AMD Phenom X4 9850 BE - Worth Overclocking?

PocketOperator

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Hi, I have recently been upgrading most of the components in my PC to the best that my motherboard can handle. I am wondering if it's worth overclocking my CPU to get a little more juice out of it seeing as the next (and hopefully final) component I'm upgrading is my graphics card. Here is a list of my current set up:

Mainboard : ASRock NF5eSATA2+ R3.0
Chipset : nVidia nForce 520
Processor : AMD Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition @ 2500MHz
Physical Memory : 8192MB (4 x 2048 DDR2-SDRAM ) - OCZ2G8002G DDR 2 PC2 6400
Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM v1.1)
Hard Disk : Maxtor 6L200M0 ATA Device (204GB) (Slave HDD)
Hard Disk : Western Digital WD5000AADS-00S9B0 ATA Device (500GB) (Primary HDD)
DVD-Rom Drive : PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-111D
DVD-Rom Drive : Emirex DVD-ROM BDV316G
Monitor Type : ProView Technology - 19 inches
Network Card : Realtek Semiconductor RTL8168/8111 PCIe Gigabit Ethernet Adapter
Operating System : Windows 7 Home Premium Home Edition Media Center 6.01.7600 (64-bit)
DirectX : Version 11.00
PSU : Win Power ADK-800 (800 Watt)

I am going to be upgrading my graphics card to a GTX 460 very soon (probably the Gigabyte Super Overclocked 1GB model). My CPU has the Freezer 7 Pro Rev. 2 cooler instead of the stock that came with it.

My case is quite small I'm afraid and quite old and so I don't have a lot of fans in there: just 1 x 80mm on the side panel and 1 x 120mm on the back (side takes air in and back blows air out). Having said that my average/idle CPU temp is 43 degrees C.

I've read that my black edition CPU can be overclocked but as I am a complete overclocking n00b I'm a little worried about doing this. I don't want to cause any damage and I'm not sure if it will adversely effect the lifespan of my CPU.

So after this rather long post do you think it's worth messing with or should I just stick to my stock speed?
 
try putting DDR3 RAM frist befor you overclock the chip

here is one from EBUYER.COM
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz CL9 1.5V Non-ECC Unbuffered
£90

EBUYER.COM you need two of this
Kingston Technology
Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz HyperX Blu Memory Kit CL9 1.65V
£37 for the 4gig

hope this helps
 
try putting DDR3 RAM frist befor you overclock the chip

here is one from EBUYER.COM
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz CL9 1.5V Non-ECC Unbuffered
£90

EBUYER.COM you need two of this
Kingston Technology
Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz HyperX Blu Memory Kit CL9 1.65V
£37 for the 4gig

hope this helps

The motherboard takes DDR2! How would he use DDR3?

Overclocking likely to be tricky and won't gain you a great deal other than heat. You might expect 10% with a big enough cooler.
 
i just had a look at your motherboard spec and you only got a AMD2 motherboard if you had a AMD2+ board

i dont think you need to overclock your pc.
looking at what CHIP you and your OS
the motherboard you got dont support the Phenom X4. it only suport Phenom FX CHIP.
the OS you got on your motherboard is Windows 7 the motherboad DONT suport W7.
the MAX it will suport is Vist- 64-bit.

i know its long winded

all you need to do is put a AMD2+ MOTHERBOARD.

here is one for you
its from EBUYER.COM

Asrock
Asrock N68C-S UCC GeForce 7025 Socket AM2+ VGA Out 6 Channel Audio mATX Motherboard £32

USE THIS IN THE BAR UP THE TOP OF THE PAGE quickfind code: 221178


CPU
Support for Socket AM2+* / AM2 processors: AMD Phenomâ„¢ FX / Phenom / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core / Athlon X2 Dual-Core / Athlon 64 / Sempron processor
Support for AM3 processors*: AMD Phenomâ„¢ II X6 / X4 / X3 / X2 / Athlon II X4 / X3 / X2 / Sempron processors
Supports UCC feature (Unlock CPU Core)
Supports AMD's Cool 'n' Quiet Technology
FSB 1000 MHz (2.0 GT/s)
Supports Untied Overclocking Technology
Supports Hyper-Transport Technology
*If you use AM3 / AM2+ CPU on AM2 chipset motherboard, the system bus speed will downgrade from HT3.0 (5200 MT/s) to HT1.0 (2000 MT/s), but the CPU frequency will not be influenced.

