Overclocking AMD FX 8350
Overclocking AMD FX 8350
You might want to consult a trusted expert or forum for safe CPU overclocking tips. Checking Jay's video for guidance could be misleading, and aiming for 4.4 from 4.0 is a common goal but requires proper preparation.
Another person's settings might differ from your configuration even with identical parts. Components can wear out, so you might need higher voltage. You'll need to weigh whether taking that risk is acceptable for your overclocking goals.
Which motherboard did you choose? Also, what cooling solution are you considering?
You begin with your base frequency and gradually boost it, usually using your CPU's multiplier option if available. Ensure the system starts up correctly and perform a stress test. If it runs smoothly without crashing within the initial seconds, continue increasing by bigger steps (200–300 MHz) and then smaller ones (100 MHz or less) as you approach 5 GHz. If instability appears, raise your core voltage accordingly. Small adjustments of 20–50 mV work well. Keep an eye on temperatures during testing to avoid overheating. Once stable, you can safely resume work. Remember: each chip behaves differently—don’t mimic others’ results. Assuming you have adequate cooling (like an air cooler or AI-O), you shouldn’t worry much about safe voltage limits. Your main constraint will be heat. A good FX8350 can reach 5 GHz with proper cooling, but if you’re on a lower-end board, consider a more cautious overclock.
I believed it would just be a video to watch and follow along. Disappointing.
If speaking about Intel, this is correct but we're not talking about an Intel chip, we're discussing an FX chip so ^this^ is wrong related to FX. AMD's, including FX chips can handle 1.4v's all day long and it's nothing to worry about as long as the chip is kept cool. It's only with Ryzen these voltages can be a problem and that's regardles of what gen Ryzen you refer to. A few things to know about FX: They don't like temps under load going much above 60c, 63c is about the average thermal limit they can tolerate before they start acting out with BSOD's and other things. Some do better so it's really a matter of what your particular chip can handle. Alot of guys like pushing their CPU-NB speeds up as high as they can, which is fine if the system can tolerate it but FX/Vishera doesn't like it too much above 2400 on average. Some tolerate 2500+ but many do not, again it's based on the exact chip and board you are running. Also know the more CPU-NB voltage used the warmer the chip itself will run, to get the average reliable CPU-NB speed of 2400 most chips can use less than 1.20v's and be fine with it, in most cases less than 1.18v's will do the job and you'd have to experiment to determine what it takes for yours. In the case of board with DIGI settings I see alot of guys cranking these up all the way which really doesn't help at all except in extreme OC'ing. That increases thermal across the board including those for the VRM's on the board you're using and all else too. It's best to leave all that as "Auto" and let the system manage it's own DIGI settings/voltages. RAM speeds above 1600 are NOT guaranteed and with a few chips, even those speeds aren't stable depending on the board, BIOS version and sticks used in the system. If you are having problems with RAM stability 1333 can be used as a reliable "Base" to go from and work things up from that point until you figure it out or see it's just not going to do it. Your cooling matters greatly so if you're trying to get 4.4 with a stock cooler - Forget it already because it ain't happening with a stock cooler. AMD spec'ed these coolers to cool the chip at stock speeds, which is not where you're trying to run it. Anytime you go to surpass stock with an FX, temps will increase like it is with any other chip brand/type you can name. 4.5GHz is well doable on water or even big air but that's what kind of cooling you'll need to get it done. At the same time about 4.5 is also the average limit with such setups running an 8 series chip, the 4 and 6 series FX chips can do a little more simply because they have less cores running, meaning they will run cooler as a result but know even a 4 series won't do much over 5.1GHz or so reliably on chilled water - Chilled meaning with ice in the reservoir and I seriously doubt you'd be doing that with a daily used machine. Between the inconvenience of just doing it and the fact it does create condensation at/around the chip it's not the way to go with a regularly used (Daily) machine.