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Looking to OverClock my AMD Athlon II x4 630

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I notice, Mr. Scott, the core voltage is set to 1.56. Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable with that much for 24/7 use on a computer I wanted to last awhile.

Let's see the SPD tab. The most impressive thing to me from your pics above is that you have the RAM frequency up past 1600 mhz with quick timings to boot. I'd like to see the info on the RAM itself in the SPD tab. And how many volts were you giving the DIMMs?

And what motherboard are (were) you using?
 
I notice, Mr. Scott, the core voltage is set to 1.56. Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable with that much for 24/7 use on a computer I wanted to last awhile.

Let's see the SPD tab. The most impressive thing to me from your pics above is that you have the RAM frequency up past 1600 mhz with quick timings to boot. I'd like to see the info on the RAM itself in the SPD tab. And how many volts were you giving the DIMMs?

And what motherboard are (were) you using?
Board is Sabertooth rev. 1
Ram is G.skill Flare 2x2 gig set. SPD is 7-8-7-24 @ 1.5v
I run those around 1.7v
I can get 6-7-6-x to 1900 or so benchable. 7-8-7-x is good to over 2000.
I have a set of G.skill Eco's that will do almost the same. Both are PSC chipped.
If you want, I'll add pics but that platform is not set up right now. Working on something else at the moment.
 
These are my current figures, I ended up putting 2 of my 2GB sticks in the spots on my Motherboard (Via Asus Recommendation for OC'ing)

Where should I go from here?

cpuspd2.PNG
cpumemory2.PNG
cpumain2.PNG
 
I would lower your CPU/NB multiplier by 1x to give you some headroom there. Also, for the same reason, lower the HT Link by 1x.

I would also lower your DDR3 frequency from 1333 to 1066 (533 in DDR2 terms). Your memory is already exceeding it's rated frequency of 666/1333. It's running at 2x785.9 or about 1570 mhz.

Keep in mind that you only want to overclock one variable at a time. The most important one is the CPU core speed. Focus on that first and get it stable. Then overclock the RAM and the CPU/NB if you want. As it is, if you encounter instability you won't know if it's caused by the CPU core speed being too high or the RAM frequency or the CPU/NB frequency. Make sense?

After you have done those things then increase your core voltage from 1.356 to 1.425. It's real low right now for overclocking much.

Then start increasing your bus frequency in 5 mhz increments.

As always, after you make changes, do some stress testing and temp monitoring.

For stress testing, run Prime95 for 20 minutes. That's long enough to conclude you are at least not far from being stable. For stability to be confirmed we recommend running Prime95 for two hours and if you pass that you are probably good to go. But in the preliminary stages of overclocking where you are now, no sense in wasting that much time.

For temp mornitoring, use HWMonitor nonpro version. The pro version is for pay and begins to hide functions after awhile if you don't pony up the bucks. You'll want to keep you core temps (or your package temp) at a max of 55c and your CPU temp (which is the socket area temp) at max of about 60-65c. Those processors and motherboards become unstable after that.
 
I would lower your CPU/NB multiplier by 1x to give you some headroom there. Also, for the same reason, lower the HT Link by 1x.

I would also lower your DDR3 frequency from 1333 to 1066 (533 in DDR2 terms). Your memory is already exceeding it's rated frequency of 666/1333. It's running at 2x785.9 or about 1570 mhz.

Keep in mind that you only want to overclock one variable at a time. The most important one is the CPU core speed. Focus on that first and get it stable. Then overclock the RAM and the CPU/NB if you want. As it is, if you encounter instability you won't know if it's caused by the CPU core speed being too high or the RAM frequency or the CPU/NB frequency. Make sense?

After you have done those things then increase your core voltage from 1.356 to 1.425. It's real low right now for overclocking much.

Then start increasing your bus frequency in 5 mhz increments.

As always, after you make changes, do some stress testing and temp monitoring.

