I need some help OC-ing my rig.

[akatsui]

Hello everyone,

I recently got a new desktop and I want to OC it a bit.
Here's the specs;
CPU : AMD Fx-6100
Cooler: Stock
Memory: 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600
Motherboard: AsRock 970 Extreme 3
PSU: HKC 550watt


I know I'm not in a great position to OC much, but I'd like to say I've tapped the multiplier from it's original 16.5x to 18.5x, increasing the clock from 3,3GHz to 3,7GHz.
It's on it's standard voltage of 1.3625 and I would like to know if this is a safe setup.
Temperatures under my usual gaming load go to a max of around 55~57 celsius.

I hope I've given enough information!

EDIT: Turbo Core Control is on so I can't go over the 18.5x Multiplier, also the HT multiplier is set at the standard 10x.

 

[trents]

Hello everyone,

I recently got a new desktop and I want to OC it a bit.
Here's the specs;
CPU : AMD Fx-6100
Cooler: Stock
Memory: 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600
Motherboard: AsRock 970 Extreme 3
PSU: HKC 550watt


I know I'm not in a great position to OC much, but I'd like to say I've tapped the multiplier from it's original 16.5x to 18.5x, increasing the clock from 3,3GHz to 3,7GHz.
It's on it's standard voltage of 1.3625 and I would like to know if this is a safe setup.
Temperatures under my usual gaming load go to a max of around 55~57 celsius. Are these "core" temps or CPU (socket) temps? What software are you using to measure temps? The most used temp and voltage monitoring software around this forum is HWMonitor. It gives both core and CPU socket temps. You should also use Prime95 blend to stress while you are monitoring temps. Prime95 blend will reveal whether or not your overclock is truly stable. Run it for at least 2 hours.

I hope I've given enough information!

EDIT: Turbo Core Control is on so I can't go over the 18.5x Multiplier, also the HT multiplier is set at the standard 10x.

 

[akatsui]

I used Speedfan and AMD Overdrive to get the temps, I am running Prime95 right now and will make a screenshot with HWMonitor after 2 hours!

Thanks!

 

[drosera01]

Not to discourage you but 55-57 C just while gaming is already high enough. SO, i suggest you to drop the multiplier on stock setting of 16.5.
Then download and install CPU-z and post screenshots of CPU, Memory and SPD tabs.
Download HWMonitor and install it. Download Prime95.
While HwMonitor is running on your Desktop, run Prime95 for about 20 minutes and post the screenshots of that. make sure to scroll it down to revel core temperatures.

Prime95 will stress your CPU to the extent you normally don not expect gaming would to and HWmonitor will report the CPU temp, this gives you some idea howmuch headroom you micht have to overclock on stock heatsink.
I am afraid you might have to go for aftermarket cooler to get better OCing.

 

[trents]

You will have a good idea of what your max core and CPU temps will be after 10-20 minutes of Prime95. Don't let the core temp exceed about 55-57c (that's where instability typically begins to set in) and the CPU temp about 65-67c. Stop the test if it does as AMD states maximum safe temps are about 70c.

If any of the "core workers" in Prime95 drops out or if you get BSOD or lockup you have failed the test.

 

[akatsui]

I've read all the replies and here are the results of testing for about 30~40 minutes in Prime.

And here are the CPU-Z screenshots.

Noted that ofcourse, in the CPU tab it shows my CPU in idle.
It goes to 3,7GHz stressed.

 

[trents]

You probably know this but "Turbo Core" only accelerates some of the cores at a given point in time so it's a little bit of deceptive terminology.

The other thing I note is that your ram is only rated for 1333 mhz. The FX CPUs will generally be stable with 1866 mhz ram. I think you're performance is being throttled by your ram.

 

[akatsui]

You probably know this but "Turbo Core" only accelerates some of the cores at a given point in time so it's a little bit of deceptive terminology.

The other thing I note is that your ram is only rated for 1333 mhz. The FX CPUs will generally be stable with 1866 mhz ram. I think you're performance is being throttled by your ram.

My corsair vengeance memory should be stock at 1600Mhz, can you enlighten me on this?

Also, about Turbo Core, I usually run applications which use 2 or 3 cores at once, would this have any effects or would I be better off disabling it?

 

[boucher91]

yes i would disable that and all other power saving features so as not to affect your oc..

 

[akatsui]

yes i would disable that and all other power saving features so as not to affect your oc..

Alright, thanks for the tip, are there any power saving features I should definitely turn off and some I should never turn off?

 

[trents]

My corsair vengeance memory should be stock at 1600Mhz, can you enlighten me on this?

Also, about Turbo Core, I usually run applications which use 2 or 3 cores at once, would this have any effects or would I be better off disabling it?

1600 is the "XMP" or "Xtreme Memory Profile" of your ram and will more than likely require you to go into bios and manually configure the frequency and timings to concur with what you see in the XMP column of CPU-z "SPD" tab. You need only concern your self with the timings you see in CPU-z. Leave the others on Auto as there are about 20 of them altogether in bios that show up when you take the memory timing main section header off Auto.

