Need help overclocking Phenom II

[Justinds89]

I am fairly knowledgeable when it comes to computers, however I have never dealt much with overclocking and I am having some trouble.

I can not seem to get things stable and would maybe like a bit of insight on this.

I am looking to obtain an overclock to 3.8+ GHz oh processor, also would like to overclock RAM, NB, and FSB in the process some.

I am not worried about my GPU right now but how far do you think it is possible to overclock a Galaxy GeForce GTX 670 GC 4GB?

Specs:
Case - Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower w/ side panel fan
PSU - Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 1000W Continuous Power Supply
RAM - G.SKILL Trident + Turbulence *GB (4 x 2GB) DDR3 2133 (PC3 17066)
SSD - OCZ Vertex Turbo 2.5" 120GB SATA II (SSD)
MB - MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 140W
CPU Cooler - Thermaltake SpinQ Performance Series with ultra-lightweight aluminum and six heatpipes
GPU - Galaxy GeForce GTX 670 GC 4GB

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[EarthDog]

Welcome! In my signature is a link to overclocking the Phenom II. Check that out.

As far as your GPU, You should be able to get +100 and +150 or more on it. Each card varies, so no clue.

 

[Justinds89]

Appreciate the quick reply, I have actually already been following that guide. I can't seem to get any settings other then stock to be stable it crashes during a stress test. I'm not sure if the Frequencies I have tried setting aren't working well with each other or maybe I'm not doing the voltages right. I don't think that 3.8 GHz should be a problem to hit.

And thanks for the opinion on the Graphics Card, I was hoping to hit 200+ and I don't think that will be an issue with this Card, but if necessary I may have to leave it around 100.

 

[RGone]

As always...

...Welcome to the forums.

Enough time and posts has transpired to allow a signature.


New Shortcut method for putting a Signature with your system information following your every post so people can know what is in the case that they are trying to assist with. You can use something like what is shown in my signature as a good template of needed information Thank you.

Get that done so after the first post, all of us can still see what is inside the case at post 10 or 16 or whatever post you make is seen.

 

[Justinds89]

Thanks for the reply. I have now added a signature.

 

[RGone]

Everyone to the same page for trouble-shooting.

These are the types of information that most users supply in order to be able to help them very much. Of course beginning with a setting that is 'known' to pass P95 Blend mode makes good sense, because a failed P95 Blend test is not going to give a baseline of a configuration that 'does' work.

CPU Tab in CPUz from CPUID com

Memory Tab in CPUz from CPUID com

SPD Tab in CPUz from CPUID com

And this is screen capture of HWMonitor (free version) from CPUID com
HWMonitor has been scrolled enough and large enough to show Min/Max of Voltages and includes the CPU CORE TEMPS fully visible.

This capture is made of HWMonitor after it has been open on the desktop logging Min/Max temps and voltages while Prime 95 was running Blend Mode test on all cores for at least 20 mins and then the capture of HWMonitor was made and it shows the Min/Max temps and voltages before P95 Blend was started and while running P95 Blend mode and gives much greater insight into how the system is performing without guessing.

In order to attach screenshots of images as suggested, first crop and capture the images with Snipping Tool found in Windows Accessories or equivalent. Then click on Go Advanced, a button at the bottom of every new post window. Then click on the little paperclip tool at the top of the Advanced post window when it opens. Clicking on the paperclip tool brings up the file browser/upload tool and the rest is fairly obvious.

 

[Justinds89]

I am currently at work, but after I get off this afternoon I will post screen shots of the the requested info. Appreciate the help. As said I all overclocking has failed stress test within a minute.

 

[RGone]

I am currently at work, but after I get off this afternoon I will post screen shots of the the requested info. Appreciate the help. As said I all overclocking has failed stress test within a minute.

Generally you could bump the multiplier up by 0.5 and even just using the 'stock'/Auto Vcore, should be able to run P95 blend mode unless your stock Vcore is just plainly too too low.

Most bioses have a menu on the first page that says >> Load Optimized Defaults or Settings or something like that. Or one can clear the CMOS and reboot and 'generally' the board uses default settings. You should be able to complete P95 blend on those settings. That would give a very good baseline of 20 mins P95 blend. We need to get base temps and cpu vcore and the like. By the way, that ram will 99.99999% never run that fast on a Denab cored processor, so if you are setting bios to try and get that sort of speed, you need to stop doing so, since trying to run that fast of a ram setting will fail for sure.

Good luck with your afternoon testing.

RGone...ster.

 

[Justinds89]

Hey, thanks. I will run the P95 test 20 minutes and post screen shots of all the info. So you are saying that I probably won't be able to push the RAM past it's default value in the BIOS correct?

Main goal is 3.8 GHZ CPU and maybe overclock of FSB and NB a bit.

 

[Dlaw]

I think what he's saying is that you probably won't be able to push ram speed much past ddr3 1333 (maybe as high as 1600, though Deneb IMC's don't like that too much). However, better memory will likely help FSB overclocking, which (at least in my case) may help get a higher overclock with less voltage. I don't see 3.8 being too hard to hit with that setup.

 

[Justinds89]

Appreciate the comment, that is fine if I have to leave the RAM sitting right around 1,333 MHz. That is what I thought that 3.8 shouldn't be a problem, I don't know what I am missing. I will post back it 4-5 hours with the screen shots requested and can go from there.

 

[arkan]

He needs to find out if he has a c2 or c3 revision chip. c2 phenoms tend to hit a wall at or around 3.8Ghz due to power draw. The c2 IMC/NB is also weaker than its c3 brethern.

