Overclocking AMD FX-8350@4.5Ghz

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Superduderoni

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Jan 26, 2015
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Hi Tomshardware!

I'd like to further overclock my system.

Computer:
Mboard: Gigabyte 970A-DS3 rev 3.0 http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4385#sp
CPU: AMD FX-8350 @ 4.5GHz
GPU: EVGA SSC GTX 970 @ 3.5GB
RAM: 2x4GB Kingston
Cooler: Coolermaster 212 Hyper EVO


I've been overclocking my CPU up to a stable 4.5 GHz with the help of guides & tips from Tomshardware as well as other well-known guides like:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1140459/bulldozer-overclocking-guide-performance-scaling-charts-max-ocs-ln2-results-coming
http://www.overclock.net/t/1348623/amd-bulldozer-and-piledriver-overclocking-guide-asus-motherboard
What I want to know is if I can further pusher my CPU or other components to reach an even higher, stable performance from my computer.
Despite my vcore being quite high(1.475V), the temps seem low. Socket & core temp don't go above 52c.


The overclocking was done by setting everything to stock defaults, keeping some things at Auto, disabling stuff like Cool n' Quiet, C6 and enabling HPC; then tweaking the CPU speed & Vcore to get a stable performance that kept steady through Prime95(small FFT) & IBT(Very High) stress testing.

Overclocking album:
http://imgur.com/a/9ueQ7



What more can I change in the BIOS to enable further clocking of my CPU with it staying stable, and would you recommend me to re-enable some power saving function to help with the powerbill during idle loads on my system?

Would tweaking FSB/NB or Memory settings improve performance or let me further OC my CPU?

BIOS pictures:
http://imgur.com/a/sovCP
 
Solution
J


Keep all of your power savings options off. The bus will be way more complicated to OC since it increases frequency of the whole system (CPU, bridge, RAM, and PCI slots). It will not really bring that much of a performance difference, but I needed to boost the bus in order to solidify my multiplier OC. My chip can hit 4.7, but it's about 90% stable and that's at almost 1.5V on vcore which is absolutely too high. 4.8Ghz I had to be at 1.5V, so anything that high or higher have to be on LN2 cooling for me.
Really the order of OC'ing should be multiplier first and then use the bus to...
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4.5 ghz is probably as far as u want to go with that chip. even though ur temps are not crazy. the performance increase (even if u can get it stable at 5.0ghz) are not worth the risk and will not improve fps by more than a frame or two. overclocking ur gtx 970 will net you better gains, but even then, 5 to 7% isn't going to be very noticeable because ur graphics card is plenty powerful already.
 
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Yea, I've heard that my motherboard doesn't react that well to overclocking, but it seems that most people complain about the temps, which isn't a problem for me, I don't think.

My GTX 970 goes up to around 75 c during like the FireStrike test so I probably don't dare to oc that any.

Would you recommend that I re-enable any of the C6, C1 or Cool & Quiet functions for better idle power-saving?
 
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I personally wouldn't try any further with that cooler. You'll get about 1 fps per 100mhz on the CPU and you need liquid cooling for high OC's on AMD platforms. The manufacturer even says this on their site and products. An all-in-one cooler is the bare minimum otherwise a custom water loop would be ideal for anything higher than you're at. Granted your temps are low, but your vcore is a bit high. Any higher your temps will shoot through the roof, especially with an air cooler. My first build has an 8350 OC'd to 4.6Ghz with a bus OC as well and my temps are about like yours, but my vcore is lower. I also have a Corsair H80i cooling the CPU though.
 
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Keep all of your power savings options off. The bus will be way more complicated to OC since it increases frequency of the whole system (CPU, bridge, RAM, and PCI slots). It will not really bring that much of a performance difference, but I needed to boost the bus in order to solidify my multiplier OC. My chip can hit 4.7, but it's about 90% stable and that's at almost 1.5V on vcore which is absolutely too high. 4.8Ghz I had to be at 1.5V, so anything that high or higher have to be on LN2 cooling for me.
Really the order of OC'ing should be multiplier first and then use the bus to fine tune. Granted this will depend on what RAM and mobo you have. Even two boards of the same model and brand will have different reactions to OC'ing and the same concept applies to RAM and CPU.
 
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Solution


Ok, thanks a lot jdcranke07 & Ty_Killington

I'll keep everything as is.

 
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One last question: should all of my power-saving functions really be off? Would it not be better for my processor in the long-term if it wasn't running at 100% speed when I wasn't in the need for it(not gaming)?

Functions in question: Cool & Quiet, C1E Support, Core C6 Support.

In an ideal world these would set in when I'm just surfing the web or doing other non-intensive stuff but I suppose that's not how it really works, no?
My Vcore & Clock speed already seem to be jumping up & down during prime95 as seen in the pics, so is some similar function already in place?
 
