New to the Site and looking for some advice and settings.

[BeerCzar]

Evening everyone. I just finished re-building my PC thanks to a good friend that can get me parts on a recently engaged guys budget....I don't do much now cause weddings are stupid expensive. So I drink good beer and play Computer games with my buds.

So here is the semi-new rig some parts I kept from the last one.
OS : Windows 7 64bit.
Case : Cooler Master Storm Trooper Full Tower Case.
MoBo : ASUS Sabertooth 990FX AMD AM3+ TUF
CPU : AMD FD8120FRGUBOX FX-8120 Processor
PSU : Thermaltake 750w
Ram : 16 gigs of Corsair Vengeance 1600-
GPU : MSI HD 6950 2Gig DDR5
CPU Cooler : Corsair H100.

What I am trying to do is get the CPU to around 4.5-4.7ghz. I am a total ***-hat when it comes to this stuff as it has been 4-5 years since I had a new rig. Any and all help is appreciated and thank you for looking.

Cheers!

 

[LoganG]

For starters, do you have HWMonitor, CPU-Z, and Prime95 installed? If not then install them and read the overclocking stickies, if you still have questions AFTER reading, then you can get specific questions answered. It is a lot easier to try and learn as much as possible by leafing through the available information and then filling in the gaps then it is for someone to teach it to you one post at a time.

Edit: There are lots of AMD FX OC posts here, just do a search and you will probably find an answer to most of your questions has been posted previously.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=697248&highlight=Fx-8150

 

[BeerCzar]

For starters, do you have HWMonitor, CPU-Z, and Prime95 installed? If not then install them and read the overclocking stickies, if you still have questions AFTER reading, then you can get specific questions answered. It is a lot easier to try and learn as much as possible by leafing through the available information and then filling in the gaps then it is for someone to teach it to you one post at a time.

Edit: There are lots of AMD FX OC posts here, just do a search and you will probably find an answer to most of your questions has been posted previously.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=697248&highlight=Fx-8150

I do have those installed. I read StevenB's post on BD overclocking. The scary part for me is messing with the BIOS it just scares the crap out of me.
Also has anyone used the AMD Vision Control Center...whenever i tried to have that OC the CPU it would start and get maybe 20 seconds in then stop and restart the PC any ideas why?

Thanks.

 

[skpwn]

The scary part for me is messing with the BIOS it just scares the crap out of me.

You have to go into the BIOS to overclock anything! If you set something too high, you can crack the case, and reset the CMOS from the jumper. If you know what you're looking for (reading the stickies), you don't have anything to be afraid of.

 

[RGone]

Also has anyone used the AMD Vision Control Center...whenever i tried to have that OC the CPU it would start and get maybe 20 seconds in then stop and restart the PC any ideas why? = Most of us in here that DO overclock, do not do so with software, so it would take someone not heavy into overclocking for 24/7 use to know what or why Vision Control Center has an issue. I wonder if it is truly capable of overclocking the cpu. AOD can rig an overclock of the cpu, but again we don't spend any time dealing with it.

I am guessing that the AMD COM, cpu forums might be better versed on AMD software overclocking. Even most of them over the course of time, go back and clock with the bios settings. Luck to you.

 

[LoganG]

OCing with the AMD software is done by the software and implements small changes to the NB bus speed alternated with changes to the multiplier. In between these changes the software does a "stress" test to see if the new settings are stable. The default in AMD overdrive or whatever software you are using is to not keep the previous settings at each startup, you have to change that under preferences if you really wanna OC with it.

If the PC is restarting shortly after you try to OC with the software, I am assuming that the software is quickly finding an OC that is not stable.

 

[BeerCzar]

Guys thanks for much for the help i used StevenB's post and me and by bud now have my FX 8120 Sucessly overclocked and stable at 4.5ghz with a Vcore volt of 1.35. we tried 1.30 and couldnt not boot to Windows and 1.33 gave us a few hardware failures so 1.35 with a multiplier of 22.5 has me running at 4.5ghz smooth and steady I forgot to screen shot my Prime,CPUz and Hardware monitor but with the h100 it sat steady at 64c while prime was torture testing it. Going to purchase a better thermal paste and see if i can have it around 58-60c when running on full load which is not often.

