FX-6200, A little chronicled journey

[skpwn]

EDIT: See page 4 for my (preliminary) 4.4ghz run


gnusounduave has been sending me here for days so I figured I'd jump on in to the AMD forums and start a thread chronicling my 6200 overclock.

A little about my specs:

Fan cooler: Hyper 212+
Mobo: M5A97
Ram: 8 GB G.Skill
Vid Card: XFX 6790
Power Supply: Antec 500w
Case: Lian Li PC-K57

The only thing I'm worried about is my 500watt power supply. I started crunching numbers and I believe my system is using about ~350 watts total, but I'm no electrician.

I've got moderate OCing capabilities; My current rig has a Black Phenom x4 955 in it, that Ive overclocked to 3.8ghz and running stable. Anything passed that and I'm well over 55c on full load, but I'm in an unfortunate situation of being in a hot room.

BUT! Here comes the kicker: I'm moving my rig to the basement. The temperature down there is at least 10 degrees cooler as it's not finished, and I figured it'd be the next best thing to moving outside. On top of that, I'm going to be adding a 200mm fan on top of the case (we're doing surgery, folks), then doing push/pull on the 212+ to push all the air out. Since the two 140mms in the front of the case push more air than my 120mm in the back can get out, I figure I need a way to get rid of all that stagnant air floating around by my video card.

Phew..long post. If anyone has any suggestions, words of encouragement, or anything else they'd like to say, I'm all ears.

 

[gnusounduave]

welcome to the fold

 

[RGone]

Welcome skpwn. How about giving us some captures so we can have a more realistic idea of what is going on.

Pictures can speak volumes describing what is going on.


Using screen capture software capture the CPU-z image at the CPU button; the Memory button and the
SPD button. The buttons are across the top of the CPU-z window. The Mainboard button can also be used and will show the bios version in case one wanted to check the motherboard bios being up to date.
NOTE: I never capture the whole monitor but only the CPU-z window at each button so that the dang image is not so...so ginormous.


This is link to HWmonitor and as shown on the screen; you would also check the cpu plus (+) so that the core temps of the cpu would be shown. With an AMD cpu we certainly need to see the core temps at least the later AMD cpus.


Download site for Prime95 with some "how to's" included. Prime 95 can be used to stress a system and with HWMonitor opened a temp log will be kept to see if temps get out of hand during or at the time of a failure of P95, if such does occur because of an unstable configuration.


Okay I have not been looking for a screen capture tool but wish many would use some with window capture instead of the whole screen. This proggie comes highly recommended. 4 Capture Modes: Window, Region, Scrolling and Full Screen. I normally use Window or Region so the whole dang screen is not captured and makes the image so dang large. I save capture to .jpg so files are smaller in general.

NOTE: Win7 also has the inbuilt "snipping" tool that can capture just a specific window of the screen so that the entire desktop is not captured.

NOTE 2: Please attach captures to the forum itself so we do not have to travel on a link to some outside site. Thanks man.

Here is what the 3 CPUz tab captures and the capture of HWMonitor could and should look like for neatness and ease of viewing for those that might wish to help with overclocking etc.

 

[skpwn]

Welcome skpwn. How about giving us some captures so we can have a more realistic idea of what is going on.

I would love to give you the base line screen shots, but I haven't built it yet . CPU comes in today, so I'll replacing it tonight, and get it up and rollin'. I expected it yesterday so I could roll back in here with some SSs for ya, but I guess that's not in the cards

I've got HWMonitor, CPU-Z, Prime95, and all of that installed. Been using it to track my 955 Overclock (which is sitting at 3.8 ghz at 1.43 vcore atm), but I haven't gotten too deep into that. Decided that I enjoyed the performance boost from the OC that I gave it, and since the back room is so hot, I can't take it much higher. (The 4 cores are Blend Priming at ~53c @ 3.8ghz).

Before I get too deep into this 955, I'm going to be moving my fans around a bit, as I want to add a 200mm fan to the top of my Lian Li case. The M5A97 will not let me do East/West with the 212+, so I'm forced to North/South, meaning I can't do push/pull on it cause there isn't any room on top of the case.

