FX-8150 Stuck at 4.0Ghz

[Cooke]

i cant seem to overclock my cpu past 4ghz no matter what i try. i am not an experienced overclocker at all but i have managed to get it to be very stable at 4ghz.

i have tried all sorts to get it past 4ghz but i just get BSOD every time, i have searched the web and tried tweaking my bios as to what other people have recommended and still get nothing. i have ethen tried doing the auto overclock features both with the amd ccc and within my bios itself and the only one i had succes with was the ccc overclock but it only went to 3.9ghz, when i did the auto overclock within the bios it went to 4.1ghz but crashed instantly when i tried to run prime95 or a game or even youtube.

i am almost certain that there is a simple solution like i have a power saving mode box ticked somewhere but i dont no what it is i am doing wrong.

any help would be greatly appreciated but please dont link me to an overclocking guide to my cpu i need more personal help from someone at this point

My System Specs:
NZXT Phantom 820 (White)
Asus M5A99X Evo R2.0 Motherboard
AMD FX8150 ([email protected] )
Saphire HD7950 3GB Vapor-X (OC)
16GB Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz Ram
Corsair H80
240GB OCZ Agility 3 SSD
2TB WD Caviar Green
NZXT Hale Power 90+ 1000W '80 Plus Gold' PSU

 

[Johan45]

to OCF Cooke
There are some shots that we like to see that will help us help you. I see you mentioned P95 which is good. At your stable clock can you run P95 with HWMonitor(free) open and take a ss about 20 minutes in and post it. We also like to see CPU-z main, memory and SPD tabs. This gives us voltag, heat and setting info about you system.

 

[Cooke]

Thanks for helping and the quick reply!

~10 Minutes in

~20 Minutes in

Links:
http://www.mediafire.com/view/k1erb3zjhymnrn6/~10.jpg
http://www.mediafire.com/view/4ael22f6rwud16n/~20.jpg

 

[Mandrake4565]

Temps look ok, though do you have an area behind the motherboard on the side panel to mount a fan? Also how long have you run Prime95 at 4.0 to determine stability?

 

[Cooke]

no i dont have a place for a fan there, this is the case i have http://www.nzxt.com/product/detail/96-phantom-820-full-tower-case

i have ran it for over an hour before and i have been using the same settings for over 6 months and haven't ran into any problems

 

[papadan]

You probably only have to start adding a little Vcore & testing again. Watch your temps as you go.

 

[Mandrake4565]

Ok a couple of things that come to my mind, one I'd like to see the cpu temp closer to the package temp. You can accomplish this by mounting a fan on the backside of the motherboard using double sided tape. I'm sure Johan will post a pic for me of how he mounted his....hint hint.

I would also like to see if you can pass 2 hours of prime blend before you try to push further. It just seems like your 1.28 Cpu V is really low for a 4.0 overclock. You may just have a good chip but I'd rather side on the cautious. If you feel it is un necessary, then just set the multiplier to 20.5 and keep adding Cpu V until you hit 72 on the socket or 65 on the cores or you can pass prime for at least 20 minutes.

 

[RGone]

The reason "mandrake" asks about applying cooling to the cpu socket area from the rear of the motherboard is because of your odd temp readings.
1. The CPU Temp is showing ~59c.

2. The Package aka Core temps are showing only ~36c.

3. That is a delta/difference of ~23c. More normal is a difference of 8 to 12c.

4. Seeing that ~23c delta/difference leads one to the conclusion that your cpu socket area and likely the VRM area is without adequete cooling because moving to a water block has taken 'away' the over-flow air from an air cooled cpu cooler and the overflow air had kept the cpu socket and VRM area more cool than now.

5. With a socket temp of ~59c and a low overclock of 4.0Ghz and a relatively low Vcore (less than 1.3V max) indicated while running P95 blend, it is understandable why you would have trouble running P95 Blend or viewing YouTube or other applications beyond 4.0Ghz.

6. Vcore needs to be probably around 1.35V or greater for 4.4Ghz or in that range. Once you get more cpu speed you will gain even more heat and a rise in CPU Temp can bring on cpu throttling to keep the cpu in a safety zone. Albeit one that is not accurate because the VRM and NorthBridge are not getting any cooling with the addition of the water block and loss of spill over air from an air cooled cpu cooler.

7. Generally Asus motherboards are readable by HWMonitor but your TMPIN2 is showing 128c which if accurate is bad and it too maybe because of poor cooling in and around the VRM section and NB area.

