Overclocking AMD Phenom II X4 B55

[Spectre]

Guys,

As you might have seen on my show-off thread, recently upgraded to

Phenom II X2 555 with Biostar TA790GX A3+

Transcend Jetram 4GB 1333 with power chips

Noctua NH-U12P SE2

Cooler Master 690 II advanced

Now, after unlocking, the core temp sensors go crazy and don't report any readings. All I get now is CPU temps from Everest as the only indicator. Normally this value is generally 5-6 deg more than core temps

With X2 mode, I get core temps of around 25 - 26 C at idle

and 38-39 C on Prime stressing

With X4 mode, I get CPU temps of around 32-33 C at idle

guessing, the core temps will be around 27-28 C

haven't tested load yet

All this @ stock speeds and without AC

I am going to come back with my findings and bug you folks for help to push further

As a starting step, I would like to know if unlocking the extra multiplier is better or increasing FSB with default multiplier (16)

what bios setting to increase multiplier, cant find that

Also, does reducing HT link speed to 1.6 Ghz have any effect, only after this setting, i could unlock the cores



TIA

Spec

 

[dovakhiin]

Re: Help me overclock Phenom II X4 B55

As a starting step, I would like to know if unlocking the extra multiplier is better or increasing FSB with default multiplier (16)

what bios setting to increase multiplier, cant find that

AFAIK increasing the reference clock is better because:-

i)It overclocks your RAM and motherboard along with the core clock giving an extra boost in performance.

ii)You can still use CoolNQuiet if you are interested in lower idle temperatures and power consumption.Although most overclocks do recommend you to turn this feature off...

On the other hand increasing the reference clock involves checking for stability in your mobo,memory and proccy.So since there are more variables involved it is a little more complicated.When you use unlocked multipliers only values you need to modify are the multiplier and the vcore to stabilize the cpu.Since the only component being overclocked is your CPU...

 

[Spectre]

Re: Help me overclock Phenom II X4 B55

^ thanks pal

Since it has an unlocked multiplier, cant I make it 17 first, which will push speeds to 3400 and then after start pushing the FSB from 200 onwards

 

[dovakhiin]

Re: Help me overclock Phenom II X4 B55

^ thanks pal

Since it has an unlocked multiplier, cant I make it 17 first, which will push speeds to 3400 and then after start pushing the FSB from 200 onwards

Yes, thats possible too...Only problem is you can't use CnQ after changing the multiplier but I think you're OK with that.Any particular reason you want to do that?Just stick to the normal process and see how it goes...

i)Increase the reference clock with small increments 5-10Mhz use Prime95 or LinX to check for stability for 5-10mins to make sure its at-least slightly stable.

ii)When you find that its unstable at any point you'll have two choices.Overclock more or settling down with the overclock.

iii)If you want to overclock more you'll have to find out which part is responsible for the instability and solve this by reducing stress on it or increasing the voltage.Eg:if its you're RAM you'll have to reduce RAM speeds and change the ratio accordingly to continue OCing.

iv)If you're happy with the overclock back down the reference clock a little and to long stress test 6-12 hours.This is very important.If its not completely stable you will be at the risk of losing all you're data due to file system failure.



Always ensure temperatures are below 55C at any point,this is the lower limit of the danger zone specified by AMD-55C to 70c.I'm not too experienced at this because I'm being held back by my stock heatsink .So this is only a n00b's understanding of OCing basics.I suggest you read up a little online...I read this guide called Dolk's Phenom II OC guide on some other Forum it will really help you understand OCing and then you will be able to figure it all out yourself.

Hope this helps.

 

[madnav]

Re: Help me overclock Phenom II X4 B55

AFAIK increasing the reference clock is better because:-

i)It overclocks your RAM and motherboard along with the core clock giving an extra boost in performance.

ii)You can still use CoolNQuiet if you are interested in lower idle temperatures and power consumption.Although most overclocks do recommend you to turn this feature off...

On the other hand increasing the reference clock involves checking for stability in your mobo,memory and proccy.So since there are more variables involved it is a little more complicated.When you use unlocked multipliers only values you need to modify are the multiplier and the vcore to stabilize the cpu.Since the only component being overclocked is your CPU...

The CnQ works even if you change multiplier in case of amd.

@ Spectre.

what is your goal?

i mean, do you have any specific mark to reach on this overclock?

have a look at http://www.techenclave.com/overclocking-n-modding/official-techenclave-indian-technology-community-superpi-106387.html

the Phenom II listings have quiet a handful of probable settings for your setup.

most with unlock C2 550BE will work on your machine with C3 with ease.

that is just for reference.

if you want to start from scratch then you have to follow the 2 main steps..

1) Isolation

2) Consolidation

1) Isolation

In this process you isolate the limits of each component under consideration individually by keeping the other components well below their normal limits

a) CPU -

Since you are using a good HSF and the chip is C3... wi\\i would say something like 1.45V on Vcore shall be more than enough for fairly extreme aircooled Overclock.

set the desired Vcore.

