R3 1200 Overclocking

[videogamesmakemehappy]

what would be an appropriate OC for the R3 1200 with the stock cooler?

[TrigrH]

3.8 - 3.9 ghz is usually easily attainable on ryzen 3 even with the stock cooler.

[JaegerB]

The stock cooler is good for medium overclocks, but after around 3.6 or 3.7 you might start to see a voltage wall and it'll start generating loads of heat, which the stock cooler might have trouble keeping up with.

[johndms]

55 minutes ago, videogamesmakemehappy said:

what would be an appropriate OC for the R3 1200 with the stock cooler?

It may vary depending on your board and ambient temperatures. But I agree with the previous posts, between 3.6 and 3.9 will probably be your limit with frequency. Your concern will be voltage. Higher voltage equals more heat. I generally recommend staying below 80c during a stress test.

 

What you can do is apply a weak overclock, like 3.2GHz, but raise the CPU Core Voltage to 1.350v and run an Aida64 System Stability Test stressing CPU/FPU/Cache for at least 10 minutes. Do this with HWMonitor open and keep an eye on the Package Temperature. I know Aida64 shows temperatures, but HWMonitor shows so much more information, it's good practice to have it open while stress testing. If you're Package Temperature stays significantly below 80c, raise the core voltage to 1.375v and try again. I'd not go higher than 1.40v. Once you locate the highest vcore you can use without breaking 80c, then start increasing your CPU Frequency in increments, 3.6, 3.7, etc., until Aida64 reports a hardware failure, then use the previously successful frequency. That's how you find your frequency and voltage limit. Once you've found your ideal frequency and voltage, stress the CPU/FPU/Cache for at least 6 hours to verify stability. This is the method I use.

 

TL;DR: Probably around 3.8GHz, and around 1.35v (what I achieved on my Ryzen 5 1600 on stock cooler)