Overclocking AM1, Sempron 3850, Asus AM1M-A?

[VirtualLarry]

Would this board support OC?

ASUS AM1M-A AM1 2 x SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
ASUS 5X PROTECTION,USB 3.0 Boost, 4K Full HD Support
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132097

Here's a thread on overclocking AM1. They used the ITX version of the above mobo.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1482251/overclocking-the-amd-am1-athlon-sempron-apus

Wondering if it would be worthwhile.

There was an ECS AM1 board for $19.99 + ship last night, and I ordered two of them, but the order was voided by Newegg, I guess they went OOS really quickly. They also had a Sempron 3850 quad-core 1.3Ghz AM1 CPU for $29.98 with shipping factored in. (They voided the mobo order, but not the CPU order, since they were separate orders. So I've still got an AM1 CPU incoming, and no board to put it into.)

Edit: I bought that board. I'll update with some overclocking results, when I get it.

 

[cbn]

According to the following post the ASUS Micro-ATX may have better OC potential due to additional overclocking features:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=36325211&postcount=245

Well, all I can add is what I already tested: using Asus AM1I-A and Athlon 5350 I was able to reach 2.7Ghz.

The main problem in going even further seemed to be the mainboard OC features. The mATX Asus AM1M-A board may very well solve these problems since it brings Load Line Calibration and adjustable North Bridge voltage among other things. Add a lucky Kabini chip and it may work.

However, keep in mind the stock cooler barely handles 2.7Ghz @ 1.5V.

P.S. The uATX ASUS can also handle ECC memory (something the mini-itx cannot do). EDIT: Here is the reference on the ECC memory capability --> http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=36756234&postcount=44

 

[Abwx]

There s an oc review from Flank3r with an Asus AM1I-A here :

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2378163

Overcklocking is limited by the max bus frequency, that s why it s better to start with an Athlon 5350...

 

[VirtualLarry]

There s an oc review from Flank3r with an Asus AM1I-A here :

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2378163

Overcklocking is limited by the max bus frequency, that s why it s better to start with an Athlon 5350...

Thanks. I'm not trying to reach max freq, only to max out the capabilities of the chip and board I picked up on sale. IOW, I'm going for a "practical OC", and not looking to set OC records.

Edit: I may be more interested in OCing the iGPU. I basically just want to ensure smooth 1080P twitch.tv playback.

 

[Abwx]

In principle the Sempron 3850 is "unlocked" up to 1.35Ghz, thats the starting point and 25% on top of it with possibly some slight overscaling in Integer.

As for video play there s a an UVD, that is an hardware decoder, CPU utilisation for Blue Ray 1080p or TV stream 1080i should be in the 20%.

 

[dark zero]

I am wondering how much the Semprom 2650 could OC... I saw a 2.0 Ghz well OC'd and stable one.

 

[waltchan]

In principle the Sempron 3850 is "unlocked" up to 1.35Ghz, thats the starting point and 25% on top of it with possibly some slight overscaling in Integer.

As for video play there s a an UVD, that is an hardware decoder, CPU utilisation for Blue Ray 1080p or TV stream 1080i should be in the 20%.

Actually, only the Sempron 2650 and Athlon 5350 are unlocked up to 50 MHz more (1.50 GHz and 2.10 GHz respectively). Sempron 3850 and Athlon 5150 are locked (1.30 GHz and 1.60 GHz max).

I prefer Sempron 2650 better than 3850 due its to better single-thread speed and two cores missing allows up to 150 MHz more in overclocking on stock voltage.

Asus AM1 boards are the only ones you can overclock. Gigabyte may as well, but I haven't tried it yet. ASRock, MSI, Biostar, or ECS, forget it, none offers overclocking feature.

 

[waltchan]

There was an ECS AM1 board for $19.99 + ship last night, and I ordered two of them.

ECS has no overclocking feature. You're stuck at 1.30 GHz. ECS also doesn't have low-voltage 1.35V memory RAM support.

 

[waltchan]

I've had this topic created before...

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2424508&highlight=sempron+2650