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AMD FX Processors Unleashed | a Guide to
Performance Tuning with AMD OverDrive
and the new AMD FX Processors
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Disclaimer The information presented in this document is for informational purposes only and may contain technical inaccuracies, omissions and typographical errors. The information contained herein is subject to change and may be rendered inaccurate for many reasons, including but not limited to product and roadmap changes, component and motherboard version changes, new model and/or product releases, product differences between differing manufacturers, software changes, BIOS flashes,
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Introduction Systems based on the platform technology codenamed “Scorpius” may be tuned to deliver added system performance. The AMD FX™ CPUs and the AMD 9-series chipset motherboards offer an exciting amount of performance tuning options, including potential overclocking headroom. Note that each processor and chipset is different, and may result in lower or no overclocking margin. The critically acclaimed AMD OverDrive™ utility gives users advanced control of system performance.
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Glossary of Terms HyperTransport™ Reference Clock (HT ref. clk): The base clock for various clock domains on the AMD “Scorpius” platform technology. HT ref. clock is 200MHz by default. CPU, CPU NB, HT Link and Memory clocks are all linked to HT ref. clock. HT ref. clock adjustment is a good tool for fine tuning the various clocks to optimal values. The HT ref. clock value itself doesn’t have any impact on performance. CPU: Central Processing Unit – the engine of the AMD “Scorpius”
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Glossary of Terms – continued CPU / CPU NB Voltage OFFSET: Most AMD “Scorpius” platform technology motherboards have a BIOS option that allows Voltage adjustments beyond the CPU VID Voltage range. This voltage offset is added on top of the VID value. Voltage offset could be negative or positive. Actual voltage level = CPU or CPU NB VID + OFFSET. Example: VID 1.350V + 0.100V OFFSET = 1.450V actual voltage level. One of the following options will be available in the BIOS menu (depending o
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AMD OverDrive™ utility The AMD OverDrive™ utility is a comprehensive utility for performance tuning, system monitoring and testing. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE AMD PRODUCT WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER DAMAGES CAUSED BY RUNNING COMPONENTS OUTSIDE OF SPECIFICATION. Download from AMD Game! Website - http://sites.amd.com/us/game/downloads/amd-overdrive/Pages/overview.aspx Advanced Mode The AMD OverDrive utility is a powerful tool with numerous features and options. However, in this section we hav
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Figure 1, presented above shows all the available clock/voltage tuning options available in the AMD OverDrive™ utility. The processor, northbridge, PCIe and memory can all be adjusted to obtain an optimally tuned system. Detailed description of Figure 1 (AMD OverDrive utility screenshot): Current clock speeds (1) PCIe® Speed (5) This section offers real-time monitoring for all the This item controls the PCIe® clock frequency of the crucial clock speeds PCIe® graphics slots. By def
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Memory Tuning 1 2 Figure2: AMD OverDrive™ utility Memory Tuning Memory timing adjustments (1) Memory Drive strength control (2) The items circled with red color can directly affect The lower half of the Memory tuning screen the overall system performance. Reducing these includes various Drive Strength control items. values can improve the performance / lower memory clock tuning margin whereas using higher Most of these items don’t have an impact on values can enable higher m
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AMD OverDrive™ utility Stability Test The AMD OverDrive™ utility features an impressive system stability assessment. The “Stability Test” tab under “Performance Control” incorporates AMD’s CPU test algorithms to stress the CPUs worst-case scenario. The test consists of various parts that can be set to run only on a specific CPU core or on all CPU cores. It is also possible to select only specific tests to run. The amount of time the test will run can also be adjusted with the slider.
