AMD FX 8350 Overclock - 4.4Ghz

[Otacons]

Hello everyone.

I'd like to overclock my FX 8350 up to 4.4 Ghz, keep in mind I haven't done any overclocking before.

This is my configuration:

 

AMD FX 8350 4.0 Ghz with Cooler Master TX3 EVO

Asus GTX 760 Direct CU II - 2GB

8 GB RAM 1333 Mhz Kingston

Gigabyte GA 970-UD3P (8+2)

Corsair Gaming Series 2013 GS 800w 80+ Bronze

Win 7 pro 64 bit

 

I have tried to overclock to 4.2 Ghz and it seemed to work, also stable on prime95 but I noticed that when I power on my PC, the fans will start as normal for around 3 seconds, before shutting down. This happens twice, before it will start booting up normally. So I switched everything back up to default settings. I also noticed that my ram run at  default settings "1600-Auto" even if their frequency is 1333mhz, is that normal?

 

I would need all settings, vcore, voltages, ram timing if needed etc.

Please explain me how to do this like you're talking to a 5 years old child!

 

Thank you very much for your help

[flibberdipper]

What cooler do you have?

[Otacons]

Sorry I forgot to say it. Cooler Master TX3 EVO

[Ashley]

Overclocking can be pretty simple. Step up the clock, if that doesn't work, step up volts until it boots, test it with OCCT or AIDA64 (Prime95 isn't really recommended these days) and repeat.

 

 

Side note: If you were on 1155/Intel you'd also want to disable LLC and some of the stupid auto-voltage things that make OCs fail.

[flibberdipper]

I see that you're using the 970 chipset, which kinda sucks at overclocking. The 990FX boards are MUCH better overclockers.

[Otacons]

I know there is no need to get 990fx board if you don't crossfire.

Also my board is 8+2 power phase which should be perfect to overclock 8 cores.

 

Anyway it worked with 4.2 the only thing that bothered me was what I decribed in the first post, like if the bios reset itself and changed settings to boot.

[Otacons]

Anyone who can post me the whole process?

[StormtrooperStu]

It is not uncommon for the power to do that. I had an 8350 on the Gigabyte UD3 990fx board and it did it as well.

 

Just because a board has 8+2 it doesn't mean it will be great for overclocking but your board could be good. Keep an eye on any voltage drops.

 

The Gigabyte also has a bad VRM overheating issue that causes the board to throttle when folding or stress testing and Gigabyte deny it's an issue but my suppliers looked into it and agreed for me to return the board for a full refund.

 

I now have a Sabertooth and it is super rock solid, runs all day at a modest 4.5Ghz on 1.35v and I have only had the board a day so not really had tome to play just yet.

[TymmVonD]

I personally keep voltages on auto, and llc 75% on cpu, and 50% on cpu/nb. Disable CoolNQuiet, C1E, C6, AMP. Start upping the multiplier .5 at a time until you hit thermal limits/or crashes(fails) in stress test. Watch voltage while under max load. If it crashes test, then up cpu vcore .0125V. When you are stable in stress and temps are bordering the limits, the go back to BIOS and drop voltage(cpu vcore) one step below what was observed. For example- If at 4.4GHz it reports 1.36V at full load. Then set at 1.36V, sometimes it'll drop it lower in the step if you type in an exact value. You want to try and get stable with lower vcore, so you want to drop .0125V at a time then test. For 8350 socket temp limits(70*C), core temp(62*C). Don't exceed 1.55V on vcore, but I personally don't like anything over 1.45V
for daily usage.

[Otacons]

Okay, but it should hold 4.4 Ghz. I am not going anything further.

So I am trying 4.1 with auto voltages and now it booted up normally without the double boot thing.

In many forums people say it's easy to get 4.4 with x22 multiplier without changing anything else.

I'll try to increase the ratio, if it double boots I'll try to increase by a little % the vcore

 

My VCore is 1.33750-Auto. Is that okay to run over 4.0 Ghz? or should I change it manually?

[StormtrooperStu]

Okay, but it should hold 4.4 Ghz. I am not going anything further.

So I am trying 4.1 with auto voltages and now it booted up normally without the double boot thing.

In many forums people say it's easy to get 4.4 with x22 multiplier without changing anything else.

I'll try to increase the ratio, if it double boots I'll try to increase by a little % the vcore

 

My VCore is 1.33750-Auto. Is that okay to run over 4.0 Ghz? or should I change it manually?

 

VCore at 1.35v set manually should be good for 4.5Ghz.

Watch for voltage drop with HWMonitor.

[TymmVonD]

Okay, but it should hold 4.4 Ghz. I am not going anything further.

So I am trying 4.1 with auto voltages and now it booted up normally without the double boot thing.

In many forums people say it's easy to get 4.4 with x22 multiplier without changing anything else.

I'll try to increase the ratio, if it double boots I'll try to increase by a little % the vcore

 

My VCore is 1.33750-Auto. Is that okay to run over 4.0 Ghz? or should I change it manually?

That's fairly low, but if stable that's a great chip. I got mine to hit 4.4 @ 1.34V, but I like to keep my power saving on so it drops at idle. On auto mine is 1.38 at stock 4GHz. Another thing to try out would be FSB(bus) overclocking. It increases single thread performance. Keep CPU/NB around 2200(2400-2500 is great) and HT link around 2600. Watch your RAM speeds and timings though..

