To OC or not to OC

[HellsMaster]

Hello all

 

I have been toying with the idea of over clocking my CPU, a AMD Phenom X4 2.6Ghz.

 

My case is that: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=nzxt+lexa+s

 

It has plenty of cooling me thinks, so do you suggest i over clock it? Do you have any guides to recommand?

 

- HM

[Nysba]

First things first, are you using the stock cooler? The one that came with the CPU. If you haven't changed it to something better, I really doubt you can get any good clocks without going overboard with the temperatures.

I don't know about AMD CPU's, so look around google and try to find the max temperatures your CPU can handle. Then check what temperatures you're getting now, with a stress-test program such as Prime95 or something similar.

And again, ask google what a good cooler would be, the NH-D14 comes to mind first, a massive top-of-the-line cooler.

CPU really depends very little on the case cooling afaik. Although if there's no airflow whatsoever, it'll hurt the temperatures. But yeah, that case looks fine.

 

And if you do decide to overclock, make sure to read guides and don't just go straight ahead and increase the clocks and voltage way too far

Edited May 16, 2011 by Nysba

[Illiad86]

The kill point on AMD CPUs is 70C methinks. I've never got one to get that hot though. You could overclock it a little bit with the stock cooler, at least up to 3.0GHz, but check the temperatures...I dunno how the stock coolers are on the Phenom IIs...I have one myself but I'm using a stock cooler from an original Phenom.

 

I can't give you any advice on aftermarket coolers though, I have this thing at 4.0GHz and it hovers right around 61C on full load. One thing I can say though, is make sure it fits very snug around the CPU and socket, especially if it's a big beefy one, otherwise they won't cool very well.

 

Also make sure your motherboard is decent, not a super cheap one. The cheap ones use lower quality parts and you could wind up popping a capacitor or screwing up the NB (like I did on a cheap MSI board) overclocking.

 

Yes, read up...believe me, you don't want to set the voltage too high :P

[DarkWarrior45]

The kill point on AMD CPUs is 70C methinks. I've never got one to get that hot though. You could overclock it a little bit with the stock cooler, at least up to 3.0GHz, but check the temperatures...I dunno how the stock coolers are on the Phenom IIs...I have one myself but I'm using a stock cooler from an original Phenom.

 

I can't give you any advice on aftermarket coolers though, I have this thing at 4.0GHz and it hovers right around 61C on full load. One thing I can say though, is make sure it fits very snug around the CPU and socket, especially if it's a big beefy one, otherwise they won't cool very well.

 

Also make sure your motherboard is decent, not a super cheap one. The cheap ones use lower quality parts and you could wind up popping a capacitor or screwing up the NB (like I did on a cheap MSI board) overclocking.

 

Yes, read up...believe me, you don't want to set the voltage too high :P

 

70C is a no questions asked kill for any desktop CPU. Only notebook and server CPUs are able to run at that temperature, and that's because they're designed to run at those temperatures. Desktops CPUs need to stay cooler.

 

For an AMD cpu, you really need to keep temperatures no more than 55C on a full load, and here's the reason why. 1) Stability, 2) You avoid frying your chip, 3) you preserve the longevity of the chip.

 

If you OC, you better have a good solid motherboard, and a high effeciency power supply with plenty of overhead. If you need 500 watts to power your system, go with a 800 watt. Power supplies age, and when they age they output less power (an effect known as capacitor aging, google it). Going overboard with the power supply will help achieve a better overclock. Use a good thermal grease, such as Arctic silver, and change it out about every six months to maintain an extreme overclock. If you don't want to change your grease out every six months, then go with Arctic cooling's MX-4 thermal grease, which is a ceramic based grease that won't fry your board when you put too much on.

 

Also, you MUST a good solid, aftermarket heatsink that has no less than six heat pipes. Any less than that, and you're running too hot.

 

With overclocking, patience is a virtue, and has big rewards. Take baby steps in your overclock, with plenty of stress testing.

