SOLVED Overclocking a Phenom II X6 1050t

[c0ck7aiL]

Hi guys,
I purchased an AMD Phenom II X6 1050t Thuban a long time ago. I haven't thought of overclocking, but now more games require good CPU and I've decided to overclock. Since it ran on really high temps with stock cooler,(49-50C Idle, 60 on CSGO) I decided to purchase an aftermarket cooler...Now I get 20-21C Idle...I also tried to OC it at 3.5 GHz with 14x multiplier 250fsb but I didn't touch the NB and HT link(I just bumped the memory clock to x5.33) and it failed a prime95 test at 45th min. So here are the specs:

MOBO: Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H
RAM: 4GB DDR2
Aftermarket Cooler: Thermaltake Frio Advanced(I bought it specifically with intentions of overclocking)

The stock voltage is 1.475. What I want to get is 3.5GHz, maybe 4GHz if I can get to a stable OC.(I know the aftermarket cooler can keep the temps down) I'm really a noob and that's why I'm asking you guys for help! Thanks in advance. If you need any more information feel free to ask. Here are a few pictures of my BIOS:

https://imgur.com/zhGWRSO

https://imgur.com/6gRLKKg

https://imgur.com/dqnOIMv

https://imgur.com/EupZx6c

 

[Blaylock]

Welcome c0ck7ail!

The Ph II's are great overclocking CPU's assuming the rest of your system is capable and you can keep your temps down you should be able to achieve 3.5Ghz.

Lets start with some basics. Can you please list your entire system including PSU, ram etc... Like I have In my Signature. I'm going to look into your motherboard real quick as these CPU's draw alot of juice and the MObo maybe the first thing to fail.

P.S. you probably failed P95 because of your ram being overclocked. I would leave the FSB at 200 for now and focus on your CPU multi...BRB


EDIT: Ok after researching your Motherboard your VRM section is weak (4+1 power phase) and not heatsinked. This is not a great board to overclock on. That does not mean that you can't. It just means you have a higher risk of thermal complications and/or mechanical failure. Naturally that is a risk we all take when we overclock and we all except responsibility for our gear.

If you decide to still overclock on this board be sure to use the free HWMonitor software and monitor your temps VERY carefully. You'll want to keep your socket temp (usually TMPIN1 or CPUTIN) under 65c and your CPU core temp (sometimes called package) under 55c.

 

[c0ck7aiL]

OK, so while I was waiting for a reply, I tried to set it again on 3.5ghz with 250fsb and 14 multiplier(again, stupid me). I set the NB at 10x which is 2.5ghz and the ht link at 2ghz. I don't know why the vCore is so high though, everywhere 1055t's(which is more or less like mine...right?) is around 1.30-1.35 and mine runs at 1.475 stock. I ran prime95 again and same stuff, just reboots, no warning, nothing. Maybe PSU failure? I recently purchased a new PSU - FSP HEXA 500. The temps seem stable in HWMonitor - Cores at 40-41C and sockets at around 54-55 I think. I'm always monitoring the temps.

Now I'm trying 15x210. The highest multiplier I can set in my BIOS is 16.5. I left everything else at auto. I will run a p95 torture test again and I will post results if something happens.

EDIT:
CPU: PhII X6 1050T with Tt Frio Advanced cooler
GPU: nVidia GTX 550
PSU: FPS HEXA HE 500
RAM: 4GB DDR2 Dual Channel 2GHz NB Freq.
OS: Windows 7 Home 64-bit
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H

 

[Blaylock]

OK, Have you read through this guide yet. It is the bible of Phenoms. It will take you almost step by step, but more importantly it will help you figure out why things are set the way they are. I would recommed over clocking incrementally instead of trying to jump right to 3.5Ghz. I'm willing to bet you can reduce your vCore at stock, however to run it overclocked you'll likely need to be right around 1.45v(that's where I keep my 1090T).

P.S. Stock CPUv for the Thuban chips is 1.35v

Have you run a stable run of P95 at stock speeds yet. You should do this to make sure you're stable at 2.8 for about 20mins. then post screen shots of HWMonitor, CPUZ (CPU, Memory and SPD tabs) while under load. so We can see what's going on. A picture is worth 1000 words.

