Newbie Overclocking - Phenom II x2 555 &Asus M4A78LT-M

[Ben B]

Hi All - I've just set up a new machine and would like some tips on how to overclock it that little bit!

It's an Asus M4A78LT-M Mobo (with turbokey, core unlocker etc)
Phenom IIx2 555 cpu
Changed the stock cooler for a slightly larger (taller) coolermaster TX3, nothing pricey or impressive, just a bit bigger!
8GB DDR3 1333

Running Windows 7 Pro 64 bit.

• The first thing I did was to 'unleash' the other two cores. Nothing would boot!, not even to bios screen! So I removed the battery and tried enabling individual cores. Same.

- Is there anything else to fiddle with regarding the other cores (voltage etc??) Or is it a simple matter that they are simply defective? Is there a list anywhere of batches that are known to be successful? I'm guessing this is the case, but thought I'd ask!!

• What's the next step with overclocking? The TurboKey seems a weird option to only overclock it when you ask. Is the AMD Overdrive software worth playing with? Or is it better to change settings in the bios?

• Can someone talk me through how to overclock it? and how far to push it?

• Other Windows settings (Pagefiles?) That will make it more efficient too?

The system is mostly used for Photo editing (Lightroom 3, Photoshop CS4) Not gaming.

A little disappointing since I bought the system hoping to instantly unlock the other cores! I did realise it wasn't a certainty!

Thanks!

 

[KingFatty]

Hello,

I'm currently in the process of overclocking the same CPU as you on a slightly different ASUS motherboard (M4A89GTD Pro/USB3).

An issue is deciding which CPU multiplier will give you the highest overall overclock. On mine, I got best results with 17.0x or 17.5x multiplier that let me reach higher frequency. If I used a higher multiplier, my results were lower overall.

Anyway, ASUS has a time-saving utility that was a huge helper when testing each multiplier. It's called Turbo V Evo - can you run that on your computer?

If so, all you have to do is set your bios to a multiplier, say 16.5x. At default CPU frequency, that will be 16.5 x 200 = 3300 MHz. Boot into windows and run Turbo V Evo. Choose the custom setting, with flexible voltage (and verify the DRAM setting matches what you want, e.g., 1333 for more stability). When you run the program, it will go through the settings and begin incrementally bumping your CPU frequency, including bumping up the CPU voltage and CPU/NB voltage. E.g., it might get up to 3900 MHz and crash.

When it tops out and crashes the computer, it will reboot. Don't interrupt the reboot by going into bios, and don't mess with Windows. Wait a bit and Turbo V Evo will launch itself automatically, and then it will make more adjustments and go through the cycle again, starting out just below from where it left off (e.g., starting at 3810 MHz and going up from there). It will keep testing/adjusting till it crashes again.

This cycle of rebooting and retesting is part of Turbo V Evo's "flexible" settings for overclocking, so the procedure will repeat several times with several reboots and adjustments to voltages/timings, until it has determined a stable setting. Turbo V Evo will display your results in a pop-up. Make a note of the results.

Now you reboot and go into bios, and make a note of your main settings like multiplier, frequency, and voltages. Your DRAM settings should be untouched since you are using Custom mode of Turbo V Evo overclocking, but just verify that the DRAM timings etc. aren't messed up (note: using the "extreme" settings in Turbo V Evo will reduce your DRAM timings to try for bigger CPU overclocks, so watch for that. Using custom shouldn't). The CPU voltage, the CPU/NB voltage, and the DRAM voltages will be increased beyond stock, but not by much.

After you verify everything looks OK, change your CPU multiplier. For example, you bump it up from 16.5x to 17x. Reset your base CPU frequency back to 200, giving you a starting point of 17 x 200 = 3400 MHz.

Then, boot into windows, run Turbo V Evo, select custom with flexible voltage and DRAM set to, e.g., 1333, and let Turbo V Evo repeat the procedure where it attempts to find the highest stable frequency at that multiplier.

What's nice is you can just set it and walk away, while it chugs away and reboots several times until finally arriving at a stable overclock for that multiplier. come back, make a note of your relevant CPU bios settings, reset the frequency back to 200 and pick a new multipler, and repeat. Turbo V Evo will take your initial settings from BIOS, and work with them. For example, you could set your DRAM to 1600, and work using that, without Turbo V Evo messing with that setting. Same with multiplier and other settings. So it's really a good tool for saving you time in the boring/repetitive portion of reaching the best overclock.

