[Solved] Help overclocking AMD X2 5200+

I feel that my system is ageing a little and I want to upgrade. The budget is tight so while I save for an X3 or X4 I would like to OC my CPU and get what I can in the mean time. Im new to overclocking and havent been able to make much sense of what Ive found on forums and the like. I would really appreciate any help/advice/instructions with overclocking my cpu as much can be done safely and easily.

Specs as follows (from Speccy):

Operating System: MS Windows 7 Pro 64-bit SP1 Beta

CPU AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+
Windsor 90nm Technology

RAM 3.0GB Dual-Channel DDR2 800 @ 373MHz 5-5-5-18 (2 x 1Gig, 2 x 512 MB)

Motherboard: Gigabyte M61P-S3 (Socket M2) F7g BIOS (Latest)

Graphics: Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 512MB (Latest Drivers)

Hard Drives: 245.12GB Maxtor Maxtor 6L250R0 ATA Device (IDE)
244.20GB Seagate ST325041 0AS SCSI Disk Device (SCSI) (Primary)

The MIB/overclocking section in the BIOS reads currently as follows:

CPU Frequency (mhz): 200

PCIE Clock (mhz): 100

CPU Clock Ration: Auto

CPU HT - Link Voltage: Normal

Chipset Voltage Control: Normal

DDR 2 Voltage Control: Auto

CPU Voltage Control: Normal

(Greyed out) Normal CPU Vcore 1.3000v

What do I need to change in the BIOS to up the CPU speed and what is the best 'safe' bet? 3Ghz? Also, will stock cooling be enough or should I upgrade that now with the OC? What is a good and cheap option?

Reply to south_valhalla

First go to

http://download.gigabyte.us/FileLi [...] p-s3_e.pdf

Then go to page 27 and read the directions for clearing CMOS. If you over overclock your processor, you may not be able to book enough to even get into the BIOS. In that case the only way to get your computer running again will be to clear CMOS and reset all BIOS settings to default.

Then go to page 29 for instructions for entering the BIOS

Then go to page 30 for instructions for going to "MB Intelligent Tweeker"

Then go to page 45 for directions for setting the CPU clock and Multiplier.

When you have done that come back here if you have more questions.

One more thing, watch your CPU temperature carefully. Especially if you are using the stock AMD CPU cooler.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to Prescott_666

"you may not be able to book enough to even get into the BIOS"

should be "you may not be able to boot up to get into the BIOS"

Reply to Prescott_666

Thanks! I'll give it a look and post how it goes!

Reply to south_valhalla

Best answer

OK, you have a non-Black Edition part, so if you want to overclock, this needs to be done strictly through the base clock adjustments.

Your factory base clock for Athlon 64s is 200 MHz. Your [upward locked] multiplier is 13x to get 2.6 GHz.

So, if you want to get to 3 GHz, you need 400 MHz more. 400/13 = 30.77 which we need to round to the nearest integer, which makes 31. You need a bus speed of 231 MHz to reach 3.003 GHz.

One more thing that's pretty important about overclocking the Athlon 64s - they need a stable power supply. You need to set your voltages to factory recommended numbers then adjust upward slowly until you achieve stability.

I think, if I recall correctly, that your chip has a stock voltage of 1.35 V. Start there, but you may need to bump up to 1.3625 or 1.375 to get it stable. If you BIOS has chipset voltage controls, a .050 volt bump might also be needed.

I had an Athlon X2 5000+ @ 3.45 stable, so I don't think you should have many problems getting this one to 3.0 GHz.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to Anonymous

Prescott_666 wrote :

First go to

http://download.gigabyte.us/FileLi [...] p-s3_e.pdf

Then go to page 27 and read the directions for clearing CMOS. If you over overclock your processor, you may not be able to book enough to even get into the BIOS. In that case the only way to get your computer running again will be to clear CMOS and reset all BIOS settings to default.

Then go to page 29 for instructions for entering the BIOS

Then go to page 30 for instructions for going to "MB Intelligent Tweeker"

Then go to page 45 for directions for setting the CPU clock and Multiplier.

When you have done that come back here if you have more questions.

One more thing, watch your CPU temperature carefully. Especially if you are using the stock AMD CPU cooler.

Thanks but this is the MB's manual which I've already looked at and hasnt really helped me much. I was hoping for some exact figures to change and such....

