phenom II 965 operates at 4.0ghz and seeks to advance further.
phenom II 965 operates at 4.0ghz and seeks to advance further.
my specifications
processor: phenom ii 965 be
cooler: zalman 9900 led
ram: kingston hyperx blue 1600 (installed xmp profile, running at 1.65v)
motherboard: asus m5a97
graphics: gtx 760
power supply: corsair 650w
case: zalman z9+
fans inside case: 2 x 120mm blowing out, 1 x 120mm blowing out rear, 2 x 120mm blowing in front, 2 x 120mm up front blowing in
overclock settings: cpu at 4ghz with multiplier, northbridge at 2600mhz, ht link at 2400mhz
cpu settings: spread disabled, cool n quit disabled, llc disabled
voltage specs: cpu voltage 1.468v, nb voltage 1.3v, dram voltage 1.65v, nb voltage 1.2v
temperature reading: core temp around 47°C during prime 95 blend test; aim for 4.2°C, but if i set cpu voltage to 1.55v it might run prime 95 for about 30 minutes before freezing—no blue screen or crash, just a freeze. with 1.55v and 4.2ghz overclock, max temps stay at 51°C, so cooling seems sufficient
help would be greatly appreciated.
I think around 4 Ghz is the practical upper limit for your CPU. If it were mine, I'd set it to 3960Mhz (multiplier 18 and HT bus at 220). This would provide a stability buffer and let you lower the CPU voltage slightly. It would also run your memory at 1760Mhz, offering better performance than 1600 during tests. I'd configure the northbridge at x12, or x13 if stability is confirmed. Good luck!
my specifications
processor: phenom ii 965
cooler: zalman 9900 led
ram: kingston hyperx blue 1600 (installed xmp profile, currently running at 1.65v)
motherboard: asus m5a97
graphics card: gtx 760
power unit: corsair 650w
case: zalman z9+
fan setup: 2 x 120mm on top blowing, 1 x 120mm rear blowing, 2 x 120mm side blowing, 2 x 120mm front blowing
overclock settings: cpu at 4ghz with multiplier, northbridge at 2600mhz, ht link at 2400mhz
cooling options: disabled
thermal throttling: off
voltages: cpu 1.468v, nb 1.3v, dram 1.65v, nb 1.2v
temperature reading: 47°C during prime 95 blend test
goal temp: 4.2°C
adjustment idea: if i lower cpu voltage to 1.55v, might sustain prime 95 for ~30 minutes before freezing, without blue screen or crash—just a slowdown. At 1.55v and 4.2ghz, temps stay under 51°C, so cooling isn’t the issue
help would be appreciated.
what power supply do you use? Corsair models like AX, VS, or CX?
you don’t need to keep Prime95 running continuously for stability checks—just a short test helps.
run Cinebench R15 a few times; if it doesn’t freeze, you’re likely safe.
unless you’re always pushing the system to 100% (like rendering or 3D), it’s fine.
prime95 isn’t a long-term stability test; i’ve seen it fail under similar conditions.
it’s just my take, and I’m not a professional overclocker.
My sons phenom ii is operating at 4GHz.
At first it was a budget CPU with two cores and 3.2Ghz speed, but now with an unlocked ASUS board, it's a high-performance quad-core processor. Quite fortunate, right?
I also have another system using the same CPU and board, but it didn’t perform as well—it unlocked and was overclocked to quad-core, yet reached only 3.45Ghz (my wife is using it).
Key takeaways
The ht link doesn’t affect performance above 2000mhz
Excessive speed on the northbridge limits maximum CPU overclock
A quiet setup still functions adequately even with a strong overclock
Once you approach the top frequency, increasing Vcore offers diminishing returns. Both systems run at 1.43V. They’ve been overclocked for years, but higher voltage seems to harm the CPU
AMD overdrive can be misleading. I managed 4.1GHz under stress testing, but it wasn’t stable in regular use.
My overclocking process includes adjusting the multiplier and clock speed—raising memory to 1800Mhz helped boost performance.
I’ll share my BIOS settings tonight.
Indeed, the power supply had no impact. I replaced a very old and poor PSU with a better one, then tried overclocking again, but it didn’t improve further.
Lodders :
My sons phenom ii is operating at 4GHz.
At first it was a budget CPU with two cores and 3.2Ghz speed, but now thanks to the core unlocker on my ASUS motherboard, it's a high-performance quad-core processor. Quite fortunate, right?
