Help overclocking FX-8350 on Gigabyte mobo (UEFI)

[mikedec]

I read a couple of guides online and decided to try my hand at overclocking my CPU. I only have a Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo, so I decided I would only attempt a modest overclock to start.

I disabled Cool n quiet mode, enabled CPU unlock and set the ratio limit(CPB ratio) to 22. I then increased the multiplier from 20 to 21. I rebooted and ran Prime95 for 10 minutes with no errors, and my CPU temps stayed around 41C.

I noticed in CPU-Z the multiplier was reading as 20.5 instead of 21 as I had set it. But ignoring this, I increased the multiplier to 21.5 and tried again.

While running Prime95, my temps never exceeded 40C and I could see the load was constant 100% on all cores. I noticed the multiplier was flicking between 21.5 and 17 although the load was always at 100%. After about 2 minutes, Prime95 crashed. I started it again and within a minute the whole machine crashed.

Here is a picture of my settings:
BIOS

I'm pretty sure I should be stable at just 4.3GHz without touching voltage or anything, and my temps aren't even going high. What should I do?

By the way, mobo is a GA 990FXA-UD3 Rev 4

 

[Outlander_04]

Ditch prime 95 . It does not resemble any load your pc will ever experience in the real world

Re-enable cool'n'quiet

and then use the AMD feature manager to overclock the processor . IT will advance the multiplier testing each step for stability . until it detects a level that it thinks is too far .

 

[AnthonyStew]

I have the same exact PC rig as you and I am also having difficulties with overclocking since it is my first time. Without messing with the settings I was able to get 4.2GHz stable at default voltage. I am working on 4.4GHz but I had the voltage at 1.4125 and after about 10 minutes of Prime 95 it crashed. I have no idea what AMD feature manager is, I can't find any downloads for it online as well, besides people saying that it is an add-on to Catalyst Control Center(CCC). I cannot find it in CCC either; I am running on 14.6 beta. If I make any progress on my overclock past 4.4, or 4.4 stable I will gladly explain to you everything I changed and my exact settings. Goodluck

 

[mikedec]

I have the same exact PC rig as you and I am also having difficulties with overclocking since it is my first time. Without messing with the settings I was able to get 4.2GHz stable at default voltage. I am working on 4.4GHz but I had the voltage at 1.4125 and after about 10 minutes of Prime 95 it crashed. I have no idea what AMD feature manager is, I can't find any downloads for it online as well, besides people saying that it is an add-on to Catalyst Control Center(CCC). I cannot find it in CCC either; I am running on 14.6 beta. If I make any progress on my overclock past 4.4, or 4.4 stable I will gladly explain to you everything I changed and my exact settings. Goodluck

Ok, so I disabled C1E and C6, I also turned off the Core Performance Boost. Upon doing this, the multiplier stays at 21.5.

Prime95 fails (1 worker fails) after about 2 minutes of running, although temps never exceed 43C. I set my core voltage to 1.325v, but I have quite a bit of Vdrop as I see about 2.6v at full load in CPU-Z.

Should I change my LLC settings, or just increase the voltage more?

 

[AnthonyStew]

Update: I can't get anything up to 1.45v to work for a 4.4ghz stable. When I run Prime 95 my pc freezes and crashes after about 2 minutes. I don't want to push past 1.45v because I am seeing people get 4.5ghz stable at a max of 1.41. I have no idea what the issue is. Maybe my 750w PSU doesn't have the power to OC my cpu and power a Sapphire R9 290 4gb DDR5 TRI-X OC. Any help from anyone would be awesome.

 

[Outlander_04]

Have either of you tried the AMD overdrive software yet? It should have installed with your motherboard all in one software package .
All it does is set the voltage to a maximum of 1.4 volts and then stress test at each multiplier step till it detects unsafe temps .

See if that gives you better results

 

[axe1592]

Dont overclock thru software, do it thru the BIOS. Also dont use Prime95. Its been weird lately and especially FX chips are having a rough time with it and now even some Intel chips. I recommend either OCCT (preferred) or Intel Burn Test.

Your PSU is fine as well so long as its not a flea market brand or cheap Cooler Master or something. I doubt very seriously if thats the issue. Your motherboard should be pretty solid too. It could just be you have a weak chip. It happens. I got super lucky and for the first time in my life I won the silicon lottery and got a golden chip thats doing 4.815 GHz @ 1.40V with Cool n Quiet enabled!!

Also, a Hyper 212 isnt going to work for anything much over stock volts on a FX 8000. I had one on my old 8150 and know from experience. 4.2 or 4.3 should be reasonable to expect with a 212 but I wouldnt expect anything much over that.

Go in and set the Load Line Calibration to the highest or next to highest setting. This will keep the voltage from fluctuating under load from what you actually set it to in the BIOS. Next, go to CPU/NB voltage and set it to 1.15V. Its stock setting is almost always too high and will generate heat needlessly.

