dugdiamond
New member
Before we start, there are a few things you will need...
Some AM3 compatible motherboards vary significantly. Some have features that other do not.
Always make sure your have the newest BIOS updates and drivers installed. ALWAYS, get these from your manufacturers website and NOT just off the CD that came with your mobo. If you are unsure... CHECK THEM NOW.
Throughout this guide I will not assume anything. Many of you may have stock CPU-coolers and others may have aftermarket enthusiast's coolers. Some of you have never tried this before, and others have but "hit a brick-wall". Our goals are all the same... to get faster CPU speeds.
BEFORE CONTINUING, ENTER YOUR BIOS AND WRITE DOWN THE FOLLOWING: CPU VOLTAGE; THE MULTIPLIER; CPU FREQUENCY; NB/FSB FREQUENCY; NB VOLTAGE; FSB/MEMORY RATIO
If some of you have on-board instant overclocking abilities (OCgenie, LevelUp, etc), please use these first, as these will take you most of the way to the finish line. Once used, if your BIOS has the ability to save the OC-profile, enter BIOS and save it, and with your pen and paper, note the changes to the original settings that you wrote down earlier and underline them (or highlight them somehow).
Install both stability AND monitoring applications of your choice (or use the links i provided for the suggested free apps). Another excellent stability test is, to 'fold' for stanford university as part of our team (more info about his can be found on the OC3D forum: look for Redline@OC3D.NET, that's us)
IF you have the on-board OCing abilities run the stability test for atleast 30 minutes before proceeding, as the on-board stuff is not 100% reliable, especially if you are only using the stock heatsink and cooler from AMD. You may also skip certain parts of this tutorial, but I suggest you continue reading, in order to gain the full benefit of this tutorial.
The core speed, of your CPU, is comprised of the sum of the FSB/NB speed and the Multiplier. Increasing either of these will result in a faster overclock.
Just as an example, a good place to start is a FSB speed of 200MHz and a Multiplier of x14... this would give us a CPU speed 2.8GHz (200MHz * 14 = 2800MHz)
The non-Black Editions(BE), unfortunately, have a locked max Multiplier of x14 and this limits us to the extents of the overclock we can get. For example, to get close to 4GHz we would need to raise the FSB to ~285MHz (285 * 14 = 3990(3.99GHz)). Although, to get this we would also need to raise the CPU-volts a little and maybe the NB-voltage too. But, saying this, some mobos won't even like that FSB speed.
A BE chip would get to 4GHz alot easier, with a 200 * 20 OR a 250 * 16 approach
Raising voltages raises temperatures, and unless you have an efficient cooling solution, I do not recommend upping them too high. The T-series processors can handle voltages of upto 1.55v, but I advise you not to cross the 1.5V boundary if you want your chip to last long. Most overclockers have found they can get 4.5GHz from these with approx. 1.472v.
To find out some of the achievements that can be made with the T-series take a look here at the HWBOT website. This is the best clocks, 1090T/AIR-COOLED, that HWBOT members have managed to reach. Click on each indivdual scores to show an image of their posted 'validated' overclock, and how they achieved it (SPD;MULT;VOLTS).
Do not try to get a nice overclock in big leaps. Slow incremental steps, followed by a stability test, is the safe and sure method of success. After each successful stabilty test, save your new BIOS settings in a new OC-profile or write them down.
Modern motherboards have a built-in feature that will save you from frying your components. If your PC will not POST (go past the BIOS_startup) after several seconds, it will return to the last successful setting and warn you the your overclock attempt failed.
Sometimes, it may not even go back... it will just freeze. This will require you to CLEAR_CMOS, and if your mobo has not got the ability to save OC-profiles you will be glad of that pen and paper.
The 'trick' is to get your best stable overclock, be happy about it, and then... drop the OC down atleast two steps (yes, i said back down). This will ensure maximum lifetime for your processor.
Alot of overclockers here, and out there, get great overclock speeds of 4GHz+ on air cooling, but they soon knock it back down. I, for instance, have two OC-profiles: one for cool days (wintertime) and another for scorchio ones' (summertime).
Other things to consider...
The CPU-voltage and the NB(Northbridge)-voltage are two different things.
Although, the FSB and NB are considered the same thing, and your HT-link speed is always FSB * 10.
Whatever your NB voltage is at stock, only raise it two increments (unless it has full water cooling and the NB chip is under a WC plate).
You will also need awesome airflow through your case even if you are using a great air cooler (like the Noctua NH-D14).
A good scale to base voltages on, with the T-series is...
NOTE: the higher the overclock/voltages the better cooling solution is needed
What is LLC(load line calibration) and VDDA?
They both help stabilise the CPU voltage while the chip is under extreme stress. It stops the volts from fluctuating, which could cause crashes.
LLC also holds the same voltages running through the CPU, even when the the system is idle or at full load.
Tweaking these, and/or switching them on/off may help troubleshoot high overclocks.
if others think i need to add anything please PM me, instead of replying to this post - i do not want this thread to get untidy
- Your motherboard manual (for bus speeds, etc)
- A calculator
- Pen and paper
- Some sort of stability testing software (i suggest Prime95)
- Some system monitoring software, such as CPU-Z
- Some 'common sense'
* * * * *
Some AM3 compatible motherboards vary significantly. Some have features that other do not.
