First Ever OC

BennettWHU · 4 Jun 2015 at 13:23

I'm going to try and overclock my CPU for the first time ever using AMD Overdrive. I've thought about increasing the BCLK from 3.7GHz to 4.0GHz without increasing the voltage. Once I've done that, I'm going to use AMD Overdrive to run a stability test. I also want to reformat my system at some point this week and I was wondering if it would affect my OC? I don't want to OC my system, reformat my HDD and install a fresh copy of Windows 7 and then damage my PC somehow. Is this possible? Does the OC save to the BIOS or HDD?

ginjaninja · 4 Jun 2015 at 13:34

reformat/software wont affect the hardware stability...

the 'oc' is a configuration stored in the bios...some bios allow a given configuration to be saved as a profile for later use..save your current stable if this option is available. otherwise write down all config for later restore.

testing ocs within safe voltages/temperatures wont damage it..

i would remove sensitive data drives whilst testing oc, you dont want the pc crashing during disk writes..just asking for trouble..

BennettWHU · 4 Jun 2015 at 13:36

ginjaninja said:
reformat/software wont affect the hardware stability...

the 'oc' is a configuration stored in the bios...some bios allow a given configuration to be saved as a profile for later use..save your current stable if this option is available. otherwise write down all config for later restore.

testing ocs within safe voltages/temperatures wont damage it..

i would remove sensitive data drives whilst testing oc, you dont want the pc crashing during disk writes..just asking for trouble..

Would you recommend increasing the voltage for the OC I intend to do?

BennettWHU · 4 Jun 2015 at 15:26

I've used AMD Overdrive to overclock my CPU to 4.1GHz and everything seems to be running fine so far. I'm using Prime95 and Core Temp to run the stability test and check the temperatures. The CPU is maxing out at 40c so far. I haven't increased the voltage at all. How long should I run Prime95 for and when should I start thinking about maybe increasing the voltage, 4.5GHz area?

ginjaninja · 4 Jun 2015 at 15:58

using precooked softwares like overdrive to overclock, are not fine tools..more sledgehammers.

increasing the voltage within safe ranges on a a capable heatsink would be the likely way to achieve the best cpu overclock, but there are too many variables to just go for it..

need a guide for your specific cpu/platform, where someone has done the hard work....

i dont know the specifics for this platform/chip, need an amd expert to jump in for information such a likely overclock potential, safe voltages n temperatures, heatsink capability, and the order and types of voltages to change...

.I guess this is why overdrive exists becuase its time consuming to investigate and test.