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AMD “Scorpius” platform – Performance Tuning Suggestions CPU Core Clock Performance Tuning CPU core clock is the most important item to adjust for the advanced users when tuning the performance of the system. The CPU Clock speed has a big impact on overall system performance. The following steps explain how to determine the CPU tuning margin. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE AMD PRODUCT WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER DAMAGES CAUSED BY RUNNING COMPONENTS OUTSIDE OF SPECIFICATION INCLUDING DAMAGES CAUSED B
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The key settings in the Windows® XP, Windows Vista® or Windows 7® operating system to adjust before overclocking the CPU: • Close all major applications and background tools and save any open documents • Set OS to “High performance” mode via “Control Panel / Power Options” • Close any third party hardware / clock monitoring and system information programs CPU tuning with the AMD OverDrive™ utility: PLEASE NOTE THAT THE AMD PRODUCT WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER DAMAGES CAUSED BY RUNNIN
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CPU NorthBridge Performance Tuning The CPU NorthBridge (CPU NB) clock speed determines the efficiency and bandwidth capacity of the Memory controller. L3 cache runs at this frequency as well. CPU NB performance tuning gives a measurable boost for overall system performance. In particular it can reduce the Memory latency and improve L3 cache bandwidth and latency. In some scenarios the CPU NB should be tuned in order to take the full advantage of overclocked Memory frequency and bandwidt
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Figure 7: AMD OverDrive™ utility HT ref. clock slider 5) Run a stability test before increasing the HT ref. clock to another level 6) Adjust CPU NB VID voltage slider in AOD if there were any stability issues (in 0.050V steps – the AMD FX-8150 CPU may require 1.300…1.375V CPU NB Voltage to reach the full performance tuning potential on air/watercooling) a. NOTE: ensure that CPU NB Voltage set to default from the BIOS and that the motherboard is not overriding the VID value (“manu
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CPU NB performance tuning through the BIOS menu: 1) Set the CPU NB clock speed up to the next available value (example: if 1800MHz / x9 is the default and NB clock testing via AMD OverDrive utility was OK at 2000MHz then set CPU NB BIOS item to 2000MHz / x10 now) 2) Set CPU NB Voltage to a known stable value (based on the NB clock testing done thru AMD OverDrive utility) 3) Keep HT Link multiplier at default value or lower it by one step (example: 2400MHz or x12 in the case of
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Memory Performance tuning – AM3+ / DDR3 PLEASE NOTE THAT THE AMD PRODUCT WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER DAMAGES CAUSED BY RUNNING COMPONENTS OUTSIDE OF SPECIFICATION INCLUDING DAMAGES CAUSED BY OVERCLOCKING (EVEN WHEN OVERCLOCKING IS ENABLED WITH THE AMD OVERDRIVE UTILITY). Memory clock speed is tied to HT ref. clock with certain ratios. The following Memory clock modes are available on the AMD “Scorpius” platform technology with AM3+ socket and DDR3 support: • DDR3-800 (400MHz) – 2:1 rat
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Advanced Memory tuning examples: The following BIOS settings may improve the Memory performance tuning margin and enable operation at the higher memory clock modes (DDR3-1866…2400). Figure 9: Example settings for DDR3-1866 memory clock mode (2 DIMMs, one DIMM per channel) 16
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Figure 10: Example settings for DDR3-2133 memory clock mode (2 DIMMs, one DIMM per channel) The following memory timing fine tune parameters that may further improve the clock margins and/or stability: Figure 11: Memory clock fine tuning parameters NOTE: “Address/CMD Setup Time” & “Address/CMD Fine Delay” –parameters may also be set to “0” 17
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HyperTransport™ (HT) reference clock HT reference clock value has no direct impact on system performance. Therefore the maximum amount of HT reference clock tuning is not required in order to get the highest performance. HT ref. clock can be used to fine tune and dial in the other key clock values on the AMD “Scorpius” platform technology. In some cases a relatively high (over 250MHz) HT reference clock might be required for optimal performance. In general it’s a good idea to test h
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AMD “Scorpius” Platform Technology – Performance Tuning Targets The following table lists some possible results for an unlocked AMD FX-8150 CPU as well as the optimal voltage values for most AMD “Scorpius” platform technology systems. Note that these results are strictly estimates based on overclocking data from a limited sample size. The actual results will vary depending on the CPU, motherboard, cooling solution and memory modules used in the tests. The “air cooling” column and
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ATTRIBUTION © 2011 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, ATI, the ATI logo, , AMD OverDrive and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. HyperTransport is a licensed trademark of the HyperTransport Technology Consortium. PCIe is a registered trademark of PCI-SIG. Windows, Windows 7 and Windows Vista are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks
