Since the original overclocking guide has been abandoned by the OP and no good overclocking info is on the first post here it is.
First off download the necessary applications which will include monitoring and benchmarking software:
You may need new updated bios for your motherboard.
Now make sure you are using a good driver. Most people are doing fine with the 14.2 beta drivers also the 14.1 has a little less performance but it is stable enough for Kaveri.
http://support.amd.com/en-us/download
Now time to overclock. Other boards may have different settings so this section may be revised.
To have results entered fill out form below. Please read directions so there can be consistency. Please do at least one benchmark.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AoqSX7phPPgGdHVCOXZxeFhlc3hSSURHeFc4STBlVnc&single=true&gid=2&output=html&widget=true
For the Question in form that says Overclock- CPu/vcore... Just fill in the info between each /CPU (speed)/vCore/Ram Speed/Timings/Ram Voltage/NB speed/NBvoltage/iGPU clock (if a dGPU put dGPU, if iGPU put the clock speed)
For cinebench take screenshot like this. Upload to your OCN photo directory, choose embed option, then copy and paste html link.
For Fire Strike bench, iGPU results only. Run it on Normal settings (not extreme), then copy and paste the link to your score.
For Heaven and Valley benches, just do same as with cinebench except no username unless you can figure out a way to get score and username in screen together.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1u8m4FY3CUrqmYkclQSrqiegUwlNr5cGbtA8WjH-nVjE/viewform?embedded=true
Feel free to make any suggestions. Thanks.
This overclocking guide is to be used as reference only and outcomes will vary. Overclocking has potential risks involved such as damaging your equipment (long and short term), ruining your OS, etc. User assumes all risk and liability. To lower risk ensure you have adequate cooling, no stock cooler is not enough.
First off download the necessary applications which will include monitoring and benchmarking software:
CPU-Z: This gives very good info on vCore (voltage that powers the cpu), RAM/Memory speed, timings, and latencies. and also basic info about your motherboard, cpu, gpu, etc.
I would make sure you have an updated version as Kaveri is fairly new and may not be fully compatible with older versions.
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html To the right of the page are a few options some have different skins.
GPU-Z: This gives very good monitoring info about the Spectre R7 iGPU that is embedded in the 7850K.
This does not need to be installed and can run from the downloaded folder.
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/SysInfo/GPU-Z/
Now for monitoring there are a few options and I cannot verify until I hear from others as to whether or not they all work.
AMD Overdrive: This is a program made by AMD but it is not completely working for Kaveri, BUT you can still monitor temps, speed, overclock (not suggested), benchmark, test stability, and some other useful options if they work.
I only suggest this program for monitoring your temps as this seems to be the most "universal" across Kaveri builds. It doesn't give the exact value of the temp but the thermal margin which basically shows how much more you can go until your at the chips max, where damage and throttling can occur.
http://sites.amd.com/us/game/downloads/amd-overdrive/Pages/overview.aspx
Easy Tune 6: I can personally suggest this for Gigabyte board owners. You can monitor cpu and NB temps, set fan curves, and overclock (not suggested).
Generic download location, personally I would download from your specific boards download page.
http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/utility.aspx
For other board manufacturers I would at least check out their functionality, I've used each of the following on Intel Z77 boards and all worked well.
Some may disagree with this but from my experience they work well.
ASUS AI Suite worked flawlessly for me on my last intel board, if does come with a few other apps to so trial and error there you get to check which ones you want installed.
MSI has a program as well.
Asrock has one too.
Few other programs too like Aida64 but it is a trial and kind of annoying saying trial over graphs.
Unfortunately at this time there are no other temperature monitoring softwares that will accurately display temps for Kaveri. (HWmonitor accurately displays NB temp if you have no other options)
I would make sure you have an updated version as Kaveri is fairly new and may not be fully compatible with older versions.
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html To the right of the page are a few options some have different skins.
GPU-Z: This gives very good monitoring info about the Spectre R7 iGPU that is embedded in the 7850K.
This does not need to be installed and can run from the downloaded folder.
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/SysInfo/GPU-Z/
Now for monitoring there are a few options and I cannot verify until I hear from others as to whether or not they all work.
