Help me OC my cpu

[SnowyOak]

I'm completely new to overclocking. Obviously I need a better cooler for my cpu, right now it's stock, and I'd love some info from the community.

First, the computer specifications:

AMD phenom 2 955 black edition @ 3.2ghz <-has an unlocked multiplier. What does that mean?
8gb kingston ram, unbuffered
HIS Radeon HD 5770 1gb
A hard drive

The mobo is able to overclock as I know the voltage can be set higher and it supports such in the bios. I also have tried doing this on my own with minimal information and my computer became greatly unstable, hence asking for help .

I'm considering my options for a new cpu cooler. The stock is on there right now and my cpu already passes 45 centigrade with the fan whirling at max speed.

I've pretty much narrowed it down to two main items for cooling.

This: [url]http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4434989&CatId=4922[/URL]

Or this: [url]http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5267687&CatId=1871[/URL]

Now the air cooling one would be putting more hot air into my computer case. I could probably amend this by adding a few fans to the front and the back to create a wind tunnel of sorts, bringing the cool air from the front and pushing it out the back. I also have a little fan on the top of the case to vent hot air out. I know it would work decently, and many people claim in the reviews that it is suitable for overclocking.

For the liquid cooling one, I'm skeptical if it would really provide a greater margin of cooling then the air one. Certainly it could keep more of the hot air out of my computer case by pushing it out of the back, but would I suffer with the air cooler compared to this one? I'm skeptical especially as I've read some reviews of the item which claim it as no better then a mid-high end air cooler.

So let's hear your opinions on those. If you own one particularly, I'd love to know about your actual experience.

Now onto the overclocking information.

From what I understand, OCing simply speeds up your CPU at the expense of higher energy consumption and heat production. My CPU supports AMD overdrive, which I've downloaded and tried, but it doesn't actually save my settings after it gives me a stable reading. It has gotten the cpu up too 3.8 ghz, so it claims, but that changes after I restart the computer.

I also know there's something called the bus speed which, when raised, will make the cpu clock faster. What is it and how does it work with the cpu?

Lastly, my cpu is a black edition and has an unlocked multiplier. I've raised it but I don't quite understand what that is and does either. Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading my essay post and for any info anyone has.

 

[Colt .45 killer]

I've very little experience with that cpu, however I do have a friend who bought one and they OC'd it at the store because that model ( or the 965) can go to 3.8 ghz without a voltage increase.


Some tools you will need will be prime 95 , which will detect instability in the CPU, go for atleast a 30 min to 45 min test. The purists will say 24 hours, I find that 99% of instability comes out in the first 10 minutes anyways when P95 testing.

If you plan on OCing the ram, get Memtest 86+ which is a bulletproof tool ( your gonna need a USB stick for that to work ).


Your Cpu clock speed is determined by multiplier X FSB, in my case thats 9 x 370 = 3.33GHZ.
In short , because im bloody tired, increasing the FSB effects the whole system, so you will have to tinker with other things to get everything stable again. The multiplier is internal to the cpu and easier to fiddle with, atleast afaik. All the CPU's Ive had before have had locked multipliers.

 

[PermenentMarker]

In your bios, you will notice a section for overclocking... forgot what it's called.

But your CPU makes it a cakewalk.

Right now, you are set at

200 x Multiplier (16) in your case = 3200Mhz

Unlocked Multiplier means you can modify the 16 to 16.5, 17, 17.5, 18...

I have a Phenom 965 (3.4Ghz) Stock 200x17
Running it at 3.6Gz in other words 200x18


You can run yours at 3.6Ghz easy on stock cooling. As long as your case has decent air ventilation AND make sure your heat sync is very clean. Stock AMD Phenom HeatSync pile up dirt and clog really easily.

Depending on how good your chip is, it can go between 3.4 to 3.8 without adding more to the voltage and wont heat up too much on good air cooling.

You can also raise the fsb from 200 to 205, 206.... This will put more stress on your Ram

I recommend sticking with Air cooling but that's just me.. I never used Liquid and I don't usually push my luck too far.


