overclocking my AMD phenom II X3 BE

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mikerollingsolo

Junior Member
Aug 7, 2011
18
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Hi i'm new to this overclocking thing and with the exception of a shuttle this is the only computer i've built. There was a deal on newegg for 60 bucks for a AMD phenom II X3 black edition 720 i'm using a asus m4a78LT-M motherboard and I understand that since black edition amd's have the unlocked multipliers, you just increase the multiplier now I have done that up to 16.5 times to 3.3 gighrtz on the voltage level as "auto" however there is something weird,

please look at exhibit A. http://motherboards-reviews.com/mot...ure_System_Frequency_Voltage_overclocking.jpg

is a link to my motherboard bios, now I understand how to increase cpu voltage but this mobo only has "CPU over voltage" what number should i set it to in order to increase voltage? Is that even the cpu voltage? What does cpu over voltage even mean? it doesn't say what I have to begin with? I want to increase voltage so that maybe I can increase the multiplier in a stable manner. Thanks for your help in advance guys.
 
BD231

BD231

Lifer
Feb 26, 2001
10,568
138
106
Chance's are you can move the voltage up or down in small increments with CPU overvoltage, page up/page down, very simple. C2 chips are a bit more power hungry than C3's so definitely give her a little juice once you hit the 3.5 range or above. 1.4v is a good start once default voltage is no longer enough, and never go past 1.45v/1.475v that chip.

AMD will tell you their chips can handle 1.5v continuously which is absolutely not true. Degradation sets in quickly at 1.5v on the Phenom II's in my experience so if you want the OC to last keep the voltage low.
 
Spikesoldier

Spikesoldier

Diamond Member
Oct 15, 2001
6,766
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check your options in the BIOS, it may be possible to unlock the fourth core on the X3 and turn it into a X4.
 
S

soccerballtux

Lifer
Dec 30, 2004
12,553
2
76
use PhenomMSRTweaker program to control multiplier and voltage and cpu-nb voltage. Makes overclocking a breeze. FYI my 720BE maxes out at 3.5ghz and 2.6ghz cpu-nb. So that should give you something to shoot for.
 
wuliheron

wuliheron

Diamond Member
Feb 8, 2011
3,536
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That little micro ATX mobo wasn't really made for overclocking so I wouldn't expect miracles. Even if you can unlock the 4th core it is likely to limit your overclock and for most games the overclock is more important. You need an aftermarket cooler to do any serious overclocking and anything over 3.4ghz is pretty much gravy anyway. I'd try to get up to 3.4ghz without bumping the voltage, be sure to check your temperatures if you don't have an aftermarket cooler, and see if that's good enough for whatever games you play. If not, then try bumping the voltage the smallest amount possible and check again.
 
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mikerollingsolo

Junior Member
Aug 7, 2011
18
0
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Thanks for the advice guys, I bought a corsair H60 cooler for this thinking to myself I would be overclocking the heck out of it. Should've invested in a better mobo I suppose. But I think the temperatures are fine. I've heard of the cores going up to about 3.7? I was hoping for something in that ballpark...I realize the nature of overclocking but in my head I just thought it'd be able to get up that high i'll try to increase voltages later tonight or tomorrow.
 
S

soccerballtux

Lifer
Dec 30, 2004
12,553
2
76
mikerollingsolo said:
Thanks for the advice guys, I bought a corsair H60 cooler for this thinking to myself I would be overclocking the heck out of it. Should've invested in a better mobo I suppose. But I think the temperatures are fine. I've heard of the cores going up to about 3.7? I was hoping for something in that ballpark...I realize the nature of overclocking but in my head I just thought it'd be able to get up that high i'll try to increase voltages later tonight or tomorrow.
Click to expand...

ya thats about the max, ymmv
 
wuliheron

wuliheron

Diamond Member
Feb 8, 2011
3,536
0
0
mikerollingsolo said:
Thanks for the advice guys, I bought a corsair H60 cooler for this thinking to myself I would be overclocking the heck out of it. Should've invested in a better mobo I suppose. But I think the temperatures are fine. I've heard of the cores going up to about 3.7? I was hoping for something in that ballpark...I realize the nature of overclocking but in my head I just thought it'd be able to get up that high i'll try to increase voltages later tonight or tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Extreme overclocks are for enthusiasts and the desperate. As long the thing will play games decently that's all that really matters. Pushing it up as high as 3.7ghz could involve increasing the ram and northbridge voltages too and its debatable whether you'd ever notice any improvement in gaming. More likely it would just shorten the lifespan of the system.
 
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mikerollingsolo

Junior Member
Aug 7, 2011
18
0
0
soccerballtux said:
use PhenomMSRTweaker program to control multiplier and voltage and cpu-nb voltage. Makes overclocking a breeze. FYI my 720BE maxes out at 3.5ghz and 2.6ghz cpu-nb. So that should give you something to shoot for.
Click to expand...