For stress testing, run Prime95 for 20 minutes. That's long enough to conclude you are at least not far from being stable. For stability to be confirmed we recommend running Prime95 for two hours and if you pass that you are probably good to go. But in the preliminary stages of overclocking where you are now, no sense in wasting that much time.

For temp mornitoring, use HWMonitor nonpro version. The pro version is for pay and begins to hide functions after awhile if you don't pony up the bucks. You'll want to keep you core temps (or your package temp) at a max of 55c and your CPU temp (which is the socket area temp) at max of about 60-65c. Those processors and motherboards become unstable after that.

I really like the way you put all that! I do have a few questions.

In my Asus Bios Menu I have a couple things I don't know if im suppose to do anything with
Cpu Spread Spectrum?
PCIE Spread Spectrum?

CPU Load Line Calibration?
CPU/NB Load Line Calibration?

EVerything that you said makes sense to me 100% and I backed off my CPU/NB and my HT Link. Along with dropping my ram and raising my voltage. I'm about to start prime and see if its stable.
 
I would leave the CPU Load Line Calibration on Auto. You can fiddle with this later. All it does is add some core voltage under load in order to compensate for the natural drop in voltage under load. You can accomplish the same thing by just increasing the main core voltage control. The nice thing about LLC is it allows you to get by with less core voltage when not loading the CPU. But let's keep it simple for now.

I would disable CPU/NB LLC because the CPU/NB is a very sensitive component. I like to know exactly what I'm feeding it. I would manually set the CPU/NB voltage for what you want it to be and manually adjust it as necessary. I find that somewhere between 1.225 and 1.3 is enough to give you a mild overclock in that component to about 2.2-2.5 ghz. It's not going to make much difference in performance anyway. The core speed is really the thing to focus on. The other stuff is mostly for benchmarking bragging rights and has little or no impact on real world performance.

I would disable the spread spectrum stuff but it probably won't make much difference either way. Spread spectrum has to do with decreasing electromagnetic interference that might have a negative effect on audio or WIFI components that live near the computer. Not much of an issue in modern times one way or the other. It was sometimes a factor in the early days of personal computing when shielding was often not good.
 
I would leave the CPU Load Line Calibration on Auto. You can fiddle with this later. All it does is add some core voltage under load in order to compensate for the natural drop in voltage under load. You can accomplish the same thing by just increasing the main core voltage control. The nice thing about LLC is it allows you to get by with less core voltage when not loading the CPU. But let's keep it simple for now.

I would disable CPU/NB LLC because the CPU/NB is a very sensitive component. I like to know exactly what I'm feeding it. I would manually set the CPU/NB voltage for what you want it to be and manually adjust it as necessary. I find that somewhere between 1.225 and 1.3 is enough to give you a mild overclock in that component to about 2.2-2.5 ghz. It's not going to make much difference in performance anyway. The core speed is really the thing to focus on. The other stuff is mostly for benchmarking bragging rights and has little or no impact on real world performance.

I would disable the spread spectrum stuff but it probably won't make much difference either way. Spread spectrum has to do with decreasing electromagnetic interference that might have a negative effect on audio or WIFI components that live near the computer. Not much of an issue in modern times one way or the other. It was sometimes a factor in the early days of personal computing when shielding was often not good.

Thank you for the in depth explanation on all that! Deff understand what those are now. Last night I got my computer running stable at 3440mhz. Ran prime all night with no issues so Im getting closer. Tonight after work i'm going to post my numbers and do some more fine tuning.

This is the highest I have ever had this CPU and i'm getting excited to be closer to my goal :)

Everyone on this forum has been a huge help too me!
 
Something else to be aware of and that is your CPU core speed multiplier is locked only on the up side. You can lower the multiplier but not increase it beyond stock. That can come in handy when you are trying to increase the bus speed to get memory frequency up to a certain point. If that effort causes the CPU core speed to exceed its stability limit then you can lower the core speed multiplier. So, for instance, if you want to increase the bus speed so as to get your memory frequency back up to 1333 from the 1066 you started it at, you can lower the core speed multiplier if the bus frequency carries the CPU speed beyond stability.
 