Chipset
NVIDIA® GeForce 7025 / nForce 630a

Memory
Dual Channel DDR3/DDR2 memory technology
2 x DDR3 DIMM slots**
Supports DDR3 1600/1333/1066/800 non-ECC, un-buffered memory
Max. capacity of system memory: 8GB***
2 x DDR2 DIMM slots
Supports DDR2 1066/800/667/533 non-ECC, un-buffered memory
Max. capacity of system memory: 8GB

**DDR3 memory is only supported by installing AM3 cpu.

BIOS
8Mb AMI Legal BIOS
Supports "Plug and Play"
ACPI 1.1 Compliance Wake Up Events
Supports jumperfree
SMBIOS 2.3.1 Support
CPU, VCCM, NB Voltage Multi-adjustment

Audio, Video and Networking
Graphics
Integrated NVIDIA® GeForce 7025 graphics
DX9.0 VGA, Pixel Shader 3.0
Max. shared memory 256MB
Supports D-Sub with max. resolution up to 1920x1440 @ 60Hz

Audio
5.1 CH HD Audio (VIA® VT1705 Audio Codec)

LAN
Realtek PHY RTL8201EL
Speed: 10/100 Ethernet
Supports Wake-On-LAN

Expansion / Connectivity
Slots
1 x PCI Express x16 slot
1 x PCI Express x1 slot
2 x PCI slots

Connector
4 x SATAII 3.0 Gb/s connectors, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1, RAID 5 and JBOD), NCQ and "Hot Plug" functions
1 x ATA133 IDE connector (supports 2 x IDE devices)
1 x Floppy connector
1 x Print Port header
CPU/Chassis/Power FAN connector
24 pin ATX power connector
4 pin 12V power connector
CD in header
Front panel audio connector
3 x USB 2.0 headers (support 6 USB 2.0 ports)

Rear Panel I/O I/O Panel
1 x PS/2 Mouse Port
1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port
1 x Serial Port: COM1
1 x VGA Port
4 x Ready-to-Use USB 2.0 Ports
1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED LED)
HD Audio Jack: Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone

Other Features / Miscellaneous
Unique Feature
ASRock OC Tuner
Intelligent Energy Saver
Instant Boot
ASRock Instant Flash
ASRock OC DNA
Hybrid Booster:
CPU Frequency Stepless Control
ASRock U-COP
Boot Failure Guard (B.F.G.)
ASRock AM2 Boost: ASRock Patented Technology to boost memory performance up to 12.5%
Support CD Drivers, Utilities, AntiVirus Software (Trial Version), ASRock Software Suite (CyberLink DVD Suite - OEM and Trial; Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi MB - Trial)
Accessories
Quick Installation Guide, Support CD, I/O Shield
2 x SATA Data Cables (optional)
Hardware Monitor
CPU Temperature Sensing
Chassis Temperature Sensing
CPU/Chassis/Power Fan Tachometer
CPU Quiet Fan
Voltage Monitoring: +12V, +5V, +3.3V, Vcore
 
baker025p - in the original post he has this motherboard running the Phenom X4 and windows 7 already!

Doesn't look like a motherboard and RAM upgrade is on the radar (and wouldn't make a great deal of difference).

OP - Have you checked the load temperatures running Prime95 or Orthos?
 
how fair are you going to overclock it by

what kind of colloing are you going for AIR or WATER COOLING
then its how much you wont to spend on the cooling.

some things to look at for you

overclocker uk

CoolIT Eco A.L.C. 120mm CPU Watercooler (Socket AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366)
£50

overclockers uk
Corsair Hydro H50-1 High-Performance CPU Watercooler (Socket LGA775/1155/1156/1366/AM2/AM3) [CWH50-1]
£56

overclocker uk

Corsair Hydro H70 High-Performance CPU WaterCooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM3) [CWCH70]
£80

overclockers uk aircooling
Arctic Cooling Freezer Xtreme Rev.2 High Performance Quiet CPU Cooler (Socket 775/1155/1156/1366/AM2/AM2+/AM3)
£30

ebuyer.com £160
Zalman
Zalman Reserator1 V2 Fanless Water Cooling System


have a look :)
 
baker025p - in the original post he has this motherboard running the Phenom X4 and windows 7 already!