[ecksile]

Voltages will kill your CPU long before any heat will. You'll most likely shut down before you really overheat badly but if your voltage is to high you can fry your chip before even seeing your bios screen. You can have the most bad ass air conditioned ice water liquid nitrogen cooler in the world with your computer sitting in the snow of Antarctica, but voltages are still gonna wreak havoc on your CPU and kill it faster if they are to high no matter how cool your temps are. Overclocking should be done very slowly and thoroughly and requires a few days of time which can be dedicated strictly to testing and stabilizing as You'll be in and out of your bios and windows all day long. You should try and run p95 for at least 24 hours on your final stability test. Its always good to try to set a goal for how much you want out of it.

 

Remember overclocking isn't strictly confined to your CPU, idk how AMD works, but to overclock most Intels you have to increase the FSB (front side bus) and doing so also increases your RAM frequency. Memory operating at ram speeds it cannot handle or under volted memory for its RAM speed will cause extreme instability. Most low grade and even some high and medium grade RAM won't overclock very well so make sure your system is built for overclocking before you attempt or your not gonna make it very far. Depending on what your goal is and how far you want to go your going to be adjusting your RAM to CPU ratio and reference frequency's and operating frequency's in order to get a stable ratio.

 

Power supply is another must, but has already been mentioned so I wont repeat it. Your best bet is to go look up your components and find out how well they perform for overclocking and then try to find some guides for overclocking with the components you have. You'll most likely want to find a Mobo guide first as that will play the biggest role in limiting you as that's the most difficult to replace. RAM can always be replaced/upgraded. You can have the best Power Supply in the world but if your Mobo, RAM and CPU are cheap or just bad for OC'ing its not gonna matter because your not gonna overclock very far. And just for the record your GPU or any other addin pci/agp/pcie card will play no role in your systems overclocking. Everything will revolve around your Mobo/CPU/RAM.

[HellsMaster]

Well... Sounds like my system is no way near ready for being over clocked yet. The Motherboard is old, the RAM is old and I doubt it will be enough to OC my CPU. My PSU can't barely handle all the fans and Graphics Card at once. Thank you for the great responses.

[audioave10]

I also agree that you received great responses here. I, along with my Technician buddy, have built over 20 gaming PC's. I have OC'd all of them but I never get too crazy about it. They are all still playing well and some of them are 7 years old. I keep selling them to friends...LOL.

[bben46]

Good advice here. The first thing though is to understand that you automatically void the warranty (not that it is much good anyway) on everything in your computer. When an OCd CPU fries, it can easily take out the mother board, and in turn a smoking MB can fry anything attached, including any Hard drives and USB devices attached. :wallbash:

 

I'm not saying don't do it, just be aware of what you are risking.

The last motherboard I fried actually had melted wires on one of the 5v lines from the power supply. :whistling: And my current sys is overclocked - but not radically. :biggrin:

[urbex]

A hyper 212+ provides great cooling performance and is only about thirty bucks. Even if you aren't overclocking it will increase the lifespan of your CPU. As long as you have a quality PSU it's wattage won't be an issue.

 

Good advice here. The first thing though is to understand that you automatically void the warranty (not that it is much good anyway) on everything in your computer. When an OCd CPU fries, it can easily take out the mother board, and in turn a smoking MB can fry anything attached, including any Hard drives and USB devices attached. :wallbash:

 

I'm not saying don't do it, just be aware of what you are risking.

The last motherboard I fried actually had melted wires on one of the 5v lines from the power supply. :whistling: And my current sys is overclocked - but not radically. :biggrin:

That's pretty much completely incorrect. Most overclockable CPUs endorse doing so and even if it did violate your warranty you'd have no trouble RMAing it. Also, if a CPU were to fry it could kill the motherboard, that's about it unless it caught fire.

Edited May 23, 2011 by urbex

[HellsMaster]

My CPU has a OCZ Cooler.

My motherboard is cheap, old and not OC friendly.

My PSU is 530w and it can barely power all of my components, had to sacrifice my DVD reader for extra voltage for my case cooling.

 

Overall: Unless I invest into a new computer (which i need to do but the money eludes me) meaning: New MB, New RAM, New CPU, New PSU, New Cooler, i will NOT be able to OC :facepalm: