Proper AMD phenom II X2 240 overclock

[defytheordinary001]

Hi

can someone direct me to a guide or help me overclock my AMD Phenom II X2 240, I am still contemplating which cooler to get, I have a Thermaltake V3 case btw. Furthermore, I need some direction on how to safely and successfully overclock this chip using AMD overdrive. What tests/programs do i need to run and how to increase the variables and by how much etc. I am familiar with the process of overclocking a video card I have just never done it for my CPU and I am finding that an overclock is probly the most logical upgrade for an DDR 2 based system with a GTX 260 216 and my current 4 gigs of ram 667mhz and the AMD Phenom II X2 240 (2.8 per core). Someone please help.

 

[simon12]

I assume you mean an Athlon 240. Its not a hot processor so the coolmaster hyper 212+ should do the job fine maybe even the cheaper TX3. Use the bios not overdrive. You need a temp monitor program you could use overdrive for that or speedfan or similar. You will also need prime 95 for testing stability. Read some guides about increasing the FSB & voltages and don't forget to lower the RAM timings.

 

[defytheordinary001]

yes an athlon II 240, thanks for your help

 

[defytheordinary001]

my current cpu fan is the thermaltake r1, should i still upgrade?

 

[aznshinobi]

Wait a moment though 😛 What's your plan to OC, that's not a stock cooler so you might not need to change it depending on your OC. However I only say this because i've only looked at user reviews on Test Freaks and none stat there temps, only that its a good buy =P Try OCing first, see how that goes. An OC to around 3.2ghz seems about right, after getting to around 3.0ghz-3.2ghz then go into windows and run prime95 with coretemp (cpu temp monitoring software) and check your max temp.

http://products.amd.com/en-ca/DesktopCPUDetail.aspx?id=587

According to AMD the best thing is not to exceed 74*C so 71 is pushing it a bit but still good anything lower is fantastic. Overdrive is fine, same as ocing with BIOS only i'd rather perfer bios as i always have.

There are many OCing guides on the Overclocking board on THG so just check those out. Really though it's the same as OCing a gpu. You have to find the right voltage, and sweet spot.

 

[defytheordinary001]

Best answer selected by defytheordinary001.

 

[defytheordinary001]

thanks im going to try with r1 first, im not looking for a big overclock 3.0 would be nice ,and saving the 30 bucks on the 212+ would be beneficial too thanks for the information

 

[aznshinobi]

No problem glad to help. But yea if you do find that you want to OC more but the R1 can't handle it. On amazon the 212+ is only 25$ so it's a great way to go for further OCing or just future proofing your heatsink for a chip upgrade.

 

[defytheordinary001]

thanks i am testing now and Oc'ed to 3.2 per core the temps idle at 59C I am going to run prime 95 after AMD overdrive finishes stablity testing for an hour. when i increase to 222 ref clock the pci-e clock goes to 150 automatically is this okay?

 

[aznshinobi]

Umm to my understandings yes, as your athlon doesn't have the "unlocked multi" so when ocing your CPU with the multi you also OC other things you didn't want to either.

 

[defytheordinary001]

you have a nice rig, and after running bad company 2 i am sure i need to upgrade my cpu, im gonna go for the 955 and hopefully it will be powerful enough for a while and it seems that the 6 core it not significantly better so for about 150 bucks im hoping this will make a difference i used to have a 5870 with a mediocre quad core and it was excellent but now since i have the gtx 260 i might have to go for the better cpu, what are your thoughts?

 

[defytheordinary001]

maybe even followed by a video card upgrade lol

 

[defytheordinary001]

honestly all im trying to do is for the most part stay 40-50 and above at 1920X1080

 

[aznshinobi]

Well with my graphics card I run BC2 fine with no stutter except internet lag if i do get it. At 1920X1080 your best bet is probably for the 5850 or 5870 for a graphics card. If your going to stay on the 260 for a while its better to upgrade all at once. Because the 240 will handle the GTX260 fine, just OC it a bit and there will be little to no bottleneck. But once you get a 5850 or 5870 you probably will have to get the 955 or 945 to avoid bottlenecking at that res. I got the 5850 using 1680x1050 and it runs great. I'd actually go with the 5850 as it's 280$ for the cheapest one and if you OC it (gpu) you can get the performance of a stock 5870. 950/1205 already has the performance of a 5870 stock on my 5850.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5870,2422-11.html

Look at the 3DMark score of the 5870



That's mine, so if you OC your 5850 you'll have equal performance while saving 100$ 😀

 

[defytheordinary001]

Thanks for the info bro, I used to run a 5870 with a 955 and it was flawless, after selling that rig for a premium price and inheriting a gtx 260, and coming across the 240 it is just not good enough. Obviously I need a 5850 or better and probly the 955 again since it seems to be a good value. Just gotta wait until I can put some money together but I appreciate the input and I have been repeatedly dissatisfied with nvidia products in the past.

 

[aznshinobi]

Well if you want a budget and great product, the GTX 460 is a great performer for the price premium. But at your resolution you'll probably have to SLI and that actually would be pretty cheap as two GTX 460s is 400$ but the scaling and performance is greater than that of a 480 GTX or a single 5870.

 

[jjb8675309]

well the 240 oc's like *** so, im thinking that i will upgrade my cpu to the 955 and keep the 260 for a while until the 6000 series ati cards come out which will hopefully drop the prices of the 5 series and i will pick up a 5870 or 5850 at that time. I have seen benchmarks where the 240 or a similar processor is holding back the gtx 260 a great deal, the gtx 260 is still a powerful card and mine scores in the 1900's on passmark, upgrading to a 5850 would be a significant upgrade but being that im happy with gaming at 16**X10** or even 1600X900, i think i will stick with the gtx 260 for now and just upgrade the processor and hope for the best, if it doesnt produce the results i want at that point I can upgrade the vid card. Im just trying to get some mileage out of the gtx 260, and the other good news is that I only paid 70 for it on ebay a couple months ago.