Doesn't look like a motherboard and RAM upgrade is on the radar (and wouldn't make a great deal of difference).

OP - Have you checked the load temperatures running Prime95 or Orthos?
Agreed. The original Phenoms aren't too good with heat so your first port of call is to see how much head room you have. Run OCCT or LinX and use a program such as HardwareMonitor to keep an eye on temps. Post back with the max temp after running it for a decent amount of time (20-30 mins maybe).

Baker, what are you on about?
 
the motherboard that rorackowe got is not compatible with AMD Phenom X4 or W7.
so it will be runing slow because its not compatible
 
ASRock would like to disagree:
Support for Socket AM2+ / AM2 processors: AMD Phenom™ FX / Phenom / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core / Athlon X2 Dual-Core / Athlon 64 / Sempron processor
From: ASRock > Products > ALiveNF5-eSATA2+ R3.0

and then the CPU support list, the one on the top line is the one the OP has.
ASRock > Products > ALiveNF5-eSATA2+ R3.0 > CPU Support List

As to the Windows 7 comment, it doesn't mention Linux but frankly wouldn't care if the OP was using it.
 
General
CPU - Support for Socket AM2+* / AM2 processors: AMD Phenom™ FX / Phenom / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core / Athlon X2 Dual-Core / Athlon 64 / Sempron processor
- AMD LIVE!™ Ready
- Supports AMD's Cool 'n' Quiet Technology
- FSB 1000 MHz (2.0 GT/s)
- Supports Untied Overclocking Technology
- Supports Hyper-Transport Technology


* (5200 MT/s) to HT1.0 (2000 MT/s), buIf you use AM3 / AM2+ CPU on AM2 chipset motherboard, the system bus speed will downgrade from HT3.0t the CPU frequency will not be influenced.
Chipset - NVIDIA® nForce 520
Memory - Dual Channel DDR2 memory technology
- 4 x DDR2 DIMM slots
- Supports DDR2 1066*/800/667/533 non-ECC, un-buffered memory
- Max. capacity of system memory: 16GB**


*Support with AM3 / AM2+ CPU.

**Due to the operating system limitation, the actual memory size may be less than 4GB for the reservation for system usage under Windows® XP and Windows® Vista™. For Windows® XP 64-bit and Windows® Vista™ 64-bit with 64-bit CPU, there is no such limitation.
BIOS - 4Mb AMI BIOS
- AMI Legal BIOS
- Supports "Plug and Play"
- ACPI 1.1 Compliance Wake Up Events
- Supports Jumperfree
- SMBIOS 2.3.1 Support
Audio, Video and Networking
Graphics - n/a
Audio - 7.1 CH Windows® Vista™ Premium Level HD Audio (ALC888 Audio Codec)
LAN - PCIE x1 Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s
- Realtek RTL8111B / RTL8111C
- Supports Wake-On-LAN
Expansion / Connectivity
Slots - 1 x PCI Express x16 slot
- 2 x PCI Express x1 slots
- 3 x PCI slots
Connector - 4 x SATAII 3.0 Gb/s connectors, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1, RAID 5 and JBOD), NCQ, AHCI and "Hot Plug" functions
- 1 x eSATAII 3.0 Gb/s connector (shared with 1 SATAII port), supports NCQ, AHCI and "Hot Plug" functions
- 1 x ATA133 IDE connector (supports 2 x IDE devices)
- 1 x Floppy connector
- 1 x DeskExpress Hot Plug Detection header
- 1 x Game header
- 1 x HDMI_SPDIF header
- 1 x IEEE 1394 header
- CPU/Chassis FAN connector
- 20 pin ATX power connector
- 4 pin 12V power connector
- CD in header
- Front panel audio connector
- 3 x USB 2.0 headers (support 6 USB 2.0 ports)
Rear Panel I/O ASRock 1394_eSATAII I/O Plus
- 1 x PS/2 Mouse Port
- 1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port
- 1 x Serial Port: COM1
- 1 x Parallel Port (ECP/EPP support)
- 4 x Ready-to-Use USB 2.0 Ports
- 1 x eSATAII Port
- 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port
- 1 x IEEE 1394 Port
- HD Audio Jack: Side Speaker / Rear Speaker / Central / Bass / Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone
Other Features / Miscellaneous
Unique Feature Hybrid Booster:
- CPU Frequency Stepless Control
- ASRock U-COP
- Boot Failure Guard (B.F.G.)
- ASRock AM2 Boost: ASRock Patented Technology to boost memory performance up to 12.5%
Support CD - Drivers, Utilities, AntiVirus Software (Trial Version)
Accessories - Quick Installation Guide, Support CD, I/O Shield
- Floppy/ATA 133 Cables
- 2 x SATA Data Cables (optional)
- 1 x SATA 1 to 1 Power Cable (optional)
- 1 x HDMI_SPDIF Cable (optional)
Hardware Monitor - CPU Internal Temperature Sensing
- CPU Ambient Temperature Sensing
- Chassis Temperature Sensing
- CPU Fan Tachometer
- Chassis Fan Tachometer
- CPU Quiet Fan
- Voltage Monitoring: +12V, +5V, +3.3V, Vcore
Form Factor - ATX Form Factor: 12.0-in x 8.0-in, 30.5 cm x 20.3 cm
OS - Microsoft® Windows® 2000 / XP / XP Media Center / XP 64-bit / Vista™ / Vista™ 64-bit compliant
Certifications - FCC, CE, WHQL

