Overclocking Problems - Failure to post, boot, and hard freezes

[KnowledgeByTech]

I started overclocking my “Just for fun” 5yo side-project yesterday and was met with more problems than expected… I still don’t know exactly what has been going wrong.

Specs: ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX
FX-9590
Corsair H110i GTX 280 (set to 100% fan curve 24/7)
R9 390X Tri-X
20GB G.SKILL DDR3-1600
EVGA SuperNOVA 1000W 80+ Gold

Expected result: stable 5.1Ghz overclock on 8 cores @1.5V-ish (I know that this is too high, but it was what was recommended)

Attempt #1 through 3:
Overclocking attempt 1 was a step-by-step direct copy of the settings recommended in this video:

CPU Ratio: 24.5
CPU Bus Frequency: 208
AMD Turbo Core Technology: Disabled
CPU offset voltage: 0.100000
Extreme OV: Allowed (*WASN’T ABLE TO FIND THIS ONE IN MY BIOS*)
Spread Spectrum: Disabled (cause why not)
AMD Cool n’ Quiet: Disabled
Fan CTRL setting: Turbo

Results: after pressing F10 to save settings and reset, the PC failed to post, and none of my displays were able to recognize it as an input (or received input) and continued running for about 30 minutes, until I decided to shut it off and start over… It once again failed to post. I then had to clear the RTC RAM using the jumper on my board, and then it posted fine. The next attempt (#2), I checked over the settings and made sure to correct anything anything that didn’t seem right and got another failure to post.

Attempt #3: I then tried my own settings (@1.45V) which seemed slightly more reasonable, and I got the same problem.

Attempt #4: I enabled Overclock Tuning (auto overclocking?) which went for like 5.3Ghz first try which booted fine and then (for whatever reason) wasn’t holding the overclock (even shooting down to 2.5Ghz !!!) then hard froze after running Cinebench R15 for about 5 seconds.

Attempt #5: After heading back to the BIOS it then changed to a 5.146Ghz target frequency (from roughly 5.3Ghz), and I also realized that it enabled AMD Turbo Core technology by default which I disabled after I noticed it, and tried again. It booted fine, but still couldn’t hold even 5.09Ghz (which is the highest I saw it go) and once again shot down to around 2.5Ghz (jolting from 4.9Ghz down to 3.4, then 2.7, then 2.5). I can genuinely say that I DON’T THINK IT WAS THERMAL THROTTLING as it never read above 50C in the MSI Afterburner/Riva Tuner OSD or in Corsairs Software…

I am still extremely overwhelmed and confused by these results… does anybody know what's going on or available to help? I would still like to overclock if possible, and I’m willing to try any recommendations given. Is it just not allowing Extreme OverVolting?

This “just for fun” side project has been a real pain in the ***.

 

[bassnut]

To run 5.1 ghz you will need more cooling then an AIO cooler. We are talking a custom loop here. So in essence you are hitting a heat wall. That cpu will be calling for 1.5v at stock settings and believe me when you turn them up for an all core OC they generate heat.

My old FX8370 took 1.45 ish volts on a large custom loop to be able to do 5.1GHZ stable. There are all sorts of videos and threads for big OC with sub standard cooling for these FX cpu but in the end they are just suicide runs or unstable attempts at an OC. If you want to run those big numbers you will need a decent loop you might get away with a 360 AIO closed loop, don't know if they will be enough as I never used one.

 

[KnowledgeByTech]

even 5.0GHz even or under wasn't working though either?

 

[trents]

The FX-9550 was often not stable even at stock settings. It was a bust of a CPU.

One issue you are probably having is the 20gb of RAM you are trying to run. The FX series IMC was weak, weak, weak. How many slots are you filling on the motherboard with RAM? I'm conjecturing that you are using 2x8gb and 2x2gb? Cutting it back to only two sticks total might help, as might giving the IMC and a little voltage bump.

 

[KnowledgeByTech]

The FX-9550 was often not stable even at stock settings. It was a bust of a CPU.

One issue you are probably having is the 20gb of RAM you are trying to run. The FX series IMC was weak, weak, weak. How many slots are you filling on the motherboard with RAM? I'm conjecturing that you are using 2x8gb and 2x2gb? Cutting it back to only two sticks total might help, as might giving the IMC and a little voltage bump.

Ok, i'll give it a try when I get off work.