Over clocking AMD
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FarFarAway
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gotmaxpower
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Overclocking isn't that complicated. Its just the terminology which is complicated.
However, AMD CPU's seem a bit harder to overclock than Intel CPU's.
With Intel CPU's, its as simple as raising the FSB & Voltage. Multipliers are always a factor but should be set to max on default.
However, AMD CPU's seem a bit harder to overclock than Intel CPU's.
With Intel CPU's, its as simple as raising the FSB & Voltage. Multipliers are always a factor but should be set to max on default.
Have you got the black edition or non black edition AMD X2 5000+. I had the X2 5000+ non black edition in my old rig and it did 3GHz easy (400MHz overclock).
My settings used where:
CPU Multiplier: 12x (13 default)
FSB: 250MHz (200MHz default)
NB Multiplier: 4x (5x default IIRC)
Vcore: 1.45V (could be higher but I can't remember)
RAM volts: 2.2V (can try 1.9V-2.0V-2.1V-2.2V whichever is most stable for you)
Now your CPU speed is worked out by multiplying the CPU multiplier by the FSB. For example at default speeds your multiplier is set to 13x and your FSB 200MHz. If you multiply 13 by 200MHz you get 2600MHz (13x200=2600). If you set the multiplier to 12x and the FSB to 250MHz you get 3000MHz (12x250=3000) which equates to 3GHz CPU speed.
Now the idea to maintain stability is to keep the rated FSB at 1000MHz. To get this you multiply the NB multiplier by the FSB. To get this at default settings you mutliply 5 by 200MHz to get 1000MHz (5x200=1000). With my settings you are multiplying 4x by 250MHz which also gives you 1000MHz (4x250=1000).
Note that you should always try and keep your RAM running at the same speed as the rated FSB. So if your RAM is incapable of running at 1000MHz then don't even bother trying these settings.
I used 1.45V as the Vcore for the CPU as it seemed most stable at those voltages. I did run it at lower voltages and it ran quite stable but IIRC it failed in Prime95 after a few hours so I increased the volts to get 24/7 stability.
I used 2.2V for the RAM because.......Well I have no idea really I just decided to use it as I wanted it to be stable right off the mark and was to lazy to lower it and see if it was still stable. Make sure though when your running your RAM at 1000MHz that you have the timings set to 5-5-5-18. Standard RAM should be able to run stable at those timings, you may need to increase/losen the timings to run it more stable with cheaper/crappier RAM or if you can you can decrease/tighten the timings for better performance.
If you don't know what timings are then don't bother with them, I'm sure your RAM is already running at 5-5-5-18 timings or close to it.
Boot up your PC and run CPUz to confirm that your CPU, Rated FSB and RAM are running at the speeds you set up. Do a bit of browsing or windows stuff to see if its stable/instable. Then run Prime95 (32bit OS or 64bit OS) or Orthos for several hours (I recommend 8 hours minimum) for stability testing. These two programs will stress your CPU to 100% but don't worry you can still browse the internet and do basic windows stuff and even play games though they will likely run slow/crap. If you cbf waiting for hours on end then you can use OCCT which also stresses you CPU/RAM at 100%. OCCT goes for about an hour or 2 depending on what you select but isn't quite as accurate or stressful as Prime95 or Orthos. Also run HWMonitor whilst running the stability tests to keep an eye on CPU temperatures.
I HIGHLY recommend that you perform these settings in the BIOS and don't use any windows programs for overclocking tweaking etc. And I HIGHLY recommend that you have good cooling with a 3rd party CPU cooler. I used a Thermalright Ultima 90 on my X2 5000+ Temps rocketed to well over 70C on stock cooling and IIRC it maxed out at 85C and it literally raised the temperature in my room by at least 10C. With the Thermalright Ultima 90 temps never exceeded 65C which is very acceptable.
