Phenom II X4 955 C3 OC, new to AMD

[poopboypat]

Processor: Phenom II X4 955 C3
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB DDR3 1800
MOBO: ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO


ok, I just got these 3 items and I'm having fun, I've never OC'ed an AMD before, and I'm a little lost. Ive tryed reading the guides, but i haven't slept in 30+ hours. And I'm a little confused, i am using the stock cooler because apparently my tuniq tower 120 was made before it was comparable with AM2/3... So i have to order the part or get a new cooler all together... Well on stock this is where I'm at, Please help out with what ever you can.

Core speed: 3488
Multi: 15.5
Sus Speed: 225
HT Link: 2250
Vcore: 1.456V

Ram: DDR3 4096 MB
DRam Frequency: 900 MHz
CL: 11
tRCD:11
tRP: 11
tRAS:29
tRC: 40
CR: 1T

Temps:

Idle: 40C
Load: 58C

I feel like I might be putting too much on the ram? I mean its running fine at 1800. What can I do for better performance? And what Air cooler should I get?

 

[QuietIce]

to AMD!


Let's start with the easiest thing first. Here's a Top 10 list of sinks and a full list of tested sinks. Make sure you're looking at the AMD by Temperature list in the bottom left. Bang for buck I still like the Sunbeam Core Contact 120 - $25 MIR at Newegg.
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2461&page=4


For AMDs you should also include your cpuNB speed, which can be found in the upper right of the Memory tab in CPU-Z, and the cpuNB voltage. cpuNB voltage (not NB chipset!) is usually labeled CPU NB VID or some such. I'm assuming with your HT Link speed that the cpuNB is probably running at 2250 MHz, which is good for that CPU speed. You should manually set the cpuNB voltage at 1.225v for now. The cpuNB includes the L3 cache and IMC (Integrated Memory Controller), among other things, and keeping it running in-step with the CPU helps stability a lot.

Since you've got a BE chip I'd OC using just multipliers instead of the system clock (for now), it's much easier to control the component speeds that way. The biggest reason for using the clock is to OC the RAM but there's not much, if any, performance gain past 1600 (= 800 MHz) unless the cpuNB is really cranked up (like into the upper 2 GHz range).

HT Link speed isn't all that important. The stock 2.0 GHz (or even 1.8 GHz) is plenty for anything you'd want your machine to do unless you're running CrossFire graphics. Turn that down and save the system resources for more important things, like CPU and cpuNB speeds.

The 955 C3s are very good clockers and chances are by making a few adjustments you can run 200x18 on almost stock vCore (1.35-1.40v) with a cpuNB at 2200-2400 MHz (11-12x) @ 1.225v and the HT link at 1800-2000 MHz (9-10x). The stock cooler may hold you back some but 3.6 GHz should be doable with good case flow and normal ambient temps. AMD CPUs like load temps at or below ~57°C, something to keep in mind as you OC - and those temps are mostly from voltage so turning that down should help.


Good luck with the OC and, as always, keep us updated ...

 

[poopboypat]

Ok, I orderd the CCF and im working on a case mod to get better outside air Directly to the Heat Sink. But on stock this is where Im at, I lowerd the voltage of the CPU and the CPU-NB. Vcore was on auto and it went up to 1.55V on it's own... I lowered the HT link to 1800 and pumped the CPU-NB up to 12x or 13x so its now at 2700. Max temp droped by 3c and looking forward to getting a real cooling system in this! What are some good goals? I was thinking for CPU 4ghz (I know this will probibly not happen). But what about the CPU-NB? 3ghz? I dont know much about the CPU-NB I will try and do some reading. Thanks!


Core speed: 3488 Mhz
Multi: 15.5
Sus Speed: 225 Mhz
CPU NB: 2700 Mhz
HT Link: 2020 Mhz
Vcore: 1.4V
CPUNB: 1.225V

Ram: DDR3 4096 MB
DRam Frequency: 900 MHz
CL: 11
tRCD:11
tRP: 11
tRAS:29
tRC: 40
CR: 1T

Temps:

Idle: 40C
Load: 55C

 

[senorbum]

I ran with 18 multi with stock everything for a while on my 955 BE. It was pretty border line though, as if my room went up 2-3 degrees and it would run over the 56/57 degree mark and become unstable. Considering I didn't put any thermal paste or aftermarket cooler on, I'd be willing to bet that 3.8 is easily attainable, with more tweaks necessary to get past that.

 

[QuietIce]

Nice clocks for starters!

Have you tried those settings I listed above? Phenom OC'ing has a lot to do with balancing your system so that the component speeds all work together for the most efficient use of resources.

Running the RAM that fast might be holding back your CPU and, bottom line, it's not using all that RAM speed anyway. Did you try dropping RAM first while OC'ing the CPU?

Did you try just a minimal increase in cpuNB (22-2400) while pushing your CPU all the way?


When it comes to OC'ing and performance CPU speed is King with cpuNB a very distant second and RAM close to cpuNB at third ...

