[Kenz]

Let me start off by saying hello and thanks for anything anyone can offer me information wise.

SPECS:

HP Pavilion p6-2136 Desktop

For the sake of saving space I've just posted the link to my specs below.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03357448&cc=us&lc=en&product=5262673#N94

All I've done is upgraded the processor to the AMD A8-3870K w/ the AMD HD 6550 Graphics.

Here is the question. Based off of the 300W power supply and locked BIOS can I:

A) Maybe underclock my CPU so I can slightly OC my graphics to offset the additional voltage needed?

or

B) Slightly OC both without hurting my Motherboard due to a slightly increased voltage?

As for software, I was wondering about using AMD Overdrive which allows me to at least
OC the CPU's but I wasn't sure if that also included the graphics as well.

If not, what could I use to up the graphics slightly, nothing major, just trying to get a little more
from this new CPU I just purchased without really trying to spend anymore money.

For cooling I'm using a aftermarket heatsink & fan and this thing runs Ultra Cool and Quiet.
I do plan on switching to Liquid Cooling depending on the responses I get on my options thus far, but that would be it.

I know I could just buy a graphics card but I'm trying to see exactly how far I can push this pc without the need for one. Thus far, I've been able to run just about any game on maxed out setting with issues with the exception of AC3.

I also ran the benchmark test for the new FF14 and I placed at "Slightly High Performance".

Thanks everyone for any and all help, I appreciate it!

 

[givmedew]

Won't MSI Afterburner OC the graphics? I don't own an AMD APU so I can't check but have you tried that? As for overdrive, it did not work with my brothers HP motherboard.

As for the PSU... you should really invest in a good quality PSU. Although the probability is very low it is possible for PSU to damage components if it fails. That probably won't happen though. If you have a killawatt meter you could always check the amount of power you are using.

As for the cooler... I wouldn't bother with upgrading the cooler any more than you already have if you are running an OEM board and a 300w PSU.

 

[Kenz]

Thank I'm going to check out MSI Afterburner right now. At most I'd like to at least be able to get around 3.2GHz out of the processor and bump up my graphics without messing anything up and staying as close to stock as possible.

 

[Kenz]

Ok, so MSI Afterburner only allows me to UNDERclock my core clock so I guess it won't work either.
It's starting to get a bit frustrating having this cpu without information on how to exactly tweek it, lol. Embedded graphics information in regards to tweeks are also lacking via internet. I'll just continue to monitor this thread and maybe someone with some knowledge of this A8-3870K will stumble upon this.

Thanks for your help Givmedew!

 

[Artikbot]

With a 300W PSU you don't have to worry for nothing. You won't even get close to that unless you push your processor really hard with a very hefty cooling system.

 

[givmedew]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenz

Ok, so MSI Afterburner only allows me to UNDERclock my core clock so I guess it won't work either.
It's starting to get a bit frustrating having this cpu without information on how to exactly tweek it, lol. Embedded graphics information in regards to tweeks are also lacking via internet. I'll just continue to monitor this thread and maybe someone with some knowledge of this A8-3870K will stumble upon this.

Thanks for your help Givmedew!

Oh my bad... If you use Afterburner you have to download the BETA version then go into the config file and paste this big long message and change an answer as well to enable some of the over clocking features.

Still might not doing anything but worth a try

 

[frogger4]

Sounds like bios overclocking is out, but have you tried looking in there to see if there are any options available (such as the baseclock)?

Anyway, AMD Overdrive will be useful. I know on a 3870K I had, Overdrive supported pretty much all of the underclocking / overclocking / voltage options, but that was on a motherboard that supported it in the first place. What are the different possibilities you have? The idea of lowering the speed on the cpu so you can overclock the gpu is sound, but I've never tried that to see if it helps in practice. Since it sounds like you have reasonable cooling, it is perfectly safe to increase voltages a little bit if you do have that option.