The chip in my sig tops out at 3.8 on a decent motherboard, but it draws so much power at that speed it overwhelms the 4 phase power system on the motherboard in my sig so I have to run it at 3.6 with 4 cores enabled to keep the vrms from overheating. I dropped a c3 chip in and the board could run it at 3.8 just fine. So that small revision can make a big difference in your results with Denebs.


Also just remembered I should add this. The IMC on my c2 chip can NOT run memory at 1600 stably. It can however run some seriously tight timings at 1333. I normally run the cpuNB at 2400. 2600 started causing some random heat related issues here ( GA during the summer).

 

[Dlaw]

The 965 in his sig is a 140w chip. From what I've read, only the 965s that are 125w are C3 stepping. That suggests that it is C2. I could be wrong though.

 

[Justinds89]

I will find this out after work. Maybe this is my problem is that I have a C2. I have left the CPU speed around 3.8 GHz during my entire testing yesterday and played around with all the other settings and could not get it to be stable.

 

[RGone]

C2/C3 is not a real differnce for you to be able to say that nothing you have tried has been stable. EDIT: That is unless you tried to jump to the 'end-clock' without stopping at any intermediary stops. END EDIT. That is why the return to default to set baseline and go forward from there.

A few Mhz are not critical when getting started in overclocking and getting an overclock off the ground. The end result may be different but not much different at the outset.

 

[Justinds89]

Okay will do, like I said I am new to the overclocking game so still trying to pick up and figure things out. Will be a my place in and hour and will run P95 for 20 minutes and post screenshots. Thanks again.

 

[Justinds89]

Here is the shots you asked for.

 

[arkan]

The thing that stands out to me first is your max cpu temps from HWmonitor. If you're hitting 52 degrees under load already then you don't have much breathing room left for overclocking as the temps will rise quickly if you have to add more voltage (most likely will with a c2 cpu). It's been my experience that Deneb cpus start running into stability issues around 55 to 56 degrees centigrade under load.

I have no personal experience with the cooler in your signature, but my past experience with Thermaltake products has been that they look shiny and innovative but lack performance. I use a Coolmaster Hyper 212+ on my 550 BE unlocked to four cores. My load temps at 3.6GHZ w/ cpuNB also overclocked to 2400 is roughly 52 degrees running Linpack (estimated as cpu core sensors get turned off when you unlock the extra cores forcing me to take dual core temps and make an extrapolation based on motherboard socket temps in relation to those). I use nothing exotic for TIM (Artic Silver Ceramique), live in the southern US with high, high humidity and temps, and only use one fan on the cooler even though it has the option for a second. You may also want to see about maybe reapplying your TIM between the cpu and cooler, as too much of it can cause high temps as well.

If you seriously want to achieve your goal of 3.8 Ghz, you're probably going to need a new cooler for the cpu though.

 

[RGone]

Steady as she goes...

Okay let me get my thoughts together as I decipher all the information now available. WE can assume that P95 Blend ran 20 mins or so and did not fail, with the system setup as the captures show us? Based on that assumption, I will think outloud below.

1. CPU Vcore Min 1.02V and Max of 1.42V. Means likely that Cool n Quiet is enabled and that windows power config is set to balanced. If it were not so the Vcore would 'most likely' remain at very near 1.42V. This is n0t so bad a thing as you may well need close to 1.42 Vcore to get to 3.8Ghz stable. So lowering the Vcore now just to run a little cooler does not make sense to me. We are going near there...leave it there. I say this because everybody always chimes in that you don't need 1.42Vcore to reach 3.4Ghz stable. Nope you probably don't but you are not staying there.

2. CPU Temp = 54c and the CPU Core Temp = 52c.
Over the last year or so, we have seen the pattern of a good cpu cooler lowers the Core temps dramatically below the CPU temp. Such is not the case with those two temps on your system. Not sure I know why unless that cooler is just not the equal of the CM 212 plus and EVO's that we have looked at most often.

3. A cpu temp of 54c is very good. +/- 65c for CPU Temp is what we call a limit normally for stability and last-ability.

4. Cpu Core Temps of 52c are about 3c short of the 55c we have often seen be a temperature that greater than has begun the onset of instability for many. Over the last few months there has become a tendency to raise that 55c onset of stability temp closer to 58/59c.

5. So temperature wise you have a window in which you can overclock some more as long as you remain within the temps stated in #3 and #4 above. Or very close thereto.

6. Now knowing your motherboard is prepared to apply voltage while loaded and that voltage rise seems to be to 1.42V, I would suggest that you raise the multiplier only by 0.5 to 17.5 and retest for 20mins on P95 Blend mode. That will bump up the Cpu Mhz to 3500Mhz. Done in not so large methodical steps and HWMonitor captured and posted to the forum...we can see what is what without having a major crash right off the bat.

I would post the HWMonitor capture and the CPUz "Cpu tab" and the "Memory tab" after your approx 20 min run at 3500Mhz. That way we know the Mhz of the cpu and that there was no 'odd' change in memory speed.

Little by little we wil walk this thing up in Cpu Mhz and then see if we can clock the ram just a hair. Slow and steady she goes.

RGone...ster.

EDIT:
I am not going to say throw the cpu cooler away yet. It does in fact seem to be not as powerful as the many we see in here. I g00gled and read a number of reviews on the Cpu Cooler you have and it is just short of middle of the road in cooling effectiveness. So it maybe that more cooling of the cpu will be in order and it maybe that the case is holding in hot air. Yet to be decided.
END EDIT.

 

[Justinds89]

Appreciate the reply, I also was thinking about the temperature earlier and thought I remember somewhere that 55 was max that you can hit typically. I am not a huge fan of the cooler. It looks cool, but I think it takes an unnecessary amount of room for no more than it's cooling power.

So do you think the issue with why I can't overclock the processor at all is because it has overloading it thermally?