Overclocking my AMD FX-6300

[CptSalty11]

Currently I'm waiting on my motherboard to come back from msi, and before then, I want to get a cooler master hyper 212 evo to replace the stock cooler I've been using. There are some games that I play, like gta v that have lag here and there but otherwise run good. I've traced any performance issues to my fx-6300 and plan to overclock it. Anyone know the limits I could get to on overclocking this CPU when paired with the hyper 212 evo and my MSI 990FXA gaming motherboard? I want to stay below the recommended safety heat of 60c. I don't think case airflow is an issue, and power isn't either, I got a big power margin with 850 watts

 

[Ascorbate]

Well you've a very good motherboard for oc a fx-6300, and plenty psu (although not sure the quality of it).
But you're limited by the silicon lottery, some people can push their chips around 4.5ghz easily with vcores under 1.4 and temps below 60°c, and others can't get past a stable 4.2ghz.
My advice is you should try to oc it step by step, if your psu is a tier 1-2.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1348623/amd-bulldozer-and-piledriver-overclocking-guide-asus-motherboard

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/5103-a-guide-to-overclocking-the-amd-fx-series-and-some-info-on-ocing-in-generall/

 

[Dan28453]

😛

 

[Ascorbate]

😛

4.6ghz with only 1.262v! very impressive!!!

 

[mjslakeridge]

I got my FX 6300 to 4114Mhz using the Auto Clock feature in AMD Overdrive. It ended up with a multiplier of 19.0, Voltage of 1.413 and the HT value of 216.5. When the Auto Clock tried the HT value of 217.5 it crashed. I have a good PSU, but a crappy 760G motherboard. And a good Zalman air cooler. Since I don't game, I put it back to stock.

I may try it again, but not select the Voltage Boost in Auto Clock, based on the screenshot above.

 

[exroofer]

Auto overclock does some weird things, including running a fair bit more voltage than you really need for a given level of OC.
Bios/manual OC will always yield better results at lower temps.

Some googling for FX series OC guides, and asking in the AMD OC forums here on Tom's will yield best results.
There are some rather extensive posts in that forum section, dealing specifically with your cpu. It will take some looking.
FX 6300 and 8350 would follow pretty much the same settings, so don't worry if the best guide you find focuses on 8350.
You "should" be able to find a guide that has the settings for MSI bios. which is slightly different than Asus for example.
So If I listed the settings I use on my Sabertooth board, they wouldn't be exactly the same on your bios.

4.4 to 4.6 should be easily attainable with good temps.
The guy above who got 4.6 at that low voltage got a pretty darn good chip there lol.

I have been running my 8350 at 4.4 / 2400 northbridge for over almost 2 years, maybe longer. Purrs like a kitten. It could go faster, but I don't feel like changing it between summer and winter.

My 1600x is sitting 5 feet away, waiting for the weekend when it will come to life.

 

[mjslakeridge]

Ya, I was a bit suspicious about the Auto Clock. I just ran it on a whim the other day to get in the ballpark of what my 6300 was capable of. I'm sure I could do better with manual settings/tinkering. Do you think the Stability Test within Overdrive is a good one? I know my main obstacle will be my motherboard (Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2P, got it "free" from MicroCenter when I bought the cpu).

Why wait for the weekend, get that 1600x going!

 

[exroofer]

The stability test is a good quick and dirty "is this going to crash?" test.
Aida64/Prime95 for an hour or two lets you see what the absolute max temps and load will be under any possible condition, which I and many people find best for a stable 24/7 OC. As in, the OC you are going to leave dialed in permanently under all conditions.
No "normal" use will ever see the temps that those stress tests give, and a couple hours will saturate the system with heat, including the VRMS etc.
Setting up fan speed profiles before doing this is a good idea, so all the fans you are capable of controlling will ramp up under load. I usually have the speed curve go nearly vertical at or just above max safe cpu temp. which gives me a very noticeable noise warning if something ever goes out of whack in the future. Because eventually you won't have your temp monitoring program running on your second monitor
This is especially useful for people who don't have a second monitor. So if your fans get real loud all of a sudden, you can tab out of your game or whatever, and see what's up.