Need help overclocking Amd atlhon ii x4 640

[Thyrax]

ok, my option were something around 1100 mhz or 1400 mhz, so I chose 1400 for now. is that a fix value or its based of the curent cpu frequency ?

 

[trents]

CPU-z will always represent ram frequency at half of what you expect. It reports ram "bus frequency" rather than DDRx transfer frequency. So 702.4 is really 1404.8. What you have it as now is faster than what it was before. You went the wrong way. So, lower it to the 533/1066 divider.

 

[trents]

I'll be back in 30 min. or so. The dog needs walking.

 

[Thyrax]

can't reboot atm, playing a competition game, it'll be the first thing ill do tomorow after work

 

[Thyrax]

ok nvm, im done earlier than I tought, here, got the memory to 561 ( with 210 cpu frequency )

 

[trents]

Set the CPU/NB Offset Voltage to Manual and then enter a value of 1.225. The CPU/NB voltage is a component of the ICM (Integrated memory controller). Overclocking it really enhances memory performance but it needs a little extra electrical "umph" to be overclocked and remain stable.

Set CPU Load Line Calibration to "Enable".

Now, with the present FSB of 210 mhz. run a 20 minute Prime95 blend test. Whenever you run a Prime95 stress test like this, always have HWMonitor already open on the desktop to monitor temps and voltages.

If you pass the test, bump the FSB up to 220 mhz and retest for 20 minutes. Repeat this process of increasing the FSB by 10 mhz increments until you fail the Prime 20 minute test. Failing can take several forms: Blue screen, spontaneous restart, locked system, Prime95 itself freezes or one or more of the four Prime95 core workers drops out.

If you fail the test, go back into bios and increase the CPU Offset voltage by .025 after taking it off Auto. Retest. Pass or fail, post back with attached pics of the three CPU-z tabs and of HWMonitor immediately following the most recent test.

Watch core temps and TMPINx CPU temp lines. We don't want core temps to exceed 55-57c or any of the TMPINx lines the CPU temp to exceed 70c. Stop the test if this occurs or if "CPU vcore" exceeds 1.55 in HWMonitor.

 

[Thyrax]

ok, im on it right now, but can you explain what cpu load line calibration does ?

 

[trents]

The CPU Load Line Calibration serves to add some extra CPU core voltage (what we call "vcore" around here) when the CPU is placed under load. This helps it remain stable under stress but at the same time allows you get away with a lesser amount of vcore when you are at idle. This may extend the life of the CPU and motherboard components.

 

[Thyrax]

kk, sound good, doing test at 220 right now, almost done with only +1c on core and cpu (33/45)

 

[Thyrax]

alright, 240 failed, even with the 0.25 increase in voltage like 5 sec after I started the test.

The second pic is the 230 test temp since I cant test 240 temp yet.

 

[trents]

If adding the .025 to the vcore still didn't make it stable, add a little more.

 

[trents]

Looks like you may not have HWMonitor open while Prime95 is running as there is only 4c difference in core temps between max and min and no difference in CPU socket max and min temps. It doesn't tell us anything to see your idle temps. We need to see your load temps.

 

[trents]

By the way, you can expect that CPU to top out somewhere between 3.6-3.8 ghz as a max overclock.

 

[Thyrax]

as I said, first hwmonitor screenshot is 240 at idle since I crash right away underload, 2nd one is 230 after 20 min of load.

 

[trents]

Sorry, yes you did say that. I was distracted when I was viewing that post.

Please put your CPUNB multiplier back to the stock 10x. Right now you have cut it back to the same as the HT Link and I didn't want you to do that. The CPUNB can handle some overclocking but the HT Link cannot. Along with that, set your CPUNB voltage to 1.225 if you haven't in order to support the higher frequency. Speeding up the CPUNB significantly helps memory performance.

Then let's go at this thing from another angle that will insure we are running the ram at a value which gets as much out of the ram as possible without overtaxing the ICM (integrated memory controller). So try this:

Reduce the CPU multiplier from 15x to 13x (temporarily).

Set the FSB to 250 mhz. This should give you a CPUNB fequency of 2500 mhz and a DRAM frequency of 1333 mhz. At the same time, watch the HT Link frequency. It may need to have the multiplier reduced a little again. Reducing HT Link frequency has little impact on performance as long as it remains above about 1600 mhz and there is no performance advantage to overclocking it beyond the stock 2000 mhz.

Post back with pics of CPU-z tabs: CPU, Memory and SPD. We'll go from there and then I'll have you start increasing the CPU multiplier in .5x increments to get the CPU speed back up to snuff and adding CPU voltage as necessary to stabilize.

 

[Thyrax]

hum, I didnt touch the cpu/nb multiplier actualy. I dont even think I have this option

 

[trents]

Yes, you do have that option. You can lower it but you cannot increase it beyond it's stock value. The Black Edition "multiplier unlocked" CPUs will allow you to do both.

 

[Thyrax]

alright, 250 x 13 done

 

[trents]

Now, bring that NB (CPUNB) frequency up to 2400 mhz (multiplier of 12x). I'm assuming you have a separate adjustment for the NB from the HT Link. In not, leave them both where they are. And bump up the CPUNB voltage to 1.225. Repost with three CPU-z pics, please.

 

[Thyrax]

ok cpu/nb Frequency could bet set a either 2250 or 2500 atm so I chose 2500, as for the voltage, it was already at 1.225 with a 0.05 offset so 1.275 total.

And what does cpu/nb represent and how does it affect my system ?