Hello, OCN!
It gives me great pride to present the Socket AM3 Knowledge Base. This thread is the Socket AM3 Knowledgebase. I have been thinking about starting this project for a long time now, and we've decided to finally share it with OCN. Thanks are in part to Thlnk3r & TxtmstrJoe for the encouragement, along with creation and inspiration from their Socket 939 Knowledge Base. As the name indicates, it's a thread all about AMD's Socket AM3 platform; and subsequent revisions. (AM3r2 A.K.A. AM3+)
First, it's an informal gathering place for OCNers who have a true appreciation for AMD's AM3 Platform. So, anyone who has ever run a AM3 Opteron, Athlon II, Sempron II,or Phenom II is welcome to join! In this thread, we'll have fun conversations about our beloved AM3 CPUs, motherboards, and chipsets. We don't even have to restrict our talk to just about AM3 while in here, too; all we ask is that we all have a true and mutual respect for each other.
Second, it's also designed to be a repository of AM3 experiences & knowledge. As time goes by, we hope this thread grows into an eminently useful knowledge-base that will help anyone who wants to use and overclock on an AMD AM3 system. We'll be including links to OCing techniques to this initial post imminently, once we get the ball rolling, but most of the really great stuff will come from YOU, as nothing is better than actual experience. I personally believe that there are some techniques and philosophies that hold true not just for AM3, but for any other platform as well, so this will hopefully be a resource that can inspire solutions for other (non-AM3) users too.
Third, this is a knowledge base, and appreciation center. It's meant for all questions to be answered as quick as possible. All CPU related information will be contained in the second post.
Finally, this is not a one man army. I will be looking for any an all volunteers to help keep myself, and this thread, up to date on the latest info as it rolls off the press. So Just PM me if you would like to become a contributor, or if you would like your Guide/FAQ/Info/HowTo thread linked in this repository of information.
How do you become part of this group? Simple: Just post up. Share your information, and if possible, share screen shots, CPUz links, and any other info as to how you obtained your Overclock or Performance Level.
Of course, everyone is welcome to contribute to this thread too.
So, thanks for everything! Let's all work together to make this good.
Group Contributors:
Helpful Links:
- Wikipedia's Article on K10 & K10.5 Architecture
- Voltages -What's what, and what they all mean
- AMD Dragon Platform Tuning Guide
- Slappa's AM3 Essentials Article
- Fear of Oneself's Video Tutorial for AMD Overclocking
- Logan's AMD Phenom II Overclocking Guide
- Dopamin's Northbridge & RAM Comparison
- Logan's K8 to Phenom II Clock for Clock Comparison
- OCN's own The Duke's AMD CPUs Current Tech Essentials
- Tator Tot's K10.5 CPU Multi | NB Multi | Ram Divider Chart
- Tator Tot's Guide to NB Multi Editing
- Raxen's Phenom II Core Unlocking Guide
- Talntid's Linux Benchmarking & Stability Testing Thread
- ChrisB17's AM3 Motherboard Buyers Guide & Help Thread
- The Phenom II Stepping Database
- AMD Temp & Core Information
Links to Recommended Stress Testing Programs and Overclocking Tools
- S&M v.1.9.1 (scroll down the page until you find the link to the download)*
- Prime 95 (General Testing for System Stability)
- OCCT v.2.0 (For general testing of RAM, IMC, CPU Cores, & GPU)
- MemTest86+ (for testing RAM settings outside the OS)
- 3DMark Vantage (For testing and Benchmarking a systems 3D Performance)
- 3DMark06 (For testing and benchmarking 3D Performance)
- Furmark (A OpenGL stability testing & benchmarking program for GPU's)
- AMD OverDrive (A Windows based Software Overclocking tool developed by AMD for the AMD/ATi 7 Series chipset and up)
- Phenom Master Tweaker (A program for Cool & Quite manipulation)
- K10 Stat (A Program for AMD Underclocking/Undervolting)
- GPUz (A Program from TechPowerUp for GPU sensors & overclock verification)
- CPUz (A Motherboard, RAM, & CPU information tool; & Overclock Verification)
- WPCredit (For Northbridge Multi Editing)
- Core Temp (CPU Temperature Monitoring)
- Hardware Monitor (For Temperature Monitoring Across All connected and supported hardware)
Test Bed
(24 items) |
TTTbox
(15 items) |
| CPU | Motherboard | Graphics | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMD A10-A5800K | ASRock FM2A85X-ITX | Radeon HD7770 1GB | 2x8GB 1866mhz C9 |
| Hard Drive | Hard Drive | Optical Drive | Cooling |
| SanDisk Ultra Plus 128GB | 2TB 5400 RPM | 24x DVD Drive | Noctua L9A |
| OS | Monitor | Keyboard | Power |
| Windows 7 Home Premium | 32" IPS TV | Logitech K400 | Seasonic G360 |
| Case | Mouse | Audio | |
| Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced | Logitech K400 Trackpad | Custom 2.1 Home Theater Setup | |
| View all | |||
|
Test Bed
(24 items) |
TTTbox
(15 items) |
| CPU | Motherboard | Graphics | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMD A10-A5800K | ASRock FM2A85X-ITX | Radeon HD7770 1GB | 2x8GB 1866mhz C9 |
| Hard Drive | Hard Drive | Optical Drive | Cooling |
| SanDisk Ultra Plus 128GB | 2TB 5400 RPM | 24x DVD Drive | Noctua L9A |
| OS | Monitor | Keyboard | Power |
| Windows 7 Home Premium | 32" IPS TV | Logitech K400 | Seasonic G360 |
| Case | Mouse | Audio | |
| Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced | Logitech K400 Trackpad | Custom 2.1 Home Theater Setup | |
| View all | |||
