Phenom II X6 1090T + ASRock 970M Pro3

I thought I'd start a small thread concerning my rig and what I've managed to do to it. Here's what I'm running:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T BE
GPU: Asus GeForce GTX 650 DirectCU 1 GB GDDR5
MB: ASRock 970M Pro3
RAM: 2 x 8 GB Kinston HyperX Fury Black (official numbers 1600 MHz CL10)
PSU: Cooler Master V650S
HDD: Samsung 850 EVO SSD 250 GB
Case: BitFenix Prodigy M
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-C14S
Fans: 1 x BitFenix Spectre 120 mm, 1 x Noctua NF-A14 FLX 140 mm
OS: Windows 8.1 64-bit & Linux Mint 17.2 Cinnamon 64-bit

I've tried overclocking using only stock voltages and only now I'm starting to see what I can get out the CPU by increasing voltage. Using stock voltages is a good way to keep temperatures in check, but it naturally limits what speeds you can achieve.

I mostly use Prime95 for stability testing (custom runs, basically blend with more RAM in use), with the occasional RealBench stress test, various benchmarks, Unigine Heaven etc. to keep it interesting. Here's what is proven to be stable so far:

1. Stock voltages

CPU: 3500 MHz / 4000 MHz (Turbo Core) (I think this was Prime95 stable for 4 hours at least)
CPU-NB: 2400 MHz
HT: 2400 MHz
RAM: 1600 MHz CL9 (9-9-9-25-2T)

Edit: The 4000 MHz Turbo Core speed was tested only on the first core. However, based on other stability tests, it seems core number five is the weakest link in my CPUs chain. It may thus be that core number five is not stable at this speed on stock voltages, but I never experienced any issues running TC at that speed.

2. Non-stock voltages

Turbo Core mode disabled.

CPU: 3600 MHz @ 1.3375 V
+CPU-NB/HT: 2200 MHz @ stock voltage (not tested)
+CPU-NB/HT: 2400 MHz @ stock voltage (3 hours Prime95 stable), Geekbench 3.3.2: 1967 / 9765

CPU: 3700 MHz @ 1.375 V
+CPU-NB/HT: 2200 MHz @ stock voltage (2 hours Prime95 stable)
+CPU-NB/HT: 2400 MHz @ stock voltage (5 hours Prime95 stable), Geekbench 3.3.2: 1975 / 9940

CPU: 3800 MHz @ 1.4125 V
+CPU-NB/HT: 2200 MHz @ stock voltage (8 hours Prime95 stable)
+CPU-NB/HT: 2400 MHz @ stock voltage (4 hours Prime95 stable), Geekbench 3.3.2: 2043 / 10323

3. Notes

The thing about the higher voltages is that I'm reaching socket temperatures that seem relatively high considering the CPU stays below 50 C. With Vcore = 1.14125 V the socket temperature peaked at 68 C. I am not sure if a high socket temp is the sort of problem some people say it is, nor am I sure the reading is trustworthy. In any case, 70 C is often quoted as the safe limit and I'm only staying below it at the moment due to the fact that it's winter and the room temperature is lower than what it'll be most of the year.

Another thing I'm slightly worried about is the VRM. I'm not sure how much stress it's under and how much more it can take. After all, the 970M Pro3 only has a 4+1 power phase design. At the moment I mostly use HWMonitor to monitor the temperatures and even if there is a temperature sensor monitoring the VRM section, I'm probably not seeing the correct values. I'll see if any of the other available programs could give me more info.


Edited by PetrolHead - 23 Jan 2016 at 10:05am