Finally worked out good overclock!!

[Nomad8459]

I have a ASUS M4N72-E motherboard with a 2.8ghz AMD Athlon II X4 630 64 processor, running windows 7 home premium.

Have read and heard so many things about overclocking AMD's and how much they can tolerate etc,

Not experienced at this to be honest and have had a few unsuccessful play abouts in the bios.

My bios is AMI 2403.

My memory is rated at 800 mhz and the timings were 6-6-18 when installed, I have 3 banks of 2GB installed, should be four but it refuses to accept four!

I wanted to leave as many of the myriad options in my Bios under AI tweaker at auto as possible cause I am a novice to this, but the highest stable setting for my memory clock I could achieve was 206 x 14, any higher and it wouldn't boot.

This is hardly spectacular, turning a 2800mhz into a 2884mhz processor.

But with everything set to auto, that is all I could get.

I then came across a screen in bios saying that my NB clock should be 2000mhz!

This was actually a eureka moment, cause i now realised that alls I had to do were set the DRAM frequency to less than 800mhz to protect them and to get my NB clock to around 2000mhz.

Setting these 2 options to manual did the trick!

DRAM frequency
NB frequency

As well as

CPU Multiplier
FSB clock

Everything else was left on AUTO.

I then started playing around with figures in the FSB in order to achieve the desired less than 800mhz for DRAM and 2000mhz for NB clock.

At the 14x multiplier, the figure that did this best was 228.

I tried several until the figures showing up in DRAM and NB were close to the ideals!!

At 228 x 14 i am effective achieving a 3172mhz processor with temperatures of only 51C which has actually decreased and to boot my RAM timings are now 5-5-15 cause i am not pushing the RAM quite so hard at a frequency level.

The DRAM timings were left on AUTO too!

Here should be some results showing this overclock, its the temperature drop that interests me the most! faster but cooler!

Any way very easy way to add at least 10% to your processor, not pushing any further to leave the CPU to have a longer happier life and to aid system stability, I am happy with the increase and there is a noticeable difference when running CPU heavy games like FSX, the frame rates are about 10% higher!

Hope this helps someone!

 

[GeneO]

Congrats!
I would recommend you stress test it with prime 95 or Intel Burn Tool to make sure it is stable.
Cheers

 

[Nomad8459]

Little bit more.....

Have run FSX on it for over an hour which is very CPU critical, i know not an accurate stress test but the system is responding well and has had no ill effects.

Previously when i had left the DRAM and NB frequency alone, the system would not boot, just saying overclocking failed when I got beyond 206 on the FSB.

Have creeped it up a little more but still keeping it under the 800Mhz mark for my RAM.

The processor is now at 3237Mhz, CPU temperatures at 52 - 54 C.

Well under the 60C danger zone i have heard about.

FSB-DRam is still 3:5 or 6:10 i have seen also.

couple more aida 64 shots here.....


FSB is set in BIOS to 330 with the 14x mutiplier, actual FSB is running at 331.7 apparently!

 

[Nomad8459]

Just came across this piece of tech data from AMD.

Voltage 0.90 - 1.425

Core Temp MAX 71 C, not sure where i had heard 60 C from

 

[python134r]

Decent Overclock 51%........not pushing it too hard.

http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p176/python134r/?action=view&current=2011-05-16_213842.png Hello, I have been using this rig for about 2-2.5 years now, it was easy to setup, basically just bumped the voltage a bit, same with the memory and came up with some pretty good numbers.

I have had the rig up to approximately 4ghz and better but stability was an issue. Better cooling definitely needed
Some stats:
X3210 @3.6ghz/AC Freezer Pro
P5K Premium/WiFi/4x1Gb GSkill
ATI Sapphire Vapor-X 4890
2x640Gb WD Black Hdd Raid0/WD 74Gb Raptor
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Fatality Extreme Gamer
Lian Li Pc-7B plusII/PC Power and Cooling 850 SSI Turbo
Logitech Z-5500 5.1 speaker system
Samsung SH-223F DVD Burner

2011-05-16_213842.png picture by python134r - Photobucket

Anyway, this machine has been a pleasure to build[X3], sold the others 2 years ago and has always ran well, I have been busy with some builds for customers and I have to say this machine still gives the newer platform rigs a good run for the money, I am thinking of adding an SSD as the OS drive, Keep the WD X2 640's Black Hdd for data and still use this for a while longer........

 

[python134r]

Hello, I have been using this rig for about 2-2.5 years now, it was easy to setup, basically just bumped the voltage a bit, same with the memory and came up with some pretty good numbers.

I have had the rig up to approximately 4ghz and better but stability was an issue. Better cooling definitely needed
Some stats:
X3210 @3.6ghz/AC Freezer Pro
P5K Premium/WiFi/4x1Gb GSkill
ATI Sapphire Vapor-X 4890
2x640Gb WD Black Hdd Raid0/WD 74Gb Raptor
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Fatality Extreme Gamer
Lian Li Pc-7B plusII/PC Power and Cooling 850 SSI Turbo
Logitech Z-5500 5.1 speaker system
Samsung SH-223F DVD Burner

2011-05-16_213842.png picture by python134r - Photobucket

Anyway, this machine has been a pleasure to build[X3], sold the others 2 years ago and has always ran well, I have been busy with some builds for customers and I have to say this machine still gives the newer platform rigs a good run for the money, I am thinking of adding an SSD as the OS drive, Keep the WD X2 640's Black Hdd for data and still use this for a while longer........

 

[Nomad8459]

Found some great software called AIDA 64, only free for 30 days tho!

Really helps with monitoring the overclock and has a stress test that runs at 100%cpu! constantly!!!

These are the stats after about 30 mins of this full assault on the CPU and Memory.

As you can see the CPU is running at 3237 mhz

 

[Lordbob75]

Prime95 runs the CPU at 100% and does variable tests to check for stability, and it is always free.

You can also use CPUz (also free) to monitor hardware, and Realtemp (still free) to monitor temperatures. All are good programs, and I recommend Prime95 over whatever that program you found was.

~Lordbob

 

[paulpicks21]

Prime95 runs the CPU at 100% and does variable tests to check for stability, and it is always free.

You can also use CPUz (also free) to monitor hardware, and Realtemp (still free) to monitor temperatures. All are good programs, and I recommend Prime95 over whatever that program you found was.

~Lordbob

+1

Great programs.

 

[GeneO]

Prime95 runs the CPU at 100% and does variable tests to check for stability, and it is always free.

You can also use CPUz (also free) to monitor hardware, and Realtemp (still free) to monitor temperatures. All are good programs, and I recommend Prime95 over whatever that program you found was.

~Lordbob

+1

Great programs.

And Intel Burn Test (IBT) puts an even greater load on the cores so can spot a bad CPU overclock much quicker, though Prime95 is better all-round for catching memory and memory controller problems in addition to CPU.

 

[Nomad8459]

Better more stable overclock

Been playing around once more and this seems the most satisfactory setup on my system, increased my pass test 64 score by 120 anyway, not bad at all.

FSB is now at 240mhz
Multiplier:14x
Dram at 400mhz, 6-5-5-5-18-20 1T
HT link at 1920mhz

Processor is now at 3360mhz or 3.36Ghz 20% overclock

My RAM really is at the limit now with these tighter timings, I just cant push it anymore, i tried to eek it out to 405mhz and i got a BSOD when running stressful software, I would prefer my HT link to be closer to the 2000 mark but the system is faster with the RAM and the Processor Higher with the HT reduced, The other option i have for the HT would take it to around 2120 sticking with the same RAM and CPU settings but this causes instability.

This is very stable and actually gives me better temperatures than running the HT higher, my CPU at full stress is 62 C now, this is reduced from the 66C as shown in the last attachments. hoorah

 

[GeneO]

That sounds like a good 24x7 overclock as long as it is stable. Have you stressed IBT or Prime95?

 

[Nomad8459]

Hi, thanks for your interest, i downloaded Prime 95 but couldnt get on with the software, i think it was because it wasnt really designed for testing cpu's, i understand that it does a very good job of it, but didnt like the idea of utilising my system for over a day without being able to use it, lol!

Tried OCCT as well and i found that to be more user friendly as were.

I think the last overclock maybe put too much strain on my memory again, not sure got a BSOD while playing FSX, said that a secondary processor had missed some data or something, maybe you guys could explain that one better to me, anyway, did more resarch, and have eased the FSB to 238, 14x multiplier, SPD DRAM running at 395.8 with the HT running at 2137.

This gives me 3325Mhz or 3.32Ghz

I just wanted to ease back on the DRAM side, although to my mind the secondary processor would be the NB???? Not sure.

Cause i have eased back on the DRAM i dint want my HT to go down even more so i put it back up to the next setting in my BIOS. My BIOS doesnt really allow for precise control, when HT and DRAM are set to manual, it applies a multiplier and gives you the options available for each, so the 2137 is the 2nd highest option with 1906 being the third.

I know I am being limited a little by my RAM but its very standard RAM and obviously its not the faster 1066Mhz which would allow more freedom.

I set off wanting to get 3.2Ghz out of it, that was fairly easy my ambition now is 3.35Ghz and i am nearly there if this one works.



Hoping the extra voltage will just help ease this one along....

I have raised the CPU voltage by one increment or 0.0125V and also the NB voltage by 0.0125V, seems to be perfoming ok, so far! FSX crashed again last night but no BSOD, FSX seems to crash alot anyway, been using everything else ok, have a lot of freeware in FSX so anything could be tripping that out!!

 

[Lordbob75]

Hi, thanks for your interest, i downloaded Prime 95 but couldnt get on with the software, i think it was because it wasnt really designed for testing cpu's, i understand that it does a very good job of it, but didnt like the idea of utilising my system for over a day without being able to use it, lol!

Don't overclock then.
Also, talk about a run-on sentence...

~Lordbob

 

[Nomad8459]

Sorry you don't like the English language.

