n00bie FX4100 "overclocking" question..

[Tinytacohead]

Hi all, new here obviously. Also bear with me, I've not done much CPU/mobo overclocking in awhile & things seem to have become a little more complicated! lol. , onto my question:

As per sig, I've got an FX4100/Sabertooth combo with some decent RAM, all running stock. (3.6Ghz/1866) I'm not really interested in fooling around with a full-on overclock right now, (plan on getting to that @ a later date if/when additional performance is needed), if able to be avoided/would simply like to keep my CPU running @ its factory turbo rating of 3.8Ghz. As a n00b & not totally understanding "turbo", I was wondering if there was a simple way to do so? (without goofing around with RAM timings, voltages etc or letting the auto overclock function do so either) As always, thanks in advance!

EDIT - I've already disabled all the power saver/down-clocking etc. type stuff

 

[EarthDog]

Change the multiplier to 38x.

 

[Tinytacohead]

Cool thanks - another dumb/the real question though.. no matter what settings I change, I can't seem to change the multiplier/CPU ratio. Obviously I'm not fully understanding the BIOS interface/am missing an option somewhere.. (and I have poked through other Sabertooth overclocking threads in search for whatever I'm overlooking, though still seem to be blind )

 

[trents]

The CPU multiplier is a subset of the manual overclocking mode. So there is probably another main overclocking mode bios header that you must take off of Auto and set to Manual before you can access the multiplier. And some bioses use the "+" and "-" keys to change values.

And Earthdog, did you mean to say change the multiplier to 38x? With a 200 mhz stock FSB frequency that would give a CPU frequency of 7.6 ghz! I think that should be 19x. And Tinytachohead, if I understand what you're asking help to do you're wanting to change something in bios to make all the cores run at 3800 mhz at the same time instead of some of them. Correct? If so, you would also need to go into bios and disable "Turbo Boost" mode (note: it may have a slightly different terminology in your bios but it will say something about "Turbo . . ."). It would also be advisable to disable Cool N Quiet, C1E an C6 in bios and then go into Windows Control Panel Power Options and set it to High Performance. That should disable the "green" power saving, down-throttling stuff.

 

[EarthDog]

Oops... yes. That is what I get for playing in the AMD section and not paying attention.

 

[Tinytacohead]

...And Tinytachohead, if I understand what you're asking help to do you're wanting to change something in bios to make all the cores run at 3800 mhz at the same time instead of some of them. Correct? If so, you would also need to go into bios and disable "Turbo Boost" mode (note: it may have a slightly different terminology in your bios but it will say something about "Turbo . . ."). It would also be advisable to disable Cool N Quiet, C1E an C6 in bios and then go into Windows Control Panel Power Options and set it to High Performance. That should disable the "green" power saving, down-throttling stuff.

Yes.. in stock form, with all mentioned turned off/disabled, in performance mode etc, (which I've already done), all four cores run @ 3.6Ghz. With Turbo whatever enabled, they automatically ramp up to 3.8Ghz for gaming etc. Whether the BIOS alters other settings, (IE: voltages, timings blabla, while ramped up, I have no clue as I'm new to this turbo stuff). Was just wondering if since in factory form, all four boost to 3.8, if I could simply set the CPU to whatever needed multiplier & forget it/without altering other parameters. I guess I'll Google around about a header, though was under the impression there weren't any physical changes needed with this mobo/it was simply a BIOS option I'm not seeing somewhere. Any 990 Sabertooth owners out there know what setting unlocks the ratio/multiplier? (and yea, I'll be sure not to try 38x, my brain was in wrong place too when I first read that )

 

[Tinytacohead]

...And some bioses use the "+" and "-" keys to change values...

Bingo/that's exactly what I needed to know!! Again, brain was in lala land the first time I read your post as well. (sorry for the double post, didn't want this message to be missed)

 

[trents]

Tinytacohead, the way turbo boost works is that it only ramps up some of the cores under load. This is a power saving, heat reduction measure. With an FX-4150 this will amount to quite a performance disadvantage because it's not really a true four core CPU. The cores share the cache resources and it kind of winds up amounting to the cores are not true distinct physical cores but virtual cores (in some respects). So you really should consider disabling that feature so that all the cores ramp up together.

 

[Tinytacohead]

Thanks for the turbo-boost clarification trents & yes, turbo/ALL that silly crap's been disabled since before even starting this thread. (I chose improper wording with this: "like to keep my CPU running @ its factory turbo rating of 3.8Ghz", as I didn't understand turbo yet) My main issue was pretty much that I didn't realize +/- as the command to manually alter the multiplier. Right now I'm Prime95'ing 4Ghz, (everything else factory), which is probably where I'll leave her if she's stable. Not looking for some major overclock, but knew I could better the stock 3.6. BTW, I've also been following some of your advice from another, similar thread.

 

[trents]

Make sure you run Prime95 for at least 2 hrs without BSOD or errors to confirm stability.

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

Prime95 needs at least 6 hours.

 

[Tinytacohead]

For now I've just been doing half hour or so increment runs, but will definitely do longer tests later tonight. Thanks again guys, I'll no doubt be back with more questions, be it here or in another thread!

 

[trents]

Welcome aboard, by the way. Lots of nice folks here and helpful advice. We learn from one another.

 

[Tinytacohead]

Probably a dumb question but is it Ok to run Prime95 & walk away or if it hangs @ some point, will it being stuck cause problems? Usually when I run a similar program I'm around just in case but was thinking about letting it go while I get some snooze time in..

 

[caddi daddi]

i have gone for hours and returned to find mine froze with no ill effects.

 

[trents]

Yea, it's okay to do that. These things aren't as fragile in that way as you might think. Just make sure you unplug them if there is an electrical storm outside. They don't like voltage spikes.

 

[Tinytacohead]

Yea, it's okay to do that. These things aren't as fragile in that way as you might think. Just make sure you unplug them if there is an electrical storm outside. They don't like voltage spikes.

Cool, just figured I'd make sure. As for storms, just lost a monitor to one, heh. I think its PSU was on its last legs anywho tho & it was time for some LED brightness just the same.

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

Probably a dumb question but is it Ok to run Prime95 & walk away

Yep. I do most of the time and walk back in to see if there's normal output after some hours passed.

Used to do that on my Barton.

 

[Tinytacohead]

So far so good as after 3h Prime95, all I had to do for 4Ghz was bump the multiplier. I know everybody's guidelines differ but the highest CPU temp recorded was 62c. (50c core) I'm considering that pretty good for the following reasons:
(CPU's typically been staying in the upper 50's during testing, low to mid 40's idle & low to mid 50's under heavy gaming)

While I've got an aftermarket heatsink installed, it was rather cheap/I don't even remember what it is or where it came from, lol. (had a hard time finding something low profile enough to fit) I've also got a rather cramped/smaller mid-tower case that's both backed 2" away from the wall behind it & about 3-4" from the one next to it, (or in other words, really stuffed into a corner!). My current circulation/fan setup leaves a little to be desired as well. Beyond that, the temp in this room's been about 80f all day and I need to sit down & wrap my head around fan settings, because my two PWM's both tend to spin pretty slow. (intake & CPU)