Is this overclock done?

[Fatback 84]

Looking at your stats the extra .01 Ghz is going to cost you big time because of the delta in voltage. Many, if not all of us, would be happy to have a 3770 at 4.9 and at that voltage. You have a good chip, don't blow it.

[Paul J 349]

Yeah - I've stopped at 4-9, as the gains at 5.1 were not sufficient to persuade me to move the temps above 60 C. It did it, but there's a long distance from 1.385 up to 1.42, which is that big, but necessary jump. All other gains were .01's and .02's each time. 4.9 and a 580, 660, 680 is pretty darned good.

[Noel 4,486]

-- De-lidded 3770k running at 4.9 GHz with vCore set at 1.3, and drawing 1.32 max (I'm in offset mode at the moment) in Prime95...

-- All attempts to go to 5.0 GHz result in extreme instability.

 

I think you've answered your own question quite well. It is roughly 98% irrelevant to go from 4.9 to 5.0Ghz, and by the time 'extreme instability' comes in well, yes, I think you're done! You can always try aiming for the 2% by using 30% more power and increasing CPU damage risk by overvolting, but for what, bragging rights? It's your call, but it's bragging rights for whatever that's worth to you personally.

[Alan_A 1,650]

I think you've answered your own question quite well.

 

You're right. It's amazing how much time I spend looking for validation for decisions I've already made...

 

You have a good chip, don't blow it.

 

With you on that.

 

I've stopped at 4-9, as the gains at 5.1 were not sufficient to persuade me to move the temps above 60 C.

 

My temps are about 60 in FSX, mid-60's to about 70 in synthetic tests, so we're in the same category of experience.

 

This all reminds me a little of my driving habits. I drive a car that handles well at high speeds - it's stable and you can get way up there without really noticing you're doing it. For a while I whipped myself up and down I-95 in the left lane - until I realized I was exhausted after every drive and it took me a while to unclench my hands afterward. So finally I took my own hint and settled into the middle lanes at about 10 or 15 mph slower and felt much better, much more relaxed. If I can overcome my internal competitiveness and just work at 80 or 90 percent of capacity, I'm usually much better off. So in this case I'll leave the 5+ GHz overclocks to the guys in the left lane and just fire up FSX and enjoy the ride.

[Fatback 84]

So it's all over? Nice OC btw. Good for you...

[Jetblst 23]

Wow. Well I saw this thread logging in here for a different kind of help and thought why not. Ya, I could do this search and that, but you guys seem to have this stuff down pat.

 

Would you guys point me in the right direction for the idiots guide to overclocking might be. (In otherwords some great info for a newb). I have an AMD Phenom II Quad Black 3.4 I'll post my specs here in a sec. I've never overclocked before and would love to know how.

 

What I need to achieve is better frames as I am flying a lot of glass cockpits. Seems to me the more glass the harder it is on the cpu. My Son's Maddog DC9 runs without effort without overclocking a thing. But my new Eaglesoft CJ1 V2.0 drains the hell out of it. I have to click off my avionics just to taxi in and out to the runway. I only go Virtpit 10k and above. :( LOL

 

Thanks in advance guys for any and all tips helps links whatever I can get my hands on. Id like to know what Im doing here.

 

OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium

Version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601

Other OS Description Not Available

OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation

System Manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.

System Model GA-880GM-UD2H

System Type x64-based PC

Processor AMD Phenom II X4 965 Processor, 3400 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)

BIOS Version/Date Award Software International, Inc. F8, 10/11/2010

SMBIOS Version 2.4

Time Zone Central Daylight Time

Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 4.00 GB

Total Physical Memory 4.00 GB

Available Physical Memory 2.05 GB

Total Virtual Memory 7.00 GB

Available Virtual Memory 4.99 GB

Page File Space 3.00 GB

 

[Display]

Name NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450

PNP Device ID PCI

Adapter Type GeForce GTS 450, NVIDIA compatible

Adapter Description NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450

Adapter RAM 1.00 GB (1,073,741,824 bytes)

nvd3dumx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvd3dum,nvwgf2um,nvwgf2um

Driver Version 8.17.12.6658

INF File oem11.inf (Section005 section)

Color Planes Not Available

Color Table Entries 4294967296

Resolution 1280 x 1024 x 60 hertz

Bits/Pixel 32

Driver c:\windows\system32\drivers\nvlddmkm.sys (8.17.12.6658, 12.36 MB (12,961,640 bytes), 3/31/2011 5:00 AM)

[Fatback 84]

You're right. It's amazing how much time I spend looking for validation for decisions I've already made...

