Help me push my OC higher

[Bwidner]

OK a quick rundown on the current system
AMD phenom 965(stock 3.4ghz 8mb cache)
TRUE120 cooler with a push pull setup(lapped)
8gb corsair ddr3(I know 4gb is supposed to be better for OC, I do however do quite a bit of video rendering and was unable to push the OC higher running 4gb)
ATI radeon 4890 1GB
Asus M4a79t Deluxe MB

Through playing with the bus speeds and multiplier the highest clock I have found to be stable is 3.8ghz with a 19 multiplier 200 bus speed and 1.5v. However it seems temps are a pretty big issue in the equation as at full load when running stress tests the CPU is hitting 54-55, but hovers around 45-46 for everyday use. Currently I have a Thermaltake Soprano Case w/ Window - RS101. Here is the CPUid, please if you see any suggestions to help push the OC further let me know.



Now the intial plan is to go with an HAF X case and set up water cooling, for both the CPU and the GPU(with the capability to eventually handle 2 gpu's). I am wanting to keep the budget for both under $400-500. I am just really starting to research water cooling to any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sean W.]

i was obbsessed with overclocking my 965 to a minnimum of 4ghz, i went from the stock cooler, to the H50 and now i have a full custom water loop, right no my idle temp is 27°C and full load is 34°C and i cannot get any higher overclock than 3.8ghz stable. these cpus DO NOT like going any higher than 3.8, there is a wall after that. i have mine set at the same exact settings to get at 3.8ghz... its just not worth spending the money to get any higher, mostly because the odds of you getting any higher after spending all this money on cooling this chip are low...

most of the time temperatures are what keep you from getting a higher over clock, but as you can see with my temps i am far from the danger zone and cannot get a higher overclock. my advice to you is to be happy with what you have and go with intel next time you upgrade your computer.

 

[Bwidner]

All the chip batches are going to be different, motherboards also play a role in the OC, I can run my system at 4ghz until it hits full load that is the only time it blue screens out and the temp is getting up there at that point. Unless you have the same batch chip and the same motherboard you cannot say well mine won't so neither will yours. Not to mention I have not dug in there too much with the memory and trying to push it further because at this point it is a temperature issue(or at least it is part of them). IS your mobo an xtd? I looked for specs on the txd and found nothing

 

[Sean W.]

whoa, dont gotta get all offensive, im just saying that hearing that someone got their 965 stable over 3.8 is rare... but it sounds like you know what you are doing, so do what you want.

 

[Bwidner]

whoa, dont gotta get all offensive, im just saying that hearing that someone got their 965 stable over 3.8 is rare... but it sounds like you know what you are doing, so do what you want.

I apologize if it came off as offensive, in no way was it meant to be, and where as I know its pretty tough to do, when running tests at 4ghz the temp gets up to around 54-56 and then bluescreens so I am convinced that the temp is playing a role in the inability to get it over 3.8 and stable. Mainly looking for those with more experience with this CPU as well as with experience with water loops to see if maybe I am missing something in getting it a bit higher as is, as well as getting the loop setup here in the next 1-2 months.

 

[heister]

He has alot of expirence with both

 

[Sean W.]

i have a 965 and a water loop... but i dont know what im talking about so... good luck my friend. ill be here to say " i told you so ".

 

[Desolation]

the phenom 2 cpus have been shown to be really unstable at 4gz. try loosening up your ram timings and play around with the frequency's of the ram your ram maybe holding you back. but as most have said 4 ghz is not very stable. i can run my 955 at 4 ghz but only for benchmarking and ive hit 66 c and still not blue screened. my max OC is 4.2 ghz on air with a high temp of 68 c but its blue screens whenever you put a load on it for about 5 mins, also i needed to give my cpu 1.56-1.58 volts to keep it stable at 4 ghz so i settled for 3.8ghz at 1.39 volts. cause i don't wanna run that high constantly to much wear and tear. id run that if i had a full water cooled system but that's not in my budget at the moment. but even then its pointless there's not that much gain from going that high.

honestly the phenom@ X6 would give you a much better performance increase than a oc from 3.4 to 4 ghz on a 965

 

[Bwidner]

i have a 965 and a water loop... but i dont know what im talking about so... good luck my friend. ill be here to say " i told you so ".

Yes you have both, yes you also stated on another thread that you didn't want to risk corrupting windows again on another thread after going to water cooling. When slay mentioned loosening up your ram timings, so you have experience yes, but you also stated on another thread you put int he loop and left it as was, unless I missed another thread somewhere. In terms of going to x6 if I buy a new processor I will just go with an i9, I built this machine on a budget when my last mobo went out so that's the reason I went with the AMD at the time. I will just let this die and not return here at all, thanks for the help.

 

[heister]

wow chill man, he was saying that the AMD 965 isnt stable over 4ghz, its not just him saying that that is a very common thing people say