Set RAM frequency to lowest possible to keep memory frequency and voltages out of the equations.

you will reach a particular multiplier where the stress tests start failing.

that multiplier and the lower stable one is the domain you will be fine tuning using FSB based overclock.. remember, you can always use the combination of FSB and multipliers available. in the end this way you will be able to reach precise frequency as opposed to only fsb or only multiplier based tuning.

b) FSB Tuning -

set the multiplier to the minimum to take it out of Equation. Also set memory speed to the lowest as before.

start increasing FSB in steps of 5-10MHz as per your patience

Stress test for stability untill you reach the maximum stable value...

note that down.

c) Memory Tuning -

Set cpu multiplier to minimum..

set Memory speed to its specified/supported speed.. so that you can start overclocking it from that frequency upwards..

Increase FSB in steps of 5MHz.. the Memory Frequency will increase in accordance as per the multiplier..

suppose increase in FSB = ∆FSB = 5MHz here (...FSB = 200MHz default)

now change in Memory frequency = ∆MemF = ∆FSB x MemF/FSB ... MemF = Selected Memory Frequency Mode in bios ..800, 1066, 1333 etc

most probably you will reach an FSB value where the memory is at its maximum possible frequency much before you reach max FSB you found out in the previous step.

Consolidation -

now that you have the maximum values of all, you will have to figure out the setting where all components are at the maximum values simultaneously.

(little short on time so will edit this part with examples later)

as a safety measure.. it would be advisable to set the components to the values 5% below their maximum values.

Now do stress testing with all components at the settings.. see if there is heating issue.. if the system achieves a certain temperature after a while at full load and that temperature is not increasing any significantly with time for a little more while.. say atleast half n hour then the cooling on the system is sufficient and the hots spots are not being created.

60c range for that cpu at load and all is well

let us know your results

just a pointer for your experiments:

the chip will be fine and will work with voltages below 1.4V uptill 3.8-3.85GHz .. beyond that the chip demands alot voltage change.. although i had come accross C3 555BE @ 4GHz below 1.4V .. but that may not be the case with each and every 555BE C3

so unless required.. 3.8GHz with Vcore below 1.4V shall be decent enough OC for 24x7 imo.

 

[buddingwhizkid]

Re: Help me overclock Phenom II X4 B55

^ thanx all even i want to overclock my b55 ! but first thing first , can i do it with the stock cooler or should i get a new 1

my temps on idle are around 38-40C !

also i have gigabyte 460W superb and im running a 5770 hawk , will this psu give enough juice for overclocking ?

 

[Spectre]

Re: Help me overclock Phenom II X4 B55

Some awesome inputs. Thanks a lot guys

madnav - as usual, brilliant explanation

@ madnav

I am looking at 3.8 to 4Ghz range with quad core. I dont know if thats ambitious or not. I will settle for whichever comes best on my setup

As a first steps, kept FSB to 200Mhz and RAM speeds default

Set CPU multi to 20X ie 4000 Mhz and kept increasing vcore

prime ran steady for 30mins with voltage @ 1.488 ( any voltage below that value kept crashing on desktop mode)

Note: ignore the core temp values, they are incorrect



some questions here

1. What is the max voltage i can push it safety zone. I am not sure if 1.488 is enough, though prime ran for 30 minutes

2. Why CPUz reports as AM2+, when my board and proccy are AM3

3. are the temps ok

Will continue doing other steps as I get time (this weekend)

Thanks once again, others, please barge in

 

[madnav]

Re: Help me overclock Phenom II X4 B55

^ thanx all even i want to overclock my b55 ! but first thing first , can i do it with the stock cooler or should i get a new 1

my temps on idle are around 38-40C !

also i have gigabyte 460W superb and im running a 5770 hawk , will this psu give enough juice for overclocking ?

the unlocked B55 is already running at 125W TDP. i wouldn't want to OC with that psu. i guess is it already running on the edge with 5770 and B55. that is just my opinion, you shall wait for psu experts to comment on that part.

also, see if you dont cross 60c on the stock heatsink the heatsink is very tiny for new chips .

 

[Spectre]

Re: Help me overclock Phenom II X4 B55

Guys,
finally managed to get things rolling. This is what i did, first disabled Autorestart on Windows
Reset BIOS and then

Iteration 1:

Set to Biostar T-power V6 overclocking || X2 mode - Callisto, ACC disabled by default
Multi : x16
FSB: 220 || Core speed: 3520 Mhz
NB FSB: 2200 Mhz
DRAM speed: 733 Mhz (x2)
CPU Vcore : 1.376 V || NB Vcore: 1.200 V
Prime stable for 11 hours
Core Temps: Idle: 27C || Load: 39C

Iteration 2:

Set to Biostar T-power V8 overclocking || X2 mode - Callisto, ACC disabled by default
Multi : x16
FSB: 230 || Core speed: 3680 Mhz
NB FSB: 2200 Mhz
DRAM speed: 767 Mhz (x2)
CPU Vcore : 1.376 V || NB Vcore: 1.200 V
Prime stable for 12 hours
Core Temps: Idle: 29C || Load: 41C