Sorry for not updating recently, Life has gotten in the way. I found the AMD brackets to my H60 so Im going to be running some tests with that tonight compared to my 212. I know i probaly wont see much of a difference, but hey i have it so why not try it!

Question about ram, which would you choose?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...021916-Index-_-DesktopMemory-_-20104459-S1A9A
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231666
 
I'd go with the snipers. 2400 ram is wasted on AMD and Kingston can be troublesome if you ever decide to get an FX chip
 
I'd go with the snipers. 2400 ram is wasted on AMD and Kingston can be troublesome if you ever decide to get an FX chip

Okay! Thank you, I've been looking for the best bang for my buck since i've been running just some cheap ram I got from a older computer. I feel thats my weak link in my system right now. So I will be ordering that momentarily.
 
You may have to run then at 1600 ish till you get your system stabilized. Then it's possible to get a bit more but 1600 is good for a PII
 
You may have to run then at 1600 ish till you get your system stabilized. Then it's possible to get a bit more but 1600 is good for a PII

Yea, Thats the plan for now. They will be here on Monday or Tuesday! I can't wait, this is my first set of brand new ram i have ever bought in the 15ish years I have been a computer "Nerd"

But then again this is also the first time I have ever overclocked a computer in those 15ish years lol.

Oh I realized I havent even posted any pictures of my rig!

So here is a few
0220160010c.jpg 0220160010b.jpg 0220160010a.jpg 0219162328.jpg

Nothing special just yet, but its getting there.
 
No fan on rad?
You're gonna want one blowing on the VRM sink too, being that you're using an AIO.
 
No fan on rad?
You're gonna want one blowing on the VRM sink too, being that you're using an AIO.

I had my fan pulling through the radiator, but i just swapped it out for my 2 corsair fans that I had laying around and did a push/pull setup. It dropped my temps 3 degrees at idle and 2 at full load!

As for the VRM.. First off what exactly is that on my board? Like could you show me? and What is a AIO?

Those feel like the dumbest questions to ask, but since I don't know what they are then I have to ask!

Thanks
 
Not dumb questions at all. But if you want to OC you will begin to know these things. The VRM is the larger blueish heatsink next to the CPU (to the left of the cpu in your pic) The one below is the northbridge.

Capture.PNG

AIO stands for All-in-One. Means your cooler, the corsair. I hope I gave good enough descriptions of the VRM but I didnt want to pull out paint to put an arrow on the pic.
 
Not dumb questions at all. But if you want to OC you will begin to know these things. The VRM is the larger blueish heatsink next to the CPU (to the left of the cpu in your pic) The one below is the northbridge.

View attachment 175695

AIO stands for All-in-One. Means your cooler, the corsair. I hope I gave good enough descriptions of the VRM but I didnt want to pull out paint to put an arrow on the pic.

Nope I completly understand what you are talking about. I knew they where one or the other but i just wasnt sure which one!

So I have three 120 mm fans on top, exhausting. If i turned the one around that is right above the VRM think that would do the trick?
 
Nope I completly understand what you are talking about. I knew they where one or the other but i just wasnt sure which one!

So I have three 120 mm fans on top, exhausting. If i turned the one around that is right above the VRM think that would do the trick?

I can tell you this: The idea is to get air moving over the sink. If you dig around on the forums here you will see that some guys use a zip tie to lock a smaller fan right to the vrm heatsink.

Generally speaking though, you want cool air moving INTO the case from the front and heated air OUT from the rear or top (hot air rises right? :) )

Edit: I also gotta correct myself. Southbridge is covered by the sink under the CPU. Matter of fact now Im not sure at all.... the one below the cpu is _____bridge. Very sorry for the mistake
 
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