New to overclocking; want to try on Phenom II x4 940

[Johnnyzz]

Have had these parts for a while as you'll notice, except for the newer GPU; parts are:

Phenom II X4 940
Factory oc 7870
TX 750W psu
GA-MA790X-UD4P motherboard
G.SKILL HK 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800

I want try overclocking the CPU but am completely new to that. Using factory cooler. I ran Prime95 on blend for about an hour and the highest temperature was 59 near the end, but it stayed around 56-58 a majority of the time. Will overclocking it be viable with stock cooler? If so, how can I get started? I know about how BIOS is the best way to do it, I'm just not sure what to change and by what increments.

 

[redduc900]

You'll probably first want to check out this guide...

Dolk's Guide to the Phenom II
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596023

 

[Special7]

You're already past the heat safe zone of 55c, you will need aftermarket cooling if you want to overclock.

 

[Johnnyzz]

You'll probably first want to check out this guide...

Dolk's Guide to the Phenom II
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596023

Right, I seem to be good at missing stickies. Thanks.

You're already past the heat safe zone of 55c, you will need aftermarket cooling if you want to overclock.

Darn, that's too bad. I'm going to replace the older parts soon enough anyway, maybe I'll try it then.

 

[trents]

If you wanted to invest in a better cooler as the first upgrade piece you might consider that it would also mount on the newer AM3/AM3/FMx socket motherboards since the cooler retention bracket bolt pattern is the same for all those.

 

[RGone]

To see what is really what...

...we need to see this:

These are the types of information that most users supply in order to be able to help them very much.

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 INDIVIDUAL 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.