I'm so happy :D Thanks for letting me know it worked as well. This guide helped a lot of guys over at the HwBox forums and it's good to know that it has one more positive influence :)
geoska
Just back to say cheers for the guide, i got the APU stable overclock of 3.6Ghz. Use the same settings as you said in your 3.7Ghz guide but instead i lowered the Vcore to 1.51Vcore and used 30 x 120. I tried your settings and it would reach and surpass the 1.55Vcore limit by 1.56CVcore, i could have tweeked it to get 3.7Ghz but i was more than happy with 3.3Ghz+ - First time overclocking = Success :P
DeanGetYourWings
Nope, air-cooling and specifically the Corsair A50. Check out the description for a full link to the review, especially as far as the overclocking page is concerned where I've included some hints and tips. The review is in Greek but you will understand all the motherboard settings.
geoska
It was like 4am when I recorded the video so there is no background noise and the CPU fan of the Corsair A50 was maxed out, just to be sure its not that disturbing even at maxed out RPM ;)
geoska
Nice upload bro. And nice commenting too, lots of handy info. Keep it up!
JuanPretorius
Of course. If you are aiming for 35x100 or 36x100 with the 1866 RAM divider, you'll be ok.
If you are aiming for 27x130 (3510MHz) or 27x133 (3600MHz) with the 1600 RAM divider, your RAMs will again work flawlessly at almost 2100MHz or 2130MHz. That will boost a bit more the RAM bandwidth and help the HD 6550D perform even better at games and benchmark.
If you want to understand the difference between these two, check the charts at the review (OC1 vs OC2 settings)
geoska
yes I use an aftermarket cooler, named Corsair A50. Google it! It's kinda cheap as well, but does the job :)
geoska
Gotcha, just being curious as i'll probably be a future adopter and fellow overclocker. I love the gradual update possibilities this opens up. You buy a complete system for dirt cheap, then keep on adding muscle by gradually spending not a lot of money on it.
MarcoZITA
Clock per clock, the AMD Llano are the most powerful AMD CPUs out there, especially at 2D Benchmarks. So yes, this APU @ 3.4GHz is faster than the Phenom II X4 965 ;) And it can handle discrete graphics cards such as the HD 6970 without any problems. Just make sure to overclock it so that the card isn't bottlenecked at all! Yesterday I published the Gigabyte 990FXA-UD5 review and I also included clock per clock comparison with 3870K and FX-4100 at 3.7GHz and 3870K owns! Check the description
geoska
Do not worry, it's more than enough even for that usage :)
geoska
Yeap I know. When I tested the A6-3650 but in October 2011 I was surprised on the huge overclocking potential these APUs had. Nowadays most high-end PCs are so overpowered that overclocking doesn't help that much - only in terms of gaming (overclocking the VGA). But with Llano it's completely different. The RAM bandwidth when overclocked is utterly sick and helps big time, even in every day apps like powerdirector or even photoshop.
geoska
With approximately 22*C room temperature, using a Corsair A50 I had these temps:
36*C Idle @ 1.55Vcore @ 3.7GHz (28 x 132) 68.8*C Full Load @ 1.55Vcore @ 3.7GHz (28 x 132)
BIOS settings: Vcore 1.55V, 1.2V VDDNB, 1.65V DRAM Voltage, 1.12V SV 1.1V Voltage, 1.1V 1.1Vsb Voltage, 1.26V APU Voltge, 2.5V VDDA, CPU LLC High, CPU/NB LLC High, CPU Current 110%, CPU/NB Current 110%, CPU Power Phase Control Standard, CPU Voltage Freq Auto, VRM Spectrum Disabled, APU Spread Spectrum Disabled
geoska
I wrote "With approximately 22*C room temperature, using a Corsair A50 I had these temps:
36*C Idle @ 1.55Vcore @ 3.7GHz (28 x 132) 68.8*C Full Load @ 1.55Vcore @ 3.7GHz (28 x 132)"
So 68.8*C at full load with the Corsair A50 cpu cooler :)
geoska
check out the overclocking page link (including hints and tips) in the description. With a bit of google translate you'll get through it :)
geoska
check out the review link i have on the description. There is a clock per clock comparison between the FX4100 and the A8-3870K, that clearly demonstrates that the A8-3870K is far more superior, even at lower frequencies.
geoska
No need for such a huge power supply unit, but I always considered PSUs as an investement for future upgrades of different builds, therefore it's cool :)
Also do consider that the A8-3870K isn't hot at all. At 28 x 132MHz (3.7GHz) with the Vcore at 1.57V (just for fun) I saw 68*C maximum at full load, after stressing it with prime95 4 threads. Of course, watercooling is silent and looks way cooler, but if you are on a tight budget there's no need for it.
geoska
Multiplier 36x, 100MHz BCLK, Vcore 1.5V, 1.2V VDDNB (Northbridge), 1.65V DRAM Voltage, 1.12V @ SV 1.1 Voltage, 1.1V @ 1.1Vsb Voltage, 1.26V APU Voltage, 2.5V VDDA, CPU Load Line Calibration @ High, CPU/NB Load Line Calibration @ High, CPU Current 110%, CPU/NB Current 110%, CPU Power Phase Control Standard, CPU Voltage Freq Auto, VRM Spectrum Disabled, APU Spectrum Disable :)
geoska
Thank you! Do you think that this build could last for a good amount of time?
kasta
You compared a max OC A8-3870K to a average OC FX-4100, in which the FX won a decent amount of scenarios, I'd hardly call that "far more superior".
It seems your reviews are stellar (some of the best I've ever seen), but their conclusions and ratings are pretty silly...
NeoXF
At the moment I would probably wait for desktop Trinity APUs, the descendants of Llano ;) They'll come out on late September to mid October as far as I know, and I consider them a much better and futureproof investment.
