First time overclocking advice.

[mas7873]

Hey there,

So I want to begin overclocking my new build (first time overclocking), and I'm just having a little trouble figuring out how to do so with my board. I have watched and read guides but can't seem to find any for my specific mobo, and it's all a little confusing trying to find the equivalents of each settings name from another guide. I'd like to get 4.4ghz out of my FX8350 CPU, so I was hoping someone here with experience might be able to help me with the settings for this!

My Specs:
FX-8350 CPU
ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Professional mobo
8GB DDR3 @ 1333mhz

Let me know if you need any more information.

Thanks,
mas7873

 

[mas7873]

Anyone have any advice?

 

[1LiquidPC]

I haven't used newer AMD chips, but you should have an unlocked multiplier w/ your 8350. In the OC Tweaker section of your UEFI, switch Overclock mode to Manual, as by default it should be on AUTO. See if this opens up addition tweaking options. There should be one somewhere in there for CPU multiplier or CPU Ratio. Your default should be 20. You can try raising it one notch at a time, maybe 20.5, then 21, 21.5 and so on. By only changing this, you won't be affecting other system speeds such as ram, HT, and NB clocks. This should keep it simple Test stability using a variety of tests on each speed increase...I like using Realbench for one. Also if I remember correctly, your supposed to keep your HT and NB around the same speed if you want to tweak those as well, but I definitely be wrong about this, haven't OC'd an AMD chip since a Athlon 2 X3 years ago. Also I wouldn't change any voltages unless you have to/want to for stability purposes. I'm not sure what's considered "safe" with these CPUs. Hopefully an AMD expert can chime in on here.

 

[mas7873]

I'm not sure I'll even have to change the voltages (maybe a little) if I'm only aiming for a 4.4ghz OC. The guides I watched they were tweaking all sorts of numbers so I was unsure of what settings I should be aiming for.

 

[1LiquidPC]

You should have the default 20 ratio I believe. Try bumping it up just in small increments, or just go for ratio setting of 22, which should give your 4.4 Ghz. You really shouldn't need to tweak other settings unless your trying to get a little more memory bandwidth by OC'ing your memory controller. Even if this is the case, I'd get your CPU speed dialed in and checked for stability first. If your system doesn't POST correctly, just use whichever CLR_CMOS setting your motherboard implements to reset back to defaults.