BleepingComputer.com: Looking for some upgrade advice for my cpu

Where are you getting the 800 mhz-windows, or the BIOS?

Have you tried running CPU-z while stressing the CPU? I ask because most CPU's throttle down unless there is load. For example, my Intel Core 2 Q9450 is currently at 2.0GHz., but if I launch a program or stress it, it goes up to 2.6GHz. Did you remember to remove LAN PXE ROM and change Crashfree3 to Crashfree as indicated at the Asus website?

This post has been edited by DJBPace07: 09 February 2011 - 10:10 PM

Ah I missed that it had gone to another page. I've tried stressing the cpu but it stays steady at 800mhz x4 multiplier. It says 800mhz in cpu-z and bios. I honestly don't know what lan pxe rom is or how to change crashfree. I was just hoping that the 5001 version would be enough. It's strange changing the voltage and the multiplier in the bios doesn't actually seem to change anything. By increasing the multiplier in bios it allows me to increase it using the nvidia control panel. I tried 17x but that blue screened i'm guessing due to the low voltage. Cpu-z says it's around 1.25.

I'm starting to think it just might be a Mobo limitation issue. Maybe It just can't handle getting up to 3.5 ghz? I'm fine with it not being up there anyway. I've been using my 3800+ which is 2.01 ghz dualcore for quite a while and i've already got this one up to 2.4ghz easily.

Also I may need a recommendation for some sort of cpu heatsink/fan. While under a stress test it steadily rises from 40 to 56 c over about 5 minutes. I decided to stop it at 56 since it showed no signs of stopping. It idles at about 36-38 which I'm guessing is normal. I'd like to spend at most $55 for a good fan/heatsink. I'm not sure how much a good fan/heatsink go for but newegg has them ranging from $25-110 so something in the middle should be decent.

This post has been edited by htims_bob: 10 February 2011 - 05:50 PM

800Mhz. with a 4X multiplier should give you a speed of 3.2GHz. Because you are using a Black Edition CPU, you can increase the multiplier to get even more speed. In fact, this is the best way to increase the speed of unlocked Phenom II's. Do use caution, the multiplier on the Phenom II 955 is x16, on the 970 it may be higher, if you retain the 800Mhz. and increase it to those levels, you will have problems. This may give a little more insight into how the bus and multiplier work on the Phenom II's. As for the Crashfree and LAN PXE ROM, those are found in the BIOS. There is little point in getting a new heatsink and fan until you fix this issue you are having as aftermarket units are best used in overclocking.

Oh sorry it's 200mhz at 4x which comes out to 800mhz but I got that to work by just using the nvidia control panel to set it to the appropriate multiplier. I'm not sure if I will need those aftermarket fans/heatsinks. I was basing the temperature on what the stress test showed. All cores running at 100% doesn't happen all that often so I don't think I have to worry about it. Sort of annoying to have to manually set the multiplier but I suppose it gives me more control. I can set it to 4x when not gaming and set the fan to 50% because it's actually a pretty loud fan.

I guess I'm pretty much set so thanks everyone for being so helpful.

AMD does have Overdrive which is what is used to overclock and monitor their CPU's from within Windows: AMD Overdrive. Your problems could easily be related to Crashfree and LAN PXE ROM.

Well from the very little information I get on the subject I'm pretty sure the crashfree and lan pxe rom fixes come with the 5001 update. It just might be because the 5001 is a beta update or something. Maybe the update doesn't make it completely compatible?

This is a BIOS update, companies will usually not release a BIOS version as a public beta given what can happen if the update fails. Asus has released one beta version of the BIOS a long time ago, pre-5001 BIOS, and marked it as such. There is little information on those features, but you may want to check this out at the official Asus forums. This page, also at the Asus forums, has someone who has the 800MHz. issue.

This post has been edited by DJBPace07: 11 February 2011 - 07:40 PM

Alright I finally got it stable enough to run at 17x which is about 3.4ghz. I could probably try for more but I honestly don't have any games that require that much.
I had to mainly set the voltage and the multiplier in bios and then change the multiplier again using nvidia control panel.


So I think this is pretty much solved. It's stable and that's all I really want out of it.

That's good news. The process is a bit convoluted, but it works!

Sorry to bump this again but I'm having a strange problem. Sometimes when I am playing a game it suddenly crashes and pretty much every program I have crashes. Skype, whatever game I'm playing, steam, firefox. They all suddenly crash and I can't open anything.(Mostly anything I can open simple programs like the cpu monitor or Catalyst) When I try to start a program it usually crashes as I start it. If I check the cpu readings it's fluctuating wildy. Like it says 14 hz x 1 and then it says 3400 hz x 17. Back and forth for a while and the only way to fix it is a quick restart. Everything is fine after a restart. I've monitored the heat of both the cpu and the gpu. Cpu is usually 35-45 45 under load and gpu is 38-55 55 under load.
I'm starting to think maybe the cpu is defective or maybe I damaged it somehow?

CPU defects are extremely rare, typically affecting less than 1% of CPU's at AMD, I think. The default speed of that CPU is 3.5 GHz., resulting from a 200 MHz. bus with a 17.5 multiplier operating at a max of 1.4V. Diagnosing CPU failures are just as difficult as motherboard issues, any number of items can cause problems. Your motherboard is quite temperamental with some of the newer CPU's, just look at the Asus forums.

Never heard of something like this huh? Maybe it's because my voltage is too low? Cpu-z shows 1.104-1.120 vcore. It only happens after playing the game for quite a few hours.

This post has been edited by htims_bob: 14 February 2011 - 11:37 PM

I'm not entirely sure what else to tell you, short of get a new motherboard. Hopefully, you will have more luck at the Asus forums.