A beginner enthusiast is experimenting with my OC FX8350 for some fun.
A beginner enthusiast is experimenting with my OC FX8350 for some fun.
I didn’t adjust my base bios settings prior to experimenting with overclocking. These configurations, such as load line calibration and quiet cooling, remain unchanged except for the ones essential for my overclock setup (to my knowledge).
My motherboard: G1-gaming-990FX rev. 2
Cooler: H100i V2 (3 120m fans in push pull)
Here’s what I experienced!
CpuZ bench 1
(My usual overclock session)
Single core 1304
Multi Thread 8102
VCore 1.45
4515MHz x21 (7-21)
Bus 215
HT Link 2794
NB Frequency 2364
DRam Frequency 859.9MHz 1718MHz CAS 10
Short answer:
I plan to boost my bus speed while simultaneously lowering my HT Link, NB Frequency, and DRam speeds as I increase the bus speed.
Longer explanation:
I’m working on a hypothesis. These settings represent the maximum overclock I can achieve right now. My idea is that increasing the bus clock will cause rapid changes in my RAM, NB Frequency, and HT Link clock. I realized my DDR3 1600 only supports around 115MHz overclock before latency rises and stability drops, which blocks further attempts. (Likely). My limitation comes from memory speed. Moreover, once the HT Link surpasses 200MHz, stability issues emerge. Therefore, my plan is to raise the bus speed but reduce memory and HT Link speeds for better stability. I’ll keep memory at roughly 100MHz above normal to avoid latency and cause instability. I’ll also lower HT Link to stay within its original range of 180-200mhz.
Also worth noting: this CPU tends to become unstable regardless of adjustments if the CPU Clock Ratio exceeds one point, so I’ll stick with the default of 20.00.
Note: I created a backup image of my entire drive with Windows before any testing. The current settings damaged my OS during tweaking. This was some time ago, and since then I’ve remained stable. If Windows becomes unstable during boot, it could erase your installation. I also set a recovery option at startup so I can reinstall Windows from my SSD or use the backup image. Without a CD drive, I can’t create a repair disc, which is why I took extra precautions.
Initial test outcomes:
CpuZ bench 2
Single core 1323
Multi Thread 8289
VCore 1.45
4620mhz x21 (7-21)
Bus 220mhz
HT Link 2640mhz
NB Frequency 2200mhz
DRam Frequency 733mhz, 1466MHz CAS 9
I increased the bus from 215 to 220 and reduced HT Link, NB Frequency, and DRam multiplier to 7 to offset the change. At this stage, my HT Link and NB Frequency are still above normal but within just a few MHz of their default values. The only performance drop came from RAM. Running at 1466mhz with lower CAS latency than the default (10) helped. I lowered RAM speed to maintain stability. I also reduced HT Link to keep it around 200-200mhz.
I should mention that this CPU appears unstable under any overclock if the CPU Clock Ratio goes beyond one point, so I’ll keep it at 21.00. Default is 20.00.
End note:
I saved a backup of my entire drive with Windows before proceeding. The settings caused OS corruption during adjustments. This was some time ago, and stability has been consistent since then. If Windows fails to boot after installation attempts, your setup will be lost. I also enabled a recovery option at startup, allowing me to reinstall Windows from an SSD or use the backup image. Without a CD drive, repairing from scratch isn’t possible (as far as I know). I took additional steps to ensure safety.)
Determine your processor's maximum overclock by adjusting the multiplier and voltage only initially. Once you're comfortable, reduce the settings slightly and lower the FSB while also underclocking RAM. First, switch BIOS to manual mode, ensuring that the FSB/BCLK settings are set higher than just the CPU and RAM. The PCIe speed should be manually configured at 100MHz; otherwise, it won't perform well.
CountMike :
Find your processor's OC limit by using multiplier + viltage only at first. After you can lower it a notch and do the FSB while RAM is also underclocked.
But first, put everything in BIOS on manual, with FSB/BCLK you are overclocking much more than just CPU and RAM. PCIe frequency raises too so unless you set it manually at 100MHz it will not be good.
At first, among other settings. I disabled my boost clock and found 4.4ghz from 4.0ghz to be the highest I could go with out raising the voltage. When I tried for 4.5ghz. I continued to raise my voltage a tick at a time. By about the 5th time testing and crashing, I decided to just jack up the voltage to 1.45 and got stable. Default is like 1.37 and max i hear is 1.55. I didn't lower the voltage a tick at a time again to find the lowest possible stable number. I should of done that. I have ran my cpu at 4.7ghz at 1.45 volts. It wasn't stable but I am convinced the stability issue was some where else so I am probably over volting here with my 4.5ghz @ 1.45v it's probably close but yeah.. I'm probably over volting. My overclock feels very sloppy right now. There are settings disabled i was told to re-enable when I was done but I'm not sure which ones so I left them disabled. Not everything is disabled and I wish I could be more specific. I need to figure out my lowest possible voltage on my current OC and re-enable some of them safety features.
I completely overlooked my pcie clock! Probably because my F2 UEFI has it stashed in a sub menu some where. This explains why my video card must be crashing out, blasting my monitor with analog looking static. Them settings on the fifth test result are what I am using now and have been very happy with. It's stable. I was so busy trying to keep my other clocks in check that I forgot to look into my pcie bus speed. I'll have a look for it. Its gotta be stashed in a sub menu some where because I never noticed it's listing. I'll check that out and see if I can improve anything. thanks!
I would love for a 4.7ghz oc by combining the clock ratio and bus speed overclock with the correct voltage and the proper settings re-enabled. I still can't rule out that it's not beyond this particular cpu yet.
CountMike shared his thoughts on the situation, noting the cooler is likely to fail at 1.4v+ even with a capable processor. He mentioned turning back on certain features after a successful overclock, power-saving settings, and C&Q states, though he acknowledged these might not be optimal. Thanks for the input!
At 1.4v, it will be pushing 160W + TDP, so 140W (estimated) Evo 212 and others of that size and configuration may be pushed a lot. Dual fans and good ventilation may get rid of few Watts of heat energy providing there's good Tim paste and good cooler contact with processor. Normally those things don't make much difference but when you push it every degree counts.
YMMV but those are just possible envelops within which to work.