[SOLVED] Phenom II x4 955 automatically downclocks to 800mhz

[madartzgraphics]

Hello guys, pardon me about my lack of knowledge about OC-ing and my language. It's my first time doing OC on a fully unlocked processor and I'm talking via my non native language.

So here's the thing. I've managed to OC my Phenom II x4 955 125w (BE I think, haven't got time to check the part number) around 3.7 stable on Prime95 for about an hour without any errors or BSoD. Core temps are good at around 49-58 (they say 61 is the roof max recommended) since i've tightened the voltage down to 1.32. If im right I can still push through 4.0+ without any problem and I did boot through 4.0 successfully, just stepped down to 3.7 to avoid heat and heavy power consumption.

But the problem is that whether stock clock, stock overclock or manual overclock.. CPU clock speed automatically downclocks itself to 800mhz each and everytime it hits 61 or 65 degrees celsius ONLY WHEN STRESS TESTED and WHILE 100% CPU USAGE, but normally without being stress tested and while gaming, it looks like it runs at a stable OC speed without downclocking itself. So this is just literally when stress testing.

Ok so to narrow down the issue, I've already uninstalled Cool N Quiet driver and just disabled it via BIOS, same as the fan controls are raised to max rpm and the power plan set to high performance.


SPEC:
Procy: AMD Phenom II X4 955 125w Quad Core
Motherboard: Asus M4N68T-M LE V2
Cooler: Coolerman M-X4 Tower Cooler (Dual Fan, 4 Heatpipe)
RAM: Kingston DDR3 6GB (4GB + 2GB) 1333mhz
OS: Win 10 Pro
GPU: GT220 Gainward 1GB

I'm well aware I have a poor motherboard for OC-ing (lacking VRM heatsink and of quality), that's the reason why i don't push too much but the problem still persist even at stock speed. I am well aware that my after market cooler is not that popular but it does the job well as a tower cooler, i don't think that's the problem. PSU is a generic Intelligent 700 Watt (temporary, will buy a corsair CX before adding a GPU).

 

[MeanMachine41]

If your stable at 3.7GHz in P95 then leave it at that.
Your CPU will throttle down over 61C to preserve the CPU because of excessive heat.
Don't expect to get more as your MB is not designed to Overclock as the VRMs will get hot and the MB will shut down.
Some can achieve higher clocks however you will need better cooling than you have for both Northbridge VRMs and the CPU.

 

[madartzgraphics]

If your stable at 3.7GHz in P95 then leave it at that.
Your CPU will throttle down over 61C to preserve the CPU because of excessive heat.
Don't expect to get more as your MB is not designed to Overclock as the VRMs will get hot and the MB will shut down.
Some can achieve higher clocks however you will need better cooling than you have for both Northbridge VRMs and the CPU.

Awesome! thanks for the answer! Could you recommend a good but cheap board for OC for this processor? I really wanted to keep this procy before buying a new ryzen am4.

 

[DSzymborski]

Awesome! thanks for the answer! Could you recommend a good but cheap board for OC for this processor? I really wanted to keep this procy before buying a new ryzen am4.

There are some real hiccups with this request.

For one, old AM2/AM3 motherboards you actually want to overclock with, where available, can be quite expensive in the used market. For example, old used 990FX motherboards to overclock a 125W FX CPU, generally go from $100-$200 and sometimes even more, frequently more expensive than their original prices a decade ago.

The other problem is availability. You don't really get to choose what old motherboard you get, you have to choose between what's actually available and what's available can vary wildly depending on where you are, where you look, and when you're looking.

The last problem is that at this point, the CPU is so old that if the performance is currently an issue, the overclocked performance is likely to still be an issue. And the money spent might delay you in making a real upgrade to a Ryzen. Brings me no joy to say that; I still have a Phenom IIx4 965 Black hanging around here and those were fun CPUs at the time, so much better than the soulless AM3+ CPUs that followed.

 

[MeanMachine41]

I totally agree with DSzymborski. It's better to upgrade to Ryzen as money spent on the old platform is money waisted and the difference to Ryzen is considerable performance wise.

 

[madartzgraphics]

There are some real hiccups with this request.

For one, old AM2/AM3 motherboards you actually want to overclock with, where available, can be quite expensive in the used market. For example, old used 990FX motherboards to overclock a 125W FX CPU, generally go from $100-$200 and sometimes even more, frequently more expensive than their original prices a decade ago.

The other problem is availability. You don't really get to choose what old motherboard you get, you have to choose between what's actually available and what's available can vary wildly depending on where you are, where you look, and when you're looking.

The last problem is that at this point, the CPU is so old that if the performance is currently an issue, the overclocked performance is likely to still be an issue. And the money spent might delay you in making a real upgrade to a Ryzen. Brings me no joy to say that; I still have a Phenom IIx4 965 Black hanging around here and those were fun CPUs at the time, so much better than the soulless AM3+ CPUs that followed.

You got some really good point right there. I feel like I can have access to those boards but they're somewhat still pricey for the age. I know places where they sell these parts for cheap but i dont really know if I can get them cheaper than am4 boards who knows, If I can get it real cheap why not.

Thanks for the advise, that really helps.

I totally agree with DSzymborski. It's better to upgrade to Ryzen as money spent on the old platform is money waisted and the difference to Ryzen is considerable performance wise.

Thanks @MeanMachine41 , i'll take note of that.