AMD Overdrive: This is a program made by AMD but it is not completely working for Kaveri, BUT you can still monitor temps, speed, overclock (not suggested), benchmark, test stability, and some other useful options if they work.
I only suggest this program for monitoring your temps as this seems to be the most "universal" across Kaveri builds. It doesn't give the exact value of the temp but the thermal margin which basically shows how much more you can go until your at the chips max, where damage and throttling can occur.
http://sites.amd.com/us/game/downloads/amd-overdrive/Pages/overview.aspx
Easy Tune 6: I can personally suggest this for Gigabyte board owners. You can monitor cpu and NB temps, set fan curves, and overclock (not suggested).
Generic download location, personally I would download from your specific boards download page.
http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/utility.aspx
For other board manufacturers I would at least check out their functionality, I've used each of the following on Intel Z77 boards and all worked well.
Some may disagree with this but from my experience they work well.
ASUS AI Suite worked flawlessly for me on my last intel board, if does come with a few other apps to so trial and error there you get to check which ones you want installed.
MSI has a program as well.
Asrock has one too.
Few other programs too like Aida64 but it is a trial and kind of annoying saying trial over graphs.
Unfortunately at this time there are no other temperature monitoring softwares that will accurately display temps for Kaveri. (HWmonitor accurately displays NB temp if you have no other options)
Prime95: This test will max out your cpu and ram and test whether it can stably run with your overclock settings.
Does not require install.
http://www.guru3d.com/files_details/prime95_download.html Don't click on the big green download box scroll down further.
Intel Burn Test: This will test similiarly to Prime95 and I use them interchangeably. This will give actual test values such as Gflops and time.
Does not require install.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/intelburntest.html
Cinebench 11.5: A good cpu performance test measures rendering performance if you choose CPU option in top right.
http://www.guru3d.com/files_get/cinebench_11_5,1.html
Unigine Valley: Will test graphic performance so you can compare results with others with an actual value and will test stability too.
Unigine Heaven: Will test graphic performance so you can compare results with others with an actual value and will test stability too.
Both are here: http://unigine.com/products/benchmarks/
Fire Strike: Another Graphics benchmark.
I suggest getting it on Steam. Once you get results make sure you login on the webpage to keep your results online.
This has a program that must be installed called Steam then you have free access and updated through it.
http://store.steampowered.com/
SuperPi: This is good for testing ram and making sure it is close to other scores.
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/366/super-pi-mod-v1-5/mirrors
Does not require install.
http://www.guru3d.com/files_details/prime95_download.html Don't click on the big green download box scroll down further.
Intel Burn Test: This will test similiarly to Prime95 and I use them interchangeably. This will give actual test values such as Gflops and time.
Does not require install.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/intelburntest.html
Cinebench 11.5: A good cpu performance test measures rendering performance if you choose CPU option in top right.
http://www.guru3d.com/files_get/cinebench_11_5,1.html
Unigine Valley: Will test graphic performance so you can compare results with others with an actual value and will test stability too.
Unigine Heaven: Will test graphic performance so you can compare results with others with an actual value and will test stability too.
Both are here: http://unigine.com/products/benchmarks/
Fire Strike: Another Graphics benchmark.
I suggest getting it on Steam. Once you get results make sure you login on the webpage to keep your results online.
This has a program that must be installed called Steam then you have free access and updated through it.
http://store.steampowered.com/
SuperPi: This is good for testing ram and making sure it is close to other scores.
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/366/super-pi-mod-v1-5/mirrors
You may need new updated bios for your motherboard.
Gigabyte: F2A88Xn-Wifi- beta bios F4a necessity for overclocking iGPU
To be updated.
To be updated.
Now make sure you are using a good driver. Most people are doing fine with the 14.2 beta drivers also the 14.1 has a little less performance but it is stable enough for Kaveri.
http://support.amd.com/en-us/download
Now time to overclock. Other boards may have different settings so this section may be revised.
This section defines other manufacturer bios labels for settings so you can reference them for your board.
ASROCK: ASRock name = Gigabyte name
CPU Voltage = vCore)
CPU NB/GFX Voltage = NB core
DRAM Voltage = DRAM Voltage
APU/PCIE Frequency = BCLK
ASROCK: ASRock name = Gigabyte name
CPU Voltage = vCore)
CPU NB/GFX Voltage = NB core
DRAM Voltage = DRAM Voltage
APU/PCIE Frequency = BCLK
Go into bios. Take a look at the current values so you can see what the stock settings are maybe write them down for reference.
