TR Forums

Just started playing with a 925 I got on a Asus M4A87TD EVO. Just testing it with the stock cooler right now to see if I got a "good" or "bad" chip. It will run at 3.3ghz @ 1.39v and reach a max temp of 61 during prime95. However, at 3.4ghz @ 1.425v it will reach a max temp of 68 during prime95 and crash after about 15 minutes. The max temp of the chip is 71...I know my tests are getting close. Do you guys think dropping the temp by about 10C with an aftermarket cooler would result in stability?

Ouch! I'd back off on testing those OC's with the stock cooler. 62 is generally the max temp for AMD cpu's before damage. Personally I've never let my temps go above 54. Regarding getting a better air cooler, AMD cpu's love lower temps so it could very well help with stability but you won't know without getting those temps lower. 10c isn't going to do it because that's still too close to the max safe temps so you'll probably need to lower your OC until you get a better cooler.
However, I've only had limited experience (OCed two phenom II's and an Athlon 64 x2) so you may want to get advice from someone more experienced.
There are detailed guides to overclocking Phenom II's all over such as Dolk's guide http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596023 which are worth a read.
You should certainly lower those temps though... unless they're in Fahrenheit rather than Celsius

holto243 wrote:

Ouch! I'd back off on testing those OC's with the stock cooler. 62 is generally the max temp for AMD cpu's before damage. Personally I've never let my temps go above 54. Regarding getting a better air cooler, AMD cpu's love lower temps so it could very well help with stability but you won't know without getting those temps lower. 10c isn't going to do it because that's still too close to the max safe temps so you'll probably need to lower your OC until you get a better cooler.
However, I've only had limited experience (OCed two phenom II's and an Athlon 64 x2) so you may want to get advice from someone more experienced.
There are detailed guides to overclocking Phenom II's all over such as Dolk's guide http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596023 which are worth a read.
You should certainly lower those temps though... unless they're in Fahrenheit rather than Celsius

Not all Phenom CPU's have the same max temp....it depends on the wattage. 125W Phenoms have a max temp of 62C, while 95W Phenoms (like my 925) have a max temp of 71C. I knew this before I started messing with it.

http://products.amd.com/en-us/DesktopCP ... &f11=&f12=

well thank god I included all those qualifiers
and sorry, I misread your first comment about 71c as being the max the cpu got to rather than its safe limit.
increasing your cpu/nb speed can help stabilize.
also, if you're increasing your htt (fsb) double check HT link, ram speed etc as that could impact.
If you've done all those things and can't get it stable then lower temps would certainly help but may not be enough.
that's really the problem with answering your question; there's no guarantee that lower temps will fix it. I'd double check everything else before springing for an aftermarket.

that said, lower temps are always better. it gives you leeway in summer and a quieter computer.

I should have also mentioned that my ram is not overclocked (1333) and I set my NB and HT-Link to stock speeds (2000mhz). I am only manipulating the CPU at this time. Yeah, I know cooler is always better...but I would hate to spend $50 on a cooler to find out that my chip is going to max out at 3.2ghz...

Do you have a good size desk fan? If so take the side of your case and put it nice and close up on the high setting. This should drop the temp by a few degrees and might help you see if that assists in the stability any and if it is worth getting an aftermarket cooler. Yeah I know a bit ghetto but costs nothing plus it's easy and quick.

clapton924 wrote:

I should have also mentioned that my ram is not overclocked (1333) and I set my NB and HT-Link to stock speeds (2000mhz). I am only manipulating the CPU at this time. Yeah, I know cooler is always better...but I would hate to spend $50 on a cooler to find out that my chip is going to max out at 3.2ghz...

What do you mean? Are you just increasing the base block from 200 and going from there? I wouldn't be worried about the temperatures near as much as running a high voltage through the thing for an extended period of time. 1.425 is about the limit that I'd go, maybe a little higher.

Is there anything that you can't do with your CPU at say 3.2 or 3.3? If so, I don't see why you'd want or need to go any higher. I don't think a new cooler would do all that much for you though. 1.4/1.5V is about as high as most processors are going to go no matter the temperature they reach at that point. If you do happen to go the new cooler route you really shouldn't have to spend 50 bucks. The CM Hyper 212 Plus should give you a little breathing room, and it can be had for ~30 bucks (either from Microcenter or Newegg).

DancinJack wrote:

What do you mean? Are you just increasing the base block from 200 and going from there? I wouldn't be worried about the temperatures near as much as running a high voltage through the thing for an extended period of time. 1.425 is about the limit that I'd go, maybe a little higher.

Is there anything that you can't do with your CPU at say 3.2 or 3.3? If so, I don't see why you'd want or need to go any higher. I don't think a new cooler would do all that much for you though. 1.4/1.5V is about as high as most processors are going to go no matter the temperature they reach at that point. If you do happen to go the new cooler route you really shouldn't have to spend 50 bucks. The CM Hyper 212 Plus should give you a little breathing room, and it can be had for ~30 bucks (either from Microcenter or Newegg).

Base clock is at 250, CPU multiplier is at 13.5. RAM has been set to stock speed...as is NB and HT-link.

I bought the 925 to save some money, and with the intention of overclocking to the speed of a 965. Do I need to make it faster? No. But I'm trying to get the most bang for my buck.

I raised the CPU voltage to 1.45v and it ran Prime95 overnight, with a max temp of 61C...its cooler now since I disabled the Asus Q-Fan function in BIOS. Generally speaking I do not like to go over the manufacturer's max volt rating...which is 1.425 for the 95W 925. Then again I have seen experienced people who I trust run 125W Phenoms at 1.5v no problem.

Been working on this CPU more. Still cannot get a stable overclock above 3386Mhz. This is only the 2nd CPU I have tried overclocking...so I still consider myself a newb. Full-load temps are now under control since I turned off the fan speed regulator in the BIOS...have not seen a temp over 52C on the stock cooler.

The VID of my CPU is 1.375....and I can get up to 3260Mhz with no voltage increase. However, going up to 3386Mhz requires a Vcore of 1.45

My DDR3 RAM is all manually set to stock settings.

My stress-testing crashes occur in Prime95 and they are usually a blue screen. I have read that this is most likely a RAM, NB, or IMC problem? I have tried increasing my CPU/NB voltage and the NB voltage with no luck. I have even put my RAM up to 1.65v.

Interesting note that may help a more experienced user figure things out: with CPU speed set to 3386 @ 1.42v and RAM at 1333, system would crash. 3386mhz @ 1.45v system is stable. 3386mhz @ 1.425v is stable if I lower RAM from 13333 to 1000Mhz.

Does this sound like a RAM issue? I am running the Crucial memory recommended in the TR Econobox system guide.