First manual overclock. FX-9590 Sabertooth 990x R2.0

[Samena]

This is my first attempt to manually overclock a processor. I've used programs in the past and they didn't seem to give the full potential. So i did some boning up via this guide http://www.overclockers.com/forums/...s-gt-gt-Using-the-AMD-FX-Bulldozer-Piledriver by Rgone. It seems the most up to date i could find. I'm starting with changing the CPU Bus frequency and the Ratio, but i'm getting blue screens upon changing those values in the slightest. I did however manage to turn off many of things he says to in the first portion of his guide like Turbocore, Cool n' quiet and the Q-fan Control. Cooling is working much better than it was. I'll go ahead and dish out my PC's hardware here:

 

[RGone]

Samena Welcome to OCF...

...

Now let us all join together and see what we can see.

1. You see my signature at the bottom of my post? We need something just that informative describing your parts and pieces. The more/better info the better. I do think there was a limit to characters in the Signature.

2. Okay remove 'any' overclocks. Want all at default/stock speed. Then as outlined below and it will talk of setting windows a certain way and things you can disable in bios. Then run P95 Blend as outlined. Post up the 4 images by attaching to the forum. Then we can SEE what is at your end, otherwise we just speculate blindly.

RGone...ster.

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, APM, TurboCore and in windows performance manager itself we set to "performance" mode. ALSO if you have HPC in bios you would ENABLE it. 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.

Step by Step HowTo Attach files to forum with pictures.
HowTo Attach Files to the forum.

 

[Samena]

i thought the info would be all be there on the cpu-z site, which is linked in my sig. i'll post images here.
View attachment 164329
View attachment 164330
View attachment 164331
Mobo-Asus Sabertooth 990fx R2.00 bios version BIOS 2501
Cooler: Thermaltake Water 3.0 Extreme S
PSU: ANTEC 750W
GPU: x1 Evga gtx970 acx 2.0 ssc 4gig gddr5
SSD: 1 x SAMSUNG 850 EVO MZ-75E250B/AM 2.5" 250GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
HDD: 3TB WD model in GPT
ON board Sound
USB devices: Razer death adder mouse, corsair k95 mech keyboard, Razer Kraken headphones
O/s: Windows 8.1
Case: Air540 Corsair case with 5 fans active

started prime95 blend test at 9:53pm EST. ss at 10:13pm

 

[Samena]

i thought the info would be all be there on the cpu-z site, which is linked in my sig. i'll post images here.
View attachment 164329
View attachment 164330
View attachment 164331
Mobo-Asus Sabertooth 990fx R2.00 bios version BIOS 2501
Cooler: Thermaltake Water 3.0 Extreme S
PSU: ANTEC 750W
GPU: x1 Evga gtx970 acx 2.0 ssc 4gig gddr5
SSD: 1 x SAMSUNG 850 EVO MZ-75E250B/AM 2.5" 250GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
HDD: 3TB WD model in GPT
ON board Sound
USB devices: Razer death adder mouse, corsair k95 mech keyboard, Razer Kraken headphones jacked into k/b
O/s: Windows 8.1
Case: Air540 Corsair case with 5 fans active

started prime95 blend test at 9:53pm EST. ss at 10:13pm

 

[Blaylock]

Welcome again Samena.

The good news first. The Sabertooth boards are great for overclocking these monster CPU'S and your AIO should give you enough headroom to get a decent clock assuming your CPU will take one of course (there are no guarantee's).

The bad news. Those links didn't work for me. It's easier for every one if you use the IMG icon or go advanced and use the paperclip to attach. EDIT: Do you know if your motherboard is a GEN3 board?

From you CPUZ image it looks like you have about 13 degrees of headroom for your socket temp (i.e. CPU) and 19 degrees on your package temp with a MA. Vcore of 1.4x. This is a good starting point.

 

[Samena]

Thanks for the warm welcomes! I tried to find a gen3 about 6 months ago but sadly they are not for sale anywhere i could find or else i'd have bought at GEN3. and here are the links i hope ...



it's showing the image in post rather than attaching them for me. i hope it worked this time.

 

[Blaylock]

Yep much better. BTW the GEN3 boards had a lot of bugs so it's good that you don't have one.

