Total noob to Phenom II x3 720 OCing, what do i have to do?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Chronobodi

Chronobodi

Distinguished
Feb 19, 2009
498
0
18,780
yea, i want more performance (so does everyone else on this forum)

however, i do not know squat, so hopefully one of you will fill me in, like you teach me as if i'm a total idiot.

Before you suggest anything, here's my build...


Phenom II x3 720 BE

mobo:
Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX

PSU:
OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail


i think that's the info you need...

however, i have the crappy stock cooler on, so don't expect 3.5 ghz, something more like 3.0 or 3.2, that's about it.

Thanks for the suggestions!
 
okay, what's with disabling Cool n' Quiet? sounds like a good thing...

do i just change the multiplier and that's it? just set it and forget?

oh, and do i do it through BIOS or AMD overdrive?
 
Sooo true, always BIOS. Never software in OS. I just tried to undervolt my phenom 710 like 30 mins ago and I crashed lmao.

For OCing, disable spread spectrum, raise multiplier by one, do an OCCT test. If it's not stable, raise vcore a tiny bit until it's stable, and keep doing that until you're satisfied. Don't worry about locking PCI frequency and RAM frequency and all that; you're raising the multiplier (unlike me XD) so there's no need to worry about increasing the overall frequency of your system. When only OCing the multipler, you only need extra cooling for the cpu.
 
Again, i'm an idiot to this sort of thing...

I know where the option to Cool n Quiet is in my Bios, but where's Spread Spectrum, where is that usually located?
 
I've got a 710 and a m4a78 pro, and if I sell it, I'm getting the exact same motherboard with 4gigs of corsair 1600 xms3 or whatever it's called with a 720, so I'll be able to help you plenty then. Just hope that I get this thing sold... not sure where to advertise it lol. Darn I shoulda got the 720 >.> I thought raising the fsb would cut it, but it doesnt.
 
Oh yea forgot to answer your questions lol the cpu spread spectrum is located above pci spread spectrum option in my BIOS, under AI Tweaker tab or something at the very bottom, the one before 'Advanced'. Not sure if it applies to Gigabyte... this is gonna be my first gigabyte
 


sell it back to newegg? They could take it off your hand, though i'm not so sure...

about the FSB, how much can you OC on that? just wondering...
 
Really? Does newegg buy used parts from people? Why would you OC by fsb when you've got the unlocked multiplier? I got my fsb of my 710 to 230 fairly stable. The 'ceiling' depends on how stable you want your proc to run at. I'd say 3.2 for stable operation, but if you get a good chip (or you don't mind running a computer not so stable), you just might be able to get 3.3-3.4, again I've got a 710 which is quite different from a 720 so I can't say for sure.
 


The voltage should be as low as possible yet still able to run Prime95 for about 8 hours. If it fails after a short period of time up it a couple notches. With each notch higher it should last longer. Be sure not go too high though (1.5V? I think)
 
ChronoBodi, I have the same processor and motherboard as you, so I can help you with whatever questions you may have.

Spread spectrum is not visible unless you hit Ctrl+F1, then an additional bios menu option will pop up. It is disabled by default though, so don't worry about it.

Some people are able to get to 3.4 with stock voltage. I believe I needed to pop mine up one tick to make it stable there. My sweet spot seems to be 3.6 Ghz at 1.45 volts, with temperatures at 40C Prime95 load. (Tuniq tower 120 cooler). My temperatures and voltage required really climb fast if I go above that.

Now, this is multiplier overclocking only, I haven't experimented with the bus speeds yet.

I have messed with AMD Overdrive, but found it very unstable. It seemed to work ok at first, but now I can't change anything with it or it locks up. So, like others, I would recommend changing settings in the Bios only.

1.55 volts is listed as the maximum voltage you want to go to for this chip. No chance you're going to do that with the stock cooler on it though. I wouldn't move the voltage but a tick or two above stock without better cooling.

I've read that the temperatures listed in many programs are off for these chips, but I don't really have any confirmation of that. I have been meaning to look into that more myself, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

There is a good guide to overclocking with the bus over at the OCZ forums under the MSI motherboards section. There are others out there, just spend a little time searching and you'll find it. Read enough of them to get an idea for yourself what the limits are, and then start tweaking little bit by little bit.
 
I'm not in front of that computer right now, so I'm going off of memory and don't remember exactly. 0.025 volts? 1.325 to 1.35.
 
alright, should i leave the voltage control at "auto" instead of manual? I'm trying to get 3.4 Ghz, but my bios (f3) freezes after like 50 seconds or something. Also, is AMD overdrive acceptable?
 

ok, i have OCed it to 3.4 Ghz, but what's the settings i have to setup in Prime 95?
also, i noticed that my idle temp is now 30C, instead of 28C with 3.2 ghz, is that okay?
 


The beauty is theres nothing you need to do (setting wise) for prime95 to do its thing.
Once you download the zip here http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/#newusers drag and drop the prime95.exe anywhere easy to get to frequently.

Open it up, click "Just Stress Testing". Cancel the window asking for which test.
Click Advanced and check off "Round off checking"
Click Options, select Torture test, then select Small FFTs and click OK
Prime95 will test all the cores at once so no need to adjust any settings.
Wait 8 hours and check to see if all the threads are still green. If one fails it will tell you when it started(and will be RED instead of green, and ended (to see how long it lasted)
 

i guess, it's a refund, that probably explains the "Open Box" items you see on Newegg?
 
ok, my cpu's at 3.4 Ghz, with 1.35 volts (1.344 on CPUID, wonder why it's not exactly 1.35)

it wasn't stable at 3.4 on stock voltage, but it's fine with just a tick up from normal.

Question is, what's the right voltage for each multiplier increase for:
3.5, 3.6, 3.7, etc.

(like, can i go to 3.5 without changing the current voltage (1.344)?
 



I don't think so, which is actually a great benefit. If it's stable in Prime, its unbeatably stable in game.




The reason you are not getting 1.35 Volts is due to whats called voltage drop. In fact, usually the heavier the CPU load the bigger the drop will get. Open up CPU-Z and start/stop prime95 and you will see what I'm talking about.

Also since you stabily hit 3.4Ghz I wouldn't bother much more since with practical cooling and additional time spent you won't be seeing large gains. Also there is no linear voltage setting that goes with higher clocks. I believe however the higher the clock you will need somewhat more of a voltage gain than your previous settings. So it kind of goes up exponentially...

But you never know and you may be able to hit 3.5Ghz with the same voltage, although I would throw that possibility on the very edges of a bell curve (highly unlikely you will be able to go to 3.5 with same voltage)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom