Overclocking my 955 BE, bit of trouble getting past 3.9.

[Badzyy]

Hey there,

I'm pretty new to overclocking but I generally pick up things fast, I've done a lot of reading around but just can't seem to get the right help so figured I would post on these forums first up Cool 'n' Quiet is enabled as I'm not too sure if it's needed to disable, so where the picture shows 2.2ghz it's actually at 3.88ghz with 18.5x multi.

I would just like to know if there is anything else I should be doing to get it close to 4.0ghz stable or if there would even be any noticable peformance increase for gaming. Any help would be great, I can also give more info if needed.

Thanks.

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[manu2b]

You memory is running@1680MHz, which is a tad high for the Deneb IMC. Try lowering it around 1333MHz to make sure it's not the issue.
What's your vCore/temps under Prime95?
You could also bring the CPU-NB to 2400/2500MHz with 1.25v (now standing at 2100MHz).

 

[Badzyy]

Thanks for the reply

I lowered the memory to 1400mhz (there wasn't any option for 1333 I think because of the HT.ref)

My vCore is at 1.48v and in Prime95 it's at about 50c, but always one of the workers fail, could that be to do with voltage?

 

[Frakk]

Make sure to turn your RAM volts to 1.55v if its not around there already, your XMP profile for 1600Mhz was 1.65v. Phenom's don't like that many volts.

 

[Badzyy]

Yeh I had the memory set to 1.65v, I lowered to 1.55v and a worker still failed 2 mins into Prime95 blend test

 

[Frakk]

Have you turned off C&Q and any other green junk? also make sure you have Win 7 set to high performance in the power options.

 

[Badzyy]

Ok I've done both those things, running Prime95 atm at about 50c 1.5v.

This is at 3.88ghz, should I just bump the voltage and multi to get to 4.0ghz?

Thanks for the help so far.

EDIT: Worker #4 stopped after 5 minutes.

 

[Frakk]

Ok I've done both those things, running Prime95 atm at about 50c 1.5v.

This is at 3.88ghz, should I just bump the voltage and multi to get to 4.0ghz?

Thanks for the help so far.

EDIT: Worker #4 stopped after 5 minutes.

Over 1.5v is starting to get a little to high.

Take a step back and try it at 3.4Ghz at those volts, see how that goes and we can go from there.

 

[Badzyy]

This might sound stupid but I built this PC a couple years ago now and the RAM that I bought are Corsair Dominator 1600mhz (9-9-9-24). I just took the RAM out and had a look and the 2 sets (I have 4x2gb) aren't the same model. 1 set is TW3X4G1600C9D and the other is CMP4GX3M2A1600C9. Could that affect stability at all? I seem to be able to use my computer fine for gaming just can't run Prime95 for very long at all.

EDIT: Will try what you said and post back tomorrow, thanks for the help.

 

[manu2b]

1.48v is kind of high for 3.9GHz (with a C3 stepping Deneb).

I don't think your issue comes from the vCore, but maybe from temperature.

Do you have 50°C on the cores or on the socket? Socket temp is usually 5/7°C lower than the cores on Denebs.
When reaching the high 50's on the cores, your cpu is getting unstable.

You could also try with only 2 modules of RAM.

 

[Badzyy]

I'm running at 1.5v right now with only the 2 modules of RAM, not 100% sure which temps you mean so I'll put up a screen shot. Hopefully you can tell me which ones to look at.

Thank you.

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[tangletail]

I currently can't get to imageshack... What was your first move when you tried to overclock it? Did you just brute force it by ramping up the multiplier and vcore? If so, you need to note that the Phenom and Bulldozers are wierd.

For the Phenom you must adjust nearly everything up little by little at a ratio that I can't remember.

 

[manu2b]

Actually, you run on 1.44v on load (see first line in CPUID).
It has do do with LLC I guess, as I am not familiar with your board.
Temps are ok, and so is the vCore for 3.9GHz (that's how mine runs on air).

 

[trents]

Lower your HT Link frequency to between 1800 and 2000 mhz. Put your CPUNB frequency (or maybe it's just "NB" in your bios) to 2400 mhz and bump the CPUNB voltage to 1.25.

 

[Badzyy]

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate it

I tried a couple of the suggestions, Prime95 test still doesnt last more than a few mins at this stage.

This is what I have at the moment.

[/IMG]

EDIT: At the time of the pic the voltage was set in the BIOS at about 1.48-1.5v. I have it set now at 1.55v just to test
and it never goes above 1.5v on HWMonitor, mostly sits around 1.47v with Prime95 running
and seems to go above 1.5v when I stop the test... Is this normal or could there be a problem with the power supply
since I'm only using a 450w?

Thanks.

 

[BeepBeep2]

Make sure to turn your RAM volts to 1.55v if its not around there already, your XMP profile for 1600Mhz was 1.65v. Phenom's don't like that many volts.

That is very untrue, sir...

Phenom II X4 before about week ~1020 can run 2.4v all day long with DDR3.
I would cut back to ~2-2.1 for week codes after that.

Phenom II X6 can take 1.8-1.9v all day long without issue too.

 

[Frakk]

That is very untrue, sir...

Phenom II X4 before about week ~1020 can run 2.4v all day long with DDR3.
I would cut back to ~2-2.1 for week codes after that.

Phenom II X6 can take 1.8-1.9v all day long without issue too.

Where did you read that? the consensus is no more than 1.55v, http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596023 it will go higher but its not recommended for the long term as it will shorten the life of the CPU, the BIOS should tell you that, mine goes yellow at 1.575 and red at the volts your talking about.

 

[manu2b]

That is very untrue, sir...

Phenom II X4 before about week ~1020 can run 2.4v all day long with DDR3.
I would cut back to ~2-2.1 for week codes after that.

Phenom II X6 can take 1.8-1.9v all day long without issue too.

2.4v!!!

Good way to burn the modules!

BTW, OP, the issue comes from your RAM latency I guess: on the cpu-z tab, it's 7,7,7,21,27.
Set it in the BIOS to 9,9,9,24,34 and 1.5v

 

[Badzyy]

OK I'm tryin 9-9-9-24-34 with 1.5v now. The RAM is at 1120, is there any point to increase it to 1400?
LOL got a BSOD as I was typing this, will have to up the voltage to 1.55 maybe?

Thanks.

 

[Frakk]

I'm running mine at about 1400Mhz (from the FSB) and 8-8-8-20-1T @ 1.55v.

Your modules are pretty much he same as mine, so you should be able to copy those settings