Ok first thing I would do is set you memory timing to match the SPD tab (i.e. at 666Mhz or 1333DDR set to 9-9-9-24-33) this will reduce the chance of instability in your ram.

 

[Samena]

can i not run it as 2133 or something thereof. that's lower than stock frequency. higher frequency means a faster response if timed right. or ami wrong? granted 2133 is overclocking memory... it's supposed to be 1866mhz if i remember correctly

 

[ShrimpBrime]

This processor will throttle while running stock if Cpu socket temp reaches 52c. This may be why your turbo frequency isn't hitting 5ghz as it should.

To be completely honest, your AIO will not give you the head room needed for overclocking as this Cpu Pstates @ 1.5250v.

Run the memory at 1866 so you can OC the Cpu without having problems trying to stabilize the RAM.

And lastly, Good luck. It's a heat monster. You can call it a Hot Zombie if you wish.

Please feel free to put your system specs in the Sig box. Helps a ton.

 

[RGone]

This processor will throttle while running stock if Cpu socket temp reaches 52c. This may be why your turbo frequency isn't hitting 5ghz as it should. ShrimpBrime is an excellently skilled overclocker and happens to have FX-9590 and in our play around thread here he has put it thru the paces. He has some knowledge that does not grow on trees.

To be completely honest, your AIO will not give you the head room needed for overclocking as this Cpu Pstates @ 1.5250v. Okay you see what S_B writes about P States of 1.525Volts to cpu? Well there are two things to know here >> CPU Vcore 1.392V< In use V. 1.368V< MIN-V. 1.440< MAX-V. Those are your indicated cpu voltages shown in HWMonitor and I assume "under P95 Blend Load" and hope my assumption is accurate. So not nearly enough cpu voltage to clock much past 4.7GHz and would be lucky to remain stable for 2 hours full on stability test of P95 Blend, which passing we consider stable.

The second thing here is also related to what S_B wrote and that is when you get the correct 'higher' cpu voltage in place so you "can" overclock...you will not have enough cooling. Pretty much a fact of life for everyone of the users coming in here with FX-9370 and FX-9590; they just don't have enough cooling for any great overclock beyond 4.7GHz-ish but with ALL 8 cores in use as in normal if one sets up the bios to do a real overclock.

You fix it to where you have at least 1.5Volts to the cpu under P95 Blend Mode load and then add 0.5 to multiplier or make the multiplier 24 and then run P95Blend mode with HWMonitor logging Min/Max Temps and Volts and post up the 4 screen captures we asked for above and then we can see what is up.

Run the memory at 1866 so you can OC the Cpu without having problems trying to stabilize the RAM. Set Ram to DDR3-1866 speed. Then timings to 10, 11, 10, 30, 40 and 2T Command Rate. Suggest manually set Ram Voltage to 1.55V if only choice seems to be 1.54V set next higher.

And lastly, Good luck. It's a heat monster. You can call it a Hot Zombie if you wish.

Please feel free to put your system specs in the Sig box. Helps a ton. Yes it certainly does as the Signature follows each of your posts so 25 posts into the thread we do not have to return to first page to see what is inside the case.

Quoting seemed the easiest way to keep everything together since it all boils down to Heat Vs Cool and enough Vcore for increased Cpu speed to remain stable.

RGone...

 

[Blaylock]

can i not run it as 2133 or something thereof. that's lower than stock frequency. higher frequency means a faster response if timed right. or ami wrong? granted 2133 is overclocking memory... it's supposed to be 1866mhz if i remember correctly

Yes, but lets not get the cart before the horse. It appears stock for your ram is 1866 as seen in the SPD tab. I would set your ram in BIOS to 1866 10-11-10-30-48-2T as S_B has suggested.

What you're going to want to do is find your maximum CPU OC which will be limited by temps. As we start to increase the multi it will eventually become unstable. The solution to this is to increase vCore voltage. (this creates more heat).

Dolk's Guide here is for the older Phenom II chips, but the process will be the same and he did a great job explaining different terminologies that you will need to know. RGone's guide is jam packed with his knowledge. More than any one man should be allowed to know (LOL).

