FX-8320 Overclock & Northbridge Overclock
FX-8320 Overclock & Northbridge Overclock
I was wondering what others thought about my overclock. I’m a bit cautious about possible long-term effects, so I wanted to hear from more experienced users.
My current configuration is:
4.4GHz @ 1.4v
CM Hyper 212 Evo with CM Jetflow fan
ASUS M5A97 R2.0
HT 2.4GHz
NB 2.8 GHz @ stock voltage
G. Skill Ares 16GB RAM 1866 MHz, no overclock yet
Does this feel like going too far? I haven’t noticed any temperature problems and ran a stress test for a few hours without issues. No crashes so far. Still a bit concerned.
The highest temperature achieved after performing a prime 95 test on your system Alex @ 4.4 Ghz with an 8-core CPU configuration?
It largely varies depending on the number of cores and the specific FX processor you own.
With eight cores, the processor tends to heat up more quickly, potentially allowing for a slightly higher maximum temperature at a fixed clock speed during overclocking.
When compared to a four-core FX chip such as a 4300 or 4350 model, the difference becomes noticeable.
This is largely due to the greater transistor count in an eight-core processor, Alex.
Both can operate safely at around 1.4 volts per core, but this depends on your air cooler’s performance.
From the beginning, a good air cooler helps maintain CPU temperature as clock speeds increase, especially when overclocking.
You performed excellent results with an FX 8320, boosting from 3.5Ghz to 4.4Ghz.
Typically, most FX CPUs will only reach a maximum of around 800Mhz overclock at the factory default speed, whereas an 1.4v core voltage is generally secure up to 1.55v.
Beyond that, pushing cores to higher voltages can cause overheating and potential damage.
Even with a strong air cooler, temperatures can rise rapidly and approach the CPU’s thermal limit.
If you run a prime 95 test for several hours at 50°C+, it should be acceptable.
The standard torture test on Prime95 was displaying 52c on HWmonitor after an hour when I first started using it. I’ve just realized that HWmonitor also reports my voltage max at 1.44, which might explain its stability at 4.4GHz. I’d love to achieve a 1GHz overclock, but all my efforts keep resulting in infinite crashes. Would adding a push fan to my CM 212 Evo improve efficiency enough to reach higher than 1.44v without overheating? The fan I currently use is a high static pressure 95 CFM model, so doubling it could provide significant gains?