Heres a screenshot of my stock values
Set your optimized defaults to start fresh. Set any of your hard drive settings if necessary.
First off you need to disable a few settings: Core Performance Boost, Cool and Quiet, SVM (for running VMs), C6 is optional , APM-AMD power management will cause the cpu to throttle when overclocked.
In this screenshot you can see I set the clock ratio to 44 so for all purposes of this guide you can try the same setting.
Now need to make a few voltage adjustments. These will vary depending on your chip and motherboard. My settings for offset are +.03125 and Extreme load line calibration or LLC this gives me a load in windows of 1.440
In this pic my vcore shows as 1.4125 which is the stock AMD setting, but on this board when I switch it from AUTO to normal that will change to 1.35 and the offset will increase the value.
So, when using offset, to check what the voltage is truly set to when you get to desktop open CPU-Z then run Prime95 check what CPU-Z says the voltage is. For a 4.4ghz overclock shoot for around 1.44v and adjust as needed.
Now save settings and attempt to boot into windows.
If you get a black screen you need more voltage or you have missed a step, one time I left the CPU vrin load line calibration on normal and it wouldn't boot so re-check make sure everything is right before upping the voltage.
Once into windows. Open the software you chose to monitor the cpu temps, CPUz, and either (don't start them yet) Prime 95(P95) or Intel Burn test (IBT). Keep all these windows in view .
Make sure your temps are acceptable
The temp in my house or ambient is 15c/59f (yes cold here but cost effective). My cpu idles @ 24 c or @70c thermal margin. This will change depending on your ambient and your cooler.
My NorthBridge or NB is also at 24c. This is labeled as System temp in my bios and ET6, also in HWmonitor is is System0.
Now if everything is good test the stability.
For IBT this is somewhat how my screen is configured.
I set the stress level to maximum hit start and just watch the temps and the voltages. Make sure voltage is at least 1.4125 or at this setting it will crash.
IBT will stop once its finished or crash/freeze if its not stable. It will give 10 results. For my cpu at 4.3 it did 20.5ish GFlops @4.4 it does 21.5ish GFLops.
Same goes for Prime 95 except to test ram and cpu click Custom, Memory to use put max that you have available for full test, or just use the blend test.
It will run forever if you let it and doesn't close if you hit the X you have to click Test, Stop, Ok.
For Prime 95 make sure each box for the workers continues to say "Worker X- Self Test" if it says "Worker X-Not Running" then you are not stable.
If all is good here you can tweak as you see necessary remembering to monitor temps and voltages. Lower the vcore lower the temps but it has to be stable.
You can try changing offset voltage down a notch to .025 and test if its stable, or put the clock ratio to 45 and see if it works if not more offset. Lower cpu ratio possibly lower offset. All depends on your temps.
Notice the settings changed in the bios now and the cpu idle temp there is 38c now with fan speeds on low.
Heres a screenshot of my stock values
Set your optimized defaults to start fresh. Set any of your hard drive settings if necessary.
First off you need to disable a few settings: Core Performance Boost, Cool and Quiet, SVM (for running VMs), C6 is optional , APM-AMD power management will cause the cpu to throttle when overclocked.
In this screenshot you can see I set the clock ratio to 44 so for all purposes of this guide you can try the same setting.
Now need to make a few voltage adjustments. These will vary depending on your chip and motherboard. My settings for offset are +.03125 and Extreme load line calibration or LLC this gives me a load in windows of 1.440
In this pic my vcore shows as 1.4125 which is the stock AMD setting, but on this board when I switch it from AUTO to normal that will change to 1.35 and the offset will increase the value.
So, when using offset, to check what the voltage is truly set to when you get to desktop open CPU-Z then run Prime95 check what CPU-Z says the voltage is. For a 4.4ghz overclock shoot for around 1.44v and adjust as needed.
Now save settings and attempt to boot into windows.
If you get a black screen you need more voltage or you have missed a step, one time I left the CPU vrin load line calibration on normal and it wouldn't boot so re-check make sure everything is right before upping the voltage.
