FX 8150 overclocking - unusual voltage requirement?

[empirebeige]

I am trying to overclock my FX 8150 CPU, and I've checked out several written guides and videos on how to do it. I've gone with the easiest method, ie. gradually increasing the multiplier and the CPU voltage if needed. My problem is that even with a modest level of overclocking I have to crank up the voltage significantly. At 4200 MHz I am already at 1.475 volts, and the system is still not stable. The default speed is 3600 MHz, and the default voltage is 1.25.

On forums and in the overclocking guides for this CPU I've seen people get up to 4500 MHz with less than 1.3 volts. One guide claimed that most Bulldozers are able to put out 700 or so extra MHz with the stock voltage alone. So I'm a little confused. I don't want to go past 1.475 V because I've read that with air cooling it is the safe maximum, and indeed it appears that at that voltage, on 100% load, my CPU temps are hitting the high 50s. I have tried overclocking through the BIOS and with AMD Overdrive (Win 8). Both methods yielded similar results.

I've thought of two possible limiting factors: My motherboard is a budget micro ATX model (Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3). However, the BIOS has all the necessary options for overclocking. Also, I have 16 gigs of Kingston DDR3 1333MHz CL9 DIMM non ECC memory, which is another budget-conscious choice. Could these be the problem? I'm using a Zalman CNPS7X LED CPU cooler, and a Corsair 600W 80 plus bronze PSU. My graphics card is a Sapphire Radeon HD 7870.

I'm not planning on breaking any records here. Reaching 4,5 GHz would be ideal, but I'd be happy with less if I can make it run pretty.

 

[manu2b]

Well, I'd say MoBo...
Power Phases struggling!

 

[Boulard83]

Well, I'd say MoBo...
Power Phases struggling!

huge +1

 

[empirebeige]

Ok, thanks. So you're saying that the motherboard can't handle any CPU voltage increase at all? I'm not familiar with power phases.

It's a little strange if the mobo doesn't allow for any overclocking, since Gigabyte openly advertises it as a feature of the board. Here are the specs: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4305#sp

 

[Boulard83]

FX8xxx chip require very good boards to run/OC decently. Even if your board had tons of OC option, you could'nt OC the CPU that much. In fact, even at stock with this chip your board is possibly pushed to the max.

Just ofr reference, this is your board ?

 

[empirebeige]

Yeah, that's the one.

 

[caddi daddi]

it says 4+1 power phase. thats issue#1
4200 with that board is pretty good.
what are you planning to do with that rig?
if gamming, it's gonna hurt you.
for getting real work done, about 4200 is where you need to be.

 

[Mandrake4565]

I agree with the above statements it's most likely the motherboard. Though if you're running 4 sticks of 4 g ram you could try and pull two out to see if you can clock higher. Four sticks will put a greater stress on the Imc and hinder the overclock. I still feel your limiting factor is the board though.

 

[caddi daddi]

this kida makes me want to pull my 8350 out and chuck the 8120 back in and make a bunch of heat!!!!!!

 

[RGone]

this kida makes me want to pull my 8350 out and chuck the 8120 back in and make a bunch of heat!!!!!!

Wait until winter and you take a tour of the doghouse and take it out there with you. Hehehe

RGone...

 

[empirebeige]

it says 4+1 power phase. thats issue#1
4200 with that board is pretty good.
what are you planning to do with that rig?
if gamming, it's gonna hurt you.
for getting real work done, about 4200 is where you need to be.

I wanted to overclock for gaming, specifically to deal with Planetside 2's aversion to AMD processors. I don't do much CPU-intensive work. The FX's turbo core function can, at least temporarily, take it up to 4200. So overclocking to that level probably wouldn't bring huge benefits?

I guess for the time being I'll lay off the overclocking, given the motherboard's limitations. These Windows crashes aren't doing any good to the operating system.

 

[caddi daddi]

for gamming with fx it's about processor speed and memory, not having 8 cores.
most games can only use 1 or two cores so go into bios and see if you can disable 4 cores.
turbo core is of little or no value in gamming.

think of the power as a water hose, voltage is the water pressure and amps is the volume of water.
with this combo your trying to fill a swimming pool with 4 eye droppers, (power phases).
now if you have 8 eye droppers (power phases) or more, the pool will fill faster and the flow of water would be smoother.

 

[Ajay57]

Nice way to explain the power phases C_ _ D, But the wife says can you send a eye dropper for her Hay Fever my friend!! AJ.

 

[empirebeige]

for gamming with fx it's about processor speed and memory, not having 8 cores.
most games can only use 1 or two cores so go into bios and see if you can disable 4 cores.
turbo core is of little or no value in gamming.

think of the power as a water hose, voltage is the water pressure and amps is the volume of water.
with this combo your trying to fill a swimming pool with 4 eye droppers, (power phases).
now if you have 8 eye droppers (power phases) or more, the pool will fill faster and the flow of water would be smoother.

It seems that in BIOS I can only disable cores in pairs. I read somewhere that it would be better to disable every other core (or 1 core per module). Anyways, just to try it out I disabled cores 4-7, leaving cores 0-3 enabled. Gaming performance appears to be the same or worse than before.

 

[Ajay57]

I know you Motherboard board is Micro ATX Form, but the only way to OC that CPU would be to use one of these. Sorry if this is useless info but its just a sad fact my friend.

1, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-876R^13-131-876-Z01&percm=13-157-358:$$$$$$$

Best regards AJ.

 

[empirebeige]

That's ok Thank you for the info. Come to think of it, an AMD FX and a mobo that doesn't allow for overclocking is probably not the greatest combination out there...