 

Don't we all? At least you have an easy call, Some of us don't have the luxury...

[Alan_A 1,650]

So it's all over? Nice OC btw. Good for you...

 

Thanks. Am now loading payware aircraft (textures were already on board) and beginning to experiment with Opus FSX... nice to be flying after a lot of thrashing around in hardware.

 

Some of us don't have the luxury...

 

Well, to be honest, I'm not sure that I did - I'd originally planned to hold off on a new build into this year for budget- and Haswell-related reasons. But an opportunity came up to donate my old rig to somebody who's in difficult life circumstances and could use some distraction, so I decided to force the issue. I'm glad I did, but I'll be out of the hardware business for a while - which isn't a problem, because, as noted, I"d like to get back to the flightsim side of things...

 

I have an AMD Phenom II Quad Black 3.4 I'll post my specs here in a sec. I've never overclocked before and would love to know how.

 

I wish I could be helpful on a practical level, but I don't know my way around AMD CPU's at all. Actually, I'm not an overclocking expert, and basically just consulted a lot of forums and read a lot of guides, same as I did a few years ago when I overclocked my i7-965x, and later my i7-980x. I'd recommend you do the same. If you google your CPU and "overclocking guide," you'll find a lot of links. This one seems like a good place to start - the beginning of the thread goes back a few years but it's long and still current. The main thing is to read a lot and make sure you're comfortable with the instructions (and that they're specific to you motherboard's BIOS) before you get to work.

 

The basic principle is to increase voltage, then clock speed, one, then the other, in the smallest possible increments, while managing temperatures, until your system is stable under both synthetic tests (like Prime95, OCCT or AIDA64) and your preferred applications. Cooling is essential. If AMD is anything like Intel, you'll need a good third-party cooler, either air or water.

 

I think most people here are Intel-based but maybe somebody who's actually overclocked an AMD Phenom II will chime in with better, more specific advice.

[ryanbatc 12,812]

 

Name NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450

 

 

There's half your problem right there... that is a low end card places like Best Buy would put in systems...

[Jetblst 23]

Excellent guys!! Thanks that is really what I was looking for, I wasnt sure if there was a nice guide out there by chance. I figured if anyone would know it seems like you guys would. THANKS. I find whenever I modify ANYTHING it is yes best done by reading practicing and doing. Tweaking etc has been like that. Thanks Alan!!

 

Ryan, LOL!! You couldnt be more correct on that one. But I read somewhere at the time I built this rig and it is my first homebuilt, that when it comes to FSX... CPU CPU CPU. So I put my shekels into my CPU. Also I was a complete novice on home builts and that was all I wanted to spend or risk in my case. Just in case I had to throw it all away.

 

Hey, thanks again guys I really appreciate your advice.

[Alan_A 1,650]

Well, looks like I spoke too soon yet again. I was running fine until I started doing some tests on OpusFSX and Accu-Feel v2. Running both together with real-world weather over default DC started giving me g2d.dll crashes. I uninstalled and re-installed both programs, plus the video driver. No luck. A little while ago I decided on a hunch to try upping VCore by 0.1, to 1.35. Ran Aida64, temps were fine, but the system shut down completely after about five minutes. So, back to the drawing board. Clear CMOS, reset defaults, start again. It's a good thing the overclocking is part of the hobby - if I was only interested in flying, I'd be frustrated right now...

 

But hey! The game's afoot!