My settings used where:
CPU Multiplier: 12x (13 default)
FSB: 250MHz (200MHz default)
NB Multiplier: 4x (5x default IIRC)
Vcore: 1.45V (could be higher but I can't remember)
RAM volts: 2.2V (can try 1.9V-2.0V-2.1V-2.2V whichever is most stable for you)
Now your CPU speed is worked out by multiplying the CPU multiplier by the FSB. For example at default speeds your multiplier is set to 13x and your FSB 200MHz. If you multiply 13 by 200MHz you get 2600MHz (13x200=2600). If you set the multiplier to 12x and the FSB to 250MHz you get 3000MHz (12x250=3000) which equates to 3GHz CPU speed.
Now the idea to maintain stability is to keep the rated FSB at 1000MHz. To get this you multiply the NB multiplier by the FSB. To get this at default settings you mutliply 5 by 200MHz to get 1000MHz (5x200=1000). With my settings you are multiplying 4x by 250MHz which also gives you 1000MHz (4x250=1000).
Note that you should always try and keep your RAM running at the same speed as the rated FSB. So if your RAM is incapable of running at 1000MHz then don't even bother trying these settings.
I used 1.45V as the Vcore for the CPU as it seemed most stable at those voltages. I did run it at lower voltages and it ran quite stable but IIRC it failed in Prime95 after a few hours so I increased the volts to get 24/7 stability.
I used 2.2V for the RAM because.......Well I have no idea really I just decided to use it as I wanted it to be stable right off the mark and was to lazy to lower it and see if it was still stable. Make sure though when your running your RAM at 1000MHz that you have the timings set to 5-5-5-18. Standard RAM should be able to run stable at those timings, you may need to increase/losen the timings to run it more stable with cheaper/crappier RAM or if you can you can decrease/tighten the timings for better performance.
If you don't know what timings are then don't bother with them, I'm sure your RAM is already running at 5-5-5-18 timings or close to it.
Boot up your PC and run CPUz to confirm that your CPU, Rated FSB and RAM are running at the speeds you set up. Do a bit of browsing or windows stuff to see if its stable/instable. Then run Prime95 (32bit OS or 64bit OS) or Orthos for several hours (I recommend 8 hours minimum) for stability testing. These two programs will stress your CPU to 100% but don't worry you can still browse the internet and do basic windows stuff and even play games though they will likely run slow/crap. If you cbf waiting for hours on end then you can use OCCT which also stresses you CPU/RAM at 100%. OCCT goes for about an hour or 2 depending on what you select but isn't quite as accurate or stressful as Prime95 or Orthos. Also run HWMonitor whilst running the stability tests to keep an eye on CPU temperatures.
I HIGHLY recommend that you perform these settings in the BIOS and don't use any windows programs for overclocking tweaking etc. And I HIGHLY recommend that you have good cooling with a 3rd party CPU cooler. I used a Thermalright Ultima 90 on my X2 5000+ Temps rocketed to well over 70C on stock cooling and IIRC it maxed out at 85C and it literally raised the temperature in my room by at least 10C. With the Thermalright Ultima 90 temps never exceeded 65C which is very acceptable.
I can assure you once you understand what does what overclocking is VERY easy and simple. I recently upgraded from my X2 5000+ to an Intel E8500 and I can tell you now overclocking the X2 5000+ was by far easier then overclocking this E8500 of mine. Getting this E8500 stable above 4GHz, whilst easy, was a pain and I'm still not certain that it's 100% stable. I can runPrime95 for well over 8 hours without any errors but for some reason I get BSODs, but I'm beginning to think it's not because of my overclock but a crappy motherboard or faulty RAM.
Nah gave it away to my cousinname='Hassan' said:I suggest you throw your Intel and go back to AMD.
. tbh I'm not noticing much difference between my X2 5000+ at 3GHz and this E8500 at 4085MHz. I get higher scores in benchmarks no doubt and windows does feel a little quicker but everything else just feels the same. I was expecting breakthrough performance considering everyones like "WOW just upgraded from AMD to Intel and this rig is FAST".They're all full of sh*t imo. Even in games my framerate only went up by around 5fps. I was really expecting more from this CPU. Time to do some encoding and see if theres a difference. my AMD CPU encoded a 700MB movie in around 40min to an hour, lets see how fast this E8500 can do it