IMO, if the software you are running is not using more than four cores you will not see much performance improvement by disabling Turbo and other green stuff and doing so will generate more heat. You could try it both ways and see what impact it has. If you were overclocking it higher, however, the green stuff would likely create instability.

The FX chips have a pretty complicated green stuff technology set but if you would turn off CnQ, Turbo, C1E and then go into Windows Control Panel Power Options and configure it to High Performance then that would get you well on your way.

 

[akatsui]

1600 is the "XMP" or "Xtreme Memory Profile" of your ram and will more than likely require you to go into bios and manually configure the frequency and timings to concur with what you see in the XMP column of CPU-z "SPD" tab. You need only concern your self with the timings you see in CPU-z. Leave the others on Auto as there are about 20 of them altogether in bios that show up when you take the memory timing main section header off Auto.

IMO, if the software you are running is not using more than four cores you will not see much performance improvement by disabling Turbo and other green stuff and doing so will generate more heat. You could try it both ways and see what impact it has. If you were overclocking it higher, however, the green stuff would likely create instability.

I assume the XMP is safe to adjust accordingly?

Also, disabling 'green stuff' and Turbo Core will only improve if I clock beyond 4GHz or so?
I also tried to start my computer up at 4,4GHz with stock, which it froze on loading Windows, 4.2GHz froze seconds after my desktop appeared, I am currently stable at 3,7GHz.

Also, what would you have me do with the voltage?

 

[trents]

Yes, the XMP is a safe profile to configure the ram to in bios. This is the way essentially all "1600" ram is marketed. 1600 rated ram is, in effect, 1333 mhz ram that will do 1600 when either the ram voltage is increased or the timings are relaxed or both. If you bump it up to 1600 I would also suggest giving the ram a tad more voltage push, maybe to 1.525 or 1.55. This can help with overall stability.

Disabling Turbo and other green stuff will have the same effect at any frequency you have the CPU running at. It will simply have the effect of forcing all the cores to run at the same speed all the time.

 

[akatsui]

Yes, the XMP is a safe profile to configure the ram to in bios. This is the way essentially all "1600" ram is marketed. 1600 rated ram is, in effect, 1333 mhz ram that will do 1600 when either the ram voltage is increased or the timings are relaxed or both. If you bump it up to 1600 I would also suggest giving the ram a tad more voltage push, maybe to 1.525 or 1.55. This can help with overall stability.

Disabling Turbo and other green stuff will have the same effect at any frequency you have the CPU running at. It will simply have the effect of forcing all the cores to run at the same speed all the time.

Alright, thanks a lot for the info, I will note it down before I start OCing my ram to it's XMP.

I only have 1 question left, is there any need to change my CPU voltage?

 

[trents]

What I suggest is that you test your overclock settings with 20 minute Prime95 blend runs with HWMonitor always open on the desktop to monitor core and CPU socket temps. Twenty minutes (if passed) is long enough to conclude that you are at least almost stable. Increase the CPU multiplier by .5x increments. If you fail the 20 minute test then increase the CPU core voltage a small increment ("vcore") to re-stablize. When you reach core temps of 55c or CPU temps of 65-67c then don't add anymore vcore. At that point stress test for 2 hours. If you pass, call it stable. If you fail, decrease the CPU multiplier by .5x and retest for 2 hrs.

To answer your question, with an unlocked CPU multiplier like is the case with the FX CPUs, either not enough vcore or core temps that get too high are the most likely culprits for instability.

 

[akatsui]

What I suggest is that you test your overclock settings with 20 minute Prime95 blend runs with HWMonitor always open on the desktop to monitor core and CPU socket temps. Twenty minutes (if passed) is long enough to conclude that you are at least almost stable. Increase the CPU multiplier by .5x increments. If you fail the 20 minute test then increase the CPU core voltage a small increment ("vcore") to re-stablize. When you reach core temps of 55c or CPU temps of 65-67c then don't add anymore vcore. At that point stress test for 2 hours. If you pass, call it stable. If you fail, decrease the CPU multiplier by .5x and retest for 2 hrs.

To answer your question, with an unlocked CPU multiplier like is the case with the FX CPUs, either not enough vcore or core temps that get too high are the most likely culprits for instability.

Got it running stable on a multiplier of 20x with a Vcore boost of 2-step in the bios, approximately 0.100 extra volts, I'm loving it.
Core temps are a tiny bit higher than what you said, but both a friend and my brother approved they were safe.

 

[trents]

So, I assume your friend and your brother have good knowledge of these things.

 

[trents]

Did it pass Prime95 for two hours yet? I would not assume its stable until you can do that.

 

[akatsui]

So, I assume your friend and your brother have good knowledge of these things.

My brother has a diploma in IT, the same level I'm doing at the moment, he's currently also a network administrator and he's a self taught expect on hardware and OC-ing.

Did it pass Prime95 for two hours yet? I would not assume its stable until you can do that.

I'll put it through Prime95 for 2 hours at least tomorrow.

 

[akatsui]

At 4,0GHz it got unstable, reluctant to increase voltage any further I clocked it back to 3,9, it passed Prime95 for about 2 hours and 10 minutes.