[Otacons]

Vdrop? Ram timings? damn lol What are those and how can I check ?

[TymmVonD]

Vdrop? Ram timings? damn lol What are those and how can I check ?

Vdroop or Voltage drop is how much the voltage drops from what is set to what it is at load. Setting 1.38v in BIOS actually drops to 1.36v with my motherboard/chip at load according to OpenHardwareMonitor.

 

Ram timings basically refer to the 4 numbers on your RAM or on manufacturers website. For ex- Corsair Vengeance 1866mHz  that I use has timings of 9-10-9-27 at 1.5V. Also referred in BIOS as DRAM timing

[TymmVonD]

Here's a decent guide. It's not a one fits all, but will give you some ideas of what settings to start out at before fine tuning.  http://www.overclock.net/t/1348623/amd-bulldozer-and-piledriver-overclocking-guide-asus-motherboard#

[Otacons]

At 4.0 Ghz stock speed--> Vcore min: 1.212V

                                          Vcore max: 1.356V

[Jumper118]

Vdrop? Ram timings? damn lol What are those and how can I check ?

Vdroop only occurs properly at higher voltage and overclocks so you shouldn't need to worry about it for now. You should always set the voltage manually to make sure it is fully stable and that your not using more voltage than you need.

[Otacons]

When OCing, I noticed that when I power on my PC, the fans will start as normal for around 3 seconds, before shutting down. This happens twice, before it will start booting up normally. Is that "normal" for oced board?

[StormtrooperStu]

It's not the norm but it not uncommon. It happened to me with my last two Corsair power supplies but has stopped since I moved to the Asus boars.

[harrynowl]

I see that you're using the 970 chipset, which kinda sucks at overclocking. The 990FX boards are MUCH better overclockers.

Well that's more because the 990FX boards are higher end, not because the chipset is better for overclocking.

 

Disable Cool'n'quiet, C1E, SVM (unless you use VMs), APM.

 

Set LLC to medium (50% on your board?).

 

Now try 1600 9-9-9-24

 

Now try multi at 22. And use 1.375V static (This should get you to 4.4 fine, it gets me past 4.4 on a lower binned 8320).

 

Then AIDA64 it for 6 hours.

[Otacons]

Ok I will try when I get back home.

I checked my current ram timings: 11-11-11-28 at 1600mhz

I don't understand why they don't run at 1333mhz by default which is their fabric frequency

[harrynowl]

Ok I will try when I get back home.

I checked my current ram timings: 11-11-11-28 at 1600mhz

I don't understand why they don't run at 1333mhz by default which is their fabric frequency

My board likes to do 1600 11-11-11-28 when running "auto" . Just because it means most RAM kits will run so people can POST when they build their rig:P

[Priller]

It is not uncommon for the power to do that. I had an 8350 on the Gigabyte UD3 990fx board and it did it as well.

 

Just because a board has 8+2 it doesn't mean it will be great for overclocking but your board could be good. Keep an eye on any voltage drops.

 

The Gigabyte also has a bad VRM overheating issue that causes the board to throttle when folding or stress testing and Gigabyte deny it's an issue but my suppliers looked into it and agreed for me to return the board for a full refund.

 

I now have a Sabertooth and it is super rock solid, runs all day at a modest 4.5Ghz on 1.35v and I have only had the board a day so not really had tome to play just yet.

 

You had the rev 3.0 board IIRC correctly. The Rev 4.0 board has a completely redesigned power deliver system and better heatsink to address the VRM issues that have been present since rev 1.1.

 

Ok I will try when I get back home.

I checked my current ram timings: 11-11-11-28 at 1600mhz

I don't understand why they don't run at 1333mhz by default which is their fabric frequency

 

Take it off of Auto for ram and manually set it to 1333 with the correct timings. Running higher speeds with looser timings is always a crap shoot and it can cause issues especially if you are trying to run at stock voltage.

 

Also change your FSB to 200 or manually enter in a fixed number so it isnt set to auto. This will prevent the ram from going over it's rated speed.

[StormtrooperStu]

You had the rev 3.0 board IIRC correctly. The Rev 4.0 board has a completely redesigned power deliver system and better heatsink to address the VRM issues that have been present since rev 1.1.

 

I did. If I had the Rev 4 I would have kept it but to be honest I am so impressed with the Sabertooth I'm glad it worked out the way it has.

[Otacons]

You had the rev 3.0 board IIRC correctly. The Rev 4.0 board has a completely redesigned power deliver system and better heatsink to address the VRM issues that have been present since rev 1.1.

 

 

Take it off of Auto for ram and manually set it to 1333 with the correct timings. Running higher speeds with looser timings is always a crap shoot and it can cause issues especially if you are trying to run at stock voltage.

 

Also change your FSB to 200 or manually enter in a fixed number so it isnt set to auto. This will prevent the ram from going over it's rated speed.

 

Hello!

I did everything you said. Set timings to 9-9-9-24 and 1333 mhz instead of 11-11-11-28 1600mhz.

Turbo core off, cool n quiet off, apm off, c1 off.

C6 is set to ON tough.

I changed the multiplier and got to 4.2 Ghz.

 

When the pc booted up I didn't notice that double "fake booting" so it must have worked!

I'll do some test with prime 95 and increase to x22 4.4ghz  and see if that cause problems.