NumbWarri0r Posted February 28, 2011 Posted February 28, 2011 Hey everyone. I'm starting to look at overclocking my Athlon II X3 445. Any suggestions on how to go about doing that would be much appreciated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iskout Posted February 28, 2011 Posted February 28, 2011 Well, first thing's first. What kind of cooling do you have? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NumbWarri0r Posted February 28, 2011 Posted February 28, 2011 Well, first thing's first. What kind of cooling do you have? Well right now I just have a stock cooler, not sure what to upgrade to Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iskout Posted February 28, 2011 Posted February 28, 2011 Well right now I just have a stock cooler, not sure what to upgrade to Depending on your budget, the Noctua NH-D14 is highly regarded 'round here. If you can't quite justify putting that much into it, you might want to try the Thermaltake Frio, or the Cooler Master Hyper 212+. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NumbWarri0r Posted February 28, 2011 Posted February 28, 2011 Depending on your budget, the Noctua NH-D14 is highly regarded 'round here. If you can't quite justify putting that much into it, you might want to try the Thermaltake Frio, or the Cooler Master Hyper 212+. Well I looked at the price on the Noctua NH-D14, (paid more for my mobo lol) but its not terribly expensive. Probably will get that one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iskout Posted February 28, 2011 Posted February 28, 2011 Well I looked at the price on the Noctua NH-D14, (paid more for my mobo lol) but its not terribly expensive. Probably will get that one. Do you know if your motherboard unlocks your 4th core and/or if it's stable? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locutus Posted February 28, 2011 Posted February 28, 2011 If you don't have all kinds of funds to dish out into a cooler, try going for a mid-range one. Most of the time they are more than enough. For example, the Xigmatek Dark Knight is about half the price of the D14, and offers only slightly worse performance. And it's quite a bit smaller to boot. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NumbWarri0r Posted February 28, 2011 Posted February 28, 2011 Do you know if your motherboard unlocks your 4th core and/or if it's stable? Well I've seen that other people with my mobo were able to unlock the 4th core, but not sure how to go about doing it. I've been looking in the bios for something... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iskout Posted February 28, 2011 Posted February 28, 2011 If you don't have all kinds of funds to dish out into a cooler, try going for a mid-range one. Most of the time they are more than enough. For example, the Xigmatek Dark Knight is about half the price of the D14, and offers only slightly worse performance. And it's quite a bit smaller to boot. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 I'd forgotten about the DK lol Good suggestion. Well I've seen that other people with my mobo were able to unlock the 4th core, but not sure how to go about doing it. I've been looking in the bios for something... What's your motherboard? It might not unlock, you know, and even if it does there's a good chance it won't be stable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locutus Posted February 28, 2011 Posted February 28, 2011 Yep, and the other Xigmatek coolers are also pretty darn good. I have a Xigmatek Achilles and it has done me proud. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NumbWarri0r Posted February 28, 2011 Posted February 28, 2011 Yep, and the other Xigmatek coolers are also pretty darn good. I have a Xigmatek Achilles and it has done me proud. What do you think about the Xigmatek HDT-S1283, and my mobo is ASRock 880GXH/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI USB 3.0 ATX AMD Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iskout Posted February 28, 2011 Posted February 28, 2011 What do you think about the Xigmatek HDT-S1283, and my mobo is ASRock 880GXH/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI USB 3.0 ATX AMD To unlock your 4th core, use the "Advanced Calibration Control" feature in your BIOS. Set it to all 4 cores or whatever the wording is, and enjoy. To Overclock, you bump your front side bus up slightly, but be careful that you don't try to bump it too high, as your RAM is also connected to it. You might need to drop your FSB:RAM ratio to keep your RAM speed within spec. If you have a decent clock speed, but have issues with stability, you might need to bump your voltage up slightly. Just a few tips: 1) Don't try to go too quickly. Overclocking is about fine tuning, not moving by leaps and bounds. 2) Be careful how much voltage you put into your chip. The more you put into it, the more damage you can do. You're safe up to 1.4v. 3) Watch your temperatures. Your chip will be okay up to 75C, but I'd like to keep it down below 70C, if possible. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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