I also have another system with the same CPU and board, but it didn’t go as well – it unlocked and was overclocked to quad-core, yet its top speed is only 3.45Ghz (my wife is using it).
Lessons I’ve learned
The ht link doesn’t affect performance significantly above 2000mhz.
Excessive speed on the northbridge reduces the maximum overclock potential for the CPU.
A quiet setup still works fine even with a strong overclock.
Once you approach the maximum frequency, increasing the Vcore further yields minimal gains. Both of mine sit at 1.43V. They’ve been overclocked for years, but higher voltage seems to harm the CPU.
AMD overdrive can be misleading. I managed 4.1GHz under stress testing, but it wasn’t stable in regular use.
My overclocking process includes adjusting the multiplier and clock speed – I achieved 1600mhz memory up to 1800Mhz, which boosts performance.
I’ll share my BIOS settings tonight.
Yes, the power supply has no impact. I replaced a very old and poor-quality PSU with a better one, and after that attempt, I didn’t see any improvement.
Power supplies delivering dirty voltage to the VRM can stress the voltage regulator and cause overclock instability. (Ripple is the main concern.)
The original poster might be nearing the limit, leading to unstable ripple (30 minutes of full load on prime95 is putting pressure on the PSU) and instability.
A more reliable power supply will provide steadier performance, not higher GHz.
In this situation, his PSU should be sufficient to handle the task.
I'm not sure about the other mistakes, but I've heard that 970 chipset boards aren't ideal for overclocking, which could be the issue. The 4 + 2 phase design doesn't seem very promising to me. Just a guess about possible problems. Also, 4.2 Ghz might be a good overclock for a 965.
I'm not sure what else you might be doing wrong, but I've heard that 970 chipset boards aren't ideal for overclocking, which could be the issue. The 4 + 2 phase design doesn't seem very promising to me. This is just a guess about possible problems. 4.2 Ghz isn't a bad overclock for a 965. Just remember, you're not doing anything wrong. In fact, 4Ghz is a strong overclock for a Phenom II, and with some assistance the system should stabilize. Very few people manage to reach 4.2GHz. Your overclocking attempts might be limited by other factors.
my specifications
processor: phenom ii 965
cooler: zalman 9900 led
ram: kingston hyperx blue 1600 (installed xmp profile, running at 1.65v)
motherboard: asus m5a97
gpu: gtx 760
power supply: corsair 650w
case: zalman z9+
fans inside case: 2 x 120mm blowing out, 1 x 120mm blowing out rear, 2 x 120mm blowing in side, 2 x 120mm blowing in front
overclock settings: cpu at 4ghz with multiplier, northbridge at 2600mhz, ht link at 2400mhz
cpu spread disabled
cool n quit disabled
llc disabled
cpu voltage: 1.468v
cpu nb voltage: 1.3v
dram voltage: 1.65v
nb voltage: 1.2v
core temp: 47°C (prime 95 blend test), aiming for 4.2°C, but at 1.55v it should last ~30 minutes before freezing
if freezing occurs, consider lowering voltage to 1.55v for a short duration before restarting
with 1.55v and 4.2ghz, max temps stay around 51°C, indicating cooling isn’t the main issue
any advice would be appreciated.
try this configuration:
cpu x18, northbridge x12, ht link x9, memory 1600mhz
gradually increase ht bus above 200Mhz. It was stable up to 225Mhz, but I reduced it to 222 for safety. Achieved 3.996Ghz at 2666mhz and 1778mhz memory.
At full speed, test by lowering memory to 1333 and see if CPU accelerates.
2. Lower northbridge to x11 and check speed.
results:
- memory at 1333 – does it allow higher speed?
- reducing memory and northbridge slightly improved latency but limited top speed.
overall, a balanced setup for stable performance.
Lodders :
miggtt699 :
I'm not sure what else you might be doing incorrectly, but I've heard that 970 chipset boards aren't ideal for overclocking, which could be the issue here. The 4 + 2 phase design doesn't seem very promising to me. This is just a guess about what might be causing the problem. 4.2 Ghz isn't a bad overclock for a 965.
Actually, he's not doing anything wrong.
In fact, 4Ghz is a solid overclock for a Phenom II, and with some assistance, the system should stabilize.
Very few people manage to reach 4.2GHz.
Your overclocking attempts might suggest that a better power supply and more phases would help, but in reality, my experience with the Phenom II shows limited improvement.
Sure thing man.