the 1055T on stock voltage usually. Not every chip has the same capability but you can do it on air. Especially with the air cooler I mentioned before. As mentioned earlier see what you can hit on stock volts because your temps won't go up and you will benefit from the increased clock speed.

Definitely will.. i'll either update later today or tomorrow, cuz i'm going to bed haha. But i'm definitely taking all of this in. We'll see how it goes, thanks a lot!

 

[neo668]

I just saw your CPU-Z - Memory tab. How come you are running Single Channel? Shouldn't you be in Dual Channel mode since you are using 2 sticks of RAM (I assume)?

EDIT
I think you might have inserted your 2 RAM sticks in the wrong memory slots. For your motherboard it should be either Slots 1 & 2 or Slots 3 & 4. Or just choose 2 slots of the same colour.

 

[AntBoogy90]

Ahh, that's right. One is on white, the other is on blue.. i'll put them both on blue now. Thanks, i never realized that.

 

[trents]

I also think you need to look at case ventilation. Even if you go with water to keep the processor nice and cool you need good case ventilation to keep motherboard components cool as well. Tell us about your case fans: how many? how big? where placed? direction of air flow for each one.

If your case ventilation is poor and you have only one or two places to mount fans then it might be more cost effective to get a nice case with top of the line air cooling. If money is an issue do both and get the Corsair H100 water cooling kit (a little over $100). If you need a new case I would suggest the Antec 300. Great case at a great price with 5 fan mounts. $50-$60.

 

[AntBoogy90]

I noticed that if i remove my side panel while Prime95 is going, the temperatures actually begin to drop. My processor fan aims right at the side panel, so i guess that the vacuum it creates prevents it from getting good cold air, since there's so much heat building up at the same time. I wonder if i should keep it off lol.

 

[trents]

I noticed that if i remove my side panel while Prime95 is going, the temperatures actually begin to drop. My processor fan aims right at the side panel, so i guess that the vacuum it creates prevents it from getting good cold air, since there's so much heat building up at the same time. I wonder if i should keep it off lol.

Yes, taking the case side panel off is the way to test if the ventilation is adequate. Leaving it off is kind of ghetto for 24/7 operation, however, IMO, plus the chipset of the mobo is not getting any air movement across it.