Learning To Overclock

[danstar1123]

I have
CPU ~ AMD Phenom II X4 955
Mobo ~ Asus M4A89GTD PRO
Cooler ~ Zalman Cnps 9900 Max

I was just wondering what you guys have gotten my CPU up to as far as gigahertz and I was wondering how you did so.

 

[peanutbudder]

I have seen 955 Black editions @ 4.0ghz without a problem. IO would offer more insight on 'how to' but I use intel. sorry

 

[danstar1123]

Do you know where I could learn?

 

[danstar1123]

I got my clock speed up to 4 gigahertz, I think it was a bit unstable because BF3 on ultra was getting major lag spikes.

 

[Cigarsmoker]

Have 2 955 BE systems still in use. Got one to 3.8 and the other to 4.0. Setup is virtually identical.

Here's a great guide. Read and follow step by step. It's pretty simple. Have fun.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596023

 

[danstar1123]

I had no idea what i was doing, just went off of a guide I saw on youtube, I took a glance at that guide but I am much to lazy to read the whole thing.

 

[danstar1123]

What ram do you suggest? I need as much as I can get for $100 USD.

 

[Cigarsmoker]

I find RAM speed don't make that much of a difference. The best CPU for OCing these days are multiplier unlocked so OCing is mostly done via increasing the multiplier. Which don't really stress the rest of the system, especially the memory management components, as OCing via FSB.

Personally I like GSkill, Muskin, Kingston, Patriot or Crucial. When buying RAM, price with adequate speed is more important to me than name brand.

For $100 US, today, this is what I'd get:

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX36867

Why? Because today it's on sale and is a 5 min drive from my house.

 

[danstar1123]

D**n, I forgot to include shipping $20 shipping from newegg.com. It really sucks living in alaska

 

[Cigarsmoker]

99% of the folks out there, myself included, don't need/use more than 4 GB of RAM. Only reason my systems are 8 GB+ is because memory is cheap and I'm a geek.

 

[storm-chaser]

common misconceptions still abound. Besides you'll want to stay away from that ram, a CL 9! for an overclocker, yeah thats a great start.

Despite the school of thought that memory speed has nothing to do with memory performance, you can tell the difference. Benchmark results with high performance memory tuned correctly, will give you 2-5gb/s of additional throughput. That will result in real world performance. If you have the money, go for CL 7 ram with timings like 7-8-7-20. XMS corsair makes some great stuff, overclockable too. (1600-1784mhz).

Go with the lowest CL rating as possible, for fastest response time:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226305

 

[MongGrel]

If you're too lazy to read a guide on overclocking then don't bother attempting to I guess would be my blunt response more or less

 

[Knufire]

common misconceptions still abound. Besides you'll want to stay away from that ram, a CL 9! for an overclocker, yeah thats a great start.

Despite the school of thought that memory speed has nothing to do with memory performance, you can tell the difference. Benchmark results with high performance memory tuned correctly, will give you 2-5gb/s of additional throughput. That will result in real world performance. If you have the money, go for CL 7 ram with timings like 7-8-7-20. XMS corsair makes some great stuff, overclockable too. (1600-1784mhz).

Go with the lowest CL rating as possible, for fastest response time:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226305

Memory speed makes quite a difference in benchmarks, bit not in real world performance.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3

For the OP, read the guide. Us just telling you settings may or may not work as every chip is unique... the guide will find the best OC for your chip.