This is the fastest way to go through each CPU multiplier that I know of, to get a good estimate of your CPU's overclocking capabilities at each multiplier.

You should see a trend where overall overclock is maximized around a certain multiplier setting, and the results drop-off as you deviate from it.

Now, that multiplier and frequency is your starting point to begin the time-consuming, detailed manual overclocking.

That will involve you determining the max highest DRAM setting, the max highest CPU/NB setting, and the max highest CPU frequency at your chosen multiplier. The trick is to focus on one setting at a time, by reducing the other two settings to where they will be rock solid stable. That way, when you become unstable, you will know it's the one setting you are adjusting. For example, avoid bumping up the CPU frequency and CPU/NB frequency at the same time; pick one and work on increasing it until you become unstable, then set it back down and move to the next setting and increase it until you become unstable.

Please share your results/techniques, as I'm actively fiddling around with my settings still. Oh, also, what is your intended use for the overclock - this can affect how many cores you need and can benefit you if you can disable some cores. For example, I'm trying to max performance in Starcraft II, which doesn't take advantage of quad-cores and only needs dual-cores. You'll see that this CPU will overclock more when using only the dual core mode. So don't worry that your CPU core unlocking was unsuccessful, as perhaps it would restrict you to a lower overclock if you ran all 4 cores, even though you may not be able to take advantage of them for your specific needs.

 

[KingFatty]

Oh, forgot to mention, don't fault the CPU chip for failing to unlock the cores. You may find that getting a newer motherboard (e.g., one like mine) will unlock all four cores with no problem, even though you couldn't on your existing motherboard. Maybe you have a friend with such a motherboard who could try swapping chips out and testing your CPU - if you find your CPU unlocks to all 4 cores, and your application benefits from all 4 cores, then that's good incentive to upgrade your motherboard and sell the old one. A CPU running quad cores at 3800 MHz would probably outperform itself when only running dual cores at 4000 MHz, assuming your Photo editing (Lightroom 3, Photoshop CS4) takes advantage of all four cores.

 

[Ben B]

Excellent guide many Thanks KingFatty!

I don't have Turbo V but it seems the same in princliple as 'AMD Overdrive' that comes with the utilities for my mobo.

I left it on overnight, doing its 'auto-clock' sequence; the CPU clock and the HT link ref clock stepped up 1Mhz at a time starting from 1MHz!! Nort sure what number they reached, I didn't stay to watch it!

This morning the computer wouldn't boot, the bios had forgotten the drive sequence of my 3 HDs so I had to go back in and let it know which was the OS drive before it started windows.
The of course the Overdrive utility starts itself up and tells me the 'Result of the Last successful tune' was:

Last CPU clock is : 0MHz
Last HT link ref. clock is : 0MHz
Last CPU multiplier is : 17x

No idea why the Clock values didn't show.

Does this mean this was the value when it became unstable? ie I need to choose a multiplier less than 17x, then run a stability check?

I'd set the multiplier in the BIOS I'm guessing?

Would it crash out purely because of insufficient cooling?

I've just found an advanced setting that lets me set what increments the clock value should step in, and also has an option to boost the voltage. I'm guessing stepping the clock in 10's would be a better idea, but leave the voltage well alone?

Any more help would be great, if any of these results make any sense to you!

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

They were locked down coz they were damaged. Its a throw of the dice some are lucky some are not. Your one of the unlucky ones

 

[KingFatty]

They were locked down coz they were damaged. Its a throw of the dice some are lucky some are not. Your one of the unlucky ones

It's possible that the extra cores were locked down because they were faulty, especially when fabrication first started for these chips. However, it's also possible that demand for the X2 555 exceeds the amount of quad cores that end up having two faulty cores, so AMD simply doesn't have enough "faulty" quad cores sitting around to sell as dual cores. Have you considered that perhaps the chip fabrication is mature enough on these chips that they just can't meet (high) demand by relying on random chance of getting faulty cores?

I think AMD would make more money selling lots of perfectly good quad cores at a discount as dual cores, than if they held onto them and tried to sell them as quad cores. The x2 555 was a big seller and popular for it's price point, so AMD had plenty of demand for them. Not sure what the demand for the quad core is, but I think market conditions could support making more money by using perfectly good quad cores and selling them as dual cores that are unlockable.

 

[prizmmm]

same board,same chip as above mentioned,, got chip from tiger direct, advertised as " unlocked",, and it unlocked and booted fine, win 7 64,, so now its off to races