phenom ii x4 965 BE (+into)

[n1x4]

Sup gents! Really diggin' this community! Finally, after YEARS on the Dell train, I got to build again. Was on a tight budget so I picked up a Gigabyte 970a-ud3 mobo, phenom 2 x4 965 BE, xfx 6770 hd card, a hdd and 2x4gb Corsair Vengence mem.. I've overclocked in the past but I guess a lot has changed in that field or the board I have (unlocked) just has way more control..lol Dunno.. Anyways, I don't much fancy cases, I never have really b/c I'm always messing with things and IMO I think no matter the case, you will always have somewhat of a limited flow of air compared to an open-board/bench setup, again just my opinion. I'm running everything stock ATM until I get a little more spending $$ to purchase a hyper 212 or some liquid cooling..

Ok, to the OC'ing. Right now, I have my cpu set to 18x (3.624Ghz) and NB and HT link freqs to 2200Mhz (factory 2000Mhz). I dropped the voltage from 1.475 to 1.35 for the cpu. Also, just clocked the mem to x8 (1600).. I have been running prime95 for a little over an hour now and temps are running solid @ 51c with a 52c spike every now and then. My bios came with MIT (MB intelligent tweaker) and has TONS of features to play with that I have really no idea about.. lol So far I fell comfortable amping up the multi to x19 with these temps (just dropped to 50c as I was typing, must admit I have an oscelating fan blowing right on it too). Question I guess being is this: Are there any other aspects of the board/chipsets that I need to fool with to get an even better performance or is the cpu, NB and HT Link freqs and cpu voltage about it? Also I have disabled all the automatic fan stuff and use speedfan to judge (added a few extra cpu fans from older PCs to the board too, on different heatsinks).

All input GREATLY welcomed, especially different tools for the job.

 

[Mandrake4565]

Welcome N1X4, You are pretty close to max temp for stability 55 is about as high as you want to go. You could try to up the multi to 19 and see if it will to 3.9 with that voltage. You may also want to drop the memory to 1333, it may help with stability. Also did you read this post? You should put your full specs in you signature and post pics of CPUId- CPUZ, MEMORY and Speed. So we can get an idea where everything stands as you go along.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596023

 

[n1x4]

Thanks for the tips. I am reading the thread now, I do need to figure out the timings.. So what you are suggesting is to drop the mem clock to 1333 and "TRY" to bump up the cpu to x19.5? x19 would only take me to 3.8Ghz not 3.9Ghz. Sounds good to me. After this post I'll do that and run another torture test.

Here's some scrots. Had to change themes for CPU-Z as the blue font doesn't agree with my dark style. :/

HWmon (idle)
CPU-Z cpu
CPU-Z mem

 

[Mandrake4565]

Sorry about the 3.9 my fingers were moving faster then my brain . Looking at those temps, I wouldn't push it any more, 62 is max and IMO 60 is too close to that for my liking. If you want to keep pushing, get a better cooler, the Hyper 212 will do a good job. I was able to get to 3.9 in a really poor flowing case. I would assume, with a benching station, you would get better results. Something that caught my eye, on your CPU-Z, your HT Link at 2200. My 955 is at 4.0 and didn't like me moving the HT Link around much and I have it set at 2000 with my NB at 2600 @ 1.2125 v for my 24/7 OC. I know yours is a 965, I was just giving a reference.

Another thing you should post is the CPUID-spd tab. You can also use the Win 7 snipping tool to post them but do it individually it's easier to read them this way.

Later on I'm sure the more knowledgeable AMD OC'ers will be on and will be able to help you more then I can.

 

[n1x4]

Know that feeling man! Happens to me all the time.

Right right, well I took your advice about dropping the mem clock back to 1333 and I bumped up the multi to x18.5 to run another stress test right quick. Also wired up 2 more cpu fans (external power adapter) placed on either side of the heatsink with 1 pushing and one pulling. I WILL purchase an aftermarket cooler soon but I'm making do qith what I have so far.. I stall have an additional 120mm fan with box cage (dell cooling solution.lol) and a few more cpu fans but I'm running out of room... Stress testing for about 30 minutes so far on x18.5 (3.725Ghz), 1.35v, mem clock @ 133 and temps are staying @ 50c (51c spike):
HWmon temps @ 3.725Ghz full load

My set up

Hey thanks for the reference man, I REALLY didn't quite understand fully about the HT link and NB freqs. I need to read up on that more I suppose.