[Alan_A 1,650]

And just to add to the complexity - it seems there are a variety of conflicts between Aida64 and Asus motherboards. Problems have to do with some of the Asus monitoring software (which I think I've disabled, but I'd better check) and some of the BIOS editions (had better check mine). The main symptom is a complete shutdown while running Aida64, like the one I've been having. If you google "Aida64 Asus conflict" you'll come across the references. And yes, people have talked about the irony of the Asus tech guru endorsing Aida64 while the Asus software crew lets the conflicts persist.

 

This is continuing to be my most, ah, interesting build to date.

 

Stay tuned...

[westman 257]

Hi Alan

You seems to get a Very nice chip.

The issiues with bsod and instability ar probaly related to the low vcore.

With normal watercooling you get a point that the CPU needs more volt

To get 100% stability during load +100mhz can need 0.1-0.2v more.

I have one of the early voltage hungry chips running it on a H100 with

Aida64 5.0 1.45v stabil and 1.38-1.4v unstable.

When run the same chip with PhaseCange its 100% stabil aida64 IBT with this freq and vcores

@5.1 1.35v , @5.3 1.46v , @5.4. 1.49v , @5.5 1.55v

When test aidai64 @5.6ghz it need 1.68v to pass the test impossible with IBT

@5.7 1.75v it dont run Aida more than 2 -3 min before crash .

[Alan_A 1,650]

Thanks, Hans - I appreciate your joining in this discussion.

 

This is my first water-cooled build, and I'm not yet used to working with the low temperatures and increased voltage overhead. Once I realized that the FSX crashes were due to an unstable overclock, I set out to increase VCore, but things had already gotten too unstable, therefore my move to reset CMOS and start over.

 

I think what I'm going to try this time, since temperatures are pretty well under control, is to start at the high end of the voltage range for water cooling, around 1.5, then work downwards. A brief run at 1.5 shouldn't be too harmful as long as temps are in line. Then, once I lower it to the point of instability, I'll set it back up - and then add a little more to allow for FSX, since running multiple FSX apps (FSX, OpusFSX, Accu-Feel) seems to stress things more, or at least differently, than Prime, OCCT and AIDA.

 

Thanks again - will let you know where things land.

[Alan_A 1,650]

This chip is turning out to be a very particular beast - it doesn't get too hot, but it's got definite likes and dislikes about clock speeds and voltages.

 

After clearing CMOS, here's what I've been up to:

 

-- To test the high end of the range, I set VCore at 1.5 and multiplier to 50. Result: BSOD within about a minute under Prime. Temperatures were in line - a little higher than before, with highs in the mid-70's. But apparently it won't go to 50 no matter what I do.

 

-- I stepped down to 1.5 and 49. Same result. This was a little surprising since it had been giving me 49 at 1.325 in synthetic tests, and didn't start acting up until I ran FSX with high-demand add-ons. But apparently it won't do 1.5 volts at all.

 

-- Given that I'd been unstable at 49 in FSX, I decided on a compromise move - I stepped the multiplier down to 48 and set VCore to 1.35, just a little higher than I'd been during the FSX run. You'd think that a lower multiplier and slightly higher voltage would be OK, right? Wrong. Under AIDA64 (I went to AIDA because I was planning a long testing run), it rebooted spontaneously after half an hour, error code 41. Not a BSOD, just a reboot back to Windows.

 

-- So I went back to my old VCore of 1.325, while keeping the slightly lower multiplier of 48. That went well - a two-hour run in AIDA with no problems, temperatures in the mid-60's to around 70.

 

-- Looking for just a little more VCore to stabilize FSX, I'm now testing at 1.335 and 48. Currently running well in AIDA.

 

Provisional conclusion? It's a Goldilocks chip - doesn't like to be too fast or have voltage too high, doesn't like to have voltage too low. 50 is impossible, 49 is an almost-but-not-quite, 48 might be the answer. Again, the strangeness for me is that temperature doesn't seem to be a factor at all - it never begins to approach temperature limits but goes off the rails for other reasons.

 

If I can keep it stable a while longer at its current settings, I'll take it back into FSX and see what happens.

 

An interesting adventure, this is...