The reason I say that about my PC is cause I do use it every day, hence my quest for stability in this.

Just doing some video encoding to h.264 and this stresses the CPU at 100% nearly all the time too, its one of the highest CPU demand jobs you can do, again why I want to maximize my system, surely this practical application on the CPU demonstrates reliability.

I can report that its doing this task well with no problems. 63C max CPU at full load constant. My mcp is at 50C stable.

 

[Nomad8459]

This does indeed seem stable. although with my ram reduced by 8Mhz and my Ht increased from 1920 to 2137 Mhz, my passtest score reduced by 70, so i am only up 50 on my origional overclock.

I did read somewhere that graphics are not helped by having a higher HT clock.

Wondering whether the lower HT figure of around 1906 will actually give me better reults??

Here are the stats for this final overclock, I really cant go any further as my RAM doesnt want to know, without changing the timings at any rate, dont want to do that cause the timings are quite fast at the moment.

 

[Nomad8459]

HT Link better higher AMD 630 II X4 overclock

Well, I have continued to make progress with understanding the process of overclocking this CPU.

This is by far the best setup that i have achieved still limited of course by my RAM, with 1066 RAM, i am sure that more is of course possible.

FSB : 244 Mhz
Speed : 3.412 Ghz
DRAM : 406 Mhz @ 6-5-5-3(5)-18-20-1T (3:5 ratio)
NB : 2437 Mhz
HT Link : 2437 Mhz

CPU voltage raised to 1.45V
CPU/NB voltage raised to 1.175

All other voltages on AUTO.

This is very stable and whats more it is quick, i have noticed a boost in application open times, virus scans, etc, with these settings the performance increase i was expecting are being achieved in the real world not just theoretical.

The chip seems to like the HT link being the same as the NB which is understandable.

My board supports 2600 HT link which is effectively doubles, so the 2437 really isnt an issue, some sites have suggested that keeping this near 2000 is better, real world difference is in keeping this locked with the NB frequency.

The RAM is being very marginally overclocked and the BIOS is giving the RAM 1.9V which is 0.1V over stock, but to keep the tighter timings this is probably neccessary.

The PCI-e bandwidth apparently runs at 2500Mhz so the 2437Mhz HT link which feeds into the PCI-e system via the southbridge is approaching the same level which should make for a streamlined performance, ideally i feel that the processor would hit a sweet spot at 250 Mhz FSB but my RAM is being stretched quite a bit then.

At 250 Mhz FSB the processor would be giving 3.5 GHz, which is nice.

Am gonna add extra CPU cooling in the form of an artic freezer fan with heatsink and heatpipes just to ensure the CPU stays cool at these new settings.

So there you go, I am sticking with this as the computer is quick now, multitasks really well and I am satisfied that the performance is better in real world terms.

Enjoy your AMD especially the new X6, which is making me kinda jealous!

 

[Nomad8459]

Played some more and have got a very stable system at:

FSB: 248 3345Mhz or 3.45Ghz Vcore at 1.46V (1.475) in BIOS
DRAM: 411 running at 820Mhz 6-6-6-6-18-24
HT: 1975Mhz (again i read that 2000 is best, thats the processor limit, not the board)
NB: 2480Mhz at 1.175V in bios

Also just installed a new GTX 470 Graphics card, small overcloc on that at 797 mhz processor and 1740 Ram at 80% fan, just for gaming of course.

Idle temps on my CPU are 49C Load temps are 63-64C fully loaded for over 30 mins.

My GPU runs at around 82C with these settings, not high for this card apparently!

So thats my new spec updated accordingly.

Cheers

 

[Nomad8459]

Here are the stats of a five hour burn in at 100 % CPU load.

 

[Nomad8459]

Moving on up!

This overclocking lark does become addictive..
Ok so i have this Athlon II X4 630 2.8Ghz Chip, not a bad chip but not a great chip, hehe.

It does seem good value however when it is now running stable at 3.54Ghz!

Here are the figures....

FSB = 256 @ 1.500V
Multi = 14 x (locked)
NB = 2560 @ 1.275V
HT = 2048 @ 1.300V
DRAM = 424 @ 2.000V 6-5-5-15-20

I know this is not the highest, but for my first serious overclock, i think it has been fruitful, the chip really is not for budging now though, have tried allsorts, the DRAM is limiting me again i feel, managed to eek just a little more out of it, have also recently installed a 4th ram stick, something that has never been achieved on this board before, it would always have nothing to do with it on certain ram slot, anyway jiggered about with the ram trying different configurations and the slot came back to life.
So now running 10GB on this system, 1 x 4 and 3 x 2, its quite happy with that suprisingly.

So after upgrading my case, my graphics and my ram, i have now ordered an AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE to play with, this should complete the overhaul of my system.

I plan on trying to get that up to approximately 3.8 - 4.0 Ghz but it was the L3 cache, and the unlocked multiplier that sold it to me, as i can maximise the ram without having to push it hard by changing the multi rather than the FSB.

Probably more to follow when i obtain the said chip!