* * * * *
Always make sure your have the newest BIOS updates and drivers installed. ALWAYS, get these from your manufacturers website and NOT just off the CD that came with your mobo. If you are unsure... CHECK THEM NOW.
* * * * *
Throughout this guide I will not assume anything. Many of you may have stock CPU-coolers and others may have aftermarket enthusiast's coolers. Some of you have never tried this before, and others have but "hit a brick-wall". Our goals are all the same... to get faster CPU speeds.
BEFORE CONTINUING, ENTER YOUR BIOS AND WRITE DOWN THE FOLLOWING: CPU VOLTAGE; THE MULTIPLIER; CPU FREQUENCY; NB/FSB FREQUENCY; NB VOLTAGE; FSB/MEMORY RATIO
If some of you have on-board instant overclocking abilities (OCgenie, LevelUp, etc), please use these first, as these will take you most of the way to the finish line. Once used, if your BIOS has the ability to save the OC-profile, enter BIOS and save it, and with your pen and paper, note the changes to the original settings that you wrote down earlier and underline them (or highlight them somehow).
Install both stability AND monitoring applications of your choice (or use the links i provided for the suggested free apps). Another excellent stability test is, to 'fold' for stanford university as part of our team (more info about his can be found on the OC3D forum: look for Redline@OC3D.NET, that's us)
IF you have the on-board OCing abilities run the stability test for atleast 30 minutes before proceeding, as the on-board stuff is not 100% reliable, especially if you are only using the stock heatsink and cooler from AMD. You may also skip certain parts of this tutorial, but I suggest you continue reading, in order to gain the full benefit of this tutorial.
* * * * *
The core speed, of your CPU, is comprised of the sum of the FSB/NB speed and the Multiplier. Increasing either of these will result in a faster overclock.
Just as an example, a good place to start is a FSB speed of 200MHz and a Multiplier of x14... this would give us a CPU speed 2.8GHz (200MHz * 14 = 2800MHz)
The non-Black Editions(BE), unfortunately, have a locked max Multiplier of x14 and this limits us to the extents of the overclock we can get. For example, to get close to 4GHz we would need to raise the FSB to ~285MHz (285 * 14 = 3990(3.99GHz)). Although, to get this we would also need to raise the CPU-volts a little and maybe the NB-voltage too. But, saying this, some mobos won't even like that FSB speed.
A BE chip would get to 4GHz alot easier, with a 200 * 20 OR a 250 * 16 approach
* * * * *
Raising voltages raises temperatures, and unless you have an efficient cooling solution, I do not recommend upping them too high. The T-series processors can handle voltages of upto 1.55v, but I advise you not to cross the 1.5V boundary if you want your chip to last long. Most overclockers have found they can get 4.5GHz from these with approx. 1.472v.
To find out some of the achievements that can be made with the T-series take a look here at the HWBOT website. This is the best clocks, 1090T/AIR-COOLED, that HWBOT members have managed to reach. Click on each indivdual scores to show an image of their posted 'validated' overclock, and how they achieved it (SPD;MULT;VOLTS).
* * * * *
Do not try to get a nice overclock in big leaps. Slow incremental steps, followed by a stability test, is the safe and sure method of success. After each successful stabilty test, save your new BIOS settings in a new OC-profile or write them down.
* * * * *
Modern motherboards have a built-in feature that will save you from frying your components. If your PC will not POST (go past the BIOS_startup) after several seconds, it will return to the last successful setting and warn you the your overclock attempt failed.
Sometimes, it may not even go back... it will just freeze. This will require you to CLEAR_CMOS, and if your mobo has not got the ability to save OC-profiles you will be glad of that pen and paper.
The 'trick' is to get your best stable overclock, be happy about it, and then... drop the OC down atleast two steps (yes, i said back down). This will ensure maximum lifetime for your processor.
Alot of overclockers here, and out there, get great overclock speeds of 4GHz+ on air cooling, but they soon knock it back down. I, for instance, have two OC-profiles: one for cool days (wintertime) and another for scorchio ones' (summertime).
* * * * *
Other things to consider...
The CPU-voltage and the NB(Northbridge)-voltage are two different things.
Although, the FSB and NB are considered the same thing, and your HT-link speed is always FSB * 10.
Whatever your NB voltage is at stock, only raise it two increments (unless it has full water cooling and the NB chip is under a WC plate).
You will also need awesome airflow through your case even if you are using a great air cooler (like the Noctua NH-D14).
* * * * *
A good scale to base voltages on, with the T-series is...
- less than 3.6GHz = 1.4 to 1.45v
- 3.7GHz to ~4GHz = ~1.472v
- 4.2GHz = ~1.49v
- 4.5GHz and above = ~1.52v+
NOTE: the higher the overclock/voltages the better cooling solution is needed
* * * * *
What is LLC(load line calibration) and VDDA?
They both help stabilise the CPU voltage while the chip is under extreme stress. It stops the volts from fluctuating, which could cause crashes.
LLC also holds the same voltages running through the CPU, even when the the system is idle or at full load.
Tweaking these, and/or switching them on/off may help troubleshoot high overclocks.
* * * * *
if others think i need to add anything please PM me, instead of replying to this post - i do not want this thread to get untidy