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In an ideal world it would be nice that it did an automatic system to reduce power like that. However, when you're OC'ing those options will cut voltage at times when the software says it needs to based off of the stock clock settings. Unfortunately, computers and the software that run them are stupid and only do tasks that are programmed in and have no intuition at all. If you do enable the cool'n'quiet or the C power savings you will see that your voltage will not keep the OC stable. Prime95 at small ffts is specifically made to create heat and the blended test will test your whole system for the OC to ensure that everything works together. But, most definitely keep the power savings options off. And I wouldn't really worry about the power consumption anyways as your computer will run about at most the equivalent of a couple of light bulbs.
 
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Another thing, make sure that you set your Load Line Calibration (LLC). This will determine the amount of Vdroop that you experience. The Vdroop is when the processor will drop in voltage usage typically in between processes. Setting the LLC to a higher setting will help stabilize the voltage, but can increase the amount of heat generated by the amount of vcore applied. Should be Stage 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. 0 should be off and 5 or 1 kind of depend on the motherboard manufacturer, but one will be the highest and the other will be the lowest LLC settings on the mobo.

The amount of vcore will not have the same effects at one LLC setting compared to another LLC setting.
 
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The options for my LLC is: Auto, Extreme and Regular, in that order.

When I set mine to regular, there was no difference in my max vcore during testing, but setting it to extreme caused vcore to shoot up immensely - like an entire 0.1 V.

When I tried the extreme setting, it was before I had overclocked, my vcore was at a steady 1.320V - the stock voltage, but when I turned on Extreme, the max vcore would go up to around 1.450 during testing.
So from maxvcore 1.320V to 1.450V just by changing the LLC.

As seen in the pics, my vcore varies between 1.450V to 1.000V on regular LLC, and this I suppose is because of Vdroop, yes?
I'm not sure what setting I should be going for. Stay with regular?
 
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Yeah, it's not a great chip really and I won't be overclocking it any further. What do you think about the power-saving functions? Should C1, C6 & CoolnQuiet be off? Should LLC be set to the option called Regular or auto/Extreme?

Would appreciate some help :)
 
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Sorry for taking so long, If you stay with that board then setting it to Extreme is the way you want to go. You will have to default your Vcore back to stock before you do so as the LLC mode does change the amount of voltage used. It will be higher and will run a bit hotter. If you are at stock settings and then set the LLC to Extreme and it shoots to 1.450V you either need to get a new mobo or you can tune back the voltage till it is in acceptable levels. However, if you overclock and the CPU does not like the lower Vcore then getting a board with a good power phase will be better than trying to fiddle with your current one.
 
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I thought LLC was a function in place to try and keep the vcore stable & constant, so it doesn't vary by several 0.1s of voltage when switching from load to idle stress on the CPU.

When I have mine at Regular, my vcore only goes from 1.475V to around 1.420 or so, never below that - measured with HWmonitor or what the CPUID program is called.

Edit: I checked the pics I took when I was actively overclocking, stress-testing with p95 and measuring temps, apparently at 1.450V with LLC at Regular the vcore did drop to around 1.000V somehow; but this did not happen when I was using the computer normally - playing games & browsing the web.

If there isn't any vdroop and my vcore stays constant through normal computer-use, should I still be trying to get my LLC to extreme?
 
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4.5GHz seems to be a sweet spot with these chips. I OC'd mine to 4.5 and its running stable with 4 hours prime95. I'm going to do a 12 hour run this weekend. My voltage however, is only at 1.4Vs and doesn't seem to be having any issues at that voltage. We have the same multiplier yet your chip requires a lot more juice to stay stable. Which is why I hate overclocking. NO CHIP IS THE SAME.

After the clock I noticed a boost in performance for heavy CPU games like besiege. But on battlefield 4 nothing to noticeable.

http://imgur.com/kPb4MML,X2ulw6K
FX 8350
GTX 980 ACX 2.0 SC
Asus 990FX sabertooth res. 1
Samsung 830 SSD

 
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LLC is meant to stabilize your voltage when your chip goes under load. For instance, if you do day-to-day tasks just fine at your current settings that's all well and good. But, when you do something out of the ordinary or a program goes awry due to a new update or you using a new function, having that vcore fluctuation could BSOD or crash your PC. This is because when your chip goes under load it sucks power instantly and the socket has to play catch up since it didn't have that much power in store. This is what we call Vdroop. You really only see it when the cores are changing or starting new tasks. The LLC will allow the socket to feed the chip more quickly in order to reduce Vdroop. The problem is that when you up the LLC in order to keep power constant, it heats up the socket and chip more at higher voltages that would not do so under lower LLC settings. Hence the need to find a good balance between the Vcore, LLC, Multiplier OC, and Bus OC. If you include Bus OC then you have a couple more voltages you have to look at as well and that will also increase the heat on the motherboard itself. Just as a precaution as well, DO NOT MESS WITH RAM TIMINGS. This is obviously for those that do not or have not ever dealt with RAM. It is way more difficult and complicated to mess with. This is of course not saying you were going to mess with the RAM or not by the way.
 
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