 

[RGone]

Humh? Okay. Keep us in the loop.

 

[skpwn]

I meant 6200 and not 955, for the last paragraph >.>.

You'll have your screen shots tonight. I do not disappoint (at least, I hope not...this GF has stuck around for awhile....)

 

[skpwn]

Here's the pictures. It's hard to get a accurate picture with Turbo Boost blowing all around, but I got it to idle.

I went ahead and ran Prime95 with stock speeds on the 6200 for about 15 minutes and it is testing just fine, with a max temp of 40c. I started to mess around with a OC to 4.4ghz, but I couldn't get it stable with the little time I had to play with it tonight.

I'm open to all suggestions for where to take this bad boy. Little by little I hope to tweak it to a nice, stable, 4.5+ghz (gnusounduave's and I have a gentleman's bet for this OC )

 

[RGone]

Not rocket science by any means.

1. Do not see a CPUz capture showing the SPD tab.

2. Don't believe I have seen anyone in here with an FX-6200 since for a good while only the FX-6100s were available. They should respond similar to the FX-6100s though.

3. Glancing at HWMonitor, it shows that the max Vcore used was 1.40 when TurboBoost clocked your cpu up to probably 4.2Ghz. That is generally what sould happen when volts and cores etc are left alone.

4. You been here looking for days now so you should know the drill. NOTE: A minimum of 2 hours of error FREE P95 would be the least time frame of stressing done to begin to consider an overclock as stable. You might use a short 20 minute run to give clue to whether or not a particular overclock may survive stabily and it takes at least 20 mins to see how far CPU CORE temps will rise. END NOTE.
NOTE #2: I would set CPU/NB to 1.25Volts before beginning any other testing, in order to ensure the buss the ram communicates over has enough voltage to ensure stability in any event. Using the 1.25Volts to CPU/NB will likely be enough at all times, and you should have no cause to raise or lower. See that I said generally. END NOTE #2.

A. Turn-off/Disable APM, TurboBoost, C1E, C6, CoolNQuiet and in Win7 performance modes set to performance mode and not balanced or power saving.

B. Okay you can go there and read how " I " approach an overclocking process after years of doing the stumble step up like most. You have to do your own soul-searching and then U can go with it knowing that the Vcore you have chosen will forever be your Max and you don't have to worry about adding any Vcore, but when reaching the limits/s, you can then try Vcore downward of course.

Need some help overclocking amd fx 4100 "BlargCraft"

C. Or you can do the stumble step upward by starting with the amount of Vcore given at Default Vcore and lock the multiplier and test P95 for stability and up cpu multiplier and test again with p95 and if it fails then up Vcore by an increment and then test p95 again to see if passes and if not add another increment of Vcore and test again with P95 until you finally reach the Vcore that "now" you finally feel is too high or your temps exceed ~55c in the CPU CORE temps in HWMonitor.

There neither B nor C is rocket science. And is oh so simple when you have an unlocked multiplier as is so on the newer FX series cpus. Get all green turned off or reined in. Get a Vcore. Get a multiplier and begin to test each on an upward ramp of cpu speeds, testing each upward ramping with a very minimum of 20mins P95 with HWMonitor open and logging cpu core temps and voltages, so that you can see what is going on and have the Min/Max voltages and cpu core temps to attach to your forum thread for viewing when you have issue or get to the end of your quest.

Don't make something hard that is not. Max Vcore you will use with core temps approximately 55c or less and that should be very close to your max cpu mhz. It does not get any harder than that. When you get to 4.4/4.5Ghz or therebouts and P95 stable for at a minimum of 2 hours...shout back with all your screen shots of three tabs of CPUz and screen shot of HWMonitor and we will try a little more tweaking for a little more MHz.

Luck man. RGone...ster____________________________

 

[skpwn]

I've been forgetting to turn off APM....you just revolutionized all my overclocking. Here's to a 2 hour prime blend @ 4.4...I can't wait to get out of work!

