Phenom II 710 x3

[JofaMang]

Well, I had to RMA my XFX4870x2. I never oc'd it, or changed the cooling, but last week one of the GPUs starting running super hot (90c at idle, crashing the comp within 2 minutes of any game), and since I didn't sell my 4870 as planned, I put it back in for the meantime. I was disappointed with having to step back down, after some time with the x2, so I decided to have some fun while waiting for it to come back.

OS = XP x64
I use Coretemp to monitor temperatures, CCC to OC the card, and Bios for the CPU. Not mentioned in my sig is my PSU, a Seasonic 650w.

I am extremely hesitant to up voltages on the Videocard, and this setup (790/1050) is the highest I have been able to get running stable at everything (games, benches and stress testing) at stock voltages. I have run higher clocks for short periods (up to 825/1100) but invariably I would find a way to force a crash one way or another. So I went back to OC'ing the 710, since I have the budget for a new CPU/Mobo should I fry it, heh. The budget is for an HTPC (free HTPC comp I discussed in another thread here turned out to be borked) that I would gladly trade for an upgrade if need be. The wife is grudgingly accepting of my choice, so Onward and Upwards!

3.35 has been my highest stable clock, with 1.375v in the bios (Prime95 6h). I am using stock cooling, but don't believe heat is the culprit, as I have yet to see anything higher than 52c under prime95. At 3.4ghz my rig would restart on its own within 5 minutes of running, even at an idle of 27c, or within 15sec of running prime95. Upping voltage to 1.4 didn't solve this and a .050v increase to 1.425v for 50mhz seemed extreme. I also tried dropping the NB and HT link down to x7 also to no effect. So I dropped back down to my 3.35 settings, and decided to see what you fine fellows think of the situation. Memory is at 4.00 for 1032mhz.

In a few dark corners of the interwebs I have seen higher claimed clocks of the 710 on air, though with aftermarket coolers (and no real proof to speak of TBH) I have had a hard time finding any recent discussion on OCing this CPU (as the 720BE seems to dominate PheII x3 overclocking discussions) so if any of you OC wizards have any suggestions or personal experience with the 710, it would be great to hear what you have to say.

Editted to include mention of XP x64 as my OS and Memory at 4x.

 

[xaira]

i havent had any experience personally but u have to remember that just because ur within the thermal limit, it dosent mean that temp is not a limiting factor, the cooler transistors are, the more efficient they are, so just because ur within the limit, dosent mean temp is not the issue, also, with that cpu, the fsb must be raised, tyhis means that the ram speed also increases, and this can lead to instability, anothyer thing to take into concideration is that raising the fsb

means raising the ht so take the ht multiplier down a little and you might get some higher clocks,

last but not least

GA-MA780G-UD3H this board does not exactlu oc friendly, 2 small heat sinks on the nb and sb, no heatsinks on the vrms, this board dose not look like it takes fsb increase very nicely

 

[JofaMang]

Thanks for taking the time to respond and giving me a better idea on the nature of my limitations.

I have been keeping the memory below 1066 (@3.33 when I tried to go beyond 3.35 for example) and it is decent memory (OCZ Gold XTC) , not top shelf, but definitely not valuram. I have been keeping the NB and HT as close to 2000 as possible in my trials through the multipliers, so I have probably hit the wall. I did get a higher stable clock than I anticipated, and this experience has given me a pretty strong desire to overclock on a more friendly platform.

I am probably not going to try to go beyond anyhow. This board, CPU, memory and the 4870 will be transferred to a new case in the next month or so as a gaming/HTPC hooked up to my TV. (Wife really wants to play Sims3 on the LCD heh) The 4870x2 will be put in a new rig, probably a 790FX w a PII 955/965 and DDR3, though not settled on brands yet. I'll do that when it is time to plunk down the cash.

Perhaps when I get the new board I will try unlocking the 4th core and OCing the x3 there to see what I can get. If it does well enough I might skip the quad and pick up a 550 instead, and use whatever CPU performs lower, in the HTPC.