How much can I overclock my AMD Phenom™ II X4 925 Quad-Core CPU 2.8ghz?

[Tyler Bro]

1 x Motherboard [CrossFire] Gigabyte GA-970A-D3 -- AMD 970 w/ 2x PCI-E 2.0 x16
1 x Case Thermaltake Element G Gaming Case - Black
1 x Case Lighting Meteor Light w/ 8 Speed settings - Red
0 x iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction None
0 x iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion None
1 x Processor [= Quad Core =] AMD Phenom™ II X4 925 Quad-Core CPU
1 x Processor Cooling Liquid CPU Cooling System [AMD] - [Free Upgrade] Standard 120mm Fan
1 x Memory 8 GB [2 GB X4] DDR3-1333 Memory Module - ** FREE Upgrade to DDR3-1600 ** Corsair or Major Brand
1 x Video Card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti - 1GB - Single Card
1 x Video Card Brand Major Brand Powered by AMD or NVIDIA
1 x Motherboard [CrossFire] Gigabyte GA-970A-D3 -- AMD 970 w/ 2x PCI-E 2.0 x16
1 x Motherboard USB / SATA Interface Motherboard default USB / SATA Interface
1 x Power Supply 700 Watt -- Standard
1 x Primary Hard Drive 1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive
0 x Data Hard Drive None
1 x Optical Drive 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Red
0 x 2nd Optical Drive None
1 x Flash Media Reader / Writer 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer - Red
1 x Meter Display NZXT Sentry 2 Touch Screen Fan Controller & Temperature Display
0 x USB Expansion None
1 x Sound Card 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
1 x Network Card Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
1 x Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + Office Starter 2010 (Includes basic versions of Word and Excel) - 64-Bit
1 x Keyboard Thermaltake eSPORTS CHALLENGER PRO Gaming Keyboard
1 x Mouse iBUYPOWER Internet Mouse
0 x Monitor None
0 x 2nd Monitor None
1 x Speaker System iBUYPOWER 2.1 Channel Stereo Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker System
0 x Headset None
0 x Video Camera None
0 x Case Engraving Service None
1 x Warranty Standard Warranty Service - Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support
1 x Rush Service Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) - No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days


These are the parts for my computer. I just want to know what is the max I can overclock this CPU and the max heat for it, If I'm not mistaken I think it's around 71c but I'm not sure...

Thanks guys, cheers.


PS - I have it at 3.3 right now but can I raise it higher to 3.5 or even 3.7? Also, is there anything else I can change such as the CPU voltage or anything else in the bios that might help? I have CPU-Z and Prime95 for bench marking tests. I also have a program to check my temps on my CPU while I run Prime95.





I'm also kind of new here, It looks like a cool forum and might stick around for a while.


Edit : Here is a CPU-Z screen shot.

 

[manu2b]

Is your cooler an all-in-one closed loop like the H60/H80?

If yes, you can certainly go higher than 3.3GHz.

Check this guide:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596023&highlight=dolk's+guide

 

[Tyler Bro]

Is your cooler an all-in-one closed loop like the H60/H80?

If yes, you can certainly go higher than 3.3GHz.

Check this guide:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596023&highlight=dolk's+guide

How do I check that? I don't know too much about cooling.

 

[manu2b]

Could you take a pic of the inside of your rig?

 

[Tyler Bro]

Could you take a pic of the inside of your rig?

Sure, I can do that real quick, hold on.

 

[manu2b]

Do you have a cooler on the cpu that looks like that? (Not talking about the ram cooler)

 

[Tyler Bro]

I took two pics, is that good?

 

[manu2b]

Yep, perfect.

You have decent cooling!

Go (slowly an thoroughly!) through the guide I linked to you post#2.

 

[Tyler Bro]

Yep, perfect.

You have decent cooling!

Go (slowly an thoroughly!) through the guide I linked to you post#2.

I did a Prime95 benchmark and my CPU temps got to 54c-55c stabilized in 20 minutes overclocked to 3.3ghz

Is that normal? How much higher can you think I can go? 3.5 or 3.7?


BTW, Thanks for the help mate!

 

[manu2b]

You must check the core temps.

Everything in the guide!

 

[RGone]

I am very much in accord with 'manu2b' about establishing a firm foundation before turning up the wick. More often than not, understanding the terminology is a key to moving on and upward.

Here is another Dolk AMD overclocking "help" that seems written from a slightly different reference point. I find it maybe a little less involved, but going in quite the same direction.


3 Step Guide to Overclock Your AMD Phenom

 

[trents]

Your HT Link frequency may be getting too high for stability. It would be helpful if whenever you post pics from CPU-z if you included images of the Memory and SPD tabs so we can have a look at things like your ram frequency and timings as well as what the manufacturer of the ram recommends (SPD tab) for timings and voltages with that memory product. You are limited to overclocking using the HT Reference since that CPU is not a black edtion with unlocked multiplier and that causes several other linked buses to speed up in the process; namely, the memory bus, the HT Link and the CPUNB.

 

[Archer0915]

I am thinking you should bottom out all multipliers and find max HT ref. After that point you will know your maximum potential OC. I have seen some boards peg out at ~260 which means 3.6. So to move up you may need to move some things down.

 

[manu2b]

^My Gigabyte GA-790XT-USB3 was doing 290...

 

[Tyler Bro]

The highest I got it too right now is 3.4ghz

Will try and post more pics of CPU-Z and overclock it more tomorrow, thanks for the help guys!