I tried AMD overdrive but found that it doesn't save my settings I had to manually input it every reboot. Does phenomsrtweaker program save the settings?
 
LOL_Wut_Axel

LOL_Wut_Axel

Diamond Member
Mar 26, 2011
4,310
8
81
wuliheron said:
Extreme overclocks are for enthusiasts and the desperate. As long the thing will play games decently that's all that really matters. Pushing it up as high as 3.7ghz could involve increasing the ram and northbridge voltages too and its debatable whether you'd ever notice any improvement in gaming. More likely it would just shorten the lifespan of the system.
Click to expand...


You don't need to increase CPU-NB voltage when increasing the base multiplier, just the CPU core voltage. You increase the CPU-NB voltage slightly if you want a much faster IMC. Over-clocking the CPU-NB on a Phenom II can have a HUGE performance increase in many games, even more so than over-clocking.

With his current motherboard I'd advise the OP to not go higher than 1.4V on the CPU voltage and to not increase the CPU-NB voltage. With that in mind he should end up at around 3.5-3.6GHz on the CPU and a CPU-NB speed of 2.4-2.5GHz, all of which make a big difference in gaming, especially since Phenoms bottleneck higher-end cards slightly.
 
BD231

BD231

Lifer
Feb 26, 2001
10,568
138
106
LOL_Wut_Axel said:
You don't need to increase CPU-NB voltage when increasing the base multiplier, just the CPU core voltage. You increase the CPU-NB voltage slightly if you want a much faster IMC. Over-clocking the CPU-NB on a Phenom II can have a HUGE performance increase in many games, even more so than over-clocking.

With his current motherboard I'd advise the OP to not go higher than 1.4V on the CPU voltage and to not increase the CPU-NB voltage. With that in mind he should end up at around 3.5-3.6GHz on the CPU and a CPU-NB speed of 2.4-2.5GHz, all of which make a big difference in gaming, especially since Phenoms bottleneck higher-end cards slightly.
Click to expand...

A reminder to be conservative on the CPU-NB with a C2 chip as well, you'll likely have to increase the North bridge voltage which is even more sensitive to degradation than the CPU itself. No more than 1.3v on the NB. I've only witnessed retail boxed 720 cpu's hit 3.7. The oems don't fair well over 3.5 so make sure your CPU overclock is stable first, THEN mess with the North Brdige.

For some, stability is easily compromised when raising the North Bridge.
 
S

soccerballtux

Lifer
Dec 30, 2004
12,553
2
76
BD231 said:
A reminder to be conservative on the CPU-NB with a C2 chip as well, you'll likely have to increase the North bridge voltage which is even more sensitive to degradation than the CPU itself. No more than 1.3v on the NB. I've only witnessed retail boxed 720 cpu's hit 3.7. The oems don't fair well over 3.5 so make sure your CPU overclock is stable first, THEN mess with the North Brdige.

For some, stability is easily compromised when raising the North Bridge.
Click to expand...

Huh? I've been running my cpu-nb at 1.4v and my motherboard is fine. Lots of other people on the internet have been doing the same.
 
LOL_Wut_Axel

LOL_Wut_Axel

Diamond Member
Mar 26, 2011
4,310
8
81
soccerballtux said:
Huh? I've been running my cpu-nb at 1.4v and my motherboard is fine. Lots of other people on the internet have been doing the same.
Click to expand...

That's because you have a high-end motherboard. The OP's motherboard isn't gonna take that voltage as kindly.
 
BD231

BD231

Lifer
Feb 26, 2001
10,568
138
106
soccerballtux said:
about 2 years
Click to expand...

I bought a friend an x3 and right around the year and a half mark it started having crashing issues. Backed down the OC on the cpu to 3.5 from 3.7, still crashed. Back down the NB to 220 from 240 and it was working again. It only took 1.325v to induce the problem on my end, perhaps YMMV.

He has the same board as me, though.
 
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mikerollingsolo

Junior Member
Aug 7, 2011
18
0
0
I got it to 3.4 with 1.4V stable, however the second I up the multiplier to 3.5 and keep it at 1.4V, it fails prime 95 it doesn't out-right bsod but one of the cores doesn't continue to function. Any ideas?
 
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mikerollingsolo

Junior Member
Aug 7, 2011
18
0
0
correction, 3.5 was not stable and neither was 3.4 after running more prime95. I don't know what to do at this point, except suggest maybe I should try unlocking a 4th core? I pressed 4 for the "core unlocker" in the asus mobo but it said it had failed. Is there any other way to unlock a fourth?---EDIT my bios isn't updated, I shall do that first. I don't want to risk unlocking a 4th right now just oc what I have.
 
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