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overclocking

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Overclocking the AMD Phenom II 940 Black Edition Processor:


It’s been just a hair over a week since I built my new system, and I initially wasn’t planning to overclock, but that allure of the “Black Edition” and the unlocked multiplier was simply too much to resist.

I will say this – overclocking the 940 is dead-on simple, as long as you don’t plan on pushing it too far. I’m what you could call a “conservative overclocker”. I tend to only push as far as I feel comfortable with, and only just enough so that I feel like I’m getting the most out of my system.

The default speed of the Phenom II 940 BE is 3.0GHz – I’d read around the web that most people were able to hit 3.2-3.4 quite easily even on stock cooling. I started off myself with the stock cooler, but I ended up pulling my OCZ Vendetta out of my old Intel rig (and re-installed the stock Intel HSF in that box) and installed it on the Phenom II along w/ some Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound.

I was able to hit 3.4GHz on stock voltage with the stock cooler – any higher was going to need some more voltage, and I didn’t want to increase the voltage w/ the stock cooler since my temps were running just a tad high (peaked at 59C @ full load under Prime94 x64 w/ stock cooler). After putting on the OCZ I discovered much lower temperatures, but still hit that same wall past 3.4GHz. I did try a small voltage injection (up to 1.425 up from 1.325 stock) and I was able to hit 3.6GHz – Prime stable. My temps at 3.6GHz were around 57C under full load – still a tad high for my taste.

I decided to drop back to a stable 3.4GHz at stock voltage, since running 3DMark06 and some basic “eye benchmarks” with Counter-Strike:Source’s “Video Stress Test” and watching FPS in Unreal Tournament 3, it seems I hit a GPU bottleneck after 3.4GHz – my 3D Mark score barely changed, and my max FPS in CS:Source and Unreal Tournament 3 barely changed (if at all).

Although not the main purpose of this post, it’s also worth mentioning that I was able to get quite a bit more out of my ASUS ATI HD4830 – after reading some reviews online, it seems that most folks were easily getting up to 700MHz on the GPU and quite a bit more on the RAM too. The stock speeds on this card are 575MHz for the GPU and 999MHz (1998MHz Effective) on the RAM. I simply used the “Auto-Tune” feature in the Radeon Control Center and I was able to get up to 700MHz on the GPU and 1185MHz (2370MHz effective) for the RAM on that 4830 as well!

Here are my basic 3DMark06 results at 3.0GHz (Stock/Stock GPU), 3.4GHz (OC on CPU and GPU) and 3.6GHz (OC on CPU and GPU):

Fully stock speeds – 3.0GHz CPU (Stock Voltage), 575MHz/999MHz on the 4830:

Stock speeds:
11722 3DMarks
SM 2.0 Score 4426
SM 3.0 Score 5160
CPU Score 4174

Overclocked Results:

3.4GHz CPU (Stock Voltage) 700MHz/1185MHz on the 4830:

13917 3DMarks
SM 2.0 Score 5310
SM 3.0 Score 6227
CPU Score 4648

3.6GHz CPU (1.45 V Core) 700MHz/1185MHz on the 4830:

14037 3DMarks
SM 2.0 Score 5321
SM 3.0 Score 6222
CPU Score 4865

 

So, as you can see, I pretty well hit a wall w/ my GPU past 3.6GHz (which is still a respectable “wall” for a $100 GPU in what’s essentially a “Workstation” rather than an all-out Gaming rig), so rather than risk my CPU with added voltages and extra heat, I’m going to simply run it at 3.4GHz w/ 29C Idle speeds (I have “Cool ‘n Quiet turned *off* by the way – no throttling for me please!), and 50C Load speeds and just be happy! I have achieved maximum performance for my rig, and that’s all I cared about.

I do want to add that this is the first time I’ve had a “Black Edition” from AMD, and I surely never could afford an Intel “Extreme Edition”, so I’ve never had an unlocked multiplier before. It really does add some peace of mind when overclocking, because you know you aren’t unnecessarily  stressing out other system components – you’re simply increasing clock-speed.

One interesting take away is that apparent 3.4GHz on stock voltages that I encountered. It seems to be echoed across the web as well, so perhaps that could be an indication of “stock” 3.4GHz chips coming out of AMD soon!

A 3.4GHz stock chip would for sure put AMD in direct competition with the Intel Core i7, *especially* if it’s an AM3 chip paired up w/ speedy DDR3 RAM.

The only other benchmark I’ve ran besides 3DMark has been Cinebench, and @ 3.4GHz, I’m crunching just above the Core i7 920 on Cinebench R10.

Just some food for thought, and I’m very glad that AMD has come back with some real competitive chips again. I love having AMD inside my case!

      

Written by jaysonrowe on February 7th, 2009 with 1 comment.
Read more articles on otherSoftware and overclocking and AMD and Computing and Hardware.

Memory Chips Cannot Always Solve the Problem

We all know that the more memory chips you have, the better your computer will perform. We see people buying computers with practically 1 gig of memory installed in them, hoping that their computer speed will be more the sufficient to satisfy their requirements. But this does not always follow.

For one thing, some people forget, you cannot tweak or cheat your way out of computer philosophies. One overlooked component will eventually take its toll. For example, a lower processor will still have a bearing. You will encounter faster processes but insofar as overall computer performance is concerned, it still remains that your computer can only do so much to render the proper capability it was designed for.