EDIT: Here is an example from RGone on what we like to see.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7673565&postcount=2

 

[c0ck7aiL]

OK, I just tried setting my multiplier higher than 14 and it doesn't work. Why is that happening? Tried raising the memory clock, it was x4.00 at Auto before tweaking with the multiplier and booting up multiple times to be sure I can't set a higher multiplier than 14. I can set a lower one, but not higher. After tweaking now on auto is x5.33. This is worrying me... Should I be worrying? Now It says on default it's x5.33 when I clearly remember it was x4.00 on Auto in the beggining? Strange. Anyways I'm posting screenshots of HWMonitor. BTW I'm back at stock fsb and multiplier(2.8ghz) Set everything on auto again... Screenshots from CPUZ
http://prntscr.com/3hqho3
http://prntscr.com/3hqhty
http://prntscr.com/3hqi0b

IDLE - http://prntscr.com/3hqa96

EDIT: I'm so stupid, I don't have a black edition CPU so my multiplier is locked. HAHA, thanks for linking me this guide, i'm learning a lot right now

EDIT2: After 10 min Prime95 Test on 2.8ghz: http://prntscr.com/3hqfix

 

[Blaylock]

Your welcome. You maybe able to still overclock using the FSB, just remember when you raise your FSB you also increase the ram freq, HT LINK and NB freq. I would raise it 10 at a time from stock (200) until you get a fail. Then figure out why. It could be a number of things which is why I like to recommend OCING with multi first.

 

[c0ck7aiL]

Your welcome. You maybe able to still overclock using the FSB, just remember when you raise your FSB you also increase the ram freq, HT LINK and NB freq. I would raise it 10 at a time from stock (200) until you get a fail. Then figure out why. It could be a number of things which is why I like to recommend OCING with multi first.

Well, nevermind me panicking I just read a little bit more and now I have complete understanding of basic OC... My wall is 250 since on 255 it fails on startup... thats with 4x memory clock btw. I can get it to 3.5ghz with 2.5ghz NB and 2ghz htt but I cant seem to get it stable since as stated it reboots like 50 mins in the test. I mean I tried overdrive and p95. It fails at the same minute. Could it be thar vCore is too high? Should I try lowering it a bit to say, 1.35? vNB in my BIOS is weird though, it has only 3 options - +0.1, +0.2 and +0.3. Help! Can it really be my new PSU? cuz the temps on the cores dont exceed 50C at any point. I think the highest I've seen is 46C. So, any suggestions?

 

[Johan45]

The 1055 isn't unlocked so no multi over 14. If you're using the FSB like you say , Just do the cpu first. Leave the NB speed for after. Drop the multiplier for the NB for now as well. The voltage adjustment may have options like offset and manual. You may have it set to offset right now that's why you get those options.
You should be using P95 blend to test your OC, and monitor the temps. As Blaylock suggested earlier. Give us those pics and we have a better chance of helping you.

 

[trents]

There is no set stock voltage for the Phenom IIs but rather a range. The stock voltage set at the factory for a given model Phenom II can vary quite a bit. AMD will set it for whatever it takes to make that individual CPU (or the production run made from that batch of silicon) stable. It is not unusual to see the lower end Thubans have high stock VIDs like the OP is reporting for his.

cock7ail, it is likely your motherboard is holding you back as it does not have a heavy duty power phase rating. A six core Thuban running a vcore of 1.475 and overclocked is going to make a lot of watts. Also, have you done any temp monitoring with HWMonitor while stressing with the Prime95 blend test? Temps are critical in overclocking and we know from experience that when core temps/package temps exceed about 55c under load or when socket temps exceed about 60-65c that significantly overclocked AMD CPUs in that generation will typically become unstable. You have given us no temp data.

The other thing that concerns me is that you jump right to 250 MHz FSB in your overclocking technique. You should be making small changes and testing for temps and stability after each change. Start with 210 MHz and then run 20 minutes of Prime blend with HWMonitor open in the background to monitor temps. If you pass the stress test, bump the FSB up to 215 or 220 and repeat the testing. The way you are doing it is not safe and on top of that it will not give you a feel as to where the limit is. Right now, you don't even know if you have far exceeded the limit of the CPU or just barely. You may want it to run at such and such an overclock but that doesn't necessarily stack up with reality. And just because you read that others have gotten that CPU to 4.0 does not mean your particular combination of components is capable of that. In my experience the 1055 Thuban will generally max out at 3.7-3.8 ghz overclock and that is with a good motherboard, top of the line air cooling and good case ventilation. And the fact that your CPU core voltage at stock is already at way over 1.4 does not bode good for a high overclock. You probably did not win the silicon lottery on that one.

 

[Blaylock]

Well, nevermind me panicking I just read a little bit more and now I have complete understanding of basic OC... My wall is 250 since on 255 it fails on startup... thats with 4x memory clock btw. I can get it to 3.5ghz with 2.5ghz NB and 2ghz htt but I cant seem to get it stable since as stated it reboots like 50 mins in the test. I mean I tried overdrive and p95. It fails at the same minute. Could it be thar vCore is too high? Should I try lowering it a bit to say, 1.35? vNB in my BIOS is weird though, it has only 3 options - +0.1, +0.2 and +0.3. Help! Can it really be my new PSU? cuz the temps on the cores dont exceed 50C at any point. I think the highest I've seen is 46C. So, any suggestions?

Ok here are some suggestions.

1. If you haven't done so already, as the guide suggests turn off all the green stuff in your bios. There is a list of those items in RGone's link that I posted earlier. i.e. C1E, cool-n-quiet etc.

