Phenom ii x955 BE OC, need help with RAM: HT clock settings

[Demox]

Greetings,
this might be a long post but I will try to keep it as short,clean and easy as I can. (Note that english is not my first language,and I dont actually know much about PC hardware).

My setup:

Motherboard : AsRock M3A770DE http://www.asrock.com/mb/amd/m3a770de/
CPU : Phenom ii x955 3.2 BE http://www.anandtech.com/show/2754 + Coolermaster cooler https://www.links.hr/hr/cooler-cool...150-775-fm2-fm2-fm1-am3-am3-am2-am2-050903324
GPU : Sapphire HD7850 1 GB http://www.hardwareluxx.com/index.p...-short-test-sapphire-radeon-hd-7850-1-gb.html
RAM : Mushkin 2x8Gb Radioactive https://www.links.hr/hr/memorija-pc...byte-997069y-ddr3-1600mhz-kit-2x8gb-051210357
SSD : SANDISK 240gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820173072
HDD 1TB I forgot name
Audio Card : RME MULTIFACE I http://www.zzounds.com/item--RMEMULTI
650W Power Supply,forgot name

As I have upgraded RAM,SSD and CPU Cooler a few days ago I have decided to go for an OC in my system.
My aim is to get higher,or rather just more stable fps when I play Arma 2/3. + I would most likely get more computing headroom when I use Ableton to mix music,primarely alot of waw channels,and a few VSTs here and there.

So after reading and scanning internet for my component overclocking capabilities i finaly made some steps in MSI Afterburner and AMD OverDrive.
I am relatively happy with my current results and I am saying relatively becouse in arma,even though now it is much better , I still want a little smoother experience.

I figured out that arma doesnt really care too much if I turn up the CPU multiplier per se, even at 4.0(game crashed eventualy).
I confirmed 3.8 GHZ with 200 HT ref Clock as fully stable at any CPU test for more than 8 hours, but arma got just a small increase in fps.
Then again after a lot of reading and scanning through this magic internet I approached a different tactic which I am still testing for good rock solid stability,
basicaly I put HT ref clock on 210mhz x16 = BAM! 3,520 Ghz system with a very noticeable boost in Arma.
So after some tests,benchmarks,tortures etc I got some courage to try to go for 220 MHZ x17 and YES everything is much more fluent and I can finaly play campaign good.
This is a point where I am still testing it for stability(havent yet crashed)
MAX Temps: CPU 51c GPU 54c Motherboard 38-39c at 40% fan, I could easily turn it on 60% and its not too loud.


I noticed it also made my RAM work faster too and thats the part where I am lost and need good advice.
So I have 2x8 GB 1600 mhz but misteriusly when I first installed, it showed in DRAM frequency 665mhz which is AMD so x2 = 1333 approx.(motherboard should support)

Then as I boosted HT ref clock,simultaneously Dram frequency rose and now is at 731.7MHZ so around 1460MHZ.
Basicaly I need help what to do with the settings in the first picture,theres so many options to make a crash
can I do anything better about it to make it more stable?
I would like to turn up HT ref clock at least to 230 x15.5 but want to understand what I am actually doing in relation to RAM and other parts first.
Anyways here are the pics and if you need anything else please just ask, Live long and prosper my friends

 

[trents]

The RAM, HT Link and CPU/NB (aka, NB) are all tied to the FSB (also known as bclk). That's why the RAM gets faster as you increase the FSB frequency. Adjust the HT to keep it close to stock. A little one way or the other won't hurt anything but if you allow it to get very far from stock it will make the system unstable. Keep it in the range of 1900-2100 mhz. CPU/NB will overclock higher than the HT but it needs a little extra voltage to do so. That CPU has a week memory controller so keep the RAM frequency at 1333 mhz or a little more. 1500 mhz is about the limit on that memory controller even if your RAM is rated higher. If the RAM is rated at 1333 mhz then keep it close to that. To keep the RAM frequency under control you may have to lower the RAM divider to a lower starting frequency. That's an adjustment that will only be available in bios. Really, you should be overclocking from bios rather than using software like AMDOD.

 

[knoober]

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/596023-Dolk-s-Guide-to-the-Phenom-II will give you a good overview of all the goodies and what they are for.