 

[poopboypat]

ok, Update: I finally got my cooler and the way I have my rig set up is I have a 120mm Intake Fan in front pushing air to the 120mm CPU Fan pushing the air to the 3rd 120mm exhaust fan on the back of the case in a strait line. Please tell me what I can improve, I will probably have to bump voltage up a little since after 8-10 min of Prime95 im getting a BSOD. But other than that what can I improve that will make things work as best as possible?

Core speed: 4000
Multi: 20
Sus Speed: 200
NB Freq: 2400
HT Link: 1800
Vcore: 1.4225
CPUNB: 1.225V

Ram: DDR3 4096 MB
DRam Frequency: 800 MHz
CL: 11
tRCD:11
tRP: 11
tRAS:29
tRC: 40
CR: 1T

Temps:

Idle: 31C
Load: 51C

EDIT: Bumped VCore, now stable!!

 

[Porvalsh]

The Hyper 212 is decent too for only 30 bucks. It comes with extra clips for dual fans too.

 

[Parad0x420]

ok, Update: I finally got my cooler and the way I have my rig set up is I have a 120mm Intake Fan in front pushing air to the 120mm CPU Fan pushing the air to the 3rd 120mm exhaust fan on the back of the case in a strait line. Please tell me what I can improve, I will probably have to bump voltage up a little since after 8-10 min of Prime95 im getting a BSOD. But other than that what can I improve that will make things work as best as possible?

Core speed: 4000
Multi: 20
Sus Speed: 200
NB Freq: 2400
HT Link: 1800
Vcore: 1.4225
CPUNB: 1.225V

Ram: DDR3 4096 MB
DRam Frequency: 800 MHz
CL: 11
tRCD:11
tRP: 11
tRAS:29
tRC: 40
CR: 1T

Temps:

Idle: 31C
Load: 51C

EDIT: Bumped VCore, now stable!!

At that CPU speed, you should be able to bump the CPU-NB from 2400 to 2600, and I don't foresee a problem setting the HT to 2000, but if it's stable it's good. Increasing these might improve your stability a little, or just improve performance too. I would also manually set your RAM to 9-9-9-24, as that should be the correct timings for running at 1600mhz. If something becomes unstable while doing what I recommended, you just might need a little more CPU-NB voltage, up to maybe 1.25v. Or some extra juice to the RAM.. by the way, what is your RAM voltage currently set to?
And, nice OC.. wish I could get my 955 C2 to 4Ghz :banghead:

 

[poopboypat]

At that CPU speed, you should be able to bump the CPU-NB from 2400 to 2600, and I don't foresee a problem setting the HT to 2000, but if it's stable it's good. Increasing these might improve your stability a little, or just improve performance too. I would also manually set your RAM to 9-9-9-24, as that should be the correct timings for running at 1600mhz. If something becomes unstable while doing what I recommended, you just might need a little more CPU-NB voltage, up to maybe 1.25v. Or some extra juice to the RAM.. by the way, what is your RAM voltage currently set to?
And, nice OC.. wish I could get my 955 C2 to 4Ghz :banghead:

Ok, i did all those changes, and boot to windows no problem. Going to run prime95 to see if I BSOD.

Ram Voltage:1.6v

 

[poopboypat]

also whats a good system Benchmark tool? Not intrested in Graphics right now since I still have a good old 1900GT in my computer

 

[QuietIce]

SiSandra is a good over-all benchmark suite ...

 

[Morphuess]

nice work poopboy. I just got a 955 C3 myself yesterday. In the past I've only done very conservative and mild overclocks on my 5600+ x2.

I'm hoping to at least get my 955 to 3.8 Ghz, and 4Ghz would be perfect for me, but I have one question. What program out there allows me to monitor CPU temperatures while in windows? So far I've only been able to monitor temps while looking at it in the bios, which doesn't let me test load conditions.

edit: after looking around the forums I found the core temp program, which works beautifully. Hopefully with this program and my vendetta 2 cooler I can get results as well as poop here

 

[poopboypat]

Made some more changes, so far stable need to do longer tests to be sure, but this is looking pritty solid. If this is stable I might try going higher on the CPU Freq.

CPU:
Core speed: 4000 Mhz
Multi: 20x
Sus Speed: 200 Mhz
Vcore: 1.4225v

CPU-NB Freq: 2600 Mhz
CPU-NB Volt: 1.225v

HT Link: 2000 Mhz

Ram: DDR3 4096 MB
DRam Frequency: 800 MHz 9-9-9-24-33-1T
Voltage: 1.6v

Temps:

Idle: 31C
Load: 52C

 

[Parad0x420]

Nicely done Pat, at those settings you should see higher performance than the previous settings. Grats on the OC!

and Morph, I'm not sure which program you found, but a lot of recommendations go out to Coretemp. Also, OCCT can monitor temps while stressing your system, and I actually use HWmonitor from the CPUID site where you can find CPUz.