vcore and frequency fluctuations

[JonRo]

Hi everyone,

I'm fairly new to overclocking and I'm hoping to learn a lot from you guys. When I overclock my cpu over 4.1 ghz, vcore and frequency starts to fluctuate during my quick stress tests in OCCT after 5 mins. Can anyone explain why this happens?

Here are my specs
CPU: AMD FX-6300
Mobo: Gigabyte 970A-UD3
RAM: Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600
PSU: Antec 520W

BIOS Settings
LCC - Extreme
C1E - Disabled
C6 - Disabled
Cool n Quiet - Disabled

Here are the charts
@ 4.0ghz

@ 4.5ghz

 

[Master&Puppet]

Firstly - how long have you ran a stability test for? Are you happy that it is stable? If it is stable then I would not worry about it.

Voltage and clock fluctuations are all part of the testing process. The frequency can be at 100% but the CPU can draw more or less power as it is loaded more or less heavily. It's just like going on a run - you can run at 5mph on flat ground or uphill but uphill is going to demand more effort.

It can also be a sign of instability but you are seeing big voltage drops which suggest to me that it is perhaps working normally.

You can try retesting with a touch more vcore (if your temperatures allow it) and see if these smooth out.

If none of these answers explain it then we'll have to look at some other factors (there are quite a few )

 

[JonRo]

That makes sense, thanks for the answer.
I usually run a stability test for 10-15 minutes and if its stable I turn it up a notch. So far I've gotten it to 4.6 ghz with 3.5 hours stable with temps at 59C. I'm guessing that would be the upper limits in terms of temps, but I would like to see if I can hit 5 ghz.

 

[Master&Puppet]

Yea you have to get lucky to hit 5GHz and you won't get it 24/7 stable under safe temps by any means.

It would be fine to try booting into windows upto 5ghz but I wouldn't stress test because you will put too much heat through the chip.

Best to keep the chip under 60C