NOOB gets his hands on FX-55...WATCH OUT!

[normalbias]

Hey guys, I'm relatively new to the OC scene and was hoping for some advice.

When I got my mobo (MSI-7191, micro-ATX form factor) I didn't really pay attention to overclockability, and as it turns out my bios gives me no control over FSB speeds. I checked MSI's website and I have the most recent bios version for my board, they just seem to suck (for overclocking)

The bios does however give me control over my CPU multiplier, and since the multiplier is unlocked on FX chips, I was wondering if I could just bump up the multiplier by a factor of 1X from stock to achieve an overclock. I'm not looking for a monster OC here, I was thinking I could go from 2.6gHz to 2.8 gHZ relatively safely with just bumping up that multiplier.

In my (newb) head it all makes sense, but I wanted to see if you all had any feedback.

Also if there are any mATX OC'ers out there, what is a good mATX board to OC with? I don't necesarily want to replace my mobo, but if there is a good solution out there, I might pick it up and redo my entire system.

Thanks for the help!

 

[bkiserx7]

if it will let you change the multis go right ahead. as far as a good ocin matx motherboard, you might have to buy second-hand since the 939s are fading fast.

 

[normalbias]

cool cool, that's what i was thinkin. Any more input out there?

 

[Hatman]

If you can put it up to 3gig which you should be able to with a prossessor like that with just the multiplier I'd say you're good.

 

[utaka95]

My San Diego core wouldn't go past 2.9 no matter what you did to it. Hope you fare better.

 

[chocobocorey]

id sell the fx 55. you should get at least $50 for it. then instead of paying around ~50 for a 939 board, just get a e2140, a cheap motherboard, and OC it. even at stock its probly almost as fast as the fx 55.

 

[morg]

id sell the fx 55. you should get at least $50 for it. then instead of paying around ~50 for a 939 board, just get a e2140, a cheap motherboard, and OC it. even at stock its probly almost as fast as the fx 55.

2140 have 2x 512k cache, it is the celeron on C2D... it's a lower performer at the same clock...

just get a 4300-4400 at least... or older 6400( they overclock well )

6320 is the smallest to have 2x2mb cache but the multi is 7
with fsb going around 400mhz at most, you'd get under 2.8ghz with a 6320
3.2ghz with a 6420 and 3.6ghz with an E6600 ... of course, you can get a 6420 that get a gonzo FSB and overclock up to a 450mhz fsb x8 but i wouldn't count on it

4300-4400 will often top at 333mhz fsb

 

[MayDay94]

i just got the biostar 6100-m9 for my 4000+ sd. it has some decent oc potentional in bios. i upped fsb to meager 225 so now running at 2.7 from default 2.4. it allows you to tweak some ht and memory settings including voltage so might get a decent oc with it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138269

 

[normalbias]

Thanks for the dialogue guys. Just to clarify, I just bought the FX-55 so I'm not about to switch to an Intel platform. Although my next build might be. I really just want to try th OC with my current set up, cuz I really like my mATX case (even though shoe-horning the PSU and CPU cooling sytem into the will be a pain). Where I might want to upgrade is if I can find a mobo with more OCing options, but with the same specs (use my memory and FX-55).

Think I'm gonna go for 2.8 GHz to start with and if temperature is low enough maybe I'll try to bump to 3.0 GHz. It's just scary adjusting by multipliers instead of the FSB speed to find the max OC!

 

[morg]

find your max fsb supported by the CPU with the lowest multi.

ensure the cpu is running stably at this fsb setting (like 275x8= 2200 mhz)
then, try to upgrade the multiplier 1 by 1 and touch the voltage only when it doesn't post. don't increase it too much... on the last multiplier, you should be around the maximum reacheable speed. however, you can lower the fsb a little and re-try the last non-working multi in order to increase the frequency... but i recommend that you just take the highest fsb and then, you let it there. core clock increases doesn't always increase performance linearly... as a 275x8 vs 200x11 doesn't push the same way...

then, when you've found the last stable value, check the running temps and adjust cooling