this is why its running slow for
(5200 MT/s) to HT1.0 (2000 MT/s), buIf you use AM3 / AM2+ CPU on AM2 chipset motherboard, the system bus speed will downgrade from HT3.0t the CPU frequency will not be influenced
 
The HT link speed makes some difference but not so much of one to the point where HT1.0 would be "running slow"

I don't know why you're so desperate to get the OP to buy a new motherboard.
 
Wow, I got no replies for ages and then a whole batch in one day! Thanks very much for the replies so far. To clear some things up re my motherboard. Before I got my new CPU (the AMD Phenom 9850 BE) I checked to see what the best processor was that it could handle. I went to the ASRock site that has been mentioned here and this CPU was pretty much the best I could get for my AM2 board. I already had 4GB of RAM in my PC and again, my mobo had room for 8GB max (depending on OS) and could only handle DDR2.

I know my mobo was made for Vista but I don't think using Win 7 would have that much of a detrimental effect on it, especially seeing as I am using the 64 bit version which is essentially Vista Plus. I don't really want to change my motherboard as I may as well have just bought completely new parts and built a new rig which I couldn't afford at the time and still can't really.

I preferred to just upgrade my PC to the maximum that my motherboard could handle and be happy with that (which I am). As I mentioned before, I have now bought and installed a new Gigabyte GTX 460 Super Overclocked GPU so that has pretty much completed my upgrades.

In terms of temps, I downloaded Core Temp and it's reporting average idle temps of between 37-40 degrees C. Playing a game like Borderlands or Mass Effect and it only jumps to about 45-46 degrees and I think the max temp is about 61 so I'm well within the limits (that's presumably CPU temp as oppose to case temp). I have 2 case fans: one 80mm side fan sucking air in and one 120mm fan on the back blowing air out. Because of the limitations of my case's design I can only put two fans in it and the side panel can only have an 80mm max.

From what I've read here and elsewhere, it doesn't look like I'm going to benefit hugely from an OC. As I said, I don't want to buy a new motherboard as I'm happy with the one I have and it kind of defeats the purpose of upgrading the components installed on it.

I think I've got my answer to my original question and it seems for the motherboard I have then it's probably not worth overclocking. Thanks a lot for the help though guys.
 
I think you've come to a pretty fair conclusion, Afx. From what you say, you have achieved what you originally set out to do. You have some headroom on your CPU for an overclock but from what you'd gain from it I can't really see it being noticeable or worthwhile.

If I were you, I'd think it time to lob some games on and enjoy it :thumbsup:
 
I agree Sniper, I think sometimes you can get bogged down in forever customizing your PC and always trying to get that bit extra out of it. You're never likely to achieve that (especially seeing as there's always something new just around the corner) and then you never actually use the thing.

I've just finished my first playthrough of Borderlands and now I'm starting again with a different character and doing online co-op multiplayer with a friend. I've also got Fallout 3, Deep Space, Mass Effect's 1 & 2and Left For Dead 2 still to play so I've got plenty to be getting on with!
 

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