Try those things, set the voltage back to 1.375V and run OCCT for a while at say 4.2 and see what happens. If you can get passed 10 minutes of it then bump it up to 4.3 and see. If you cant, kick up the voltage to 1.39V and retry. Keep doing this til your temps hit 62C as thats about the red line for temps with these things.

 

[Outlander_04]

Dont overclock thru software, do it thru the BIOS. Also dont use Prime95. Its been weird lately and especially FX chips are having a rough time with it and now even some Intel chips. I recommend either OCCT (preferred) or Intel Burn Test.

Your PSU is fine as well so long as its not a flea market brand or cheap Cooler Master or something. I doubt very seriously if thats the issue. Your motherboard should be pretty solid too. It could just be you have a weak chip. It happens. I got super lucky and for the first time in my life I won the silicon lottery and got a golden chip thats doing 4.815 GHz @ 1.40V with Cool n Quiet enabled!!

Also, a Hyper 212 isnt going to work for anything much over stock volts on a FX 8000. I had one on my old 8150 and know from experience. 4.2 or 4.3 should be reasonable to expect with a 212 but I wouldnt expect anything much over that.

Go in and set the Load Line Calibration to the highest or next to highest setting. This will keep the voltage from fluctuating under load from what you actually set it to in the BIOS. Next, go to CPU/NB voltage and set it to 1.15V. Its stock setting is almost always too high and will generate heat needlessly.

Try those things, set the voltage back to 1.375V and run OCCT for a while at say 4.2 and see what happens. If you can get passed 10 minutes of it then bump it up to 4.3 and see. If you cant, kick up the voltage to 1.39V and retry. Keep doing this til your temps hit 62C as thats about the red line for temps with these things.

All the software does is make changes to the BIOS . That is the only way to get an overclock ... changing BIOS settings .

Doing this from windows is easier and for beginners much safer

 

[mikedec]

Update: I can't get anything up to 1.45v to work for a 4.4ghz stable. When I run Prime 95 my pc freezes and crashes after about 2 minutes. I don't want to push past 1.45v because I am seeing people get 4.5ghz stable at a max of 1.41. I have no idea what the issue is. Maybe my 750w PSU doesn't have the power to OC my cpu and power a Sapphire R9 290 4gb DDR5 TRI-X OC. Any help from anyone would be awesome.

Dont overclock thru software, do it thru the BIOS. Also dont use Prime95. Its been weird lately and especially FX chips are having a rough time with it and now even some Intel chips. I recommend either OCCT (preferred) or Intel Burn Test.

Your PSU is fine as well so long as its not a flea market brand or cheap Cooler Master or something. I doubt very seriously if thats the issue. Your motherboard should be pretty solid too. It could just be you have a weak chip. It happens. I got super lucky and for the first time in my life I won the silicon lottery and got a golden chip thats doing 4.815 GHz @ 1.40V with Cool n Quiet enabled!!

Also, a Hyper 212 isnt going to work for anything much over stock volts on a FX 8000. I had one on my old 8150 and know from experience. 4.2 or 4.3 should be reasonable to expect with a 212 but I wouldnt expect anything much over that.

Go in and set the Load Line Calibration to the highest or next to highest setting. This will keep the voltage from fluctuating under load from what you actually set it to in the BIOS. Next, go to CPU/NB voltage and set it to 1.15V. Its stock setting is almost always too high and will generate heat needlessly.

Try those things, set the voltage back to 1.375V and run OCCT for a while at say 4.2 and see what happens. If you can get passed 10 minutes of it then bump it up to 4.3 and see. If you cant, kick up the voltage to 1.39V and retry. Keep doing this til your temps hit 62C as thats about the red line for temps with these things.

All the software does is make changes to the BIOS . That is the only way to get an overclock ... changing BIOS settings .

Doing this from windows is easier and for beginners much safer

Thanks for the advice, but I would rather learn the better way the first time. I have managed to get a stable overclock at 4.5GHz with the voltage at just 1.425. I agree it would be better for beginners to start from software, but I was confident enough to start with the BIOS. Thanks.

 

[mikedec]

Update: I can't get anything up to 1.45v to work for a 4.4ghz stable. When I run Prime 95 my pc freezes and crashes after about 2 minutes. I don't want to push past 1.45v because I am seeing people get 4.5ghz stable at a max of 1.41. I have no idea what the issue is. Maybe my 750w PSU doesn't have the power to OC my cpu and power a Sapphire R9 290 4gb DDR5 TRI-X OC. Any help from anyone would be awesome.

Ok, so I am getting 4.5GHz with just 1.425v. Prime95 is running for 10 minutes without issues, and my temps are below 49C. I too have a 750W power supply and it's a cheap brand, but still working fine. I have a R9 280 OC, so I don't think it's your power supply.

Did you try turning off all power saving features? I turned off CPU Performance Boost, Cool & Quiet, C1E, Core C6 State and APM. Disable all of those and try again.