Edit: You should start with Dolk's guide as it is a nice step by step procedure. Post your results from each step here in the format RGone has laid out above. This will provide us with the needed information to "see" what's going on in your particular rig. Something to keep in mind is we generally like to keep the Socket temp(read as CPU in your HWMonitor) at or below 71c and your Package temp at or below 62c (+/- 2c is ok for brief moments). Also voltage limits are generally around 1.55v for water cooling like yours. This is where Shrimp_Brime is talking about pStates. In essence these CPU's "stock" voltage for 5.0Ghz is already at 1.52v. Not much room, but you wont know for sure until you try. Some people hit the silicon lottery and find a gem, others find a dud.

 

[Johan45]

I would think with that case it wouldn't be too hard to get some airflow behind the motherboard which would help bring that socket temp down. The case has a lot of room back there,venting on the back and a large cut out behind the CPU area. If it were me I'd try and rig up a couple small fans to blow across the back of the board like so. Plus some cooling active on the VRM. That should open things up a bit for Samena since it appears that the AIO still has some legs

 

[ShrimpBrime]

started prime95 blend test at 9:53pm EST. ss at 10:13pm

View attachment 164334

I find this picture odd as heck. How can the core temp be only 36c while the cpu socket is 57c max.

While I stare at mine for th last few days running, the temps are close together like...

Cpu is 44c max and package is 46c max.

Seeing offset like that sometimes can be scary. Those temps should be close together.

In all this is the most difficult chip to overclock. I'd like to see the screen shot of temps AND P95 on the same page. That would put belief into your temp screen shot. P95 should have them cores smokin hot, not just the cpu temp.

 

[Johan45]

I noticed that as well S_B. That 20°c difference isn't abnormal with an AIO but the core temp does seem low. Maybe it just hasn't reached the magic number where it's relatively accurate yet?

 

[Samena]

So I have tried a couple things here. I enabled HPC and disabled c1/e,c6,cool n quiet, APM, and turbocore.I tried setting the memory to 1866 and was unable to load windows after doing so with blue screen errors. This wasn't the traditional bsod I've seen in previous versions of windows,, nevertheless windows would not load with it. I'm guessing I did something wrong. I attempted to change the timings but am unable to change the values in BIOS. I attempted to set vcore(offset voltage?) to around 1.5v and receieved another error when loading windows. I was however successful in changing the CPU ratio to 24.0 as the multipler with CPU BUS Freq. unchanged. That's about as far as i've gotten so far.

 

[Blaylock]

I SPY.... Looking at his core speeds fluctuating between 4.5 and 4.9 looks like CnQ is still enabled.

 

[Samena]

I SPY.... Looking at his core speeds fluctuating between 4.5 and 4.9 looks like CnQ is still enabled.

i can assure you CnQ isn't enabled...neither is turbo core.

- - - Updated - - -

system crashes with 24.0x cpu ratio while running prime in under 2min. cpu may not be able to be manually set or maybe it's locked?

- - - Updated - - -

I would think with that case it wouldn't be too hard to get some airflow behind the motherboard which would help bring that socket temp down. The case has a lot of room back there,venting on the back and a large cut out behind the CPU area. If it were me I'd try and rig up a couple small fans to blow across the back of the board like so. Plus some cooling active on the VRM. That should open things up a bit for Samena since it appears that the AIO still has some legs

View attachment 164342

That is the power supply side of the case. there is a divider inbetween the mobo said and psu side. i don't believe fans in this location would help.

 

[bassnut]

Johan is right you can easily fit 2 80mm fans there. I have 2 arctic cooling 80mm there exhausting warm air from behind the motherboard as well as a small 80mm fan hung behind the cpu socket. We have found stopping warm air from sitting behind the socket area to really help with socket temps when you really push these FX 8 core chips.

 

[Samena]

Johan is right you can easily fit 2 80mm fans there. I have 2 arctic cooling 80mm there exhausting warm air from behind the motherboard as well as a small 80mm fan hung behind the cpu socket. We have found stopping warm air from sitting behind the socket area to really help with socket temps when you really push these FX 8 core chips.

since that's the case i will make a point to pick up 2 fans. Thanks!

 

[Johan45]

Make that 3 fans, bassnut also has one like this right over the socket