If you check through there and do some testing you might come up with a more stable overclock, and at the very least the folks around here will be on the same page when giving you advice.

Nice System BTW

 

[caddi daddi]

I say Trents is spot on, keep the ram and ht at some place around stock and raise the cpu/nb voltage and speed.
you might have to lower the ram, ht and cpu multiplyers to raise the cpu/nb, but that's what overclocking is all about.
as you juggle these try to keep in mind that cpu speed is king.
your core voltage is fine, these chips start to get unstable at about 1.62-1.64 and around 55 degrees c.
you have done a good job so far, good luck.

 

[Demox]

Thank you for your help and kind words everyone and sorry for a little delay, I was getting tired and frustrated with all this so went for a break from PC.
I went into bios as you suggested and explored first. and then as you will see on one picture above MSI Afterburner is showing 57C, speedfan 40C, overdrive 70C and Aida64 40C-but only on 1 core,everything else 0C? LOL, even hardware monitor shows CPU all 0C. MSi was working before so Im confused but whatever I can use it just for GPU and fan control anyway.

There is sooo much stuff that I want to know now that I saw what I can tweak, like in ACC my CPU is set to -2% what does it mean? I cant find any useful info online.

These are my current stock clocks:
CPU Frequency 200 Mhz
PCI 200 Mhz
CPU Frequency multiplier x16(default) 3.2Ghz
NB Frequency multiplier x10 2000Mhz
NB Voltage 1.1000V
HT Bus speed x10 2000Mhz
am I forgeting something?

So youre saying I should OC my NB and CPU frequency and keep everything else stock,I did a little research and really found some texts saying that their NB OC did give them a huge boost ingame.
As I sayd in Arma i dont get basicaly any performance when I OC multiplier, but when I OC HT Ref clock a bit higher(automaticaly HTlink speed and memory frequency went up+NB i think but not sure) it does give more stabile fps.
Most of my problems come when I am in big cities and then processor struggles to "read" so much information, or when flying fast with helicopter especially low near towns.

Im unsure whether I should raise CPU frequency alone and adjust multipliers so they stay as much close to the stock position
or should I give NB multiplier a boost? I allready added an extra fan to blow on NB chip
It would look like this:
Option A
CPU Frequency 220 Mhz
PCI 200 Mhz
CPU Frequency multiplier x15 3.30Ghz
NB Frequency multiplier x10 1980Mhz
NB Voltage 1.1000V
HT Bus speed x9 1980Mhz

Option B
CPU Frequency 200 Mhz
PCI 200 Mhz
CPU Frequency multiplier x16 3.20Ghz
NB Frequency multiplier x11 2200Mhz
NB Voltage 1.1000V
HT Bus speed x10 2000Mhz
Also RAM how does that fit in here, how do I change it accordingly to other frequencies? or how to change ratios?
If something fails,will I still be able to go into bios and revert? If not what is my best bet to reset it?
I will allways do as little step at a time but its a gamble anyhow I guess...
Big thanks everyone
PS sry for some pictures, I dont know how to reverse them

 

[Tír na nÓg]

Hi Demox,

THere is about everything in the link in the Knoober post (#3).

You have a black edition, right?

Disable SPread SPectrum and all the power saving features (C States),

Set the vCore to 1.4v, the CPU-NB voltage to 1.3v, the multi to 19 and the NB to 2400.
RAM settings 1600/9-9-9-24/1.5v.

Quick stability/temp check with prime95 (20 minutes). Keep the core temps below 55c.

If OK, increase multi by one til you get BSOD, then increase the vCore. Max 1.5v on air, if temps are still below 55c on load.

If you are lucky, you might hit 4.1 or 4.2GHz. More likely in the 4GHz range (multi x20).

Once you have a stable core frequency OC (2 hours prime95 blend is usually enough), try a 2600MHz CPU-NB (multi x13). 20 min prime95, if OK, try 2800. ou can go up to 1.35v for CPU-NB voltage, if temps are OK.

When both your CPU freq and CPU-NB are stable, you can try overclocking the memory.

Your sticks might do 1866-9-9-9-24/1.65v

Don't touch HT, overclocking it doesn't bring any performance gain. And no need of changing your base clock (200MHz), it changes all the different frequencies and is useless when you have a Black Edition.