SPD data
first
second

CPU-Z cpu and mem
CPU
Mem

How do you mean it's easier to read using snipping tool? I just copy the application scrot to clipboard and export with gimp.. It should show up as full size. Again, thanks for your help and time man, it's appreciated.

 

[Mandrake4565]

What you sent on the screen shots is fine I was just saying that if you did do a snip do them individually as opposed to a full screen. this is an example of what i was saying.

 

[n1x4]

Ahh ok, I got ya now.. Instead of using my dropbox and posting a link, just upload an attachment instead.. I actually have a reason, albeit a odd one, for using hosting sites.. I run multiple servers here and on one of them is a forum. With tons of people uploading images space quickly whittles down, i know h/w is cheap now but some folks use web-hosting and space for that ISN'T cheap..lol I reckon it's a goofy respect thing but thanks for the clarification man, wasn't sure if I was breaking a rule or not.

Ok, a little over an hour on the torture test running 3.7Ghz @ 51c. It did jump up a degree, probably b/c it's getting pretty damn hot outside which is raising temps in this room. Everything seems pretty stable, now I guess I should tweak the NB and HTT instead of just 2200Mhz for both. One other question. Is it possible to drop the voltage even more? Saw on that thread you linked me to that the voltages used were a lot lower than mine even for a higher OC. Granted it is a different CPU so that does play a factor. Just wondering if 1.35v (1.37v is what cpu-z reads) is the lowest I can really go. Lower the voltage and stable the better.

 

[Mandrake4565]

You can drop the voltage as long as it's stable. My volts will probably be lower because I have a custom water loop.

 

[n1x4]

Thought as much, so it's really just a "trial and error" type deal, no real set standard. Thanks

Ok, a little update here..

Added the 120mm box fan (see image below) and boosted the multi to x19 (3.8Ghz). I played with the NB and HTT but the NB wasn't happy going over 2200Mhz even after uping the voltage to 1.2v from 1.105v. It blue screened at stress test start on stock voltage @ 2400 and the fourth core stopped working on 1.2v during test. HTT is set to 2200Mhz too, no problems. All temps holding steady at, again, 50c (51c spike depending on test).

cpu x19 @ 1.35v (3.8Ghz)
NB and HTT @ 2200Mhz

Once I make completely sure that this OC is stable I'll push on to the memory timing, which I have a LOT to learn about still!!!

CPUZ cpu
CPUZ mem
The board and fans (don't laugh..lol)

The way the fan works is the big 120mm is drawing in the cool air from atop the board directing it to one side of the heatsink while INSIDE the green box there's a smaller fan pushing that cool air through.. Sitting on top of my memory is ANOTHER little fan that disperses the warm air from the opposite side of the heatsink at little quicker plus it helps keep the mem cooler too (not that it really gets hot to begin with). Looks like total crap but it works for now until I can get an aftermarket cooler and REALLY tweak this thing.

Aside from my 'throwing things together', is there anything I should be aware of, do better, do differently, etc?

EDIT* I just noticed in CPUZ that my vCore is labeled as 1.4v when in bios it is 1.35v.. I have the auto-voltage turned off, obviously, what could be causing that? It doesn't seem to be hurting my temps though, just would kind of like to know what's up with that.

 

[Mandrake4565]

Id love to see a pic of the rig, I once had a floor fan duct taped to the side of my case to help with the temps.

Anyhow on my board what makes the VCore go up is called LLC load line calibration. It boosts my VCore on my 4.0 clock which is set at 1.4 to 1.42 when under load. I'm not sure what it's called on your board. Something that I noticed on my board that I modified with a 80mm fan was. My heatsink on my northbridge was getting really hot, hot enough that it was painful to touch. I seems to be normal, from what I have seen on my board and similar Asus boards. Though I wasn't happy with it, so I mounted a 80mm fan blowing into the NB heatsink. I'm not sure if it made the system and more stable but I'm happy that the NB isn't overly hot anymore. Here's a pic, it's the Noctua fan next to the cpu waterblock

 

[n1x4]

Nice setup man, diggin the lights too... The pic of my setup is in the above posts "Here's one with the fans". That's exactly what was happening to mine, well not really painful to touch but fairly hot! The green box blows directly on my NB heatsink as well as adding more cool air to the cpu. I'll see if I can locate something along the lines of an LLC in this thing and see what's up. I just checked CPUZ whilst the system is idle and the Vcore is indeed 1.37v so I'm assuming there's something similar to the LLC you mentioned.

