New here, and looking for opinions (X2 B60)

[/iam]

Hi guys,

First post here, although I've read and read and read posts on the forum, trying to get as much info as I could to try my hands at overclocking my new setup:
Phenom X2 560 Black Ed
4gb G.Skill Ripjaw F3-10666CL7D-4GBRH
Asus M4A89GTD PRO/USB3
Hyper 212+ air cooler

Anyways, I collected a lot of info from a number of forum posts here and I think I have found stable settings, I just want to make sure I did everything right.

I should start by saying that what initially pushed me toward overclocking is Microsft's FSX. TO achieve decent framerate in this sim, you need a fast CPU.
So I thought, the B60 is apparently an excellent candidate for overclocking, let's give it a shot. Then through all my posts readings and BIOS play time, I realized, damn, this overclocking thing is a hobby in itself, and I haven't flown once in FSX since then

Anyways, to the good stuff;

First thing I did, I unlocked the B60 2 hidden cores successfully, ran Prime95 on stock settings (BIOS all set to AUTO) overnight, no crash. So the nice little X2 560 is now a [email protected] stock, not bad for a 89$ chip!

Then, I set my RAM in the BIOS to official G.Skill tech guy recommended settings(http://gskill.us/forum/showpost.php?p=19131&postcount=2). Ran some more Prime95 Blend, everything still stable @ stock/auto settings.

Then I started fiddling with the CPU overclocking. I'm a complete beginner so I decided to take the easy "multiplier/no fsb" route. I increased the multiplier by .5 and monitored how the BIOS AUTO settings adjusted the vcore each time, then booted and ran P95 for a while.
Here's what I found:
@3.3ghz x16.5 1.248v (stock settings, AUTO BIOS) stable
@3.5ghz x17.5 1.284v (AUTO BIOS) stable
@3.7ghz x18.5 1.332v (AUTO BIOS) stable
@3.8ghz x19.0 1.332v (AUTO BIOS) OS boot BSOD
@3.9ghz x19.5 1.332v (AUTO BIOS) no boot
@4.0ghz x20.0 1.332v (AUTO BIOS) no boot

Interest thing, the motherboard auto settings did not adjust the vcore to more than 1.332v between x18.5 and x20.0, but at least I had an idea of the CPU limit.

Next, I increased the vcore a little bit, trying x19.0 first, since this is where I got my first crash. I went with these settings:
@3.8ghz x19.0 1.35v

Ran prime a couple hours and was stable with a CPU temp of 45c

Then I tried the following settings:

@3.9ghz x19.5 1.375v - Unstable/P95 temp 47c

@3.9ghz x19.5 1.400v - Stable P95 temp 48c

@4.0ghz x20.0 1.400v - Unstable/P95 temp 48c

@4.0ghz x20.0 1.450v - Stable/P95 temp 50c (Voltage reading=1.476v, P95 still running, 4 hours so far...)


So, do you guys see anything wrong with my findings/settings? So far, looks like I'm pretty lucky , P95 has been running for 4 hours (FFT test) with 4 cores@4ghz

Now, couple questions:

According to the AMD specs for the 560, the voltage range is between 0.875 and 1.400v. I'm currently running at 1.450v in BIOS but reading in CPU-Z is 1.476v, which is 0.076v over the limit, is that a problem?

Regarding Prime95 stress test, which one is best for stability testing. I've tried both blend and FFT but it seems that FFT is best for CPU testing, am I right?

While Prime95 is running, I see my 4 cores @100% usage, but the computer is still responsive as if nothing was running in the background, normal?

Can I still use my computer during the stress test without interfering with Prime95 tests?

I guess that's it for now, thanks all for reading and commenting, please let me know if I'm totally off with my setup or if it looks safe enough.

Cheers!

/iam

 

[/iam]

Screenshot of CPU-Z / Aida64 while running Prime95 Small FFT:
(Regarding the core temps @ 0c, this is a known behavior when unlocking cores, the sensor no longer pick the core temp.)

 

[Wayward_Son]

Congratulations on unlocking all four cores, and welcome to the forums!

I caution against going for a full 4.0 right off the bat, especially if you're new to overclocking. If it were my computer I'd shoot for 3.7-3.8 first get it dialed in there before going higher. I recommend setting your CPU-NB speed up to about 2600 or so by setting its multiplier to x13. I'd also bump up the CPU-NB voltage to about 1.25. This increase in CPU-NB speed will not only speed up overall system performance, it can also help tame your overclock and give it the stability you're looking for. If you really wanted to get a solid 4.0, I'd probably look at these settings:

CPU: x20 (4.0ghz)
CPU voltage: 1.45-1.475

CPU-NB: x13 (2.6ghz)
CPU-NB voltage: 1.25-1.3

HT Link: You can leave this at 2000, but some people including myself have found success by running it up around 2200-2400. Most people will recommend that you leave this at 2000,

RAM speed and voltage: Leave them where they are if that's what was recommended to you by an actual GSkill rep. However, if your memory will do it (and most dual-channel kits will) you will see a performance gain by switching it from 2T to 1T. Might be something to try, but ultimately 2T will usually be more stable with a higher overclock. I like to give my memory a voltage bump anyway. I usually run mind at 1.6-1.65v even when I'm not overclocking them. Your mileage may vary.