8. When running P95 Blend put your finger on the cooler to the left of the cpu socket. Take care it may shock you at how hot it may actually be. If that heat sink is too hot to touch, then you are going to have to arrange for better air flow around the cpu socket area, before attempting any greater cpu speeds.
RGone...

 

[Mandrake4565]

Generally Asus motherboards are readable by HWMonitor but your TMPIN2 is showing 128c which if accurate is bad and it too maybe because of poor cooling in and around the VRM section and NB area.

I have the same board Gonester, it always reads that temp. I'm pretty sure it's just an inaccurate read, I just ignore it. Tough I did mount an 80mm fan on the Vrm/Nb heatsink on the M5A99X board due to the heatsink getting so hot it was painful to touch.

Vcore needs to be probably around 1.35V or greater for 4.4Ghz or in that range.

Did you mean to say 4.4?

 

[papadan]

. Generally Asus motherboards are readable by HWMonitor but your TMPIN2 is showing 128c which if accurate is bad and it too maybe because of poor cooling in and around the VRM section and NB area.

I have had that same reading on my board from day one.

 

[RGone]

Quote:
Vcore needs to be probably around 1.35V or greater for 4.4Ghz or in that range.
Did you mean to say 4.4?

Okay then lets us make that 4.2Ghz or so. I was intending to make the point that he would have to have an awesome FX-8150 if he maintained stability at any speed greater than 4.0Ghz with less than 1.3Vcore max. I am surprised that it is stable at the 4.0Ghz with the low Vcore indicated.

Thanks for the TMPIN2 being always dorked on the EVO board. I expected better from Asus since they in general do better than some of the other brands. Oh well.
RGone...ster.

 

[mtdewcowboy]

The temp reading of 128* is a bad reading mine shows same thing
Looks like some fans are in order to help cool the vrm and socket area
Bet temps start to rise once you go past 4.0 and add Vcore to stable it
These guys will steer you in the right direction

 

[mtdewcowboy]

Quote:
Vcore needs to be probably around 1.35V or greater for 4.4Ghz or in that range.
Did you mean to say 4.4?

Okay then lets us make that 4.2Ghz or so. I was intending to make the point that he would have to have an awesome FX-8150 if he maintained stability at any speed greater than 4.0Ghz with less than 1.3Vcore max. I am surprised that it is stable at the 4.0Ghz with the low Vcore indicated.

Thanks for the TMPIN2 being always dorked on the EVO board. I expected better from Asus since they in general do better than some of the other brands. Oh well.
RGone...ster.

It is hwmonitor the newest update shows the 128* reading
My older screenshots don't show it

 

[Cooke]

so basicaly it may just be a case of over heating? how drastic of a change will i need to my airflow to get the temps i need and is there any suggestions of what i could do?

i dont understand what u mean with the fan placement on the back of the motherboard, could someone upload a pic? there wouldnt be any room for sticking it on the back of the motherboard.

 

[RGone]

It is hwmonitor the newest update shows the 128* reading
My older screenshots don't show it

Ah, I see. I thought I remembered Asus and HWMonitor being a better match. Thanks.
RGone...

 

[Mandrake4565]

i dont understand what u mean with the fan placement on the back of the motherboard, could someone upload a pic? there wouldnt be any room for sticking it on the back of the motherboard.

I'll pm Johan and have him upload a pic of what he did.

When overclocking using either Air or water your ambient temps within the case make a huge difference. Therefore getting as much airflow through the case is essential. Additionally, when using H2O you lose the airflow that you would get from the fans on the heatsink near the VRM/NB section of the motherboard. If you look at the pic that I posted you'll see where I mounted a 80mm fan on the VRM/NB section of my motherboard to help keep it cooler. I also have a 120mm fan mounted on the right side case panel drawing air from the back of the motherboard socket area, this is the photo that I'll have Johan post.

 

[Johan45]

This one??

 

[trents]

so basicaly it may just be a case of over heating? how drastic of a change will i need to my airflow to get the temps i need and is there any suggestions of what i could do?

i dont understand what u mean with the fan placement on the back of the motherboard, could someone upload a pic? there wouldnt be any room for sticking it on the back of the motherboard.

If there is insufficient room to mount a small cooler on the back of the motherboard then you can cut a hole in the right side case panel and mount a fan there. Now, we are assuming you have some factory cut out in the tray the motherboard is mounted on.