2. I suggest using your BIOS to overclock with instead of Overdrive. Overdrive is a great tool for finding out a quick idea of where you can overclock to. But almost always you can achieve a better OC using BIOS.

3. I suggest that you do not increase you FSB from 200 straight to 250 or 255 as this also overclocks your ram nb and HTLink at the same time. Instead increase FSB in increments of 10 and running a 20 min blend test to test stability. The first fail you receive, drop your ram down 1 speed rating as that's the most likely culprit for failure. (Take Notes of all setting changes so you can see where things fail.)Note what the ram, NB and HTLink freq were at failure as you will likely see it fail there again.

If you still get failure after dropping ram down a notch, raise CPUv 1 click and re-test. (Watch Temps). If it fails again give it a second bump to CPUv. (Do Not raise CPUv above 1.50v).

4. Post results here even if its a fail( assuming its not a BSOD or insta-reboot). When you post PLEASE use the attachment function (paperclip), we're all lazy and I don't want to have to click a bunch of links, especially since I'm mostly moble right now.

5. Don't worry! We've all been there and it just takes heaps of patience. As Trents and I mentioned your motherboard will most likely keep you from having great overclocks, but you can still get something out of it.

 

[trents]

cock7ail,

Here is the method I suggest for those relatively new to overclocking. This has helped many on the forum get off on the right foot.

First, if you have not done so already make sure you have Prime95, CPU-z and HWMonitor downloaded and installed on your computer.

Go into bios and make these adjustments:
1. Increase the CPU/NB voltage to 1.225
2. Lower the memory frequency to 1333 if it is rated for 1600. If the memory is rated for 1333 lower it to 1066. This makes room for the memory frequency to grow with the FSB.
3. Increase the FSB from 200 to 210 MHz
4. In Windows, open up HWMonitor and leave it open while you run a 20 minute Prime95 blend test. Watch two temps: CPU socket temp (Which may show up as TMPIN2 on a Gigabyte board) and core temp (may be called "package temp" on newer versions of HWMonitor). You don't want your socket temps to exceed about 65c or your core/package temps to exceed 55-60c).
5. If you pass the stress test, go into bios and increase the FSB to 215 and repeat the stress test as in step 4. If you pass this one, bump up the FSB to 220. I think you see the pattern now.

Failing the Prime95 blend stress test can mean any of the following: blue screen, lockup, restart or one or more of the six core workers drops out.

The first time you fail the test, go back into bios and set the FSB back 5 MHz to what the max was when you passed the stress test. Rerun the stress test. Leave HWMonitor open. Then report back to us with these attached pics:

CPU-z tabs: "CPU," "Memory" and "SPD" (three pics) and of HWMonitor that reflects the max temps reached during the last successful stress test.

To attach a pic, find Snipping Tool in Windows Accessories. With Snipping Tool, crop and capture the desired images and save them to disk. Then click on the Go Advanced button at the bottom of any new post window. When the advanced post window pops up, click on the little paperclip tool. This will load the file browser/upload tool and the rest will be obvious.

 

[c0ck7aiL]

Well after the reboot with prime95 running I tested - 210 - 220 - 230 - 240 - 250. Felt like 250 was enough and it didn't give me an error first 20 mins, so I ran a longer p95 test again... Same stuff. Then I got it down a bit to 240 and made the NB and HTT 2.36 and now everything's running fine. I'll make a long gaming marathon like 6-7 hours to see if there are any errors. I doubt it, I mostly play CSGO and I needed the overclock for a boost in fps(used to have 120-150 now 250-300). My temps are just under 55C for cores and 63-64C for the socket. It isn't exceeding the temps, but so didn't it before just insta rebooting with 250fsb. I don't have this problem anymore. Thanks for the help!

 

[trents]

You're welcome. If we had some pics to look at we might be able to suggest some more tweaks that could help get you a little higher but if you're satisfied with where you are then go for it.

To confirm that overclock settings are stable we generally advise running the Prime95 blend test for 2 hr. Passing 20 minutes lets you know you're at least close to being stable and is time efficient during the overclock process.

 

[c0ck7aiL]

Yup, ran it for 2-3 hours I think... Stopped it then cuz temps were 54 on core and 62 on socket and I was just going out so I didn't want to let it overheat for 7-8 hours, I'm not gonna use it more than 50-60% ever anyways, I just wanted to boost my fps on csgo. tried running far cry 3 for an hour today, with the stock cooler before i put the frio advanced it went up to 65C on cores and now it's running perfectly on 40C. I should buy some fans for the airflow though. The thread can be closed now.

 

[trents]

Please edit the subject line to read "Solved".

 

[Blaylock]

Well done c0ck7ail. Glad you were able to hit 3.5Ghz. Now the fun part. Gaming on!


P.S. Keep in mind as the summer months roll on your ambient temps will rise which inturn will increase your CPU temps. Just keep an eye on them for good measure.