Phenom ii 720

Nashsafc

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I'm asking about the safety of overclocking my processor. Looking at some reviews they show that you can get quite a bit of performance increase from overclocking the phenom II 720 processor, regarding fps in games. I am familiar with overclocking and have it running at 3.2ghz. I have a good cooling system in my case and a reasonable CPU cooler; my idle temps are 34 degrees. Load temps don't go over 50 degrees, since cooling isn't really a big deal I'd like to ask if it's possible to keep my processor overclocked permanently. I have tested my processor at 3.3ghz with voltage increase and it works and i am also sure that i can get it to work at 3.4ghz with the right voltage increase. I ask also that does voltage increase even though cpu temps are not high damage the cpu if you keep it overclocked permanently? I know that it reduces the life expectancy of the processor, but by how much and isn't this directly linked with cpu temperature? I'm thinking as long as cpu temperatures are down then components inside the processor will not get damaged, but then a larger amount of voltage going through the processor must be causing some sort of harm, regardless of temperature? I have a reasonable motherboard actually and if i can keep my cpu overclocked with voltage increase i'd like to run it permanently at 3.4ghz and no more. It's an ASUS m4A785D-M PRO with "2oz copper" whatever that is meant to mean but it looks rather quite durable. Also to mention that i have put a manual pci slot cpu fan controller at the back of my computer case, i can easily control the fan speed of the cpu cooler, and the fan is rather quiet actually. It can go all the way up to 2900rpm, so it seems possible that i am able to obtain a reasonable overclock with good temperatures.
 

redechelon

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Hey Nashsafc,

I had a 720BE before my current CPU, and I had it running with the fourth core unlocked and overclocked to 3.4GHz 24/7 for about a year and a half. Never had any issues... it would hit mid 60's at load.

I had a M4A79XTD-EVO board for reference... I dont have voltage specs etc on me, because I'm at work, but I can post specifics once I'm home... I recorded stable settings anywhere from stock to X4 @ 3.6.

Past 3.4, I needed to increase voltage more significantly to get it stable, so I left it at 3.4 for everyday use... Keep in mind, I had the 4th core unlocked, you most likely could achieve a higher stable OC with just 3 cores, but it depends on the chip.
 

Nashsafc

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that board you have is very similar to mine except it's a full sized atx, am3 and it does cross fire, it just has the same pretty colours and heatsink as mine. i have a rather excellent micro atx build gaming system (brilliant set up for a matx case! taking good cooling into account with air cooling and successfull cable management without any hard modding) with a single graphics card configuration, temperatues actually isn't a problem if i keep to sensible overclocks. 3.4ghz should be my maximum, i could actually go higher since i don't even have my fan on full and it's relatively quiet but i mean maximum balanced overclock. So you're saying if you can keep temperatures down you can keep your processor overclocked with added voltage permanently or for a long time? Apart from that, sure you can overclock a processor to it's maximum capability without adding voltage that's harmless overclocking though. Maybe perhaps best option to be would be whenever i need the performance of 3.4ghz i could just quickly switch to it in AMD overdrive and revert back to 2.8ghz when i'm not gaming. That probably sounds like a better idea? AMD Fusion has an overclocking enabling option for its profiles, but it's regarding AMD overdrive - auto overclocking, and i need it to switch to enable a manual overclocking profile since the auto overclocking doesn't really get the frequency i want it and it overclocks with the bus speed.
 

redechelon

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Yeah I think the overdrive is a good idea, I do that with my video cards (MSI Afterburner).
Usually I just used overdrive to test my OC's before entering them into the BIOS, but the profiles would work fine.

If you're going to stay under 3.4, I don't think longevity is an issue. I'm not sure how long you keep a system on average before upgrading, but the minimal voltage tweaking you'd be doing shouldn't harm it if your temps are fine, which they are.

"So you're saying if you can keep temperatures down you can keep your processor overclocked with added voltage permanently or for a long time?"

Yeah, the issue isn't the frequency, but rather the temps... although they kind of go hand in hand because you need to increase voltage along with clocks.
So if you just monitor temps, you'll be more than fine. I'd keep it below 60C for sure, pref 55C.

