Phenom II 955 overclock

[Oswald]

I was having temp issues with my 955 running at 3.6Ghz. It was doing 64degrees when gaming, and I believe AMD says it's better to keep it under 62 max... So I got a new case (coolermaster HAF X) and during gaming the temp has gone to 49degrees. So I went ahead and overclocked it to 3.7Ghz and ran Prime95 for 10 minutes. It got up to 56 degrees which is still pretty good I think.

I only changed the multiplier, no voltage change. I don't want to change the voltage anyway.

I want to try 3.8Ghz now. How long would I need to test it with Prime95 to be sure it won't crash during gaming? The thing is that I don't want to stare at that Prime95 test for hours. Can I just let it run like that? What happens if the temp gets too high while I'm away from my computer? Will it shut down my pc automatically? Or close Prime95?

[deejayburnout]

I have a 965 overclocked to 3.8 and I kept it at stock voltage. Only increased the multiplier.

Mine idles as around 27 deg and under prime hits around 47 deg. That being said I have a Hyper 212 Evo CPU cooler with push pull config on it.

Using that as a benchmark,

What type of CPU cooler do you have? If using the stock one, that is why your temps are so high.

When using prime, I ran it on mine for 20 mins and was stable. You will never ever in real use load your CPU up that high. I found that as long as it runs stable in normal use then you should be fine.

I am sure that if your CPU goes to high, it will throttle back to save itself from frying.

[Domestic_Ginger]

What cooler are you using?

Everyone has their own opinion on how long to stress test for.

I would let it stabilise before leaving it. Check fan speed vs temps. if fan is not going up and temps are then you'll be in trouble.

When gaming your GPU is producing heat too, especially if it doesn't vent.

You can OC the northbridge too for some gains. Google "unleash the dragon AMD overclocking guide" for more detail. Try using the mobo OC software to OC until you are sure its safe if you can. AMD overdrive is pants (when I tried it) and using the bios means you may have to reset it.

[Oswald]

I have a Scythe Ninja 2 rev b.
Intake front: 220mm
Intake side: 200mm
Exhaust top: 200mm
Exhaust rear: 140mm
No fan on cpu yet, but I do have some 120mm Scythe fans lying around I can try out. Should knock a few degrees off the temp :-)

[deejayburnout]

i can imagine your case has good air flow, if all your fans are connected and running.

I presume your case has one of these as its CPU cooler



get one of these and your temps will drop

[Domestic_Ginger]

I have a Scythe Ninja 2 rev b.
No fan on cpu yet, but I do have some 120mm Scythe fans lying around I can try out. Should knock a few degrees off the temp :-)

Very impressive . The fan will make a big difference.

[Oswald]

I have 2 Scythe Slip Stream fans that can run up to 1.000rpm. I was thinking of using one or both of those on the Ninja.
I tried that in my previous case, but it didn't make a lot of difference because it only had a 120mm exhaust fan.
But with all the airflow in my new case, a push/pull config should make a huge difference.
I'll do some testing this weekend.

I'm really happy with the HAF X case. Airflow is massive compared to the Antec Sonata I had before. The Sonata was great as a home office case since it's really quiet and has a stealth look. But for gaming I needed a case with decent airflow. Too bad the HAF X is a bit noisy. Will have to add a fan controller soon.

[deejayburnout]

i just re-read your post. and i am a dumbass. Got myself a bit mixed up there.

Moving on

Yes, use both fans on the Ninja, the drop will be good. are you using good cpu grease?

What is the temp of your cpu when on idle?

[Oswald]

Just using some el cheapo non brand paste I had left over.
Next time I buy stuff online, I'll add some AS 5 to the shopping cart.

Can't remember idle temps. Finally received the power extension cable I needed yesterday. Have had the new case for 2 weeks, but couldn't fire up the pc because the psu cables where too short. But with work and my son being in hospital, I only had 20 minutes or so last night to do some quick testing.

[Oswald]

I replaced the noisy 140mm rear exhaust fan with a Scythe 120mm. And I added a 120mm Scythe fan on the cpu cooler, pushing air towards the rear exhaust fan.
I also installed the side fan air duct that came with the case.
Idle temp went from 32 to 29. Load temp went from 56 to 46 I didn't think it would make that much of a difference!

I also clocked it to 3.8Ghz which seems to work in games, but crashes in Prime95 after about a minute. Tried it twice and got a BSOD both times. So I set it to 3.7Ghz now, which seems to be stable :-)

Really happy with my setup now. I bought the case and the cpu secondhand. Finally got some decent performance now at a low price All I need now is a fan controller, because it's a bit too noisy for my taste.

[JimmyBoy]

A little increase in voltage should see you happy at 3.8 but remember that'll add to the heat slightly

If your looking to control the fans try downloading speedfan, it can be setup to run the fans at different speeds depending on component temperatures, it's a bit confusing at first but once configured it works well

[deejayburnout]

Yeah add a little voltage should help.

Going from your stock 3.2 to your 3.7 is a good 15% increase which is good for most chips on air cooling. I would be happy at that.
The push pull config is awesome and suprising effective.

[Oswald]

A little increase in voltage should see you happy at 3.8 but remember that'll add to the heat slightly

If your looking to control the fans try downloading speedfan, it can be setup to run the fans at different speeds depending on component temperatures, it's a bit confusing at first but once configured it works well

I already have Speedfan, but adjusting the fanspeed doesn't seem to do anything. Maybe my mobo isn't supported? It's an Asus M4A77TD PRO.

Yeah add a little voltage should help.

Going from your stock 3.2 to your 3.7 is a good 15% increase which is good for most chips on air cooling. I would be happy at that.
The push pull config is awesome and suprising effective.

I agree, a 15% increase is amazing on stock voltage :-) I'm not going to push my luck by increasing it further. In games going from 3.7 to 3.8 doesn't really affect performance anyway.
It's more of a semi push pull configuration since the rear exhaust is functioning as pull now. A true push pull should be even better. But I think it would put too much stress on the mobo because of the added weight of a second fan on the Ninja. The Ninja with 1 fan is already quite heavy now.

All in all, I'm a happy gamer now

[JimmyBoy]

Have a look on YouTube, there's a few tutorials on setting it up to work properly, it's a little confusing otherwise

[Oswald]

Have a look on YouTube, there's a few tutorials on setting it up to work properly, it's a little confusing otherwise

I'm happy with the way it's set up right now. Just installed the 12.11 AMD drivers too, so that's another nice (free) increase in performance