AMD FX-8120 Minor OC = Unstable / VDROOOOOP

[rodney007]

Hi guys,

I have no idea what is wrong, I need expert help/advice..

In a nut shell I want to over clock to around 4GHZ, as I know many guys get to 4.2/4.5+ quite easily
on a good airfan sometimes even stock cooler from the 8120 cpu.

I can only get to 3.6GHZ and see an increase on bench marking as I go to 3.7GHZ I get a drop in benchmark (which is significant). At this point I thought I would up the vcore to add stability right, however this doesn't help as I have tried everything from 1.3v to 1.5v with a continued reduction in benchmark scores from that of 3.6.

Now if I monitor the vcore when I put it up then it drops MASSIVELY i.e stays around 1.4 then jumps down to 1.086V for 3-4 seconds then back to 1.38/1.4!!!!!!!!!

Okay this is where stuff gets really annoying, from my research LLC (load line calibration) helps stabilize this right? I spent 4 hours yesterday testing every % of LLC and it did nothing to stop the Vcore dropping to around 1.086V.

I also disabled all the C1E and cool and quiet stuff as well, tried manually putting in RAM and also manually setting HT link and NB voltages and frequencies and NOTHING!.

I cannot go past 3.6GHZ no matter what without a drop in benchmarking. (30% at least)

Though I can get it to 4.3GHZ and have it stable on prime... but I get intermittent stuttering in games and continued low benchmarks. (lower than stock settings)

Here is my system spec:

ASUS M5A78-L Motherboard
AMD FX-8120 8 core CPU (3100 GHZ stock)
H100 watercooler
8GB 1600MHZ ram
7850 2GB gfx card
Thermaltake 700w PSU
Win 7 64 bit

Any help massively appreciated, I have been fighting this for months!!!!!!!!!

 

[chris987]

AMD 760G (780L)/SB710 serioulsly this isnt an appropriate mobo for extended overclocking, especially for an 125tdp cpu! rather weak vrm. you have already reached your mobo limits!also your temps shouldnt exceed 60c for the cpu and even you have capable cooling vrm can easily overheat since it doesnt have heatsink!

GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3P - ASUS M5A97 EVO/PRO would be great options with very capable vrm design.!

you didnt mention your gpu but an 700w psu should suffice. however some thermaltake psu should be avoided.

The Power Supply Unit tier list

 

[Tradesman1]

Wouldn't be OCing on that mobo and the 8120 may also be part of it, may have a weak one, those weren't real strong to begin with

 

[rodney007]

picked up some mosfet cooling sinks and put them on, further messed with the other settings and managed to get to 4.0 GHZ @1.38v and only slight vdroom to 1.35v but am guessing thats fine.

However anything more either GHZ or voltage and I get a HUGE drop in voltage to 0.98v!!!!!!!!!!!! when running prime after 10 seconds or so. Thanks for the advice so far, does this update help identify the possible issue at all?

 

[CptBarbossa]

I had the same problem with the same motherboard. I upgraded to the suggested gigabyte board and it has been fantastic. I had to update the bios to get it back to a half decent overclock. I would say update bios and just dont push it. A good motherboard makes all the difference. I really support you overclocking on your cheaper board, but you just cant really expect much. Good luck tho!

 

[rodney007]

Thanks guys. I have just purchased a Gigabyte 990FX-UD3 rev 4 board which is AWESOME!

I can now report I am sitting VERY stable at 4.5 GHZ! with a rock solid V-CORE!, just for fun I got her to 4.7 for a benchmark.
My temps are 56*C on full prime load which aint too bad either!

What a difference! good upgrade!

 

[chris987]

Gigabyte 990FX-UD3 rev 4 is even better! one of the best board out there!nice pick... enjoy your upgrade!