Once into windows. Open the software you chose to monitor the cpu temps, CPUz, and either (don't start them yet) Prime 95(P95) or Intel Burn test (IBT). Keep all these windows in view .
Make sure your temps are acceptable
The temp in my house or ambient is 15c/59f (yes cold here but cost effective). My cpu idles @ 24 c or @70c thermal margin. This will change depending on your ambient and your cooler.
My NorthBridge or NB is also at 24c. This is labeled as System temp in my bios and ET6, also in HWmonitor is is System0.
Now if everything is good test the stability.
For IBT this is somewhat how my screen is configured.
I set the stress level to maximum hit start and just watch the temps and the voltages. Make sure voltage is at least 1.4125 or at this setting it will crash.
IBT will stop once its finished or crash/freeze if its not stable. It will give 10 results. For my cpu at 4.3 it did 20.5ish GFlops @4.4 it does 21.5ish GFLops.
Same goes for Prime 95 except to test ram and cpu click Custom, Memory to use put max that you have available for full test, or just use the blend test.
It will run forever if you let it and doesn't close if you hit the X you have to click Test, Stop, Ok.
For Prime 95 make sure each box for the workers continues to say "Worker X- Self Test" if it says "Worker X-Not Running" then you are not stable.
If all is good here you can tweak as you see necessary remembering to monitor temps and voltages. Lower the vcore lower the temps but it has to be stable.
You can try changing offset voltage down a notch to .025 and test if its stable, or put the clock ratio to 45 and see if it works if not more offset. Lower cpu ratio possibly lower offset. All depends on your temps.
Notice the settings changed in the bios now and the cpu idle temp there is 38c now with fan speeds on low.
Ram speeds seem to be an issue for many people on this platform so this guide will become a cumulative effort as data is gained.
Typically 2133 and under is easily achieved if the ram can handle that.
Higher ram speeds are essential for optimal iGPU output.
Make sure your cpu overclock IS stable before moving to ram settings.
I will be more or less just running my ram at its rated specs but is considered overclocking to some degree.
First off find your ram rated specs I am using G.Skill 2400 2x4gb Cas 9-11-11-31 XMP. Although they have an XMP profile many have found the XMP profiles to not be stable.
Go into your bios. Find where your ram settings are.
For 2400 speed I needed to up the NB speed to 2000 (this is also good for the iGPU overclock) and voltages to Auto to get it to pass Super Pi but it would pass IBT and P95. For 1600 I left the NB stock.
Change the Timing mode to Manual-for this motherboard once you change one timing setting for 1 channel it makes the same change for all channels. For Advanced each channel must be set individually.
Enter the timings section and insert the rated cas specs for your ram.
*My sticks wont boot at rated specs when I enter 1T command rate so they are at 2T'
Also go back to the voltages and set your rated DRAM voltage, for mine it is 1.65 so I have to enter 1.66 as there is no 1.65. No need to increase this UNLESS you are overclocking your ram, if they are not booting it is either, wrong settings, timing needs to be looser, speed needs to decrease, or NB is overheating.
Save settings and attempt to boot into windows.
If your PC wont boot recheck that you have entered in everything correctly. If needed load the XMP profile, if your ram has one, and then check what settings get loaded into the bios. Then manually enter the same timings.
Now to test ram perform same tests as for the CPU overclocking except this time when you open up CPU-Z make sure you click on the Memory tab.
Make sure cas settings are correct, that it is in dual channel if you have dual channel ram and speed is correct.
Also for ram open up Super Pi and choose 32m for my setup @ 4.4 1600 ram I got 15m 22s with 2400 ram I got 14m 41s so there is an incremental increase and it is stable.
Typically 2133 and under is easily achieved if the ram can handle that.
Higher ram speeds are essential for optimal iGPU output.
Make sure your cpu overclock IS stable before moving to ram settings.
I will be more or less just running my ram at its rated specs but is considered overclocking to some degree.
First off find your ram rated specs I am using G.Skill 2400 2x4gb Cas 9-11-11-31 XMP. Although they have an XMP profile many have found the XMP profiles to not be stable.
Go into your bios. Find where your ram settings are.