Reply to south_valhalla

Anonymous wrote :

OK, you have a non-Black Edition part, so if you want to overclock, this needs to be done strictly through the base clock adjustments.

Your factory base clock for Athlon 64s is 200 MHz. Your [upward locked] multiplier is 13x to get 2.6 GHz.

So, if you want to get to 3 GHz, you need 400 MHz more. 400/13 = 30.77 which we need to round to the nearest integer, which makes 31. You need a bus speed of 231 MHz to reach 3.003 GHz.

One more thing that's pretty important about overclocking the Athlon 64s - they need a stable power supply. You need to set your voltages to factory recommended numbers then adjust upward slowly until you achieve stability.

I think, if I recall correctly, that your chip has a stock voltage of 1.35 V. Start there, but you may need to bump up to 1.3625 or 1.375 to get it stable. If you BIOS has chipset voltage controls, a .050 volt bump might also be needed.

I had an Athlon X2 5000+ @ 3.45 stable, so I don't think you should have many problems getting this one to 3.0 GHz.

Ah, this is great! Im gonna give it a shot now and will post how it goes! Thanks!

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to south_valhalla

south_valhalla wrote :

Ah, this is great! Im gonna give it a shot now and will post how it goes! Thanks!

It always helps to set your voltages to a specific number. I know that the "Auto" setting on Asus board overvolts the processor heavily (it was almost 1.45 V on a 1.325 V processor).

And, you're welcome. Have fun!

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to Anonymous

Anonymous wrote :

It always helps to set your voltages to a specific number. I know that the "Auto" setting on Asus board overvolts the processor heavily (it was almost 1.45 V on a 1.325 V processor).

And, you're welcome. Have fun!

OK so I did everything and it works! Windows registered the higher CPU speed....only problem is now the system hangs after less than a minute. Idle BIOS has the CPU at 53 Celsius and the PC's warning for 60 Celsius comes on a the PC freezes in Windows, so I'm gonna guess that its too much heat? What would be a good cooler to get that wouldn't break the bank (Keep in mind I'm from South Africa and our electronics cost almost double of what they would in the USA)?

Reply to south_valhalla

Lower your HT Link speed to 800MHz (HT link multiplier of 4x) and lower your RAM speed. On the older Athlons the RAM speed comes from the clock speed divided by some number, which is why you have a RAM speed of 373 as your RAM divider is 7 and 2.6GHz/7 is roughly 373, rather than 400 at stock settings. So, if your CPU speed goes over 2.8GHz your RAM will be running past it's rated 400MHz (DDR 800MHz) speed. Setting your RAM to 333 (DDR 667) will set your memory divider to 8 allowing you to go to 3.2GHz before going over your RAMs rated speed.

As for the HT Link multiplier if you set it to 4x that basically allows you to go to a 250MHz base clock before going over HT 1GHz. If your running with an HT link above 1Ghz then your chipset will get hot (since it's only meant to handle 1GHz) and that will cause instability and even board failure if it's not properly cooled. As for the CPU itself it really starts to get unstable if it goes too far past a 1GHz HT link speed even on a newer AM2+ board that can handle a higher speed.

Message quoted 2 times

megamanx00 wrote :

Lower your HT Link speed to 800MHz (HT link multiplier of 4x) and lower your RAM speed. On the older Athlons the RAM speed comes from the clock speed divided by some number, which is why you have a RAM speed of 373 as your RAM divider is 7 and 2.6GHz/7 is roughly 373, rather than 400 at stock settings. So, if your CPU speed goes over 2.8GHz your RAM will be running past it's rated 400MHz (DDR 800MHz) speed. Setting your RAM to 333 (DDR 667) will set your memory divider to 8 allowing you to go to 3.2GHz before going over your RAMs rated speed.

As for the HT Link multiplier if you set it to 4x that basically allows you to go to a 250MHz base clock before going over HT 1GHz. If your running with an HT link above 1Ghz then your chipset will get hot (since it's only meant to handle 1GHz) and that will cause instability and even board failure if it's not properly cooled. As for the CPU itself it really starts to get unstable if it goes too far past a 1GHz HT link speed even on a newer AM2+ board that can handle a higher speed.

OK, I'll try that when I get back from university later today and will post results!

