OCing a 955 BE

[mike204]

So, i just tried OCing just for the experience, and i want to know whats safe for me now. Im using the BIOS on a gigabyte mobo (award i think) and i increased the frequency to x17 without increasing voltage so now its running at 3.4 GHz.
What should i add for voltage to get to 3.8 GHz (x19).
I was thinking just .025 from this here but i want to make sure im doing it right and its safe. My cpu temps under full load of prime 95 for like ten minutes at stock were maxed at 55C.
I will also be getting 6 new 120 mm case fans so my temps should drop significantly compared to the HAF 912 stock fans i have now.
I wont be doing the OC to 3.8 GHz now but will 3.6 GHz work with regular voltage? or will i have to increase a little?

 

[KingFatty]

I think the preferred strategy is to keep voltage unchanged, then raise frequency until you reach instability. Then raise voltage a little bit to make the system stable, and then raise frequency again.

The idea is that you want to avoid raising voltage, because it increases heat. Consider getting an aftermarket cooler to bring down your temps, and then you will be able to achieve higher voltages because the cooler can get rid of the extra heat.

 

[mike204]

I think the preferred strategy is to keep voltage unchanged, then raise frequency until you reach instability. Then raise voltage a little bit to make the system stable, and then raise frequency again.

The idea is that you want to avoid raising voltage, because it increases heat. Consider getting an aftermarket cooler to bring down your temps, and then you will be able to achieve higher voltages because the cooler can get rid of the extra heat.

I have a thermaltake v1 cpu cooler and the case fans im getting soon should be a SIGNIFICANT increase.
How do i tell when my computer is unstable?

 

[veri745]

How do i tell when my computer is unstable?

It either won't POST, won't boot Windows, or will fail/crash/BSOD in a stress test like Prime95, OCCT, LinX, gaming, etc.

 

[mike204]

It either won't POST, won't boot Windows, or will fail/crash/BSOD in a stress test like Prime95, OCCT, LinX, gaming, etc.

So if i do prime95, i will get BSOD pretty quickly? This wont hurt my computer right?

And i can fix it by upping the voltage in bios after? it will still let me get to bios right? Cuz i read somewhere that i have to remove the bios card or something like that and i dont know where mine is.

 

[veri745]

So if i do prime95, i will get BSOD pretty quickly? This wont hurt my computer right?

And i can fix it by upping the voltage in bios after? it will still let me get to bios right? Cuz i read somewhere that i have to remove the bios card or something like that and i dont know where mine is.

There should be a jumper to reset your BIOS somewhere on the motherboard. If you can find that, you can unplug the power supply and remove the BIOS battery (should be a large silver button-style battery) for several seconds to reset the BIOS.

http://www.wikihow.com/Reset-Your-BIOS

 

[sangyup81]

I have a Phenom II X2 560 which I unlocked to 4 and OCed from 3.3 GHz to 3.93. 246 x 16 with 1.6125v CPU and 1.55v CPU-NB. The CPU-NB runs at 2.95 GHz

I turned LLC off because I got much further without it than with it on and lower set voltages.

Motherboard is an ASUS M4A89GTD Pro USB3 and the cooler is a Corsair H50 with a second fan attached to it.

My system is 24 hours Prime95 blend stable as well as with any custom settings I throw at it (more mem used, 512k test, ect)

Temps reach 60C while on Prime95 blend but almost never reaches that high when I'm doing anything other than stressing it.

If you are overclocking for performance purposes, do the CPU-NB first before doing the CPU. In some tests, a CPU at 3.3 with CPU-NB at 2.8 is faster than a CPU at 4.0 with default CPU-NB at 2.0 especially when you are using 1600 or faster RAM