Noob Overclocker seeks advice on overclocking Phenom II X6 1090T.

[s33k3rgr]

Being completely ignorant on the subject of overclocking, i present here the components of my system in order to find advice from the specialists here.

My system specs are given below:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition

CPU Cooler: Arctic Freezer Xtreme v2

MainBoard : GA-970A-UD3 AM3+

Memory: 8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz

Graphics: MSI GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB

PSU: Xilence 550W ATX 24 pin Eco Series Active


My goal here is not to become proficient at the subject of overclocking but i want to give a decent boost to the CPU. I know that particular CPU is capable of overclocking. For the rest of the details i seek your advice here.

I give you below some screens from the BIOS with the default settings in order to ease your guidance.(see attachments)

 

[Johan45]

Welcome s33k3rgr
First thing you should do is have a read through the phenom guide in my sig. This will help to familiarize you with the tems and give you an idea of what we're going to do

 

[s33k3rgr]

Ok i made my first unsuccesfull try. The changes to the original settings are shown in the pictures below marked by red arrows.



I booted to windows and made a cpu stress test from CPU-Z and after about 4 minutes the system crashed with a bsod. The temperature i noticed at the time of the crash was about 60 degrees Celsius.

 

[Kenrou]

Wouldn't starting with basic multiplier be easier then FSB ? More stable even, especially in a Phenom ?

 

[s33k3rgr]

Wouldn't starting with basic multiplier be easier then FSB ? More stable even, especially in a Phenom ?

OK to be honest the changes i made was not my inspiration. I copied the settings from a video on youtube called "Overclocking the Phenom II x6 1090T for begginers". Would you suggest something specific to change except the FSB(which will be kept at 200 i guess)?

 

[bassnut]

Here is without doubt the best place to start........

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/596023-Dolk-s-Guide-to-the-Phenom-II

Have a read through that guide it will help you understand overclocking that 1090T. Once you have read it rest your BIOS to defaults and start from the beginning, simple multiplier bump then test with prime95 for 20 min if stable bump multiplier again and test. Watch your temps with the PII chips instability used to start showing around 55*C package temp (core temp) and 65*C CPU (socket temp) as shown in HWMONITOR free. Keep testing till you get a system crash or errors in prime then post back here with screen shots of HWMONITOR while under stress test with CPUZ open showing CPU, Memory and SPD tabs, you can have more then 1 open at a time.

 

[caddi daddi]

let's not use youtube on our dime please, one of the issues is that cpu's and things differ from one to the next, my 1090T will do this and your 1090T will do that, you can't just copy and paste clocks and expect heaven.
these guys have you well covered, pay attention to them, they are just the bestest.
I have a 1090T also, love the thing, best of luck.

 

[chrisjames61]

let's not use youtube on our dime please, one of the issues is that cpu's and things differ from one to the next, my 1090T will do this and your 1090T will do that, you can't just copy and paste clocks and expect heaven.
these guys have you well covered, pay attention to them, they are just the bestest.
I have a 1090T also, love the thing, best of luck.

Many people ask for copy and paste overclocks. A guy yesterday in a forum said it "90% works". I disagree with that of course. To me it is the worst thing to do. Reading the guides and experimenting will learn you quick imho.

- - - Updated - - -

Wouldn't starting with basic multiplier be easier then FSB ? More stable even, especially in a Phenom ?

I would say changing anything but the cpu multiplier will just add to things that can go wrong. Why bother with it if you have an unlocked cpu anyway?

 

[caddi daddi]

always take the low hanging fruit first, this cpu has an unlocked multiplier for a reason.
the multiplier sets cpu speed and cpu speed is KING.

 

[trents]

always take the low hanging fruit first, this cpu has an unlocked multiplier for a reason.
the multiplier sets cpu speed and cpu speed is KING.

Well said and kind of sage-like, CD. You're getting philosophical on us.

s33k3rgr,

The first place you should start is to get some baseline core (or package) and CPU temps. Those normal CPU vcore volts look high to me at 1.475. That looks like an overclocked value. There are many reasons a given set of overclocking adjustments can yield an unstable machine. One of the common ones is overheating of the cores or motherboard components. You say after 4 minutes of testing you noticed a temperature of 60c. That might be your answer there depending on what temperature that was. You never said. Was that CPU (i.e., socket area temp) or core temp (aka, "package" temp)?