Hence, more memory will not always certify a computer to perform in the same way high-processor capacity computers are expected to be. There will only be a small difference and that may not necessarily be acceptable for some. Normally, it may eventually lead to an entire upgrade as people have a high demand with regards to computer processes to which some processors falter in terms of computer load.

So while you are thinking the memory chips are enough, computer philosophy and programming says otherwise. It is at this point that if you become wary of investing in computers, then do not expect to get optimal performance as you would expect. You just have to shell out cash to be able to get better performing peripherals today.

Written by PC Freak on September 24th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Chips and otherSoftware and overclocking and Tutorials and Windows XP.

Being a Step Ahead of the Software Requirements

For most software that you install, there will be the ideal PC requirements provided so you can be assured of optimum performance for programs and games you will install on your PC. At times, varied differences as far as video specifications, memory and processor capacity will be stated. But while many would see the usual minimal requirements, you have to consider the fact on whether these will be sufficient to satisfy the level of performance you are expecting once these software programs are installed.

Based on experience, it would never hurt to be a step ahead. This entails making sure that you are installing the software on hardware that is a bit advanced. For example, if video card requirements are at least 128 MB, why not install a 256 MB video card if the difference is just a couple of bucks? Or perhaps if memory requires at least 256 RAM, why not go double like 512?

Some may call it overkill but they are really some form of making sure that you get best performance from these programs. Remember that if you go for minimal requirements, you will eventually find yourself wanting better performance and hence upgrading these concerned hardware peripherals in the end.

In summary, do not take the minimal system requirements as a measure of competent utilization of programs. They are placed there so that you know that the program will indeed run. But as far as great performance is concerned, do consider the fact that it is not stated anywhere in that part of the software box for you to ponder on as well.

Written by PC Freak on June 26th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on otherSoftware and overclocking and Chips and Video Cards and processor and memory modules and Hard Drives and Performance and Tutorials and RAM and programs and optimization and video card and Troubleshooting and software.

Avoid Overloading CPU Power Distribution

Being the enthusiastic computer geeks that we are at times, we cannot help but overdo it when it comes to identifying and choosing the proper peripherals to place in our PC. Power supplies can only take so much and that is why there are specified power distributions to be able to handle all the circuits and conduits that need power each time you switch you computer on.

Normally, the default power allocation is enough to rev up your motherboard, monitor, hard disks and video cards. A couple of optical drives can also be thrown into the fray and you still have sufficient power not to fry your power supply.

But you just cannot help at times to add more to the power requirements. Adding other hard drives, another optical drive like a DVD writer or other peripherals that technology has to offer. In short, you will have a CPU that will be forever fighting for power and if they are falling short of power requirements, you may see added peripherals burning out or a busted power supply even.

That is why when you go to the usual computer shops, you will notice that there are power supplies with greater power capacity. This is precisely the reason; to be able to adhere towards additions that will not be seen in the default computer specifications. We all have our own demands and apparently this stems from the fact that we do not know when the perfect PC setup will be there for us. This is only typical in terms of demands.

Written by PC Freak on June 23rd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Video Cards and otherSoftware and optical drives and CPU and power supplies and overclocking and Motherboards and Cooling and computer and Hard Drives and Style and peripherals and Computer.

Cheap Computers Make Cheap Results

The beauty about computers today is that you can have the luxury of choosing from various specifications that offer varying prices. For the people who have little knowledge on what these specs are for, they would end up buying the lower priced computers. Some are encouraged to buy the higher ones after careful explanation of differences but unless they are techies, chances are they will be fine with the usual Celeron or AMD chips with the right amount of storage and speed requirements.

Some people buy computers to help them in their various needs. This includes documents and spreadsheet preparations. But while others have other various intents on using a computer, it all boils down to knowing what type of specifications you would need as far as getting the ideal computer for you is concerned.

You will notice that these computer geeks would know which hardware to use. Higher end graphic cards and processors are normally advised to them beforehand. While they would want them, sometimes affordability stands in the way. With that in mind they look for alternatives and this includes trading some specs with compromised value which can eventually be replaced in the future once their budget allows them to.

The thing about limiting your computer hardware specs is that they will perform poorly. Nothing beats the performance of a higher based computer. You will notice that once you use your computer with limited specs, the headaches will start. Now if you are wise, buy the right computer at the right time to save yourself of these miseries.

Written by PC Freak on May 23rd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Chips and otherSoftware and overclocking and Motherboards.

Why Should You Overclock?

Overclocking in most computers is deemed as something to cheat the process and motherboard you have to optimize and get added performance for your computer. But the fact remains; is it wise overclock you computer?

If you are in your right mind, you would easily depict that it would be foolish to try and cheat your system. The added load may not sit well with the usual life span that processors are supposed to have. Furthermore, it would be wise to make do with the advised specifications for the reason that there is a primary reason why the standard speed of computers are given today.

Anyone would love to get something special from overclocking their system. Outside saving on cost, you can get added processes and load handling by doing so. But you just have to build around the bush. It is an abnormal procedure to which your entire system may breakdown and worst, bring you higher expenses since it may lead to purchasing and entirely new computer unit.

As a whole, you may wonder what benefits overclocking can give you. The techie freaks know how to deal with it but if you ask around, it is something that only the specialists use. They can get away with it at first. But if you look for a long term plan, you will find the computer life cycle diminishing a bit.

It is wise to cheat your computer chips when you can. But do remember that when you push them to the limit, the same goes for the life span that can be severely shortened in the process.

Written by PC Freak on May 12th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on otherSoftware and overclocking.

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