Overclocking Phenom II x4 965 Black edition

Nitto888

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I want to get a bit of an overclock from 3.4 Ghz to 3.6 Ghz on my Phenom II x4 965 Black Edition. I'm not sure on how to start.
First off the stock voltage on it right now is 1.416, so I think i may be able to undervolt it and still achieve 3.6 Ghz.
Idle temps vary in the 30's, and under load it maxs at 53C. I'm not sure on if I should use my BIOS or windows applications for overclocking.

Here's My Cpu-z
http://imageshack.us/a/img827/1362/bandicam201212291945035.jpg

Thanks in advance everyone
 

Nitto888

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Right now i have a stock cooler but i have good airflow so i think if im able to overclock and undervolt after my temps should be fine, as of now im using the asus TurboV Evo because it goes with my motherboard i believe because i found it under my mobos guide book for overclocking. I'm starting out by increasing the multiplier by .5, and stability testing with prime95
 

ocmusicjunkie

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Hey :hello:

I've had that board (M5A97) and still have a pair of 965's I run... making the bump to 3.6ghz will literally only require one setting change in BIOS, but I do highly advise you upgrade the cooler. The stock fan is about twice as loud as I could tolerate under heavy load, and it's not going to keep the cpu as cool as would be ideal, even if it is technically able to stay within max temp limits. Undervolting would be sort of putting a band-aid on the problem instead of just fixing it with proper cooling here.

This is what I use and it's only $20- it keeps the temps manageable when I am running over 4.5ghz during benchmark runs, and in the 4.3ghz range for 24/7 use. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233082&Tpk=gaia

Given, I added a second fan to mine, but I posted a benchmark today showing that 2 hours of OCCT stress testing @4.0ghz never pushed the processor temp past 48c using that cooler. :D

Now, if you really want to play it safe and stop at 3.6ghz, just go into BIOS and change the multiplier for the CPU to 18x. No need to adjust or touch anything else- I can guarantee you that with the board you have, it'll work with the defaults everywhere else. In all honesty, you could probably leave all the voltage settings to "auto", Cool N Quiet enabled and leave the variable fan speeds on and still hit 3.8ghz without issue by changing the multi to 19x. It's only once you get past that zone that you need to even begin to worry about playing with voltages, disabling certain settings, keeping the fans at 100% speed, ect.

 

Nitto888

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Yeah I was thinking I could do the change of the multiplier but I don't know what's up I can't change the CPU ratio voltage or anything under advanced in my uefi bios. For the cooler ill set my CPU fan to turbo as i can tolerate a high amount of noise. But I'll take your advice and get that cooler I was looking at aftermarket coolers all day including that one but idk if it will fit in my case :p so I'm skeptical about that. But overall sir you gave the best reply ever
 

Nitto888

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Actually Tommorow morning Ill have to get back into the bios I did a quick google search and I thought you had to click into the CPU ratio but some guy said you just type in the number so I hope it works :p thanks for any replies
 

ocmusicjunkie

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Glad I could help :hello:

BIOS should be easy- if you go into it by hitting "delete" while starting the computer and don't try using the Asus utilities that are supposed to adjust it through windows, all you need to do is use "tab" along with the arrow keys to navigate if there is any trouble navigating it with your mouse. You are correct about just keying in the value for any setting that is numerical; there aren't drop-down options for the majority of them.

Glad you are picking up a cooler, it's going to become clear just how much difference it makes immediately. FYI, if height is an issue, there is a shorter version of the same cooler that uses a 92mm fan instead of the 120mm on the first link. I use this one in my home theater PC and it's equally awesome, just a few dollars more: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233081

I should have mentioned- it is an unwritten rule that you never use any thermal paste that comes included with a cooler. Having top-shelf TP can make as much difference if applied properly as a new cooler. Plus, one tube of the stuff will be enough for about 25 heatsink installs, so if you are careful to recap the tube and put it in a zip bag for storage, you only have to buy it once. This is great stuff, and it's non-conductive, so there is no concern about having anything short if you get it on the board by mistake. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100017

 

jerry6

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Good cooler that i use on my 1100t and fx 8350 is the deepcool mc3002gx , keeps them under 53c , have reccomende it to a few people and they all got great results . Smaller that a 212 ,will fit a mid size case ,120mm fan and it is silent , and it needs no back plate , easy to install . http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835999048 And this thermal paste is real good , easy to apply , no cure time , rated very good http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835242019 or TIM Tronics 4200 paste is real good as well . Don't use the paste that comes with the cooler , , you'll get 2-5c better with good paste .
I have the same board that I plan on using when my MSI 970 965 goes bad
 

Nitto888

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I'm going to go with this cooler you have here because all reviews show it really does great and like you said its smaller which in my case is good because i don't have much room in my case.
 

