How to overclock AMD FX 8120 till 4.25 GHz

[Rashid]

I got a AMD FX 8120 processor yesterday. I have set up some benchmarks for it and I have started working on the overclocking of the processor. I ran the BSOD settings for 20 minuntes to overclock it. The best stable result that I achieved on it was at 4.2 GHz. I want to raise the value till 4.25 GHz. At 4.2 GHz, my settings details showed the value of VCore as 1.29, value of CPU bus was at 250 & multithreading at 17x. The temp details were showing details as, temperature of when the processor was at idle was 12ºC, when the processor’s core was working at full processing the temperature was 54ºC and the other parts of CPU were at temperature of 16ºC. Can anyone help me raise the iverclocking value till 4.25 GHz?

[prem11]

According to the temperature details that you have provided, I think that they are bit high for VCore. You can try using a different thermal compound while mounting the heatsink or maybe you are not providing a good airflow to the internal peripherals. Try applying the thermal compound under the heatsink before mounting it. See to it that you don’t apply too much of it as it again might cause complications. Apply a pinch of thermal compound and see to that you don’t leave any air bubbles underneath the heat sink.

[Delisa]

See the Memory settings of your RAM frequency and timings. There you will find the SPD details along with the JEDEC details. These details show the manufacturers recommended settings and values for voltages and timings for representative frequencies till which your RAM will remain in stable condition. If you see your current RAM settings, you will see that the JEDEC frequencies will be that of JEDEC #4 equivalent while the timings will be equivalent to that of JEDEC #2 or #3 settings. These mismatching conditions will lower the processing speed of your RAM. To relax these frequencies to come closer to JEDEC #4 or maybe match them, you will need to toggle bios main memory timing line item from Auto to Manual.

[AshritaS]

In the manual mode you will need to set the individual line items in the SPD settings. The most important setting that you will need to change in this JEDEC column is that of Command rate. It will define the efficiency of your RAM after overclocking the processor. The other individual timings you will see should be left to their default values. If you BIOS settings provide option to set hem at Auto then do it.

[Beatrix]

Overclocking the processor above its recommended limit, that is, 4.25 GHz will need you to control the incoming voltage. If you notice high level of voltage fluctuations, then you will need to disable the Cool N Quiet, C1E, Turbo Boost and other ‘Green’ settings in the BIOS setup. If you are using Windows OS then you will need to set the power settings to High Performance. You can find these settings in the Control Panel under Power Settings. As you have mentioned in your question that the processor’s core temperature is 54ºC, I think that it is too high. It can cause instability and down-throttling when the processor is under loaded processing. You need to control and maintain it around 45ºC.

[Kabilan]

The temperatures show that you need to change the thermal compound that you use for cooling frequently. I don’t know which thermal compound you are using, but I say that you should clean it every time the temperature rises above 50 ºC. The cleaning process is simple. First remove the heatsink to clean the old thermal compound from the heatsink and CPU. Use a dry tissue paper for cleaning this. Once the old thermal compound is removed clean it with a tissue paper moistened with isopropyl alcohol. This will make applying of new layer of thermal compound easier. Now apply a new layer of thermal compound equally over all the surfaces.

[Nabhanyu]

I think the high temperature that is being generated during overclocking is due to graphic card that you are using. Graphic card tends to suck up most energy, like around 200+ watts. If you have any graphic card, detach it and see if the temperature goes down. Also I recommend you to use PSU of Corsair, Seasonic or Antec. They are best when it comes to overclocking.

[Makarios]

If your temperature is not going down, then I recommend you that you should try overclocking AMD FX 8120 from the beginning. You need to follow the incremental method of overclocking as it is systematic and can help to achieve the pinpoint result of overclocking. Incremental method suggests that only one value should be changed at a time. It will also help eliminating the problem that is obstructing the perfect overclocking.

[Edi]

To revert back from the changes that you have currently made,
1) Reset the CMOS settings, set the values of all ‘Green’ settings to their default values. Set the voltage settings back to the stock and set it to high performance. Also disable the Thermal Throttling settings.
2) Start increasing the CPU frequency in 10 MHz increments.
3) After every increment, run Prime95 blend for 20 minutes. Keeps a lookout for increasing temperatures using the temperature control softwares.
This will successfully revert back the changes that have been made during overclocking.