Then we turn off 4 cores and push this processor to the limit

 

[skpwn]

RGone, I've got a question for you.

I started trying to get a fairly stable 4.4ghz. I started stutter stepping and settled on the following:

I've been blending for just over 30 minutes @ 4.4ghz (1.46 vcore, 1.25 nb voltage), and I've been watching the vcore dip down to 1.404. I've been doing some reading, and have foundsome people that site LLC as the issue. I don't know much about how LLC works, but when I look to set it between 1 and 10, I've only got on/off.

What do you think would be causing the PC to override the manual 1.46 vcore that I set? Attached are the screen shots near the end of my 30 minute blend. I hope I grabbed all the right screens for you this time.

 

[RGone]

Get good signature so don't have to go back to first post everytime to keep up with what mobo and what ram etc.

Sigs are pretty easy. Signatures follow you in every post in the forum so your system information follows you and people know what is in the box.

Be logged in to the forum.

Across the top of the forum is a button shown as 'user cp'. Click that button.

On the page that loads are a list of options down the left side of the page.

Under the Settings & Options menu area is a Edit Signature listing. Click on that listing.

Clicking Edit Signature opens another page. In the middle of that page is where you Edit YOUR signature.

Enter your information there and at bottom of the window you are entering your signature is button for either Preview Signature or Save Signature. Do save and you will have your signature incorporated into the forum in each of your posts. Of course Preview Signature will let you see 'how' your signature would appear in the forum. But in the end the Save Signature must be clicked to save it to the forum.

You can look at my signature for a template of some good stuffz to put in one's own signature when seeking help.

Good luck man.

 

[skpwn]

Done!

 

[RGone]

I don't know much about how LLC works, but when I look to set it between 1 and 10, I've only got on/off. = Yep those vanilla boards don't 'actually' have a percentage to set even if bios says it does. It is On/Off or Auto I think. I would try ON and see what happens. I might have mis-read what you wrote. You have On or Off and not an Auto? I had g00gled it and seemed it was on/off/auto, but maybe not. Shame you don't have that cpu on a Sabertooth mobo. Those things and the CrosshairV are bad to the bone with options in bios. And always in the back of my wondering mind is that 500watt power supply. Get what you can and then decide if it is enough. If so then you will be golden. Otherwise it may take some more P/S.

Thanks for signature man. I swapped to another computer with bigger screen and full size keyboard and went to first post and then g00gled and wrote what I just did above. RGone...ster.

 

[gnusounduave]

RGone:

skpwn is my buddy and we have the exact same board. I've messed with my LLC and turned it from auto to on and boy oh boy will it swing the vcore way up there. For example I've been at 1.49 and it's swung it up to 1.57 and I couldn't hit stop on prime fast enough.

I've always thought in the back of my mind that this board is holding me back.

 

[RGone]

LLC sucketh then on that mobo.

RGone:

skpwn is my buddy and we have the exact same board. I've messed with my LLC and turned it from auto to on and boy oh boy will it swing the vcore way up there. For example I've been at 1.49 and it's swung it up to 1.57 and I couldn't hit stop on prime fast enough.

I've always thought in the back of my mind that this board is holding me back.

Turning off LLC seems the only thing to do then and bump the vCore up some manually.

There are people coming into the "mobo section" regularly wanting to clock AMD and FX and get a value board. I cringe back in my chair when I hear such. You can get 4.2Ghz on a value board, but it is tough to get another 200Mhz for 24/7 season in and season out on a value rig. For FXseries you need good water and good uber tweakable mobo. Then of course your silicon has to be a good one.

I have been doing some searching on the FX series and I am trying to verify a long review I saw where the "stuffs" was left alone and the FX allowed to do its' bounce and do so undervolted. Doing so never lost more than 10% against 4.5Ghz FX rigs. 10% aint' doodlie squat and not have to beat up your stuff. I wanted to see if I could find a some verifying information before mentioning it since most are only seeing balls to the wall with these FX things since everyone said they clock so easy. Yeah they do to a point and then they are drawing so much power and creating so much heat...you got to spend another couple of hundred dollars for 200Mhz.