Nitto888

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I've got it at 3.6 ghz now with the 18x multiplier in the bios, it was very easy process. With the cpu fan set to turbo it max's around 3000 rpm while stability testing, so i didn't hear it and my max temp was 62C and it hovered around 61C so even with 100% usage it didn't break the recommended temps for the chip. For now i'll keep it at 3.6 Ghz until i get an aftermarket cooler :D
 

jerry6

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I f you're running at 53c with the stock cooler , I can't wait to hear what your temps are with this cooler . I was hitting over 64c with no overclock running WCG B O I N C @100% ALL CORES with the stock cooler , would not even attempt an OC . With the new cooler running @3.9 and after 3 hours of B O I N C @100 all cores was 52-54c .
So you should have some low temps , you can mount a 2nd fan and have push pull , I tried it with a Noctua a9x14 92 mm fan and dropped temps on CPU 4C , will use that set up if I go for a higher OC .
And don't use the paste that's on the cooler , another poster here did and found he had a big drop 5c when he used a good paste . The 2 I mentioned work really well , easy to apply and take off .
Good luck , and please report back with results .
 

Nitto888

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I have yet buy the cooler but as of right now i'm doing some intense gaming on Battlefield 3 and the temperture's are about the same or lower than without the overclock. Oh and with the overclock the voltage on auto remains unchanged.
 

jerry6

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BF3 had my 1090 , fx 8350 and 1100t over 62c when my son had the game going , that's the main reason for getting a new cooler , the stock cooler is just not good enough , at least for x6 and x8 125 watt cpu's . For the 4 core it seems to be "adequate " . Does your cooler have the 9 blade fan or the new type 7 short blade fan ? The older style 9 lade fan did a better job with less noise .
old opteron x2 fan cooler to the right, new FX8350 to the left
Picture15.jpg


Picture16.jpg


 

Nitto888

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Wow 62c thats high mine tops at 54C during hardcore games of Battlefield 3. I don't think i have either of those stock coolers. I'm on my pc so im not going to turn it off to look at it but im sure it has like 5 or 6 blades. Anyways im going to go to my local Best Buy and check out their pc parts section, They have thermal paste fans and cpu coolers so I might hit home there.
 

Dapake

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I am currently starting my overclocking endeavors with the Phenom II. Right now I am at 3.9 GHz (currently stability testing with Prime95). All I have been doing so far is changing the multiplier although I suspect soon I might have to change RAM or voltage settings.

Anyways, you definitely should get an aftermarket cooler. Not sure if someone said this already but the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ and the Hyper EVO are good coolers and pretty affordable. I have the EVO and my temps are currently 34 C idle and aroudn 52 C at full load under Prime95 stress.
 

Nitto888

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I did happen to pick up an aftermarket cooler at my local best buy as well as thermal paste. After getting into the case modding type of thing to move fans to fit the cooler in. I'm still off the pc to let the paste set but I did let it run at 3.6 Ghz in the bios it idled 31C with the coolers fan at about half rpm. Now that I've got the cooler I'm going to aim for 3.8 Ghz next.
 

Nitto888

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Its a rocketfish (aka Best Buy's brand) It's the Cooler Master Hyper TX3 with their brand on it. So far it's great before with 3.4ghz stock cooler i was gaming with 53C usually now i was playing Far Cry 3 with it at 3.6 Ghz it maxed at 42C but was mostly on 41C
Love the cooler so far, possibly going to attach a second fan to it if i decide to buy one.
 

Nitto888

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Yeah i'm gonna go for 3.8 GHz should i just up the multiplier to 19 and ensure its stable?
 

Nitto888

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When I up the multiplier higher than 18, with auto it ups the voltage from 1.416 to 1.464 should i leave it be and let it do that or should i manually keep it on 1.416 somehow. I'm a little confused on how to manually change the voltage i tried and it resulted in an error/warning telling me to go into the setup because the cpu voltage was over 1.8 and i was pretty scared there.
 

Nitto888

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I went ahead with the 3.8 GHz overclock. Doing some quick searches i found you're good to go up to 1.55 for voltage as long as your temps are good, like under 55C.
I did a Test a bit longer than 2 hours on occt and all looked well.
Here's a picture.
http://imageshack.us/a/img835/6100/bandicam201301010026541.jpg
The Voltage is set to auto and bios reads it at 1.464 for now I think I'm pleased as i hear the jump to 4.0 GHz is a hard one. Thanks for all your help guys if i do more in the future I'll come back here.