For 2400 speed I needed to up the NB speed to 2000 (this is also good for the iGPU overclock) and voltages to Auto to get it to pass Super Pi but it would pass IBT and P95. For 1600 I left the NB stock.
Change the Timing mode to Manual-for this motherboard once you change one timing setting for 1 channel it makes the same change for all channels. For Advanced each channel must be set individually.
Enter the timings section and insert the rated cas specs for your ram.
*My sticks wont boot at rated specs when I enter 1T command rate so they are at 2T'
Also go back to the voltages and set your rated DRAM voltage, for mine it is 1.65 so I have to enter 1.66 as there is no 1.65. No need to increase this UNLESS you are overclocking your ram, if they are not booting it is either, wrong settings, timing needs to be looser, speed needs to decrease, or NB is overheating.
Save settings and attempt to boot into windows.
If your PC wont boot recheck that you have entered in everything correctly. If needed load the XMP profile, if your ram has one, and then check what settings get loaded into the bios. Then manually enter the same timings.
Now to test ram perform same tests as for the CPU overclocking except this time when you open up CPU-Z make sure you click on the Memory tab.
Make sure cas settings are correct, that it is in dual channel if you have dual channel ram and speed is correct.
Also for ram open up Super Pi and choose 32m for my setup @ 4.4 1600 ram I got 15m 22s with 2400 ram I got 14m 41s so there is an incremental increase and it is stable.
For this guide I am at a loss for any real worthwhile overclocking and need more input as my motherboard is locked throught the bios at 2000 NB and 960 iGPU clock.
The iGPU is fairly easy at least at my locked clocks.
First off go into the bios and make sure the NB is set to 2000.
Then change graphics frequency to 960.
Then find the Graphic configuration tab and make sure the iGPU is enabled and set the UMA to 1GB. For most 1GB has same or better performance
than 2GB for 1080p.
If these settings dont work make sure that all settings are correct and that previous overclocks are stable or lastly
change the NB voltage settings. Since the stock voltage is 1.2125 I would make sure you do not go past 1.22. Unfortunately at this moment there
isnt a way to measure this setting from windows so after you save the bios setting go back in and check what it is at.
Once you get into windows open up GPU-Z and click on the sensors tab. There is no way to check the temp for the iGPU but the cpu temp is the only way to monitor it.
Run Heaven,Valley, and/or Fire Strike leave the settings for each benchmark on stock setting.
Compare scores in the spreadsheet below to make sure your system is operating correctly.
The iGPU is fairly easy at least at my locked clocks.
First off go into the bios and make sure the NB is set to 2000.
Then change graphics frequency to 960.
Then find the Graphic configuration tab and make sure the iGPU is enabled and set the UMA to 1GB. For most 1GB has same or better performance
than 2GB for 1080p.
If these settings dont work make sure that all settings are correct and that previous overclocks are stable or lastly
change the NB voltage settings. Since the stock voltage is 1.2125 I would make sure you do not go past 1.22. Unfortunately at this moment there
isnt a way to measure this setting from windows so after you save the bios setting go back in and check what it is at.
Once you get into windows open up GPU-Z and click on the sensors tab. There is no way to check the temp for the iGPU but the cpu temp is the only way to monitor it.
Run Heaven,Valley, and/or Fire Strike leave the settings for each benchmark on stock setting.
Compare scores in the spreadsheet below to make sure your system is operating correctly.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AoqSX7phPPgGdHVCOXZxeFhlc3hSSURHeFc4STBlVnc&single=true&gid=2&output=html&widget=true
For the Question in form that says Overclock- CPu/vcore... Just fill in the info between each /CPU (speed)/vCore/Ram Speed/Timings/Ram Voltage/NB speed/NBvoltage/iGPU clock (if a dGPU put dGPU, if iGPU put the clock speed)
For cinebench take screenshot like this. Upload to your OCN photo directory, choose embed option, then copy and paste html link.
For Fire Strike bench, iGPU results only. Run it on Normal settings (not extreme), then copy and paste the link to your score.
For Heaven and Valley benches, just do same as with cinebench except no username unless you can figure out a way to get score and username in screen together.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1u8m4FY3CUrqmYkclQSrqiegUwlNr5cGbtA8WjH-nVjE/viewform?embedded=true
Feel free to make any suggestions. Thanks.
