Troubleshooting CPU Issues (FX-8370)

[JustinBetch]

AMD FX-8370 (Previously clocked at 4.53GHz@1.502v)

MSI FXA GAMING

16GB HyperX Fury (4x4)

MSI R9 390x

Kingston 240GB SSD

PNY 240GB SSD

Seagate 1TB HDD

 

Hello, first time poster.

A few days ago, after being stably overclocked for a couple months I received a blue screen. Since then I have noticed abysmal performance compared to what it was previously. I opened CPU-Z only to find that despite my overclock settings being recognized in the bios it reads 1.4GHz with a multiplier of x7 @ 0.976V, Hardware Monitor tells a similar story with 1.4GHz across all 8 cores. I reverted to stock settings (4GHz, all voltages set to auto) and still despite the settings I entered in the bios it paints the same picture at 1.4. The issue even persists after a CMOS reset so I'm a bit stumped. Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Aaronius_Leonius]

Try a BIOS update. Also, did you stress test after your overclock?

[JustinBetch]

3 minutes ago, AA-RonRosen said:

Try a BIOS update. Also, did you stress test after your overclock?

I have bios version 1.4, the newest version released for my chipset. Used prime95 overnight and it ran stable, then continued stable for the next two months

[Aaronius_Leonius]

Just now, JustinBetch said:

I have bios version 1.4, the newest version released for my chipset. Used prime95 overnight and it ran stable, then continued stable for the next two months

Prime95 probably killed your CPU. It tends to heat the CPU up much higher than it should be. If you have another system that you can put your cpu in, make sure it's okay. Check to make sure your CPU multiplier is at 40 in your bios and your base voltage is at 1v. You might also be thermal throttling. Get the Aida64 free trial, use the system stability test tool but instead of running it, use it to see if it's throttling.

[JustinBetch]

1 hour ago, AA-RonRosen said:

Prime95 probably killed your CPU. It tends to heat the CPU up much higher than it should be. If you have another system that you can put your cpu in, make sure it's okay. Check to make sure your CPU multiplier is at 40 in your bios and your base voltage is at 1v. You might also be thermal throttling. Get the Aida64 free trial, use the system stability test tool but instead of running it, use it to see if it's throttling.

Unfortunately this is my only AM3+ socket board. Aida64 shows a constant 34-35% cpu utilization, a fixed 1.4GHz. Excuse me if I'm wrong but if my CPU was killed I don't think I'd be able to type this reply, killed as in damaged?

[JustinBetch]

2 hours ago, AA-RonRosen said:

Prime95 probably killed your CPU. It tends to heat the CPU up much higher than it should be. If you have another system that you can put your cpu in, make sure it's okay. Check to make sure your CPU multiplier is at 40 in your bios and your base voltage is at 1v. You might also be thermal throttling. Get the Aida64 free trial, use the system stability test tool but instead of running it, use it to see if it's throttling.

here is the aida64 results

[-rascal-]

1.4 GHz sounds like it's thermal throttling -- particularly the VRM's.

Also, 1.5V+ for a ~4.5 GHz overclock is VERY high.

 

Are you able to take a screenshot of your BIOS settings?

I don't know the naming conventions MSi uses, but check  the following:

• Cool N' Quiet
• HPC (High Performance Computing)
• APM (Application Power Management)

Try running HWMonitor while you stress test again, and include a screenshot.

You should get readings like these in the "Temperature" tab.

I know with ASUS motherboards, the readings will actually say "CPU", "NB", "Mainboard", etc.

MSi and Gigabyte boards may show "TMPIN0", "TMPIN1", etc.

Spoiler

 

[Spudbilly]

Sorry mate, but 1.5v on vcore is waaaayyyyy too high for the AMD FX chips. I can guarantee you based on personal experience that you did not need that much vcore to keep it stable at 4.5ghz. If it still was not stable with lower voltages then it was likely due to memory causing instability. With the FX chips...it is better to OC with just to memory dimms. 4 dimms on the fx chips is not ideal.

 

If you were running your chip at 1.5vcore for a while then you might have actually fried your cpu.

 

Also, do you have c-states enabled in your bios, or other power saving features?

 

 

[Aaronius_Leonius]

It sounds like Prime95 killed your CPU. If it is still under warranty, Get a replacement because AMD will probably replace it if you overclock. Also, don't put that much voltage on your CPU. I'm surprised it was stable for as long as it was. I wouldn't expect a stable overclock from that. Especially under Prime95's load on the CPU.

[JustinBetch]

Okay so after further fiddling I managed to bring the clock back up, the stock voltages were not stable for whatever reason so I switched them off auto and manually entered safer voltages. No my chip is not fried, I've still had a booting function computer I'm not sure what's led everyone to believe that. And for the record I have seen plenty of these chips hold fine at 1.5 with adequate cooling (which I have). Not everyone's chip is the same and in MY case mine has proved not to be a very good overclocker (the 4.53 being the absolute max I was able to achieve with my current setup). However I will be redoing my overclock and I have learned from this experience