Stuck with FX-8320, OC and cooling suggestions please

[Tomasu]

Hi,

I'm stuck with my older FX-8320 for a while, can't afford a real upgrade since it'd mean a full platform switch and a bunch of new parts. Due to my work and some occasional streaming and games I'd like to squeeze every last bit i can out of this system without risking killing the cpu or motherboard (an Asus 970 Pro gaming Aura, /I think/ I have an older 990 based board but I recall its audio being dead and other potential issues).

 

So far I have it OC'd up to 4.4Ghz on Air with a Noctua nh-d15s, with the motherboard reporting ~55c for the cpu, and the cpu itself reporting 45~. Full load it'll spike up to 65-70c or so. It's been rock solid. I have been able to get it "stable" up to 4.6-4.8Ghz, but the motherboard appears to be throttling once it's temp sensor hits 75c while the cpu's own sensor would only be at 65-70c.

 

Any tips and/or suggestions would be awesome. Yes, I know 4.4 is actually "ok" and that the "best" thing to do is just upgrade. but i can't any time soon. So I'd like to get as much out of this old workhorse as I can get.

 

I was thinking about a 240 aio, but so far it seems the Noctua D15S is as good or better than most affordable 240 aios. The noise level from all the fans at full load is a bit gnarly though. No OC this system is whisper quiet even at load. And I'd like to reduce noise if I can.

 

Components:

Motherboard: Asus 970 Pro Gaming Aura

CPU: AMD FX-8320 @ 4.4Ghz 

HSF: Noctua NH-D15S (dual fan)

GPU: MSI R390 Gaming Something

Case: Corsair 550d

PSU: Seasonic X-850 (SS-850KM)

Storage: 4x various ssds + 1x 2-3TB hdd

 

Fans:

Top: 2x 140mm Phantex of some kind, intake

Rear: 1x 140mm NF-A14-FLX, intake

Bottom: 1x 140mm phantex of some kind, exhaust

Front: 2x Noctua NF-F12-PWM, exhaust

 

BIOS Settings:

 

CPU:

CnQ: Disabled by cpu

C1E: disabled

SVM: Enabled

C6: Disabled

HPC: Disabled

APM: Disabled

 

Mem:

Bank Interleave: Auto

Channel Interleave: Auto

Warm Boot Ram: Enabled

Mem Clear: Disabled

ECC: Disabled

Power Down Enable: Disabled

Mem Hole Remaping: Enabled

DCT Unganged Mode: Enabled

 

Freqs & Voltages:

Ai Overclock Tuner: Manual

CPU Ratio: 22

Turbo Core: Disabled

CPU Bus Freq: 200

PCIE Freq: 100

Memory Freq: DDR3-1866

CPU/NB Freq: 2400Mhz

HT Link Speed: 2400Mhz

CPU Spread Spectrum: disabled

PCIE Spread Spectrum: disabled

EPU Power Saving: Disabled

CPU Voltage: set=1.5 displayed=1.452

CPU/NB Voltage: set=1.25 displayed=1.25

CPU VDDA Voltage: set=2.5 displayed=2.516

DRAM Voltage: set=1.5 disp=1.51

NB Voltage: set=1.1 disp=1.11

NB HT Voltage: set=1.2 disp=1.214

NB 1.8v: set=1.80180 disp=1.801

 

DRAM Settings:

Timing: (All set to auto)

CAS#: 10/10

RAS# to CAS# Delay: 11/11

RAS# Pre: 10/10

RAS#ACT: 30/30

READ to Pre: 7/7

RAS# to RAS# Delay:  5/5

Write to Read Delay: 7/7

CAS# write latency: 8/8

Write recovery time: 14/14

Ref cycle time: 300ns

Row cycle time:  42/42

Read to Write Delay: 8/8

Write to Read Delay(dd): 3/3

Write to Write Timing: 4/4

Read to Read Timing: 4/4

Refresh Rate: 7.8ms

Command Rate: 2T

DCT0/DCT1:

CKE: 1.5x

CS/ODT: 1.5x

ADDR/CMD: 2x

MEMCLK: 1.5x

Data: 1.5x

DDS: 1.25x

Processor ODT: 60ohms +- 20%

 

Power:

CPU Load Line: Regular

CPU/NB Load Line: Regular

CPU Current Cap: 130%

CPU/NB Current Cap: 110%

CPU Power Phase control: Extreme

CPU Voltage Freq: Auto

CPU Power Duty Control: Extreme

CPU Power Response Control: Ultra Fast

CPU/NB Power Resp Control: Ultra Fast

CPU Power Thermal Control: 151

 

Bios Monitoring page:

CPU Temp: 52c

MB Temp: 39c

Vcore Voltage: 1.452v

3.3v: 3.312v

5v: 5.014v

12v: 11.943v

VDDA2.5v: 2.520v

CPU Fan speed: 351rpm

Opt: 530rpm

Cha1: 967rpm

Cha2: 1110rpm

Cha3: 1090rpm

Pump: 505rpm

 

QFan:

CPU Control: PWM Mode

Low limit: 300rpm

Upper Temp: 75

Lower Temp: 55

Max %: 98

Min %: 20

Chassis Control: Enabled

Low limit: 300rpm

Upper temp: 75c

Lower Temp: 40c

Max %: 98

Min %: 60

Water Pump Control: PWM

Fan low limit: 300rpm

Upper temp: 75c

Lower temp 60c

Max %: 98

Min %: 20

[SpaceGhostC2C]

My first recommendation to reduce heat and noise would be to ditch auto CPU voltage. I'm confident you can reach 4.4GHz on much lower vcore, unless extremely unlucky with your chip.

You can also try alternative combinations in the Power settings section. : "Extreme" CPU power phase control will help OC stability but also increase heat, same with LLC, CPU/NB power, etc. You may want to try different combinations for stability and temperatures.

I don't think you can gain much from a 240mm AIO compared to the D15, since the fans will also ramp up at those temperatures - avoid going above 65-70 on the motherboard's CPU temp, or 60 in the CPU's own "package" sensor.

 

For reference, I overclocked an 8320E to 4.4GHz, undervolted a 9370 stock, and downclocked a 9590 to 4.4GHz  In all cases, vcore was between 1.35 and 1.38xx  volts, depending on the motherboard, chip, and settings. When overclocking the CPU and also the memory (even if it's just using the XMP or D.O.C.P., provided it is high enough), you may experience instability that may be fixed with a little bit more CPU/NB voltage, rather than a larger vcore increase, so take that into account as well (or experiment with CPU OC only first, with RAM at 1333 or 1600, and then proceed to increase RAM speed, adjusting CPU/NB voltage if your OC cease to be stable when doing so).

 

Let me know if you want to check a particular setting (I currently have a 970 ASRock -no LLC- and a 990 Asus at hand to look at, as long as I don't need to get into BIOS to check ).

[Tomasu]

I am on manual CPU voltage. Any lower and it will/can cause issues in prime95 balanced. I can get to 4.4 on lower voltages, but after 20-30min of prime95 1 or more threads will either stop or report warnings. I would like to try and get even more than 4.4 if possible. even if it means I have to live with the noise. I mentioned above, but I got higher than 4.4 on 1.5v but I think it was throttling within 10min or so. I wish I wrote down all of my attempts. *sigh*

 

I've messed with the power options a bit. Tried with higher values for load line which actually can lead to too high a voltage, and higher values for current capabilities but it didn't really help much with the combination of settings I was trying at the time.

 

Going with an AIO would actually reduce the number of fans in my system by 2. So its possible it would make it quieter. So far though the reading I've been doing shows that the D15 gets as good or better thermal+noise performance than many 240 aios.