OC advice for Phenom II

[TheHostileGamer]

I have an AMD Phenom II 940 (Socker AM2+) and I have it in as Asus M4A78 PLUS mobo with some OCZ value ram running at 1066 at 2.1v

 

My question is when I OC my system stay stable till about 3.5 Ghz and anything above will cause little hiccups during use, but when I use the

AMD Overdrive CPU overclocker it says I can only do 3.1 Ghz.

 

Here's the real question...if I was to get better ram for my DDR2 mobo and a better air cooler for my CPU (right now I have a CoolerMaster that sucks)

can I realistically expect my OC to get better or is my 1st gen Phenom II 940 hit its max?

 

I do have plenty of good power coming from my Antec "High Current" 900w PSU

 

Thanks

[Drdeath]

FYI, max stable oc on a 940 is 3.7GHz or so. If your at 3.5GHz, you only a few hundred MHz off the max OC.

[TheHostileGamer]

FYI, max stable oc on a 940 is 3.7GHz or so. If your at 3.5GHz, you only a few hundred MHz off the max OC.

 

So it could be just the quality of silicon my Phenom was cut from? Could I realistically get more out of my CPU over clock by upgrading ram?

[imm0rt41]

So it could be just the quality of silicon my Phenom was cut from? Could I realistically get more out of my CPU over clock by upgrading ram?

Yeah, I bet the value ram is holding you back some. I've never had fun OCing with value ram lol

[Tjj226_Angel]

 

My question is when I OC my system stay stable till about 3.5 Ghz and anything above will cause little hiccups during use, but when I use the

AMD Overdrive CPU overclocker it says I can only do 3.1 Ghz.

 

Here's the real question...if I was to get better ram for my DDR2 mobo and a better air cooler for my CPU (right now I have a CoolerMaster that sucks)

can I realistically expect my OC to get better or is my 1st gen Phenom II 940 hit its max?

 

Thanks

 

To answer your first question, things that would cause hiccups in overclocking would be things like CPU cooler, poor ram, and power ripples.(off topic: would someone add overclock to the dictionary please?). You can fix this by getting a better CPU cooler, getting better ram, and getting a power supply that is 80 plus certified (something like a corsair or silverstone PSU would be great).

 

Will better ram do the trick for you? I doubt it. I think a better cooling solution would be the way to go. My motto for overclocking is, "when at first you don't succeed, add more volts". Volts means that there will be more heat, and a better cooler is what you would need.

 

Out of curiosity, what sort of cooler do you have now?

 

Edit: I read the question about the ram wrong. I thought is was either a better cooler OR better ram. If you can get better ram, then yes it will definitely help, just not as much as a cooler would.

Edited December 21, 2011 by Tjj226_Angel

[TheHostileGamer]

Out of curiosity, what sort of cooler do you have now?

 

I have a cooler master Hyper N520

 

http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=2879

 

I read reviews after and heard it stinks, was only 40 bucks lol

 

I just don't know whether to hold off and upgrade the whole thing or invest into better ram on a DDR2 platform.

 

Maybe I'll just win the rig in the Christmas contest lol

[Boinker]

This is possible. LOL. The Christmas contest is under way. Better be good or Saint bosco may put you on the naughty list. LOL.

 

Honestly if ddr2 is still cheap then consider doing that for now. Upgrading to an 1156 1155 2011 or 1366 would be a phenominal gain for you so its up to you at this point. I owned a Phenom II 940 myself and they didn't much like to overclock.

[TheHostileGamer]

Awesome, thank you for that input. I just really didn't know the capability of this proc.

 

I think I will hold off and just go get a new mobo, cpu, and ram....really want that Ivy!

[sack_patrol]

You could see better results with better hardware, but you never know until you try it. It could just be the max for your chip. Realistically speaking, you probably wont gain much practical use of a few extra mhz, especially if you are spending money for new ram and cooler. Though I do understand if you want to do it anyways since I was quite frustrated when I realized that my CPU would only overclock to 3.9Ghz when most other people could not only get it to 4.0Ghz but also managed to unlock additional cores, and all that on basically the same quality hardware.

 

My advice would be to hold on for a bit and then just upgrade everything. If you are financially able, get the most recent types of sockets and rams so that you are gaining imo the most efficient upgrade.

[Tjj226_Angel]

This is possible. LOL. The Christmas contest is under way. Better be good or Saint bosco may put you on the naughty list. LOL.

 

Honestly if ddr2 is still cheap then consider doing that for now. Upgrading to an 1156 1155 2011 or 1366 would be a phenominal gain for you so its up to you at this point. I owned a Phenom II 940 myself and they didn't much like to overclock.

 

Ha. I thought about entering the contest. However with all the flame wars I have started, I am sure I am at the tip top of that same naughty list.

 

I agree though that the OP needs a newer rig. Especially when IB comes out, I bet he could find some kick a$* deals on older P67 boards and a i5 2500K or a 890 board with a 1100T. Honestly, I am surprised that this matter hasn't come up sooner.

 

Since the OP wants to overclock for now, I shall get back to the topic at hand. The cooler master cooler you have now should actually get you to your desired clock speed. I know it isn't the greatest processor in the world....believe me I know since I own one, but I bet if you mount it right, you can get to 3.7 ghz.

 

Before you go out and buy something, lets try to make the stuff that you have now work. Download Prime 95 and core temp if you haven't already and tell us what the temps are at stock at idle and load. Hopefully we can get your CPU to a point where you can save your cash for a new build.

[Drdeath]

Ha. I thought about entering the contest. However with all the flame wars I have started, I am sure I am at the tip top of that same naughty list.

 

I agree though that the OP needs a newer rig. Especially when IB comes out, I bet he could find some kick a$* deals on older P67 boards and a i5 2500K or a 890 board with a 1100T. Honestly, I am surprised that this matter hasn't come up sooner.

 

Since the OP wants to overclock for now, I shall get back to the topic at hand. The cooler master cooler you have now should actually get you to your desired clock speed. I know it isn't the greatest processor in the world....believe me I know since I own one, but I bet if you mount it right, you can get to 3.7 ghz.

 

Before you go out and buy something, lets try to make the stuff that you have now work. Download Prime 95 and core temp if you haven't already and tell us what the temps are at stock at idle and load. Hopefully we can get your CPU to a point where you can save your cash for a new build.

 

 

Just curious why you recommend he needs a new rig when

 

1- that is not the topic of the thread

2- you do not know the financial status of the OP

 

Flver, your rig will handel anything ya throw at it but it won't break speed records. A better heatsink will get ya more overclock but memory will not. You will get within 100MHz with DDR3 and DDr2. I would wait to go DDR3 when your ready for a new system. Your PSU is fine for now.

 

By the time you buy a new mobo, Ram, heatsink you might as well buya new CPU and spend a few hundred more. My humble advise.

Edited December 22, 2011 by Drdeath

[TheHostileGamer]

Thank you all for the advice so far. It does handle alot I throw at it but I'm a frame per sec. junkie