FIRST WC SYSTEM + PHENOM 9950 BE = HELP

[christhiessen]

hey guys... so where to start.
System Specs:

AMD Phenom 9950 BE
OCZ PC2 8500 DDR2 1066 RAM
OCZ 850w PSU
BFG Geforce 9800 GT oc
ASUS M3N HT DELUXE
Swiftech Apogee GTZ CPU waterblock,
Swiftech MCW60 VGA waterblock

Ok so heres the issue. Just got my WC up and running after a HELL of a learning experience. I knocked about 15'C off my CPU and GPU, so im happy about that. Now im trying to overclock the phenom, and cant for the life of me seem to get a stable overclock. Ive read skinnies on RAM timings and such, and since have adjusted them:

My ram is now running at 800mhz, 5-5-5-18-24 1T
Which seem to help stablize it a bit..
My CPU OC is 200*15=3000 mhz or 3.0ghz @ 1.32 Vcore

At this point its stable, the temperature isnt an issue, my CPU is idling at 28'C and GPU 35'c. I just can't seem to get my voltages right. Ive tried adjusting NB voltage, NB CPU voltage, HT voltage, etc.. and nothing..

Anyone got any suggestions? i Just downloiad AMD overDrive to make this whole adjust and check game a bit easier. Thanks in advance dudes!

 

[christhiessen]

and.. apparently, i cant use AMD overdrive, not the right chipset. that rules. not

 

[christhiessen]

no takers??

Heres what my BIOS settings look like, maybe that will help.

VDDA Voltage---------Auto
Memory Voltage-------Auto
NF200 Chip Voltage---Auto
1.2V HT Voltage------Auto
NB Chip Voltage------Auto
CPU NB Multiplier-----Auto
CPU NB Voltage------Auto
CPU Voltage---------1.35v
CPU Mulit----------- 15x
CPU Frequency------ 200
PCIE Clock---------- 110

ANY suggestions are welcomed. Im trying to acheive a 3.6 + over clock. Thanks again.

 

[ChanceCoats123]

Ha, 3.6 is kind of out there for PI's but we will help. I would personally say add some cpu voltage. You mentioned 1.32 volts, is that in windows? If so, get an application like HWMonitor from here and then make sure your 3.3 and your 5 volts rails don't drop while testing with prime 95.

 

[christhiessen]

in HWmonitor is says my vcore is at 1.31 right now in winows. Ive tried venturing as high as 1.37 and it didnt seem to stabalize. One thing ive been reading about is RAM timings and board limitations. Because my MB's memory is max'd at 1066 and my memory IS 1066, would i have to run it in 800 instead of 1066 and then overclock from there?... thanks for the reply man

 

[ChanceCoats123]

Technically you shouldn't have to being as your ram isn't oc'ed, BUT and here is the big but, it makes it a lot easier on the on-die north bridge to be running lower speed ram than higher. So I suggest upping the cpu nb to 1.20-1.25 volts, then dropping your ram SPEED to 800mhz. I emphasized speed because you want to keep the timings intact.

 

[christhiessen]

so adjust the speed to 800, but keep my timings the same they are now?... 5-5-5-12-24 and... 2t or 1t?.. if i lower the timing, i could probably go 1t eh? being it is a bit faster.

 

[ChanceCoats123]

T2 always. And the point of dropping the speed is so that the loosened timings don't interfere with the oc'ing so dorpping the speed AND the timings would be the same deal as before, but with a lower speed and latency .

 

[christhiessen]

sounds good, thanks man. ill give her a shot and see what comes of it... my FSB is 200., and cuz i have a Black edition, i can increase via the multi. keep the 200 at 200 and just go via the multi, correct?

 

[QuietIce]

Here are the stock voltages so you know where you're at there:

CPU Voltage (vCore): 1.30v
NB-CPU voltage: 1.30v
CPU VDDA: 2.5v
DRAM Voltage (vDIMM): 1.8v
HT Link Voltage: 1.2v
NB Chipset: 1.1v
NB 1.8v (MemVDDQ): 1.8v
SB Chipset (NF200???): 1.2v

sounds good, thanks man. ill give her a shot and see what comes of it... my FSB is 200., and cuz i have a Black edition, i can increase via the multi. keep the 200 at 200 and just go via the multi, correct?

Well ... that may work fine for the Phenom II but the Phenom I's definitely get an advantage using the clock as well. Manually enter the stock voltages shown above but raise vCore to 1.35v then ...

Clock: 210 MHz
CPU multi: 14x
NB multi: 8x
HT Link multi: 6x
<<assuming DDR2-1066 RAM>> RAM @ DDR2-800 CAS 5 stock voltage*

reboot and test all your settings by running OCCT for 15 minutes.

Now, start increasing the clock speed in jumps of 5 MHz testing with OCCT for 5 minutes each time to see if it's stable. If OCCT doesn't pass increase the vCore by 0.05v and try again. When you're up to 1.45 vCore and the test fails it's time to try something else.

*I won't go into RAM until I know exactly what you're using - brand, stock speed, stock timings, stock voltage. There are too many possibilities there to just throw out some numbers.

For a brief you might want to read through http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=555058
Except for the RAM speed calculatoin it's pretty much the same OC for a Phenom I as any AM2 (Phenom II's are different).


Post back with more questions or results - we'll be here.

no takers??

Sorry - an hour isn't long enough for this old man to find a new thread. Good things come to those who wait ...