Most AMD chips overclock really easy and well... I got a friend's brother who I sold an athlon X3 2.9Ghz, he unlocked the disabled core and overclocked it to 3.4Ghz
(and he's a 14 year old kid)

 

[User Name]

1. How fast do you want to go?

2. What brand/model number is the motherboard?

You can easily overclock Black Edition processors through the BIOS. Usually it is located in a section marked performance, or something similar. 3.7 or 3.8 Ghz at stock voltage is usually easy with stock air cooling on these. If you want to go higher. you'll need a better cooler. Going much beyond 4.2Ghz is much harder.

The highest I went with a Phenom II was a 555 X2 Black edition. I took it to 4.1 GHz stable in Prime95. The voltage was 1.42 IIRC. I didn't want to raise the voltage anymore so I stopped there. I took it back down to 3.7 even though it was stable to keep the voltage stock. I usually under-volt my chips and do a mild over clock instead. My current PC has a 1090T X6 clocked at 3.6ghz with the voltage set at 1.25v.

 

[Forssen]

1. Find out recommended temperatures and max voltage for your processor.
2. (optional) Find a thread about your motherboard series/model on some overclocker forum to find out if there are some recommended settings which can improve overclocking.
3. Download CoreTemp (cpu-temp monitor), memtest86 (memory test) and orthos.
4. Test the limits of your memory/motherboard by lowering your multiplier drastically and raising the FSB. Test with memtest and Orthos.
5. Now see how high you can get the cpu by raising the multiplier but keep the FSB well under the maximum value you got in the last step. Test with Orthos.
6. Find a good spot, prioritize high cpu clock.

Take small steps, how long you are willing to test with Orthos is personal but the longer you are willing to test the more sure you can be on it being stable.

 

[SnowyOak]

Thanks for the info, everyone. It's been quite invaluable. I've gotten a new cpu heatsync and just applied it today. I got a cooler master Hyper 212 and added an extra 120mm fan for a push/pull cpu cooling system. You can see the heatsync here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

I actually set it up so the cpu also vents directly out the top of the case while fresh cool air is pulled in from the front, over the hard drive, and side. It's only gotten to 42 centigrade at full load for over an hour. Compare that too the stock cooler which went up past 60. I would highly recommend this product and I've found through research that it has a substantial pedigree as a quality cooler.

I did forget to mention, though, that 42 centigrade is AFTER my overclocking. I've upped the multiplier to 19 and upped the HT ref clock to 204, giving me a total of 3,876 mhz. That's 676 more and a 21% increase! What a great success! 3.9 gave me some severe stability issues, but just under that is flawless stability and excellent performance. I've run a stress test for a full hour followed by a few hours of playing some RO2, the most cpu taxing game I own, and all without any complications! I really couldn't be happier; my cpu is substantially faster and will stay much cooler then it ever has before.

Again, thanks too all the replies! I couldn't have done it without this extra info. :IS2:

 

[Hirmuinen]

Are there some major risks if you oc your cpu in small amounts or is it pretty save to rise like 200mhz and then try? Or what do you think is the right amount to rise per try and see how it works?

I have Dualcore e8500 at 3,2 and I'm thinking about something like 3.6 or 3.8, which seems to be pretty normal OC for this cpu and the cooler I have. How important is those 4 and 5 steps if I have read in multiple reviews the limits and know that the amount I'm trying to achieve is far from the max?

My cpu cooler: http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-CPU-Co...3K14/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1320334434&sr=8-9

 

[Forssen]

Are there some major risks if you oc your cpu in small amounts or is it pretty save to rise like 200mhz and then try? Or what do you think is the right amount to rise per try and see how it works?

I have Dualcore e8500 at 3,2 and I'm thinking about something like 3.6 or 3.8, which seems to be pretty normal OC for this cpu and the cooler I have. How important is those 4 and 5 steps if I have read in multiple reviews the limits and know that the amount I'm trying to achieve is far from the max?

My cpu cooler: [url]http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-CPU-Cooler-NH-U12P-SE2/dp/B002TG3K14/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1320334434&sr=8-9[/URL]

There are two different revisions of e8500, E0 and C0, E0 overclock a lot better. You can see your revision in coretemp. Check what is common clocks for your revision. All cpuz behave differently, I would not recommend to skip stress testing in orthos.