The FX series processors are part of a platform designed for Gamers and High Definition content enthusiasts called Scorpius, which includes 990 chipset-based motherboards like the MSI FX990A-GD80 and the ASUS Crosshair V Formula, a 6 series video card, and of course the FX series processor.
After having the opportunity to watch some of the world's best overclockers pull a Guinness World record of 8.4GHz from the "Bulldozer" architecture using liquid helium as the cooling medium, I figured a solid 5GHz would be attainable in this case. After all, AMD had also set up a rig running all day long at 4.8Ghz with nothing more than a self-contained water cooling solution keeping it cool. Simple enough, I found that managing the thermal load was the key to overclocking this chip when the voltage is ramped up – just as expected. However, it was not as easy as it would seem, with 8 physical cores in four Bulldozer modules. Rather than fight for big clock speeds on air, I used a Corsair Hydro Series H80 to manage the thermal load and closely replicate what I saw at AMD's Austin headquarters in terms of cooling solution and clock speeds. There are two stability levels here: benchmark stable and what I consider fully stable with Prime95. At 4940MHz (229x21.5 @ 1.435V), I was able to navigate through the OS and game for hours, though the system was not fully stable due to the thermal load. To get Prime95 stable, I had to drop the clock speeds down to 4640MHz (232x20 @1.325V) for a more easily-managed thermal load . After a ton of trial and error to reach my stability point, however, I found that results were not indicative of clock speeds during load testing. Through further research, I found that the FX-8150 starts throttling the clock speed (multiplier) at roughly 81°C, hence the need to further manage the thermal load to get the highest clocks from the FX-8150. A perfect example is shown in the Prime95 screen shot below. In the end, a 1.34GHz or almost 38% bump in clock speed is not that bad and is similar to the gains I have seen with some of my Intel chips. With a full-on water loop, speeds this high should be attainable and fully Prime95 stable. I do have to say, though, this is the highest-clocking AMD chip I have ever laid hands on. 5.0GHz, here I come! Read more »
AMD FX 8150 8-Core Processor, 3.6 8 Socket AM3 - FD8150FRGUBOXAfter having the opportunity to watch some of the world's best overclockers pull a Guinness World record of 8.4GHz from the "Bulldozer" architecture using liquid helium as the cooling medium, I figured a solid 5GHz would be attainable in this case. After all, AMD had also set up a rig running all day long at 4.8Ghz with nothing more than a self-contained water cooling solution keeping it cool. Simple enough, I found that managing the thermal load was the key to overclocking this chip when the voltage is ramped up – just as expected. However, it was not as easy as it would seem, with 8 physical cores in four Bulldozer modules. Rather than fight for big clock speeds on air, I used a Corsair Hydro Series H80 to manage the thermal load and closely replicate what I saw at AMD's Austin headquarters in terms of cooling solution and clock speeds. There are two stability levels here: benchmark stable and what I consider fully stable with Prime95. At 4940MHz (229x21.5 @ 1.435V), I was able to navigate through the OS and game for hours, though the system was not fully stable due to the thermal load. To get Prime95 stable, I had to drop the clock speeds down to 4640MHz (232x20 @1.325V) for a more easily-managed thermal load . After a ton of trial and error to reach my stability point, however, I found that results were not indicative of clock speeds during load testing. Through further research, I found that the FX-8150 starts throttling the clock speed (multiplier) at roughly 81°C, hence the need to further manage the thermal load to get the highest clocks from the FX-8150. A perfect example is shown in the Prime95 screen shot below. In the end, a 1.34GHz or almost 38% bump in clock speed is not that bad and is similar to the gains I have seen with some of my Intel chips. With a full-on water loop, speeds this high should be attainable and fully Prime95 stable. I do have to say, though, this is the highest-clocking AMD chip I have ever laid hands on. 5.0GHz, here I come! Read more »
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