I increased the clock speed of my Fx-8120 but it won't start up correctly.
I increased the clock speed of my Fx-8120 but it won't start up correctly.
I am just starting out with CPU overclocking and this is my initial attempt. The machine I'm using has these specifications: Ga-78LMT-USB3 v4 FX-8120 (Unlocked) (4x4) 16 Gb DDR3 Tri-OC R9-290 Sentey 850w 80plus Bronze Cooler Master 212 Evo Windows 10 Home I followed the instructions from a user named "ingtar33" in an overclocking guide from 2013. Everything functioned properly when I increased the CPU multiplier from the stock 3.1 GHz to 4.0 GHz, but when I pushed the clock up to 4.1 GHz things became unstable. I encountered a blue screen with an error message: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL and it didn’t resolve on its own. After a forced restart, my PC reported that the clock had been reset back to default values. I then booted normally but still faced issues—displaying an error about needing a reset. I used xpressboot2 from the board settings or pressed F1 during startup. Now I can’t restart or shut down; I need to boot without the post-error warning and the clock value correction prompt. In my BIOS everything is back to normal, and the clock speed has returned to the stock 3100 MHz. I’m not sure if I made a mistake following the guide or if something damaged my motherboard or CPU. If helpful, the last stable speed I achieved was 4.0 GHz after more than ten minutes of operation.
Only the freshness:
Thank you, but do you know if I made any mistakes while trying to overclock? I don’t want to repeat it. I think I won’t attempt to push past 4000 Hmz next time.
Haha
As you asked: First of all, this motherboard isn’t ideal for overclocking. Its voltage regulation is basic and barely meets AMD’s minimum requirements. But if you’re comfortable taking a chance, you could keep the voltage steady at or near the default level and test what you can. I remember doing a multiplier OC on a friend’s 8320 chip—it reached 4ghz at the fixed default voltage before the chip needed more power. If you decide to raise the voltage, that’s up to you.
Reset the system using the jumper switch. Determine its position by checking your manual; it's usually near the battery.
Disconnect the device from the power source. Remove the BIOS settings by using the CMOS jumper or following the instructions in your motherboard's guide to erase the CMOS data. Completing these steps will restore the board to its original configuration.
Unplug the machine from the wall and clear the BIOS using the CMOS jumper or the method recommended in your motherboard manual. This will reset the board to its default settings. Thank you for checking, and I hope you won’t attempt to overclock again, especially not beyond 4000 Hmz next time.
If you can get into the bios again.
Check the multiplier of the cpu is set back to the stock value.
Make sure where it states the memory bus it is set back to 200Mhz.
If the memory has an Xmp mode make sure it is enabled in the bios if you did a factory reset of the bios it`s self.
The default factory setting should have XMP memory mode disabled.
Check the core voltage of the cpu. 1.25v to 1.35v is fine for a manuall setting of the cpu core voltage at it`s stock frequency.
To the overclocking bit and why it may fail.
If you had while attempting to overclock the FX 8120 cpu the turbo boost feature still enabled in the bios of the motherboard.
The result will be the overclock often does not work due to a conflict in settings.
It must be disabled, along with the Amd cool and quiet options of the FX cpu settings in the bios.
Most FX based cpu`s will overclock on average about 800Mhz over the stock core frequency.
Above that value, your looking at a core voltage of about 1.40v to 1.45v.
It is important to keep the memory clock at 200Mhz.
Some boards start to add to this. setting the clock to 214 or 216Mhz.
And is the second reason why a board does not boot or post, it`s not that the cpu cannot take the new multiplier setting but the fact that small change pushes the memory speed to far.
Causing the actual none boot of the system on the next restart with the new settings applied.
So you have to keep a close eye on any frequency change over the default 200Mhz setting.
When manually overclocking all settings.
Currently I have a FX 4300, with a MA599X evo R 2.0 on a H60 Corsair water loop.
It helps alot.
With that setup you can get to about 4.9Ghz to 5.0 Ghz with a 1.5v cpu core voltage setting.
At 900Mhz to 1Ghz you start to run into problems, and need all of the power tweaking a bios can provide from a good motherboard.
The option there is set the frequency of the memory lower, then try again with the new cpu multiplier setting, and core voltage change.
It can be dependent on how good the motherboard is also though, the chip set used on the board, and how well it`s power phase is made on the board as to how stable and how high you can overclock a FX based cpu.
A Ga-78LMT-USB3 v4 motherboard is not the best for trying to overclock a FX based cpu to be honest.
The bios, and the options are limited.
So it can cause problems when trying to exceed the 800Mhz overclocking value, most Fx cpu`s with reach without a problem.
A small word of warning do not exceed a cpu core voltage of 1.6v if you have a poor, or a Stock Amd cpu cooler in your system.
You should be using a water loop, or a very good after market cpu air cooler at 1.5v to 1.6v with 1Ghz + overclock of the cpu core.
Only the freshness:
Thanks, but do you know if I made a mistake while trying to overclock? I don’t want to repeat that mistake. I think I won’t attempt anything above 4000 Hmz next time.
Haha
To be honest, this board isn’t ideal for overclocking. Its voltage regulation is basic and barely meets AMD’s minimum requirements. But if you’re comfortable with risking it, you could keep the voltage steady or slightly higher and see how far you can go. I remember doing a multiplier OC on a friend’s 8320 chip and getting 4GHz at the default voltage before the chip needed more power. If you decide to raise the voltage, that’s up to you.
I haven’t checked Ingtar’s guide, but you should be prepared for system crashes when pushing your chip to its limits. Usually, a solid motherboard won’t behave like yours—if the OC is too unstable, it will revert to default and let you adjust. But honestly, this board isn’t really built for overclocking, even though it seems capable.
Feel free to ask more questions, and I’ll do my best to help.