 

[trents]

Demox, sorry but I failed to notice in your first post that you have a "BE" or black edition of that CPU. It has an unlocked CPU core speed multiplier which makes overclocking very easy because you don't have to change the front side bus. Increasing the multiplier has no effect on the frequencies of he RAM, HT or CPU/NB. You just raise the multiplier in small increments, stress test with Prime95, monitor core and CPU socket temps and add CPU core voltage when it becomes unstable if temps permit. Max core temps for overclocking stability on that CPU are about 55-60c. Max stable socket temps are about 10c higher.

Please use HWMonitor (non pro version) and CPU-z to report your temps, voltages and settings. These three tabs in CPU-z are the ones we want to see when ou post pics: CPU, Memory and SPD.

 

[Demox]

Tir na Nog,thank you for simplifying steps for me,
I have read Dolks guide but I still dont understand fully. I read it through every once in a while.
I will try as you suggested! But as I said, HWmonitor reports 0C for CPU
Trents, my MULTIPLIER gives me absolutely no performance in Arma.

will be back with results,in meantime feel free to post your opinions guys,thanks

 

[Dolk]

Tir na Nog,thank you for simplifying steps for me,
I have read Dolks guide but I still dont understand fully. I read it through every once in a while.
I will try as you suggested! But as I said, HWmonitor reports 0C for CPU
Trents, my MULTIPLIER gives me absolutely no performance in Arma.

will be back with results,in meantime feel free to post your opinions guys,thanks

That's because you have not tried hard enough. Overclocking the CPU can be a bit of a trick when you don't have the best hardware at hand. You have to balance the frequencies, the multipliers, the voltages, and the heat. Do what Trent said, and than start worrying about the other areas. You have no idea what the system is capable in overclocking. Take the time to learn it and the system will open up for further overclocking.

 

[trents]

If overclocking the CPU with the multiplier gives no improvement in Arma then the performance bottleneck is not the CPU. Regardless of whether you overclock a CPU to a certain level with the multiplier only, with the FSB only or a combination of the two, the end result is the same with the possible exception of gaining a little more memory performance. But faster memory seldom yields real world improvements except in a few specialized tasks like data compression/decompression. In my experience the only real advantage of using the FSB is that it often allows you to get away with slightly less core voltage at the same overclock level. I'm thinking you need to look at the video card as the culprit in Arma performance issues.

 

[rescuetoaster]

Yep - ARMA on a 1gb 7850 = no bueno.

 

[caddi daddi]

rescuetoater is right about the card demox, you are going to be limited.

let's get your clocking on a useful track.
your memory is doing fine all on auto, 1333@cl9 is fine.
following dolks guide, to the letter, clock one bus at a time, starting with the cpu core clock and then the cpu/nb.
you are using to many things to monitor your rig.
you're liking amd overdrive so let's use only that please.
slap your 3740 clock back on the rig and run 20 minutes of prime 95, give us screen shots of the cpu status, board status and clock/voltage tabs just before you stop the test please.

 

[Demox]

Im sorry to inform you all but I am giving up on doing this myself!
Arma started making weird noises, like constant buzz which changes in frequency as I click different options,or am in loading screens.
Everything in Bios returned to default state but still same issue, luckily for now only in game which doesnt affect my audio production.
And well Im gonna quit from OC and Arma in general for now, it seems AMD singlecore performance is very shy compared to Intels, at least regarding Arma performance.
As far for the GPU I agree I could benefit from a better card, personaly I am sorry I didnt buy the 2gb version od HD7850,but...
I am very sure in my case it is the CPU that is bottlenecking my sistem. I have tryed lowering settings in game and it doesnt give any kind of performance boost.
Then again i put most options to high and naturaly everything looked much nicer,and with no decrease in fps, actually some settings got me a 2-4 fps boost when on high.

All in all I appriciate everyones input, I have learned a lot about computers last weeks, I swear next time I buy a PC , I am going to drain the salesman with questions about performances xD

Good Luck,
Demijan

 

[caddi daddi]

don't depend on a salesman in a store, come in here and ask what to look for, we'll all be glad to help.