Question about AMD FX-6300 overclock, RX 570 8GB and stability problems or flickering.
Question about AMD FX-6300 overclock, RX 570 8GB and stability problems or flickering.
Hello everyone!
Machine specifications:
CPU – AMD FX-6300 (stock cooler)
Motherboard – Gigabyte 970A-D3P
Power Supply – XFX PRO 550W
Graphics card – Radeon RX 570 ARMOR 8GB OC (new)
Radeon HD 5850 (old)
I recently acquired an old PC at a very low cost. It functioned properly, and I was testing overclocking and BIOS options. The CPU ran smoothly at 4.2GHz without any issues or voltage boosts. To improve performance, I upgraded with an SSD and installed the RX 570 GPU so I could play games. Everything operated well on default settings, meeting my needs.
After upgrading the graphics card, overclocking the CPU became difficult. I explored various BIOS configurations, turned off common features mentioned in forums (Core Performance Boost, Cool & Quiet, C1E Support, SVM, Core C6 state, HPC mode, APM), and gradually increased the frequency. The challenge was that at 4.0GHz, the system would crash with a blue screen in Windows, and even higher voltages didn’t resolve the problem.
Prior to the GPU upgrade, I could simply enable AMD Overdrive’s auto-tune, which consistently worked at 4.2GHz with stable performance and acceptable temperatures. The auto-tune also kept the system running smoothly. However, after the GPU change, the auto-tune caused flickering black screens and eventually no video output. Restarting manually restored everything, but it felt like a reset.
It appears the GPU may not be compatible with the CPU overclock. This setup is quite old, but forum discussions suggest 4.2GHz is a weak performance for this CPU.
EDIT:
I’ve bought an EVO 212 cooler as recommended. The main concern is the voltage needed to achieve stable overclocks. To hit 4.2GHz I must raise the CPU voltage to around 1.45V, 4.3GHz to 1.4875V, and 4.4GHz above that. This seems unusual—many users report success at much lower voltages. I’m avoiding higher voltages now, as I believe 1.5V is the safe upper limit for everyday use.
The CPU temperature with the EVO 212 remains excellent, staying at just 52°C during Prime95 tests.
With the previous GPU, I could overclock to 4.2GHz without changing voltage. Why such a big difference now?
It seems odd that it was feasible with the older GPU. Now I’m limited to a maximum of 4.2 GHz, which is achievable only with a CPU voltage around 1.45V to run Prime 95 for an hour without issues. I’ve searched and found that the EVO 212 is a popular budget-friendly option. I checked Amazon, but I’m not sure which model suits me best—should I go for the 160mm version or the EVO X? Any other recommendations?
I bought an EVO 212 cooler as recommended. The main issue is the voltage needed to achieve stable overclocks. To hit 4.2 GHz, I have to raise the CPU voltage to 1.45V. For 4.3 GHz it’s 1.4875V, and for 4.4 it needs just over 1.5V. This is unusual—I’ve seen others get these results with much lower voltages. I’m not planning to push it further because I believe 1.5V is the safe limit for regular use.
The EVO 212 keeps its CPU temperature excellent, staying at only 52°C during a 30-minute Prime95 test. With the older GPU, I could overclock to 4.2GHz without changing the voltage. Why such a big difference now?