For the most part, I could just increase the multiplier and voltage since its a Black Edition.
I had to adjust CPU-NB freq. and voltages to stabilize past 3.4, but they differ from chip to chip obviously.

Here's a pretty good guide/info for Phenom II's:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596023
 

Nashsafc

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yes my processor doesn't go above 50, unfortunately i think now it goes to 51, because i added an arctic accelero twin turbo pro to my ati 4870, since it's a smaler case, hot air from graphics card is likely to reach my cpu cooler as it rises, but i think it has a very small effect of probably 2 degrees. It was definately worth though upgrading to that cooler compared to the stock one. I'm having some problems with overdrive though, regarding the smart profiles. When i add an .exe file liek a game or even mozilla firefox, and add a profile to load up on the launch of the program it doesn't; i look at cpu-z and clock stays the same as before loaded up the game. It's meant to clock itself to 3.2ghz, and i've checked the profile too. Do i have to have fusion runnign with amd overdrive to, in order to have profiles enabled when programs are loaded up? Maybe if i uninstall it because it seems fusion has an option "enable or disable smart profiles". Eitherway when i press disable and enable the profile still doesn't load up on the selected program.
 

Gryphyn

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I've had my PhII 720 unlocked to Quad Core for more than a year now. I run it OC'ed all the time at 3.5 Ghz, voltage at 4.625 volts. (If memory serves)

Even though all the hard core overclockers are all "yuk OC with Bios or go home" I find it a great solution with no stability issues whatsoever. I run it at stock clock and volts all the time, but when gaming or crunching MP3s or whatever, just load up AMD Overdrive, hit "load profile", and off I go. That way it always resets to stock next time I boot, and since my computer is always being used for the printer I really don't want it using more power than it has to.

I have a Tuniq Tower 120 cooler, and it keeps everything frosty. I don't think I've ever gotten above 55C, even when testing my clock with Prime95 or whatever, so I could easily leave it at that level without any problems, just don't for efficiency reasons.

Running dual 4890s, and though I can OC them about 10% I don't get a performance increase, so I don't bother as it isn't worth the additional noise/heat/trouble. Never had much success with the smart profiles.

Anyway, you'll find as you're messing with your clocks there is a point where it runs cool and stable, and if you go above that point you start requiring massive voltage changes for each 100 Mhz and your temps start going up quickly as a result...you've just passed the sweet spot. Back it down to just before that point and you're good to run full time at that clock/voltage. For me, I could hit 3.6 Ghz Quad stable, but my voltage requirements were so much higher, and temps too, it just wasn't worth it. Came back down to 3.5 Ghz, played with lowering the voltage till I found the lowest voltage it was stable at...now rock solid and could run all year if I wanted to.

 

Nashsafc

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i plan on keeping my computer configuration for as long as possible. My computer is good enough to run any 128mb min graphics game at full settings with good aa and af enabled getting good performance. So i don't really intend on upgrading the processor, anyway seeing how i can unlock the 4th core processor and first person shooters use only two cores anyway. i don't use multi-threaded applications and therefore will never need the power of an i7 (or better processor n the future) in my computer therefore i hope that i can keep my processor running for as long as possible. it wouldn't make sense to upgrade to a phenom ii 955, especialy since i have a matx case, and i want as little heat as possible and a 95 watt processor. So then i'd definately be alright with 3.4ghz constantly with adequate temps. I think at the moment i'm having a little bit of trouble overclocking to 3.4ghz. The situation so far is at 3.3ghz i need 1.3625volts. I think i've tried the next step 1.368 and then 1.375 volts. I don't know if higher voltage will acheive the 3.4ghz i want to get to. I believe that sometimes it is a must that you ask people for sensible voltage suggestions as too much voltage increase in an overclock test can damage the cpu, especially where there is a cpu frequency that seems to be munching away at your voltage increases.
 

Nashsafc

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you know in amd overdrive, what's with the top green light. When you click on it, it has a red ring around it, but nothing happens. What is that function for? What's the difference when it's just green and when it's green with a red ring around it?