Overclocking a FX-8320E
Overclocking a FX-8320E
Hey, I began overclocking my FX yesterday but didn’t reach the target speed. I aim for around 4.2ghz, and I’m wondering if my current specs allow that. The motherboard is Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P, the cooler is Thermalright Macho Direct, the PSU is a 650 Watt XFX TS. I’ve followed the AMD overclocking guide multiple times, but I just want to double-check before proceeding. I set the recommended settings on the motherboard, then moved to CPU ratio and increased it to hit 4ghz. After saving and exiting, I entered a bootloop. Eventually, I reached the MMO screen, pressed DEL, and re-entered settings, lowering the frequency to 3.8ghz. It worked for a short time but then caused a BSOD after some minutes. I reduced it further to 3.6ghz and ran Prime for about 20 minutes using stock voltages. Should I increase the CPU core voltage now, and what will that do? Thanks for your advice!
The 8320E can handle the same voltage as other Vishera core CPUs. As long as your motherboard, power supply, and cooling system are capable, you can push it further. Because you're near AMD's benchmark of 62C, cooling remains the main limitation here. This doesn't mean your motherboard would enjoy running the chip at 4.8GHz and 1.5V with improved cooling—likely not—but you might achieve higher speeds around 4.0 with the current voltage levels.
Overclocking an "E" processor kinda defeats it's purpose. E signifies lower power consumption and OCing it will bring that to non-E specs.
If you are dead set to OC it, you'll have to increase voltage for stability. There's no way around it.
Power saving and turbo modes off and everything in the BIOS on manual because they interfere with OC.
I understand the low-power version and made the purchase simply because it was 30€ cheaper locally.
I plan to test it using the voltage settings.
Regarding core failures during the prime test, I’m not sure if Prime95 will indicate them.
Yes, prime95 will demonstrate this. You might also consider using the AMD Overdrive program for testing and monitoring temperatures and other metrics, as it provides better accuracy on AMD systems. There is a logging feature available to observe activities during testing or operation.
I managed to get it running at 4ghz with 1,2500V but it still doesn’t seem to go higher.
I tried 4.1ghz with the same voltages and got a BSOD again. Then I increased the voltage by about 3 points (to around 1,2800V), but again the issue occurred.
I’m concerned because my socket and core are already getting very hot—around 58°C during intensive processing. That suggests 4ghz might be the upper limit for me.
Are my temperatures higher than expected for these voltages? Is there a way to keep them lower, perhaps by adjusting fan speeds?
The 8320E can handle the same voltage as other Vishera core CPUs. As long as your motherboard, power supply, and cooling system are capable, you can push it further. Because you're near AMD's benchmark of 62C, cooling remains the main limitation here. This doesn't mean your motherboard would enjoy running the chip at 4.8GHz and 1.5V with improved cooling—likely not—but you might achieve higher speeds around 4.0 with the current voltage levels.
Something's wrong with your cooling, that cooler should bring you 4.5GHz easy but no way anything under 1.350 - 1.375v will give over 4 GHz.