 

[/iam]

Hey Wayward_Son, thanks for the feedback!

I followed you advice and lowered the multiplier to 19x.
Although the computer was stable at 4ghz, it was a bit too hot for my taste (52C full load).

It's currently running at 19x200/3.8ghz - vcore 1.35v - CPU/NB 2800mhz/1.25v

Computer temp is 45C full load, 30C idle.

I have my HT settings on auto and noticed it was only at 1600mhz in the BIOS, should I manually set it to 2000mhz? Any benefits in doing that?

Regarding the RAM, what's the advantage of running it at a higher voltage?


I have 3 more questions. Should those settings be enabled or disabled in my BIOS:

CPU LLC
CPU/NB LLC
CPU Spread Spectrum


Thanks!

 

[Wayward_Son]

We always recommend to run certain settings at Manual, and HT is no exception. I absolutely recommend setting it manually to 2000 (or 2200 or 2400 if you decide to experiment with it). I find it's better to A: lock a certain parameter in at a certain speed to get the performance benefit full-time and B: maintain stability by removing the possibility that you have something on "auto" that is turning itself down at a crucial moment when you NEED it to run at the faster speed to maintain stability. Better to lock it in at the desired speed. Set it and forget it. You can run into stability problems when you leave things on "auto" and they decide to underclock themselves at a crucial moment which causes a crash.

How are you measuring temperatures? We all recommend CoreTemp here at OCF, but CoreTemp doesn't report accurate temperatures when you unlock cores. Neither does Hardware Monitor, another respected program. Where are you coming up with your temperatures on your unlocked cores?

I don't have any experience with LLC (Line Load Calibration). LLC functions by automatically increasing voltage under measured load. My motherboards don't support it so I haven't played with it enough to know. I think the consensus here at OCF is to leave it turned ON. Better to have a little extra voltage when your rig needs it than not have it and crash. Hopefully someone else can back me up on this (QuietIce? Dolk?). I apologize but I have absolutely no idea what "CPU Spread Spectrum" is. Something to do with ACC, maybe? Something to do with individual core speeds? I don't know. I can't comment on it.

 

[/iam]

We always recommend to run certain settings at Manual, and HT is no exception. I absolutely recommend setting it manually to 2000 (or 2200 or 2400 if you decide to experiment with it). I find it's better to A: lock a certain parameter in at a certain speed to get the performance benefit full-time and B: maintain stability by removing the possibility that you have something on "auto" that is turning itself down at a crucial moment when you NEED it to run at the faster speed to maintain stability. Better to lock it in at the desired speed. Set it and forget it. You can run into stability problems when you leave things on "auto" and the decide to underclock themselves at a crucial moment which causes a crash.

How are you measuring temperatures? We all recommend CoreTemp here at OCF, but CoreTemp doesn't report accurate temperatures when you unlock cores. Neither does Hardware Monitor, another respected program. Where are you coming up with your temperatures on your unlocked cores?

I don't have any experience with LLC (Line Load Calibration). LLC functions by automatically increasing voltage under measured load. My motherboards don't support it so I haven't played with it enough to know. I think the consensus here at OCF is to leave it turned ON. Better to have a little extra voltage when your rig needs it than not have it and crash. Hopefully someone else can back me up on this (QuietIce? Dolk?). I apologize but I have absolutely no idea what "CPU Spread Spectrum" is. Something to do with ACC, maybe? Something to do with individual core speeds? I don't know. I can't comment on it.

There's no way to get individual cores temp with unlocked cores, unfortunately. So I'm always referring to the "CPU" temp in above post. I'm getting the readings from Aida64 and they seem to match the ones I see in the AMD Overdrive utility as well as the hardware monitor in my BIOS.

I tried setting HT to 2000 manually but the computer would not even POST. What HT voltage would you recommend?

 

[Wayward_Son]

I recommend using HW Monitor. It usually lists a temp sensor on the motherboard right underneath the CPU socket. On my main rig it calls it "CPU" under "Temperature". On my backup rig it calls it "TMPIN2" under "Temperature". As a very general rule you can subtract about 7-9C from that listed temp to arrive at your actual CPU core temp.