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to south_valhalla

megamanx00 wrote :

Lower your HT Link speed to 800MHz (HT link multiplier of 4x) and lower your RAM speed. On the older Athlons the RAM speed comes from the clock speed divided by some number, which is why you have a RAM speed of 373 as your RAM divider is 7 and 2.6GHz/7 is roughly 373, rather than 400 at stock settings. So, if your CPU speed goes over 2.8GHz your RAM will be running past it's rated 400MHz (DDR 800MHz) speed. Setting your RAM to 333 (DDR 667) will set your memory divider to 8 allowing you to go to 3.2GHz before going over your RAMs rated speed.

As for the HT Link multiplier if you set it to 4x that basically allows you to go to a 250MHz base clock before going over HT 1GHz. If your running with an HT link above 1Ghz then your chipset will get hot (since it's only meant to handle 1GHz) and that will cause instability and even board failure if it's not properly cooled. As for the CPU itself it really starts to get unstable if it goes too far past a 1GHz HT link speed even on a newer AM2+ board that can handle a higher speed.

CPU still overheats (above 60c) in under a minute and is at 50c when idling in the BIOS. Is it now safe to say I need a serious cooling upgrade?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to south_valhalla

south_valhalla wrote :

CPU still overheats (above 60c) in under a minute and is at 50c when idling in the BIOS. Is it now safe to say I need a serious cooling upgrade?

That overclock isn't terribly extreme, and thus, it seems like you have WAY too high a voltage. If you've left it on Auto, that might be part of your problem. More voltage means more dissipation required = more heat. I don't remember my exact voltage settings on my Athlon X2 anymore, but it seems to have been ok at 1.4 V. My Phenom 955 is sitting at 1.375V (due to a bit of voltage sag from my PSU's 12V line).

You might check a few other minor things...

1) Make sure your heatsink is well-seated. It almost sounds as though it might be loose.

2) How good is the airflow in your case? Creating convection and exchange is important when overclocking ANY processor on air.

3) Have you recently changed the TIM? Arctic Silver needs a little burn-in time to get to maximum thermal transfer.

I have seen high temps just based on #1, myself. I swapped out a Tuniq 120 with a Sunbeam Core Contact 120 simply because the AMD mount on the Tuniq was FAR too loose. (And yes, before I hear it, I DO know they are made by the same company. The fastener on the CC120 is head and shoulders above the locking crossbar from the Tuniq.)

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to keithpowers1977

keithpowers1977 wrote :

That overclock isn't terribly extreme, and thus, it seems like you have WAY too high a voltage. If you've left it on Auto, that might be part of your problem. More voltage means more dissipation required = more heat. I don't remember my exact voltage settings on my Athlon X2 anymore, but it seems to have been ok at 1.4 V. My Phenom 955 is sitting at 1.375V (due to a bit of voltage sag from my PSU's 12V line).

You might check a few other minor things...

1) Make sure your heatsink is well-seated. It almost sounds as though it might be loose.

2) How good is the airflow in your case? Creating convection and exchange is important when overclocking ANY processor on air.

3) Have you recently changed the TIM? Arctic Silver needs a little burn-in time to get to maximum thermal transfer.

I have seen high temps just based on #1, myself. I swapped out a Tuniq 120 with a Sunbeam Core Contact 120 simply because the AMD mount on the Tuniq was FAR too loose. (And yes, before I hear it, I DO know they are made by the same company. The fastener on the CC120 is head and shoulders above the locking crossbar from the Tuniq.)

Ja, it's set to Auto. Ill try setting it lower....what will happen if I set it too low? How do I know? Airflow is pretty decent I think. I have noted that temp doesn't decrease if I open my case. I havent messed with the thermal paste since I installed it. The system has always run a little hot so maybe I messed that up right at the start! Ill have a look...

Reply to south_valhalla

The thermal paste is messed up now that I wasn't careful enough taking the heat sink off but I don't think that there was enough applied to begin with. Ill sort that out, ad come more cooling and go from there.

Thank-you to everyone for their help!

Reply to south_valhalla

Best answer selected by south_valhalla.

------------------------------ MSI GE70 ONC. Windows 7 64bit Ultimate, Intel i7-3610QM Ivy Bridge, 8 GB DDR3 RAM, NVIDIA 650m 2 GB GDDR5 RAM, 128GB OCZ Agility 3 SSD, 750 GB Hitachi HDD @ 7200 RPM
Reply to south_valhalla

south_valhalla wrote :

OK, I'll try that when I get back from university later today and will post results!

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=2207620

Reply to fatal124

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