I would put everything back to stock and then run Prime95 for 20 minutes. Have HWMonitor open in the backgroud while you do this. Then post back with pics of the HWMonitor interface. Good overclocking is done in small increments with making adjustments to one parameter at a time. If you make more than one at a time and you encounter instability then you don't know which one caused it. You need to slow down and be patient rather than going for the juggler vein right away.

 

[caddi daddi]

sage???? lazy is more like it.........

 

[s33k3rgr]

With only the default settings (without any OC) i decided to run a stress test with Prime95 and i let it run for about 20 minutes. I captured some screenshots from HWMonitor before the test and at the 20th minute where Prime95 was still running. Here is the results:

Before the stress test:



At the 20th minute where Prime95 was still running:



Do you notice anything unusual?

 

[trents]

I'm not sure whether TMPIN1 or TMPIN2 is the socket area temp on your motherboard. I think on Gigabyte boards it is TMPIN2 uusually but either way, your socket area temps are already too hot (or on the brink of it) at stock settings. For the socket we recommend a max of 65-70c for that CPU family. And your core temps are definitely exceeding safe and stable readings at 71c. We recommend keeping those at a max of about 55-60 for that CPU family. And if you look at your idle temps (the Min column) they look too high to me at 39c. I think you need to redo the TIM and reseat the cooler. Something is wrong with your cooling.

By the way, HWMonitor automatically captures before and after readings if you open it before you start the stress test. The Min column would be readings at idle before the stress test and the Max column would be the highest values attained during stress testing. You don't need to capture separate before and after pics.

And like I said before, your CPU vcore at 1.488 is way too much for stock. You don't need it that high. I would lower it to 1.325 to start with an retest at stock settings. That will give you cooler temsp right away. Having said that, I would still look at repasting and reseating you heat sink. How did you apply the TIM and what brand did you use?

 

[s33k3rgr]

I think you need to redo the TIM and reseat the cooler. Something is wrong with your cooling.

Whats TIM ? Reseat your cooler you mean to remove it and put it back in again right?

And like I said before, your CPU vcore at 1.488 is way too much for stock. You don't need it that high. I would lower it to 1.325 to start with an retest at stock settings. That will give you cooler temsp right away.

I think this would be wise to do as a first step and then retesting right ? I mean i am not a hardware expert and i have not assembled myself the PC, but the company i ordered it from did it for me, so it would be a little difficult for me to do that but not impossible as i have done many upgrades to my PC's in the past.
Really how can i lower this voltage to 1.325 ? Turn System Voltage Control to manual from auto and then changing the last value which reads 1.475 ??

Having said that, I would still look at repasting and reseating you heat sink. How did you apply the TIM and what brand did you use?

I answer that above

 

[trents]

TIM = Thermal Interface Material. The thermally conductive paste that is applied between the heat sink and the CPU face.

Before you do all that, let's try just adjusting the vcore downward. Let's try 1.35 to start with. It should have no problem booting into
Windows at that value. Yes, I think you have the right idea about how to manually set the voltage.

 

[s33k3rgr]

OK i made the change at the CPU Voltage seen below.



And then i run the same test (Prime95, 20 minutes) and the results are seen below.




I think i see some differences but i don't know if they are good enough.

 

[s33k3rgr]

OK i decided to drop the CPU voltage to the next lower level in the BIOS.



And then i run the same test (Prime95, 20 minutes) and the results are seen below.




Better right? I think i will continue to lower the voltage step by step and then test. What could go wrong this way for my system ??

 

[Johan45]

It definitely couldn't hurt , make sure the fan on that cooler is running on max and what do you have for case and fans cause that big cooler should be doing better than that. You could try taking the side panel off the case and see if the temps drop. That would be a good indicator since those temps are still quite high.

 

[trents]

With that cooler your temps should be considerably lower with those lower vcore settings. Something is wrong.

Indeed I do think you need to redo the TIM and the cooler mount.

Tell us about the make and model of the case and the ventilation. What is the make and model of your case? How many intake fans do you have and how many exhaust fans do you have mounted in the case? Poor case ventilation can also cause high temps.

Please take the side panel off of your case and take some pics of the interior of the case so we can see where the fans are. Attach with a post.

Do you have any good quality TIM around the house? If not, you need to pick up some before you try to remount the cooler. And there are right and wrong ways to apply TIM as well. Get the stuff first and we will give directions.

 

[Kenrou]

I wholeheartedly recommend Noctua NT-H1, served me very well so far, much better then the Arctic Silver 5 i see everyone using.