Completely new to Overclocking

B

bangbang

New Member
I will be building my rig when parts get in. I'll list my system spec below. I would like to explore that choice of overclocking it. I'm not looking to push limits just maybe push it to 3.5 ghz or so and if there's other overclocking choices would love to hear your input. Thanks!

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9S-4GBRL

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power ...

GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
 
You won't have any issues at all getting to 3.5 on the 955 with a stock heatsink. I'm running 3.9 on the 965 (Antec cooler though).
 
in the bios find the cpu settinga and slowly bump up the multiplier .5, each time booting and running prime 95 to check for stability and watching the tempst to make sure they don't get too high. you want the temps to stay under 60, but if it hits 70 then cut prime off cuz past that you're risking damaging the cpu

although i'm not an expert so that might not be entirely correct, but i think it is.
 
jonnyp11 said:
in the bios find the cpu settinga and slowly bump up the multiplier .5, each time booting and running prime 95 to check for stability and watching the tempst to make sure they don't get too high. you want the temps to stay under 60, but if it hits 70 then cut prime off cuz past that you're risking damaging the cpu

although i'm not an expert so that might not be entirely correct, but i think it is.
Click to expand...

Close.

Don't let the temps get close to 60c intel chips can run hotter and still be fine where AMD chips have can damage themselves around 62c. Keep it in the 50's max and you should be fine.

This 101 is outdated but all of the basic information is still relevant. Pay attention to the Multiplier part in section 4. That is how you will OC your CPU.
http://www.computerforum.com/16346-overclocking-101-needs-updating.html

Just to add to what Jonny already said,

Disable AMD Cool and Quiet. The throttling can have a negative affect on the stability of your OC.

manually set the voltage to to stock voltage. I think it is 1.25v?? Don't leave it on Auto. It will use more voltage than is needed. Simply put, more voltage --> more heat. Bump the multiplier .5 and check for stability in Prime 95. Test for 5-10 min. If your system crashes bump the voltage in the smallest increments that you can. Boot again and test for stability. Once you reach your desired clock speed or the limit of your system, run Prime 95 for a longer period to ensure stability. A few hours will be more than enough proof.

Be sure to watch the temps while stress testing. If it goes too high then you need to back off the voltage and possibly clock speed to ensure that your CPU will not overheat.

Good Luck!
 
Would you advise using the program "AMD Overdrive" to OC the processor? I also read something about a program called "Turbo V"
 
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bangbang said:
Would you advise using the program "AMD Overdrive" to OC the processor?
Click to expand...

I haven't had any luck getting it to work personally. Besides, a software overclock doesn't work as well as a direct BIOS overclock.
 
I have done some Software OCing but I just used it as values to use for when I went into the BIOS. voyagerfan99 has it right on. If you want to do it right, OC from The BIOS.
 
bangbang said:
hmmm im gonna have familiarize/learn these programs
Click to expand...

I'm pretty much in the same exact boat as you. I'm waiting on my parts and have never done this before. What I'm doing right now is just bookmarking all the sites people link to (for the programs, tutorials, whatever) so I can go back and look through them later (once the build is done).
 
What i have learned is not to be scared. Keep in mind that you can damage your PC, but as long as you are caucious about it, it will turn out fine :).

I never knew anything about OCing before. With help from people on this Forum and researching the hell out it, i learned enough to take my CPU from 2.4GHz to 3.4GHZ easily and safely.

Have faith and be smart about it.
 
onipar said:
Sorry, I just figured since it was something mentioned here a few times it'd be okay. Just so I add to the OP's question (and lessen the possibility of a thread hijack), I found a video on overclocking that might be helpful.
Click to expand...

It's not a problem. I just figured that since you are kinda new I figured that I might point that out.

bangbang said:
hmmm im gonna have familiarize/learn these programs
Click to expand...

The things that you need to pay attention to are the CPU voltage (usually Vcore or something like that) and the temperatures. all of the other numbers can be useful but not all the necessary when just starting out overclocking.
 
i think ill prob run my build stock speed for awhile after build to see how everything runs then start the ocing
 
The normal CPU Voltage is 1.40. I dropped it to 1.30 so far bumped multiplier by .5 (3.33ghz) temp is at 54-55 c. Gonna do some more adjusting.

Oh and disabled AMD cool and quiet
 
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Before you go any higher. Try to find the lowest Voltage that you can still run your processor stably. Your temps are too high right now.
 
Since then Ive bumped multiplier twice. I'm at 3523 Ghz I dropped the voltage to 1.25. I'm 10 mins or so into test and its hovered at 51-53 (max) Drop voltage lower?
 
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