# AMD FX-8350 OC with ASRock 970 Extreme3



## shovenose (Jun 3, 2013)

I'm usually not very adventurous with my overclocking. But i have this nice unlocked CPU, and a decent cooler (CM 212 EVO)...

After I get my Mushkin DDR3-1600 RAM, (Currently running Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3-1333), and my new graphics card (Radeon HD 7850, currently running GTX 550Ti), I want to overclock. How far do you think I can reasonably go?

Thanks.


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## de.das.dude (Jun 3, 2013)

you will never know unless you try. 5GHzish maybe?


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## shovenose (Jun 3, 2013)

de.das.dude said:


> you will never know unless you try. 5GHzish maybe?



lol ok 
But I'm worried my motherboard and cooler is not good enough?


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## de.das.dude (Jun 3, 2013)

motherboard is decent. cooler is pretty nice.


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## shovenose (Jun 3, 2013)

Whew ok. Should I bother with a BIOS update before I do it? I know there is one, but nothing is wrong now and I'm always hesitate to fix things that aren't broken.
Thanks,
shovenose


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## dark2099 (Jun 3, 2013)

I'm guessing you don't have the R2.0 model, and if you're on the 1.60 bios, I wouldn't bother with updating to the 1.70 BIOS, does't have any fixes or improvements for OCing.


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## Roph (Jun 3, 2013)

Catalyst Control Center has a CPU overdrive option when you're using AMD CPU/GPU, you can have it automatically run a slowly increasing stress test. It depends on the luck of the draw as to how good your chip is. I can get about 4.5ghz with stock cooling / voltage from a new 8320, though noise is a problem. Good luck


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## shovenose (Jun 3, 2013)

Thanks all for the info! When I receive my upgraded parts I will update this thread with questions or results


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## Johan45 (Jun 3, 2013)

shovenose said:


> lol ok
> But I'm worried my motherboard and cooler is not good enough?



I hate to be the bearer of bad news.But....
You should be. The 4+1 power of that board isn't going to be enough for any kind of OC. You'll be lucky to keep it stable at stock. That board will more that likely throttle the CPU back under load. Also keep an eye on the socket temps they will shoot up quite fast. These 8 core FX chips Suck up an awful lot of juice and spit out tons of heat. 
FX8350 and a minimum of 8+2 power for a decent oc that won't melt the board.


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## dark2099 (Jun 3, 2013)

Johan45 said:


> I hate to be the bearer of bad news.But....
> You should be. The 4+1 power of that board isn't going to be enough for any kind of OC. You'll be lucky to keep it stable at stock. That board will more that likely throttle the CPU back under load. Also keep an eye on the socket temps they will shoot up quite fast. These 8 core FX chips Suck up an awful lot of juice and spit out tons of heat.
> FX8350 and a minimum of 8+2 power for a decent oc that won't melt the board.



I'm no expert, but if the board can support the CPU, it should run just fine at stock.  To make a statement that it wouldn't be stable at stock is pretty loaded.  Agreeably though, if it is a simple 4+1 phase setup, it might be a little lacking for higher OCs.


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## shovenose (Jun 3, 2013)

dark2099 said:


> I'm no expert, but if the board can support the CPU, it should run just fine at stock.  To make a statement that it wouldn't be stable at stock is pretty loaded.  Agreeably though, if it is a simple 4+1 phase setup, it might be a little lacking for higher OCs.



Hmm... that's what worried me. But what determines how good a VRM is?


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## shovenose (Jun 3, 2013)

OK, Would this a good upgrade: ASRock 990FX Extreme3 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEF...
or this?
GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AMD Motherboard - Neweg...


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## Lazermonkey (Jun 3, 2013)

I am running an FX 6300 at 4.2 stable on air. That chip is 3.5 stock.

The board I am running is the ASrock 970 Extreme 4.

Highest temp I have seen running Prime95 or OCCT is probably 57-58 and it was pretty warm in my home at the time.


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## Durvelle27 (Jun 3, 2013)

Johan45 said:


> I hate to be the bearer of bad news.But....
> You should be. The 4+1 power of that board isn't going to be enough for any kind of OC. You'll be lucky to keep it stable at stock. That board will more that likely throttle the CPU back under load. Also keep an eye on the socket temps they will shoot up quite fast. These 8 core FX chips Suck up an awful lot of juice and spit out tons of heat.
> FX8350 and a minimum of 8+2 power for a decent oc that won't melt the board.





total BS


Even with a board with 4+1 PowerPhase he will be fine with a mild oc


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## Lazermonkey (Jun 3, 2013)

Here is an AMD board phasing list which is updated regularly.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AgN1D79Joo7tdE9xMUFlMEVWeFhuckJEVF9aMmtpUFE&gid=2


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Jun 3, 2013)

Lazermonkey said:


> I am running an FX 6300 at 4.2 stable on air. That chip is 3.5 stock.
> 
> The board I am running is the ASrock 970 Extreme 4.
> 
> Highest temp I have seen running Prime95 or OCCT is probably 57-58 and it was pretty warm in my home at the time.



