Need general advice on FX-8150 / ASUS Crosshair V Formula OC

[Padlorr]

Hi all! I've spent countless hours reading guidelines and trying to tweak my system to achieve a stable 4.5-4.6ghz OC with limited success. So far I've achieved a pretty stable 4.4ghz with straight CPU multiplier and voltage adjustments.

Here's the basic details on my rig:
-FX-8150 cpu
-16 GB GSkill RAM (2X F3-14900CL10-8GBXL) at 1866mhz
-ASUS Crosshair V Formula board
-PowerColor PCS+ AX7850 2GBD5-2DHPP Radeon HD 7850 (hope to get another one for Crossfire soon)
-Corsair H80i water cooler
-750 watt psu

And here's some questions on my OC:
-What voltage should I use for 4.5-4.6ghz? My best OC is stable at 4.4ghz with 1.4 volts to cpu with HT and NB both at 2600mhz. Does this seem reasonable? Using AI suite sensor I see it isn't drawing more than 1.35v at this speed.
-I've tried as much as 1.45v at 4.5-4.6ghz but my machine will shut down during prime95 and I'm not sure why (seems stable with no errors up to that point). I usually set overvoltage protection (cpu and cpu/nb) to 130% but I tried disabling CPU overvoltage and VRM over temp protection but it still happens. I'm not increasing volts to my RAM (at 1.5v) so I'm doubtful it could be DRAM overvoltage protection. Temps and voltages don't seem out of line when it happens. Is it possible it's shutting down because of too little juice (i.e. voltage too low) at load?
-What cpu and cpu/nb LLC should I be using in the range of 4.5-4.6ghz? I've been setting to High or Ultra High for cpu, and High for CPU/NB.
-I have my HT and NB both at 2600mhz without any adjustments to voltages. CPU/NB voltage is set to Auto. I was able to set it in the 1.3-1.35 range when cpu was not overclocked, but setting it to Auto worked better when overclocking because it took up to 1.5v in the 4.5-4.6ghz range. What should I set it to for 2600 at these ranges?
-What kind of CPU temps should I try to stay below? I'm hitting 64C at 4.4ghz and around 75C at 4.6ghz (with core temps hitting just over 61C). My H80i fans are set push/pull to draw air in from outside the case.
-I've been unsuccessful overclocking my RAM to 2000 or 2133mhz using the standard profiles, any suggestions?

I have no real desire to raise the HT and NB over 2600, but I would like to get the cpu to 4.5 or 4.6, stable without too much heat. I'd prefer to just use the cpu multiplier for now (not the HT multiplier), to keep the RAM at a straight 1866 and eliminate it from being a stability factor. Later I'd like to get the RAM to 2000 or 2133 without using the HT.

Thanks in advance for any advice or recommendations.

Parker

[Chino]

Welcome to the Republic of Gamers forum, Parker.

See if these settings can get you started.

Ai Overclock Tuner - Manual
CPU Level UP - Disabled
CPU Ratio - 23
CPU Bus Frequency - 200
CPU Manual Voltage - 1.455v
CPU Load Line Calibration - High
Cool ‘n’ Quiet - Always Disabled
C1E - Disabled
Core C6 State - Disabled

[Padlorr]

Thanks for that. A couple of quick follow ups:
- I have AI OC Tuner set to DOCP - 1866 for my memory. Do you think that could be a problem?
- CPU Level Up is disabled (what does it do anyway?)
- CPU ratio is 22.5 (for 4.5ghz) and 23 (for 4.6ghz), and CPU bus frequency is 200
- I'll try 1.455 manual cpu volts, but do you recommend that for 4.5ghz or 4.6ghz?
- I'll try High for CPU LLC at both frequencies (any reason not to set it to Ultra High or Extreme aside from heat concerns? I've found it won't post at Extreme but Ultra High seems to work.)
- I have had Cool 'n Quiet, C1E and Core C6 State all enabled as I like the idea of running fast but efficient (I want to use my Ferrari as a daily driver). What is the impact of each of these for overclocking?

Also, any suggestions on timings for 2000 or 2133 with my RAM? I haven't gotten it to work at those speeds with the DOCP settings (10-11-10-30-46) or any other settings. Can't find any recommended settings for higher speeds than what it's rated for (i.e. over 1866).

Thanks!
Parker

[Chino]

- I have AI OC Tuner set to DOCP - 1866 for my memory. Do you think that could be a problem?
Not really. But personally, I like to setup my RAM manually.

- CPU Level Up is disabled (what does it do anyway?)
It automatically overclocks your CPU to a certain frequency. Not recommendable.

- I'll try 1.455 manual cpu volts, but do you recommend that for 4.5ghz or 4.6ghz?
Each CPU is different so it's hard to recommend a certain voltage for a specific frequency. 1.455v is should be good enough to hit 4.6GHz.

- I'll try High for CPU LLC at both frequencies (any reason not to set it to Ultra High or Extreme?)
Personally, I use Medium for daily overclocks but since you mentioned about instability with 4.6GHz at 1.45v, I figure perhaps setting it to High can help you out.

- I have had Cool 'n Quiet, C1E and Core C6 State all enabled as I like the idea of running fast but efficient (I want to use my Ferrari as a daily driver). What is the impact of each of these for overclocking?
I like to overclock with the power saving options off. You can always re-enable them after you've achieved a stable overclock.

[oldbrave]

Just a reminder, make sure that you have both the 8 pin CPU power connection plugged in, but also the 4 pin cpu power connection near the CPU fan connection plugged in.
That CPU requires both connections be powered if doing any sort of OCing.

[sectionate]

my HT stays at auto and I've never had to adjust it, regardless if I'm at 1866 or 2133.. man must be bored

[HiVizMan]

OC never get bored they just want to keep on tweaking I have noticed. Looking good so far guys.

[Padlorr]

Thanks guys, I was able to get it to a stable 4.5ghz with High cpu LLC and 1.462 cpu volts. I'm doing some heat and stability testing with prime95 now and noticed the cpu (socket temp) got as high as 72C. I'm rechecking to see what the core temps but they don't look like they're going over 61C (so far it's 56C per core at 71C cpu). Should I be concerned over cpu (socket) temps going over 65C? I know I need to keep the individual core temps below 61C. Also, do these temps seem normal for this speed and H80i water cooling?

[Padlorr]

Ok, I'm stuck again trying to get to 4.6ghz (machine keeps shutting down during Prime95) but voltage and heat readings didn't seem too high. I've incrementally raised the cpu volts from 1.462 to over 1.525 and tried LLC at Ultra High with the same result. What's a reasonable voltage range for 4.6? Should I go as high as 1.5v or higher, or do I need to fiddle more with LLC or other settings in the 1.45-1.5v range?

[HiVizMan]

When you say heat readings do not look so high, can you share numbers here please. 🙂