OCing Phenom II x4 965 to 4.0ghz, which CPU Cooler? Does Faster Ram Help OCing?

[Silvex]

Computer Case: COOLER MASTER Elite 430 (With 120mm front intake fan, 80mm bottom intake fan, and 80mm rear exhaust fan)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 AM3+ (According to speccy, my motherboard temps seem to usually be at 35c)
Processor: AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4ghz (OCed to 3.8ghz @ 1.5vcore with stock cpu cooler, any lower on the vcore gives me blue screen :/. Temps are 43c idling and 60c under full load running prime95)
Video Card(s): HIS Radeon HD 6670 1GB GDDR5, HIS Radeon HD 6670 1GB DDR3
Hardrive: HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.C 0F10383 1TB 7200 RPM
Ram: Not sure what this is, since this was just Ram i salvaged from a HP Pavilion P6000 series computer. But according to Speccy it says this for my ram, 4.00 GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 760MHz (9-11-11-29).

Okay well, right now ive got my Phenom OCed to 3.8ghz at 1.5vcore and i was wondering if i can reach 4.0ghz at the least with my motherboard because ive heard a lot of bad things about the vrms failing under a lot of load and heat or something like that. So considering the vrm issue ive heard about this board would i benefit from buying a COOLER MASTER GeminII S524 since the fan would be blowing air at the motherboard to help cool things? Or would i do fine with a COOLER MASTER Hyper 212+?

Also, would buying faster Ram help me reach 4.0ghz easier? Or would i do just fine with value ram? If so, should i buy new ram first or a new cpu cooler?

 

[Sleepingforest]

RAM has no impact on multiplier overclocking (the kind you will be doing)--you can deal with RAM and the CPU multiplier completely separately.

Also, I believe that the AMD stock cooler is "good enough" to get to 4.0GHz, but getting the $30 Hyper 212+ ($20 AR) will help keep your PC quieter and cooler when under load.

 

[Silvex]

RAM has no impact on multiplier overclocking (the kind you will be doing)--you can deal with RAM and the CPU multiplier completely separately.

Also, I believe that the AMD stock cooler is "good enough" to get to 4.0GHz, but getting the $30 Hyper 212+ ($20 AR) will help keep your PC quieter and cooler when under load.

For some people, yes because they can reach that at lower volts thus equaling lower heat. But for some reason for me i have to raise my vcore to 1.5 in order for my phenom to be stable at 3.8ghz for everyday use. And because of that, im generating quiet a bit of heat and im kind of hitting a wall here because ive heard that these processors can fry if pushed over 62c (though, if i dont run something like prime95 im sure i can raise the vcore and still be fine..) And because of the vrm issue ive heard about my motherboard im kind of worried about raising the vcore..

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Not every Phenom II can hit 4.0GHz, and not every motherboard can push it that high either. That said, even if you have safe temps, that cooler will hold you back. You need a better cooler, and then you can probably even lower the voltage for 3.8GHz.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Yea, a better cooler will greatly help your chances. The stock 125 watt tdp ADM cooler is quite good for moderate overclocking. But you'll have a much better chance of success with a better cooler. At 4GHz, you're really pushing the factory cooler too much in my opinion.

Now, with all of that being said, if you are just bumping the multiplier and leaving the NB/L3 at the factory 2GHz, there's a good chance you'll get a better performance bump at this point by upping the NB/L3 speed. But, I'm not familiar with your motherboard. Depending on if you have NB speed / memory speed settings in the bios, your ram could limit you.

 

[Silvex]

Yea, a better cooler will greatly help your chances. The stock 125 watt tdp ADM cooler is quite good for moderate overclocking. But you'll have a much better chance of success with a better cooler. At 4GHz, you're really pushing the factory cooler too much in my opinion.

Now, with all of that being said, if you are just bumping the multiplier and leaving the NB/L3 at the factory 2GHz, there's a good chance you'll get a better performance bump at this point by upping the NB/L3 speed. But, I'm not familiar with your motherboard. Depending on if you have NB speed / memory speed settings in the bios, your ram could limit you.

Um, yep i think i do have those settings. Ive got a UEFI bios. But i dont remember what exactly they were and what they do. Only way i really know how to overclock is just adjusting the fsb, multiplier and vcore. Should i be doing it the way your explaining?

Heres a link to my motherboard if that makes any difference, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130637&Tpk=970a-g46&IsVirtualParent=1

 

[AnonymouseUser]

You're right, MSI has terrible VRMs. Keeping them cool should help as well, but I don't know if the GeminII is a good idea (blowing hot CPU air over the motherboard doesn't seem like a good idea to me). You'd be giving up CPU cooling for motherboard cooling, but I would recommend the Hyper 212 Plus/EVO and just add another case fan to blow directly over the motherboard. This should provide better performance in both areas.

 

[Silvex]

You're right, MSI has terrible VRMs. Keeping them cool should help as well, but I don't know if the GeminII is a good idea (blowing hot CPU air over the motherboard doesn't seem like a good idea to me). You'd be giving up CPU cooling for motherboard cooling, but I would recommend the Hyper 212 Plus/EVO and just add another case fan to blow directly over the motherboard. This should provide better performance in both areas.

Hahaha woow, first time seeing that link.. thats crazy. And yeah your right about the hot cpu air blowing over the motherboard, didnt really think about it that way.

So i guess maybe ill just go ahead and buy the Hyper 212+ and then buy the set of four 120mm case fans i was planning on buying with it.

 

[OS]

I can't say for your mobo but I had a Phenom II x4 965 and it did 4.0 Ghz pretty easily on a Hyper 212.
This might also depend a little where you live, this is in seattle where it's cold all the time.

 

[Silvex]

I can't say for your mobo but I had a Phenom II x4 965 and it did 4.0 Ghz pretty easily on a Hyper 212.
This might also depend a little where you live, this is in seattle where it's cold all the time.

I live in seattle too, so i guess that does help me a bit on the cooling haha.

 

[OS]

yeah I came from socal and I never got stable overclocks on anything people on the internet routinely claim to get. Of course inland socal summer it gets to 110F peak so that does not help.
I move to the PNW and suddenly overclocking is really easy, imagine that.