Thanks everyone!

 

[trents]

Are those temps "core" temps or "CPU (socket) temps your quote? If they are socket temps then they are not excessively high but if they are core temps they are. Core temps are considered to be the critical ones to watch but knowing the CPU socket temp can be helpful if the accuracy of the core temp sensors is suspect.

 

[BeerCzar]

Are those temps "core" temps or "CPU (socket) temps your quote? If they are socket temps then they are not excessively high but if they are core temps they are. Core temps are considered to be the critical ones to watch but knowing the CPU socket temp can be helpful if the accuracy of the core temp sensors is suspect.

ummm let's see if this clears it up.

In CPUID Hardware Monitor

The temp i was looking at says just CPU and got no higher then 64c with the H100.

Below that it shows all 8 cores and to be honest I was not paying attention to that. I was watching the one above so I assume that's the total over all CORE heat and not Socket heat so I am OK?

 

[trents]

The "CPU" temp in HWMonitor is actually the temp taken from below the processor in the socket area of the motherboard. Most temp reporting software reports this temp including, usually, the utilities that come with the motherboard. Some third party software has the ability to poll the temp sensor on the processor die itself and we call that "core" temp. HWMonitor does both. Just a side note: Although 8 core temps are reported, there really is only one core temp sensor that is being reported 8 times.

CPU socket temps are okay up to almost 70c as far as processor safety goes. With good aftermarket cooling, core temps are usually lower than CPU temps and if being reported accurately will not cause instability when overclocking as long as you keep them from exceeding mid 50s c.

Stress it again for 20 minutes with Prime95 blend and take note of the core temps, please.

 

[BeerCzar]

Trents thanks so much for the post. I actually went to bed before reading this and well set it to stress test from 11pm till about 7:30 am. I was able to capture a screen shot so here you go! Let me know what you think!

Cheers and Thanks!

 

[BeerCzar]

oh just FYI max levels was right after i stopped prime to take the screen shot with the prime results up.

=D

 

[trents]

So, I'm confused by your explanation of how long it had been running when you took the screenshot. If for 20 minutes or longer that is a pretty good indicator of what max temps will be for a longer stress test.

That being true, your core temps and CPU temps are right at the upper limit of stability/safety, respectively. IMO you should not be getting temps that high on 1.356 CPU core volts with an H100 water cooler. How do you have the radiator and its fans set up in the case? The H100 has dual fans but your case doesn't look like it has a dual fan arrangement in the top panel to accommodate that when I look at the pics on NewEgg. I fear your are not getting proper air flow through the radiator.

 

[BeerCzar]

To clear up the confusion prime 95 ran for 8 hours overnight and the max temps listed are the results of that.

I have the h100 mounted at the top of the case directly above the CPU facing up and out the trooper has a top ventilated piece so the heat can go up and out...I think I need to rearrange the fans a bit more to make sure I am getting the best airflow possible in and out of the case.

 

[trents]

Does your case have two fan mount holes in the top panel to accommodate the dual fans of the H100 radiator? It was hard to tell from the NewEgg pics but the description only mentioned one 140mm fan in the top.

 

[BeerCzar]

It has a 140mm fan on the side next to the mobo. I have the h100 mounted to the roof of the case since the top of the case is open for ventalation. I think my issue is i need better air flow and better fans. I was looking at these. Any thoughts?

Cheers!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835553002

 

[trents]

More powerful fans are said to really help the H100 but it's always a tradeoff between cooling power and noise as far as fans go.

 

[BeerCzar]

Also i am planning on putting two fans on the exterior of the case above the radiator to pull out heat faster and the one 140mm is being upgraded as well then going to have a 200mm sit ontop of my PSU to push colder air from the bottom of the case up as well.

Noise doesn't bother me too much....rather have a happy CPU haha