Can anyone give insight? Need help with OCing methods

[Adam207]

Have I reached the limit here or can I adjust settings to get a better clock? I have become interested in OCing this year and have done a bit of research and reading but here it seems I must be doing something wrong. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I'd like to be able to hit 4.5GHz at least but it seems impossible. Here's my system:

MOBO: MSI 990FXA-GAMING
CPU: AMD FX-8350
PSU: EVGA 700B1 Series 700W
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Elite 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Cooling: Corsair H80i GT
SSDs: Crucial BX200 240GB (X2)
HDDs: Toshiba 1TB 7200RPM (X2)
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB FTW ACX
CASE: Corsair SPEC-03 Red

I've managed to see it stable after 25 minutes in P95 at these settings:
CPU Ratio: x20
CPU/FSB at 220MHz
CPU/NB Ratio: 11
CPU/NB Freq: 2420 MHz
DRAM Freq: 1866MHz adjusted to 2052MHz (Rated for 2133MHz)
HT Link Speed: 12
Adjusted HT Speed: 2640 MHz
CPU Voltage: 1.528 V
CPU-NB Voltage: 1.304 V
DRAM Voltage: 1.64 V
MAX CPU Package Temp reached 50C

These settings clock me in at 4.4GHz at 1.528 V and right at 50C. To me, that doesn't sound like a very good OC but I may be wrong. Shouldn't I be able to reach higher clocks here or what? I must be doing something wrong for it to fail the tests at higher settings, just not sure what to use. Any help/guidance would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[CountMike]

1,528v for 4.4GHz ? That's way too high !!! At 4.4 GHz it shouldn't cross 1.4v
That processor has unlocked multiplier, why don't you take advantage of it ?
Processor has 1866MHz memory controller and you are pushing it higher which puts more strain on it specially with all memory slots filled.

 

[Adam207]

1,528v for 4.4GHz ? That's way too high !!! At 4.4 GHz it shouldn't cross 1.4v
That processor has unlocked multiplier, why don't you take advantage of it ?
Processor has 1866MHz memory controller and you are pushing it higher which puts more strain on it specially with all memory slots filled.

Ok we'll 2 things for an update. I've went back to optimized defaults and tried using the multiplier method ONLY. After seeing what I could get it stable at after BSODs, and finally getting into Windows, I was able to get into p95 and do some testing. After 7 failed attempts in testing and raising the voltage in increments, it was found that I needed 1.55v to run it at 4.5GHz. After running the test for over 2 hours I passed without errors and can safely say it could be a stable clock. The RAM speed was set at 1600MHz with all four installed during the tests. CPU package temp never went over 51C. I'd wish for a better clock but I guess in the case of this specific CPU, it likes high voltages and runs cooler than most.

1.4v was the default setting for 4GHz so going up higher would obviously need more voltage.

I debunked your theory about all the RAM slots being filled. I decided to try the test again with only two sticks installed running at the default 1600MHz and was unable to get a clock speed of 4.5GHz without 1.55v. The RAM capacity didn't have any influence on power needed or temps. To support this I've put a support ticket in to AMD asking if RAM capacity has any influence on the CPU. Waiting to hear back.

It is still crazy that the voltages need to be so high in my case and as they say, every chip is different and finding that sweet spot is different for every CPU.