Upgrade advice (from the pros)

[n4tivo]

So...

This is my current setup.

Summary
		Operating System
			Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center 64-bit
		CPU
			AMD FX-6300	33 °C
			Vishera 32nm Technology
		RAM
			8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 802MHz (9-9-9-24)
		Motherboard
			ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. M5A97 (Socket 942)	40 °C
		Graphics
			S211HL (1920x1080@60Hz)
			2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 (EVGA)	52 °C 
		Storage
			149GB MAXTOR S TM3160815AS SATA Disk Device (SATA)	43 °C
			465GB Seagate ST350041 8AS SATA Disk Device (SATA)	39 °C
		Optical Drives
			ATAPI iHAS424 Y SATA CdRom Device
		Audio
			Realtek High Definition Audio
Operating System
	Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center 64-bit

Just need some advice as to which component I should upgrade first (besides primary HD). I only have a $110 budget.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[n4tivo]

Got the aftermarket cooler yesterday night, installed it, decided to OC a bit, increased x20 multiplier, no voltage changes, these are the results.

http://imgur.com/idIWrm9

Speedfan, cpuz, and speccy report 64c while HWMonitor reports 78c. Its been running for two hours, no bsods nor random restarts/shutdowns.

cpuz dump
http://valid.x86.fr/1ze4em

[Rove]

Ok you don't want to go over 60C on a AMD FX CPU ideally.

However you should check the temperature with AMD Overdrive to get a proper reading.

AMD Overdrive will inform you of your thermal margin (how much between you and maximum temperature) because it looks like you are only measuring socket temperature. AMD Overdrive will measure core temperature with sensors built directly into the CPU. Right now I think you are only using motherboard sensors which typically give a reading that is too high, often by around 10C more.

[n4tivo]

Test results after downloading overdrive. Ran for about an hour.

http://imgur.com/2BE17un

[Rove]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von n4tive:

Test results after downloading overdrive. Ran for about an hour.

http://imgur.com/2BE17un

4.4C is not very much thermal margin. That might mean that if you ambient temperature goes up by only 5C on a hot day you will be above the safety limits.

My suggestion is that you turn down the overclock or get a better cooler. Sorry if the one I recommended did not perform as well as you had hoped. There is also the option of adding a second fan to it. This should increase your cooler's performance for relatively cheap. You did get the Zalman CNPS 10X Performa right cause that's what I'm talking about. You may also be able to change to a custom fan with higher airflow for increased performance.

Also try turning the base clock down to normal, re-enable Turbo & Cool 'n' Quite and then overclock the Turbo just a little bit while leaving the base clock alone. You overclock the Turbo in AMD Overdrive, rather than in your BIOS. This will help your PC regulate temperatures better and will help turn down the clockspeed (turn off the Turbo) if temperatures get too high.

I'd say aim for at least 10C thermal margin tested on the hot part of a hot day. Cause then you know it probably is never going to get 10C hotter than that and will always be safe.

EDIT:
Another thing I just thought of, it may be that your case is just getting too hot inside. Adding another good case fan or two may improve your cooler performance by a lot. Cause for the cooler to work right it needs lots or cool (or at least room-temperature) air in the case. If you are just building up hot air inside your case that will make your cooler not work as well. You need some good case fans to really get the CPU and GPU cooling running smooth.

What's your current case and how many fans?

[Rove]

Case fans may make all the difference.

[n4tivo]

I have an ultra gladiator mid-tower case with front, back, and side panel fans. Ambient temp might be the factor here, its been pretty hot, about 90 - 95f on any given day.

pc case
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2617303

[_I_]

cpuz may be readin the board cpu socket temp wrong
try with asus monitoring software

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M5A97/HelpDesk_Download/
pick win7-64 for asus ai suite

[n4tivo]

For those having the same problem as me, you can download AI Suite for windows 8 & 8.1 from this link.

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/RAMPAGE_IV_GENE/HelpDesk_Download/

[n4tivo]

So I tested again, multiplier x20.5 running at 4.1. HW report temps over 62c however, in amd overdrive thermal margin remained a 19.1. No stability issues so far.

[Rove]

Okay that sounds much better.

I'd suggest for further overclocking that you try and overclock (both) turbo settings above the base clock of 4.1 GHz. Make sure Turbo is enabled in BIOS and AMD Overdrive, Cool 'n' quiet should be enabled also and then overclock the turbo speed and voltage as needed.

4.1 GHz base with 4.3 GHz on the slowest Turbo with 4 cores selected and 4.5 GHz on the fastest Turbo with 2 cores selected might be good targets. You may even have thermal margin beyond that. I suggest try and keep the same pattern with fastest turbo on 2 cores and slowest turbo on 4 cores 1/2 way between fastest and base.

Always keep turbo above base clock because if turbo is set slower than base clock it can cause problems and crashes. This as well as first generation turbo (on some AMD Phenom IIs) having bugs or being unknown is why some overclockers recommend to disable turbo. Because it can be more complex. However it offers a valuable tool for being safe with temperatures and efficient with powerwhen overclocking and I feel it should not be overlooked.

[n4tivo]

Odd... turbo core control is greyed out. Can't modify.

http://imgur.com/JmiaEFM

[Rove]

Yes you can. it's a button on the right of the greyed out checkbox.

Mine looks exactly the same with "select all cores" greyed out but next to it on the right is the button for Turbo controls. There are two levels of settings, make sure you set both.

I suggest you set level 0 to 4.5 GHz with 2 cores selected and set level 1 to 4.3 GHz with 4 cores selected. You will need to set level 0 before level 1 since level 1 can not go as high or higher than level 0.

[n4tivo]

I can get to Turbo Core Control, but I can't move any of the sliders. All greyed out.

See below.

http://imgur.com/qbfzgeM

[Rove]

Because like I said you need to set level 0 above level 1 first and BOTH levels need to be set above the baseclock. You can select the boost level (1 or 0) at the bottom of that panel you got into. Before you do this you should make sure you have set your base clock down below both turbo settings (set it back to 4.1 GHz later), make sure both Turbo and Cool 'n' Quiet are enabled in BIOS then set level 0 boost first to 4.5 GHz then apply then set level 1 to 4.3 GHz. Once you have set level 0 and applied it then level 1 should be able to be set up to 500 MHz below level 0, so it should have unlocked from where it is now.

At least I think that's how it works. If that does not work for you then let me know.

My level 0 boost is able to set up to over 6 GHz just with the slider so that's more than enough. Like I said I think setting level 0 higher will unlock level 1 to just below the level 0 setting.

[n4tivo]

Thanks Rove, you have been a great help, can't thank you enough.
I'm still new at this so please bear with me.

So, I selected BOOST LEVEL 0 and set it x22.5 multiplier which is 4500Ghz, then applied or okay (confirmed it running) When I switch to BOOST LEVEL 1 however, can't move any sliders, it remained at x20.5 or 4100Ghz. CURRENT VALUE column fluctuates between 4500 and 4100 so that could be CnQ kicking in.

Do I have to set anything at NUMBER OF BOOSTED CORES? For 0 I set it at 2, for 1 at 4. Not sure if thats right.

Edit: Okay, I think I figured it out. One things thats worrying me is the voltage. Current voltage is at 1.42v, temps seen okay. I'm idling at 43c considering its hot outside.