Well ive an8+2 phase board and im at 4.9 with two more cores id say the Op should manage a mild overclock but will be limited by his mobo Vrm temps its unfortunately the way.
4+1 phases aren't bad per say they will heat up more quickly, killing of stability. 
Op the two 990fx boards you mention are good but I think the asrock extreme 3 needs a bios update for vischera but not sure.


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## shovenose (Jun 3, 2013)

theoneandonlymrk said:


> Well ive an8+2 phase board and im at 4.9 with two more cores id say the Op should manage a mild overclock but will be limited by his mobo Vrm temps its unfortunately the way.
> 4+1 phases aren't bad per say they will heat up more quickly, killing of stability.
> Op the two 990fx boards you mention are good but I think the asrock extreme 3 needs a bios update for vischera but not sure.



I have the 970 Extreme3 and it didn't need a bios update lol.
But thanks for the info... would improving case cooling of my computer help? I've got one 120mm intake on the front, and a single 120mm (or 140mm, I forget which) exhaust fan on the back of my corsair 200r case.
Or do VRM temps and case airflow temps have nothing to do with each other?
I should note, my computer is in its own enclosed area under my desk... and when I play like GTA IV it gets really hot and quite noisy  but everything has worked rock solid so far.


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## Lazermonkey (Jun 3, 2013)

Your computer SHOULD NOT be in an enclosed area. That is bad bad bad lol

If I am looking at the right case on Google. I would add a 120 to the top and 120 to the side intake.


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## Johan45 (Jun 3, 2013)

dark2099 said:


> I'm no expert, but if the board can support the CPU, it should run just fine at stock.  To make a statement that it wouldn't be stable at stock is pretty loaded.  Agreeably though, if it is a simple 4+1 phase setup, it might be a little lacking for higher OCs.



Yes and I've seen many user who thought the same thing. Without some extra fans put right on the heatsinks or behind the mobo, Prime95 blend test will make that board throttle.

Here's a link. This is the same board with a FX6300 the best he could get was 4.0G and his CPU socket temp was in the mid 60's. It's not BS it's observation from helping others. 
Also @ shovenose avoid the UD3 rev.3 they're full of problems. The older ones are ok.
 My recommendation if you're looking for a mild OC would be one of the M5A99fx asus boards, at least they have a 6+2 power section.
I don't know why anyone interested in buying a high power chip would want to cheap out on the next most important piece of their system.

EDIT: Here's a link with different AM3+ boards and power phases.


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## d1nky (Jun 3, 2013)

no one has told him to get a better cooler.......

aegir is slightly better than the evo and at 4.6+ it cant handle temps.

and a note on the board, theres been a few people with that board/cpu and done well. but yea the phase design is poor in comparison to others. 

the 990fx extreme3 is even better suited to the vishera


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## GreiverBlade (Jun 3, 2013)

i have the same mobo and i run a Phenom II X4 955 BE @ 4.2ghz with a corsair h60 and XMS3 ram (1333) (3.2ghz stock for cpu) 45.5° max temp reading (core temp 42°)

its a pretty decent mobo unless you want cfx then its more the ASRock 970 Extrem 4 or the 990 serie but for single gpu its quite good 

i have the 1.60 bios and i tried a FX 8350 it OC pretty damn like the PHII i got 4.7 stable for 1 month before i have to hand back the cpu to the current owner (temp reading 55° idle 75° ish load) well the temps are not that good tho ?


also ASR 970 Ex3 are certified for 140w cpu  (X4 BE 955 and FX8350 are 125w rated, i know i know its not "under load")


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## shovenose (Jun 3, 2013)

My computer has to stay in that area.. I have no more space for it elsewhere lol. I could put it on top of the desk but I'm too lazy for that and then I don't know what to do with the computer-shaped space in my desk...

This is my case:
Corsair Carbide Series 200R Black Steel structure ...

So, providing I do convince myself to put it on the desk, I would get five green fans... two for top and sides and one for the back... this is gonna be cool! 

Any problems with this?


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## d1nky (Jun 3, 2013)

de.das.dude said:


> you will never know unless you try. 5GHzish maybe?




darn youll be lucky! 5ghz means ya need about 1.5vcore, the temps at that speed and voltage is insane. 

the aegir could just about handle an fx4100 in low ambients, this 8350 is forcing me to go watercooled.


im currently stress testing prime @ 4.4 with 1.42v and bios reading is 53*c and package 38.8*c


edit @ op! if ya buying stuff get a watercooler. it makes a world of difference with overclocking this chip. and fan control can be done through mobo headers so ya could save that money and get an AIO


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## GreiverBlade (Jun 3, 2013)

also adding : a Stock FX-8350 is damn good 4ghz 4.2ghz turbo is enough when you have a software that use effectively 8core (not gaming xD )

that topic make me wonder if i take a fx 8350 or if i go for a 4300/6300 to upgrade my old but faifull 955BE


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## shovenose (Jun 3, 2013)

I changed my order since they didn't have nough of the green fans I wanted... got non-LED orange ones instead which will be less distracting when I'm trying to get work done LOL.
Thanks to all who advised, we will see what happens when everything arrives!


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