Concerns about FX-8350 and Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 OCing
Concerns about FX-8350 and Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 OCing
Hello! I’ve recently upgraded from a 970 chipset to a 990 and have started OCing my FX8350. I’m confident it’s delivering a stable 4.5Ghz, but I’m worried about performance under stress tests. When using prime95, the software typically stops 1-2 workers instantly, while the Small FFTs test can run for at least 30 minutes without issues and my CPU peaks around 48c. I also struggle to reach above 4.5Ghz even with around 1.45V, often seeing the screen freeze instead of a BSOD or flash—this makes me think it might be a GPU problem.
Currently, I can’t run Skyrim (heavily modded) at all, only managing about 17 FPS for two minutes before it crashes. I plan to upgrade my GPU to a 480X when it’s released, and Fallout 4 and Dark Souls 3 are running perfectly without mods. I’m trying to figure out why I can’t consistently hit stable speeds above 4.55Ghz during stress tests, and it doesn’t seem like an overheating issue since my cooling setup is solid (H100i with eight 120mm fans).
My system specs are:
- Corsair 600t White Edition
- Asus M5A99FX
- AMD FX-8350 cooled by a Corsair H100i, with two 120mm fans at the top
- XFX HD 7870 2GB VRAM DD Edition (OCed in MSI Afterburner to +20 Power, 1150Mhz Core Clock, 1300Mhz Memory Clock)
- 16GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance downclocked to 1433Mhz
- Corsair 750 80+ Bronze rated PSU
It seems I’ve invested a lot in Corsair components. The BIOS settings are:
- Multiplier: 20.5
- BUS Speed: 220
- PCI-E: 110
- HT Link: 2400
- Phase Control: Extreme
- CPU Offset Voltage: +0.062500
- CPU/NB Offset Voltage: +0.012500
- Cool 'n Quiet disabled
- Fast Boot disabled
I’ve read many guides and articles over the past two weeks, but I’m still frustrated with my CPU performance. There’s a note that voltage is listed as 1.35V in AMD Overdrive even though I increased the offset significantly. Should I consider setting static voltage?
Think about upgrading your video card. I don't think overclocking will give you much benefit since your CPU might be limiting performance. Both of you have the same CPU board with overclocked R290x chips, but both are at their base frequencies, making it hard to compare. I also use an H105 cooler. My CPU can run at 4.5GHz with phase control, and at 200 MHz with 22.5MHz RAM, it takes about 1.48750 volts. I reached 4.8GHz with 1866MHz RAM without increasing voltage much. Every CPU is unique.
Prime 95 blend test often puts pressure on the RAM as well. Make sure your RAM timings are correct, AMD. Remember that boosting the FSB can raise RAM speed, along with other factors. You might want to adjust your CPU voltage to around 1.26v or 1.28v for better stability. The voltage shown in Overdrive isn't the actual operating voltage—it's the chip's VID. Find out what the voltage was during load at 4.55GHz. Also, avoid overclocking the FSB and consider using the multi.
The 95 blend test often puts extra strain on the RAM as well. Make sure your RAM timings are correct; AMD reminds us that boosting FSB can also boost RAM speed, as explained in the link. You might want to raise your power supply voltage to around 1.26V or 1.28V for better stability. The voltage listed in Overdrive isn't the actual operating voltage—it's the chip's VID. Ask yourself what the voltage was at 4.55GHz. Try avoiding overclocking the FSB and stick with the multiplier. Voltage under load came out to 1.404V. I changed the FSB OC back to the stock 200 and used a 22.5x multi, which seems to stabilize the blend. Also setting RAM to 1600MHz appears to help. I plan to increase the power supply voltage slightly and aim for 4.6GHz after completing a stress test.
Think about upgrading your video card. I don't think overclocking will give you much benefit since your CPU might be limiting performance. Both of you have the same CPU board with overclocked R290x chips, but both are at their base frequencies, making it hard to compare. I also use an H105 cooler. My CPU can run at 4.5GHz with phase control, and at 200 MHz with 22.5MHz RAM, it works fine without needing higher voltage. Every CPU is unique.