And we need to realize AMD sent the most expensive ASUS mobo to all the review sites when the FX series was released. So unless the user public had the same high dollar pieces, they stood a good chance to get less speed.

At any rate I am still daily looking for that 'in thing' that works for FX use.
RGone...ster.

 

[gnusounduave]

You can get 4.2Ghz on a value board, but it is tough to get another 200Mhz for 24/7 season in and season out on a value rig.

^^ That right there.

Going brute force I could get my 4.2 @ 1.455 vcore but after tweaking I found the sweet spot for this board was either 230 or 235 fsb and that let me get 4.2 @ 1.450 vcore. Hitting 4.4 required me to push it to 1.51vcore and even there I didn't like the voltage that high for anything other than prime.

Getting back to the LLC, I even turned it from auto to off and it didn't swing the vcore like the man on the flying trapeze had you turned it on but turning it off didn't seem to give any type of gain at all. It was as if it was set on auto.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but looking back is still a bit fuzzy. I would / should have went with a better board but it is what it is. This thing will have to last me about 2 years before I even upgrade to Piledriver. I got this thing because it was a good value for sure but ya live and ya learn. Que Sera, Sera.

 

[RGone]

I found the sweet spot for this board was either 230 or 235 fsb and that let me get 4.2 @ 1.450 vcore = Yep that getting close and then using FSB seems to work for being able to use a little less Vcore. Some have even been able to get around a Mhz wall, but it something that has to be done by trial and error and hand-holding is nigh impossible typing back and forth. However once you had the idea about 10 days ago...I was sure you would nail it to the wall and you did.

Them boys with 2500K's been having it easy for about a year or so now, but the new Sandybridge E has changed it back to having to have a good board again, just as it used to be since they can or rather now have to use FSB clocking again.

When the new PileDriver comes, I probably will make a move and get one. I will likely get the 1000FX chipset equivalent of the Sabertooth and run it on ice water for shetts and giggles.l Hehehe. RGone...ster.

 

[gnusounduave]

When the new PileDriver comes, I probably will make a move and get one. I will likely get the 1000FX chipset equivalent of the Sabertooth and run it on ice water for shetts and giggles

I'm getting a bit off topic here but i've been entertaining the idea of water cooling for piledriver. I mean I got my 212+ for this bulldozer and I can see using it for piledriver but water cooling is something I'd like to tackle next. Now with chilled water how would one counter condensation?

I'm only asking that question because you're across the river from me and you know how brutal our summers can be with humidity.

 

[RGone]

Now with chilled water how would one counter condensation? = complete insulation around the cpu. The vinyl hoses don't seem to weep-off much but the cpu and metal of the water block can for sure. Plus I know the VRMs will be getting hot so I blow air 'across' the VRMs and it helps keep the condensation to a minimum at the water block.

I went over to the extreme cooling section here and found this link that is somewhat similar in regards to how I start to insulate around the socket.


Since he is using a pot that does not have hoses that stay attached, so there are differences. At least a look at to get the direction of drift.

 

[skpwn]

Talking with gnusounduave, it seems that my safest bet is to just let the FX get to 4.2 and let her rip. Since I turbo to 4.1 on stock vcore, it'll be easy enough to set it and forget it (at 4.2). I was watching him OC the 6100, saying that 4.2 turns his processor into a whole new beast. I'm curious if it'll do the same for the 6200.....even though I'm (fairly) safe @ 4.4, I wasn't running any applications that I could really tell the difference. I cinebenched at a full point higher than at stock though...I'm going to go back in tonight and see what I can do @ stock and 4.2.

Speaking of - I'm @ 1.46 vcore for 4.4 (6200) while the 6100 seems to do it at ~1.51. I suppose the little extra wattage that is going through the 6200 helps it a bit.

I'd like to try for 4.5 or 4.6 just to say I got there, but reading what you said about a few extra mhz kind of puts it all in perspective....why tax my cpu so much for so little gain?