I need help overclocking my Phenom II *edit* I hit 3.8ghz!

[SickBeast]

Hi Guys,

I've got a brand new Phenom II 905e that I'm trying to overclock.

I seem to be having issues with my 1:2 memory divider. All the other dividers seem to work fine, but no matter what I do, my system won't post on the 1:2 divider.

The best I've been able to do so far is 3.125ghz on 1.25v (12.5 x 250).

My motherboard is an MSI 770-G45.

I'm considering buying some 1600mhz DDR3 because I have a feeling that my 1333mhz memory is holding me back.

I'm wondering if flashing my BIOS to a new version might help.

 

[BD231]

1600 might help but if you're hitting 250mhz already chance's are slim it'll do anything for you.

I'm guessing that's a C2 chip which means you shouldn't expect to get the front side bus or memory controller past 240 to 250mzh. Some people do but it's rare, you find higher clocks on the C3 chips because they have a revised memory controller and a few other enhancements to the core as well.

Either way you're not going to get past 250 easily, the CPU itself is the most limiting factor.

 

[SickBeast]

I managed to figure it out.

I manually set the memory timings and it's working now with the 1:2 divider.

I hit 3.9ghz on 1.475v, but it was unstable.

I'm trying for 3.6ghz on 1.4v as I'm not really comfortable pushing it past there. 3.7ghz was not prime stable at this voltage.

I'm quite pleased with this processor. It only cost me $140 including the motherboard.

It's a C3 chip BTW.

 

[SickBeast]

Ok so I grew a pair and decided to give it 1.55 volts, which is apparently the maximum that AMD recommends. It seems to be prime stable at 3.8ghz. I'll try for more later.

 

[nyker96]

let us know when you try 1.75volts ... that smell of something burning isn't your chip. don't worry about it ;]

 

[SickBeast]

LOL

By "try for more" I simply meant I would try for a higher clockspeed. I will *never* push my vcore higher than 1.55!

My system will post and boot into Windows at 3.9ghz but it's not stable.

I'm getting a better HSF this week so perhaps that will allow me to hit 4ghz.

I'm just happy to hit 3.8ghz after being stuck at 3.1ghz for a week or so.

 

[eternalone]

Ok so I grew a pair and decided to give it 1.55 volts, which is apparently the maximum that AMD recommends. It seems to be prime stable at 3.8ghz. I'll try for more later.

Dude AMD does not recommend 1.55 volts. LOL

hehe that made me chuckle though.

 

[SickBeast]

Dude AMD does not recommend 1.55 volts. LOL

hehe that made me chuckle though.

I've read in several places that AMD's engineers say that 1.55v is safe on high-end air cooling.

What's the most voltage you think I should be running with?

 

[eternalone]

I've read in several places that AMD's engineers say that 1.55v is safe on high-end air cooling.

What's the most voltage you think I should be running with?

Honestly 1.5, now what AMD recommends on your chip is 0.825-1.25V LOL.

But everyone on this forum knows that 1.5 is reasonable max. 1.55 is pushing it but its always fun to hit 4ghz. I dont know how long that overclock would last though. Ive heard some people say they run theyre Phenom 2's @1.6 lol

 

[SickBeast]

Yeah I've heard of people even pushing it to 1.65v.

I'm going to take my chances with it at 1.55v for now. It's not like I'm risking a $300 CPU.

 

[superccs]

The whole point of overclocking is to maximize the speed of a given set of hardware. Why buy new hardware to overclock your pc another 2%