Phenom II OverClocking Essentials

[MetalheadGautham]

Here are a set of guidelines on how you go about overclocking AMD Phenom II CPUs.

OverClocking Tutorials/Guides/Tips:

http://www.techreaction.net/2009/05/...ng-essentials/

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...&postcount=240

http://www.overclock.net/amd-cpus/50...gs-max-oc.html

Reviews:

Phenom II X4 955 BE http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Ha...eviews/pii955/

Misc:

5GHz on Dry Ice Cooling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et-x2wygDAc

@All interested Digitians:
Post more guides if you can because this is a relatively new concept.

[Krow]

Great article. Sure does help AMDistas like myself. The most ive overclocked in my life(The only time), Ive taken my frnd's C2D 2.66 to 2.8 GHz just by upping some option from 266 to 280. I'll try overcocking my soon to arrive 940 BE and let u all knw. I need some luck! Can ne1 suggest any software to chk my CPU temp?

[MetalheadGautham]

Try something from here:
http://www.cpuid.com/

[dOm1naTOr]

get speedfan. it can log the temps to a txt file and check the max in case of even BSODs

[Krow]

Roger that. Thanks a lot!

[desiibond]

ocing is not over by increasing the speed of processor. You need to run stability test for atleast one night and see if the system doesn't reboot. If it reboots, you need to reduce the clock/multiplier.

[MetalheadGautham]

updated post with few more links.

[j1n M@tt]

get speedfan. it can log the temps to a txt file and check the max in case of even BSODs

RealTemp is better than dat for temp monitoring and benching tests.

[dOm1naTOr]

RealTemp dun support most processors and mobos.
It supports none of AMDs.

[j1n M@tt]

o ic, I thought they supported Phenom II...they never work for older Intel proccys too.

[MetalheadGautham]

Added another update. Now its good enough to help almost anybody with little or no experience overclock.

[j1n M@tt]

^^y can't u make this an overclocking thread for all CPUs instead of Phenom alone, or I will start if everyone is interested

[MetalheadGautham]

^^y can't u make this an overclocking thread for all CPUs instead of Phenom alone, or I will start if everyone is interested

Thats because overclocking Core2 CPUs is a common knowledge since Intel overclocking is an old concept. And Core i7 is enthusiast-only so it won't make much of a difference whether I add its guide or not.

Phenom II on the other hand, is something new and has lots of untapped potential. It is quite weird because on stock voltage it crosses 4GHz mark when you take its temperature below 0C.

And as for making a general guide, you are welcome to add a post for that which I can merge into first post and change thread title.

Anyway, I and several others are pushing for an overclocking forum within the hardware troubleshooting section or within across the board section. Once that comes up, we can have seperate stickies for Intel Core2 overclocking, AMD Athlon 64 overclocking, AMD Phenom overclocking, AMD Phenom II and Athlon II overclocking, Intel Core i5/i7 overclocking, etc.

Anyway, due to this I would advice you to start off with a post here, which I can later convert into a sticky.

[j1n M@tt]

hmm..I'm waiting for the new O.C'ing section

btw Oc'ing C2 CPU is not as simple if u want to reach a remarkable point...one will hav to know his mobo tweakings like the back of his palm, and behaviors of the mobo and CPU like vdroop and all...which varies even from each piece among the same model itself.

[MetalheadGautham]

hmm..I'm waiting for the new O.C'ing section

btw Oc'ing C2 CPU is not as simple if u want to reach a remarkable point...one will hav to know his mobo tweakings like the back of his palm, and behaviors of the mobo and CPU like vdroop and all...which varies even from each piece among the same model itself.

Then what are you waiting for ? Edit this post of yours into a total Intel OC guide

I will be more than happy to merge it into the main post.

[j1n M@tt]

I think its better to wait for the new section and for the new TDF server...In the new section we can create a thread for posting overclocking benchmarks and screenshots....which will be pathetic in this present situation in TDF.

[MetalheadGautham]

I think its better to wait for the new section and for the new TDF server...In the new section we can create a thread for posting overclocking benchmarks and screenshots....which will be pathetic in this present situation in TDF.

Procrastination kills progress.
If you want weight for the new section, start NOW.
Otherwise it might not even arrive.

Overclocking at the begening of TDF was niche because Pentium 4's and Pentium III's were not overclocked often and nor were Athlon XPs. People used to pay a couple of thousands extra to get a CPU which was faster by 100MHz. Today things are different. CPUs have much headroom for overclocking than before. So unless ppl take interest to prove this, I doubt you will find an admin agreeing to start an overclocking section.

[Krow]

Okay, so ive begun OCing my 940BE. I'm on stock HSF, so I'm pretty jittery. All I did was to change the CPU Clock Freq from 200 to 201 MHz. The multiplier is set to 16. I considered going to 14 and upping the CPU Freq, but I thought I'd test this first. Can sm1 please guide me better? I'm also planning on getting an aftermarket HSF. Are the stock AMD ones good for a minor OC(3.2GHz)? At the most I may go to 3.4 or so... Nt sure.


ATM I'm @ 3216 MHz. Where hould I stop? I'm running Prime95 now before I sleep and I'll chk it 2mrw morning. BTW Ive kept the System Voltages to AUTO as I dont have much of a clue regarding them.

[Krow]

Here r some prime95 results. The electricity went in the night, but neways, I'm posting whatever was done!

[Sat Jun 06 00:26:53 2009]
Self-test 1024K passed!
Self-test 1024K passed!
Self-test 1024K passed!
Self-test 1024K passed!
[Sat Jun 06 00:43:17 2009]
Self-test 896K passed!
Self-test 896K passed!
Self-test 896K passed!
Self-test 896K passed!
[Sat Jun 06 00:59:35 2009]
Self-test 768K passed!
Self-test 768K passed!
Self-test 768K passed!
Self-test 768K passed!
[Sat Jun 06 01:15:18 2009]
Self-test 640K passed!
Self-test 640K passed!
Self-test 640K passed!
Self-test 640K passed!
[Sat Jun 06 01:30:55 2009]
Self-test 512K passed!
Self-test 512K passed!
Self-test 512K passed!
Self-test 512K passed!
[Sat Jun 06 01:47:16 2009]
Self-test 448K passed!
Self-test 448K passed!
Self-test 448K passed!
Self-test 448K passed!
[Sat Jun 06 02:03:08 2009]
Self-test 384K passed!
Self-test 384K passed!
Self-test 384K passed!
Self-test 384K passed!
[Sat Jun 06 02:18:49 2009]
Self-test 320K passed!
Self-test 320K passed!
Self-test 320K passed!
Self-test 320K passed!

Speed fan says:

Temp1 45
Temp2 32
Temp3 48
HD0 39
HD1 36
Core 47

There's a tick mark in front of Core, Temp1 & Temp3, while there's a blue down arrow in front of HD0, HD1 and Temp2. Can ne1 explain?

Is this any good? C'mon guys! At least some1 reply!

[damngoodman999]

SOme suggest Good CPU cooler for phenom 2 940 wid 2.5K budget

[Krow]

I saw the OCZ Vanquisher for 1.3k. My budget for the CPU HSF is 3k MAX! Plz suggest good coolers for my 940 BE!

[damngoodman999]

I saw the OCZ Vanquisher for 1.3k. My budget for the CPU HSF is 3k MAX! Plz suggest good coolers for my 940 BE!

How abt

Cooler Master Hyper N 520 RR-920-N520-GP CPU Cooler

[dOm1naTOr]

gte the one with 120mm fan support and max cfm [if u dun care bout noise]. With 120mm fan support, u can buy additional CM 90cfm high performance fans to get max out of ur cooler. normal 120mm fans have avg of 40cfm airflow.

[Krow]

Okay, will keep that in mind, but can u suggest a brand? I was looking at the OCZ Vendetta 2 & i found out that it was only for Intel!

[desiibond]

gte the one with 120mm fan support and max cfm [if u dun care bout noise]. With 120mm fan support, u can buy additional CM 90cfm high performance fans to get max out of ur cooler. normal 120mm fans have avg of 40cfm airflow.

True. I bought Cooler master 120mm 90CFM fan today and fixed it to side panel of my cabinet and damn, from 43-50, temperatures came down to 34-42.

True VFM

[Krow]

I have the same one but with blue LED and its fixed in front of my HDDs and they never go above 39!

But Damn, fixing the Fan was a headache for sure. It took me about 3 hrs to get the screws to fit in the very tight slots of the fan! How did u fix 'em?

[MetalheadGautham]

True. I bought Cooler master 120mm 90CFM fan today and fixed it to side panel of my cabinet and damn, from 43-50, temperatures came down to 34-42.

True VFM

Cost ???

[desiibond]

Cost ???

600 bucks.

[dOm1naTOr]

it has LEDs too. but fins are not transperent.

[MetalheadGautham]

I'm waiting to see how the Phenom II X4 925 launches. Its 95W TDP. A lot better overclocking support this means.