 

[Mandrake4565]

I love the high tech benching station you have, little did Gigabyte know how much use that box would get Love it.

Thanks BTW, the PC looks cooler when the lights are off and UV tubes glowing. My son wants me to build one for him, being 9, I don't really see the need for him to have a W/C system yet and my wife already thinks I'm crazy.

 

[n1x4]

I know right.. LOL I plan on building it up but my main goal was to get a decent system up after running an old Dell forever with the money I had. Maxed out that thing w/ 2gb and a P4 3.06Ghz w/ HT.. Sad

Yea, being only 9 I don't think WC would be needed.. But definitely get him building one ASAP. My father did it to me when I was younger, and I'll do it to my daughter when she get a little older.. I still have the first HDD I built my first PC with.. 280mb western digital..

 

[trents]

n1x4. We much prefer attached images instead of posts. There is a built in forum tool for attaching images. First, however, crop and save the image(s) to disc with something like Windows Snipping Tool (in Accessories). Then click on Go Advanced at the bottom of any new post window. That will load the Advanced post window. Then click on the little paperclip tool at the top which will load the file browser/upload tool and the rest is obvious. Cropping and saving the individual images is preferable to capturing the whole desktop because the latter produces images so small the values are hard to read.

 

[n1x4]

n1x4. We much prefer attached images instead of posts. There is a built in forum tool for attaching images. First, however, crop and save the image(s) to disc with something like Windows Snipping Tool (in Accessories). Then click on Go Advanced at the bottom of any new post window. That will load the Advanced post window. Then click on the little paperclip tool at the top which will load the file browser/upload tool and the rest is obvious. Cropping and saving the individual images is preferable to capturing the whole desktop because the latter produces images so small the values are hard to read.

Yea, I know how to do it, but mine doesn't capture the entire desktop, just the preferred application. Thanks though man I'll upload to the site from now on.

 

[tikithorsen]

IMHO, a "sweet spot" so to speak is to have it @ 3.8Ghz (most can do it with stock voltage of 1.375v) and the CPU-NB @ 2400MHz 1.225v. Any chip should be able to do that and it gives decent results. Again, just my opinion.

 

[caddi daddi]

sweet open test bench, I love it...

 

[n1x4]

IMHO, a "sweet spot" so to speak is to have it @ 3.8Ghz (most can do it with stock voltage of 1.375v) and the CPU-NB @ 2400MHz 1.225v. Any chip should be able to do that and it gives decent results. Again, just my opinion.

Right on, I bet the voltage was my issue. I only upped it to 1.2 from 1.105 (the NB).. I'll try that as soon as I can fix my hdtv.. The ******* fried on me while I was watching a movie in the other room. Seems Vizio has this issue A LOT!!! It powers on but no picture, audio nor menus... Sadly, I can't even use my new system now b/c all I have are VGA supported monitors and my gpu is DVI or HDMI. Really tweaks my melon man

sweet open test bench, I love it...

Thanks bro, I do what I can with what I got

 

[n1x4]

Alright, got my TV replaced and was going to set the NB voltage to 1.25v when I noticed everything after 1.20v was all RED, assuming dangerous voltages.. So, is it really safe to go ahead and up it to 1.25v without harming the mobo? I know I'm being paranoid here but I don't want to fry this thing, it's not even a week old.

 

[Mandrake4565]

With overclocking we are pushing the boundaries and your board is a UD board "Ultra Durable". It's made to be pushed, though "safe" is up to you. I have never had a problem pushing my NB v up to 1.25 and I run it at 1.2125 24/7. IDK if it's going to shorten the lifespan of the board. My thoughts are, by the time the board dies I'll be wanting an upgrade anyway.