Iteration 3:

Set Overclocking on Manual mode, ACC set to All cores -2%, X4 deneb mode
Multi : x16
FSB: 200 || Core speed: 3200 Mhz
NB FSB: 2000 Mhz || HT Linkspeed : 1600
DRAM speed: 667 Mhz (x2)
CPU Vcore : 1.376 V || NB Vcore: 1.200 V
Prime stable for 9 hours
CPU Temps: Idle: 34C || Load: 44C (these are not core temps, core temps must be around 5-6c lower than these values)

Iteration 4:

Set Overclocking on Manual mode, ACC set to All cores -2%, X4 deneb mode
Multi : x18
FSB: 200 || Core speed: 3600 Mhz
NB FSB: 2200 Mhz || HT Linkspeed : 1600
DRAM speed: 667 Mhz (x2)
CPU Vcore : 1.376 V || NB Vcore: 1.200 V
Prime stable for 10 hours now
CPU Temps: Idle: 35C || Load: 46C (these are not core temps, core temps must be around 5-6c lower than these values)

I am happy that I could reach 3.6 Ghz X4 on stock volts
Now, I am looking to lock the multiplier at this value and start pushing FSB, since my RAM is overclocking well, as seen in Iterations 1 and 2

Any pointers

 

[madnav]

Re: Help me overclock Phenom II X4 B55

great :hap2:

so is guess nb voltage was making the things difficult.

you can set ACC to auto instead on -2% on all cores and then bump the HT multiplier back to 10x (2000GHz mode) from AMD Overdrive. do not do that from bios, it wont boot i suppose.

although your board was issue a bios for that fix.. shall post it if/when i find it saar

 

[Spectre]

Re: Help me overclock Phenom II X4 B55

@ madnav
If you see, i never bumped the voltages in all 4 iterations. So NB voltage was also on stock
I think, its the NB speed which MAY have made the difference

Whats the difference between ACC on 'Auto mode' and 'Allcores -2%'
Does HT multiplier provide notable performance difference, in clocking them upwards

As we discussed on IM, i am still not sure, which is the right CPU temps in unlock mode
I dont think its the Aux value, as you say, for the simple reason being, it doesnt fluctuate during idle to load transitions
It stays @ 52-53, no matter what clocks you run or what load is applied

As someone said on OCN, it may be the integration graphics temps, which i can confirm, once i disable and check it

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

Iteration 5:

Set Overclocking on Manual mode, ACC set to All cores -2%, X4 deneb mode

Multi : x18

FSB: 210 || Core speed: 3780 Mhz

NB FSB: 2310 Mhz || HT Linkspeed : 1680

DRAM speed: 700 Mhz (x2)

CPU Vcore : 1.392 V || NB Vcore: 1.220 V

Prime stable for 10 hours

 

[Spectre]

Re: Help me overclock Phenom II X4 B55

Iteration 6:

Set Overclocking on Manual mode, ACC set to All cores -2%, X4 deneb mode
Multi : x18
FSB: 215 || Core speed: 3870 Mhz
NB FSB: 2365 Mhz || HT Linkspeed : 1720
DRAM speed: 717 Mhz (x2)
CPU Vcore : 1.440 V || NB Vcore: 1.260 V
Prime stable for 4 hours

any voltage lower than this value and i get BSOD

 

[comp@ddict]

Re: Help me overclock Phenom II X4 B55

RESET!!!

Okay, here's a run-down.

Phenom II X4 chips have a WALL of somekind that they hit at 3799.5MHz or 3.8GHz uptill which they OVERCLOCK brilliantly w/o VCore increase in 99% cases and just by increasing MULTIPLIER, nothing else. And since VCore is not altered, Power Consumption is not increased by more than 10-15W tops...

Hence, I recommend, go to BIOS, set DEFAULT VCore, Multi to x19 and try stability tests.

 

[madnav]

Re: Help me overclock Phenom II X4 B55

Iteration 6:

Set Overclocking on Manual mode, ACC set to All cores -2%, X4 deneb mode

Multi : x18

FSB: 215 || Core speed: 3870 Mhz

NB FSB: 2365 Mhz || HT Linkspeed : 1720

DRAM speed: 717 Mhz (x2)

CPU Vcore : 1.440 V || NB Vcore: 1.260 V

Prime stable for 4 hours

any voltage lower than this value and i get BSOD

goinng great.

check official superpie board page 25.

im hitting similar walls on C2.. higher OC is possible on particular core via AMD Overdrive and not on all the core..all cores may not OC to the same limits.

strange that Aux is not changing for you.

in my case it stays almost constant if in X2 more for cpu.

when i unlock the CPU temp is what is denoted by Aux on my board. that coincides with tempIn0 before and after on hwmonitor.

and everest does not show any cpu temp sensor once i unlock.. only core temps which anyways dont work.

 

[dovakhiin]

Really nice work Spectre:hap2:.It's nice that you logged the different iterations of your OCing.
It'll be really cool if you posted some benchmark results after you're done.I'd like to see how of a performance boost this translates to.