Extreme overclocker pushes dated AMD FX-8350 beyond 8.1GHz

[Shawn Knight]

In a nutshell: Overclockers are a curious bunch. Much like automotive enthusiasts, they're obsessed with squeezing the absolute most performance out of a given piece of hardware or platform, even if it means going beyond what is practical or efficient.

Renowned German overclocker Roman “der8auer” Hartung recently revisited an old CPU to see if a newer motherboard and a voltage controller could help him squeeze even more performance out of his already impressive AMD FX-8350 processor.

The particular CPU der8auer used came from his own personal collection – a chip he bought himself and describes as one of the best samples he had ever seen. As you likely know, not all CPUs are created equal, even if they come from the same wafer. Such exceptional performers – factory freaks – are highly sought after by overclockers due to the extra headroom they may afford.

This time around, der8auer used an Asus 970 Pro Gaming / Aura motherboard alongside Corsair Vengeance 2,666MHz DDR3 memory and an Elmore EVC2 PCB which let him manually tweak voltages.

Things got off to a rocky start, however, as the processor got stuck to the stock cooler and attempting to remove it from the socket resulted in some bent pins (been there, done that). Fortunately, he was able to bend the pins back in place using a tiny screwdriver and continue on with testing.

Once confirming everything was golden, der8auer prepped and insulated the motherboard and installed a liquid nitrogen cooler then started pushing things. In the end, he got up to 8,127MHz (single core) at a core voltage of 1.920V at nearly -180 degrees Celsius. It's not a world record or anything but it's still very impressive given the chip's age. At these temperatures, the stress on the hardware is evident as the motherboard started to warp.

Curiously enough, when conducting a Cinebench R15 single-core run at around 7.5GHz, the CPU only turned in a score of 172 points which is just barely faster than an Intel Core i7-4770K CPU.

Masthead credit: Val3ri0

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/84960-extreme-overclocker-pushes-dated-amd-fx-8350-beyond.html

 

[Fearghast]

A sad reality of Buldozer efficiency.
Stock clock slower than i3/pentium, twice the frequency and it's almost as fast as i7.
Power constuption is probably really close to that electric mustang.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Things got off to a rocky start, however, as the processor got stuck to the stock cooler and attempting to remove it from the socket resulted in some bent pins (been there, done that).

This is something infuriating about the AMD PGA sockets. This has been a problem for a LONG time, thermal paste provides enough grip and vacuum to stick the CPU to just about any cooler with modern IHSs. It wasnt an issue back ithe day as the bare dies were so small there was not enough paste in use to stick things to the same degree.

Intel had this same problem, and with LGA 775, they added the metal frame around the CPU that prevents this problem, and it has stuck around ever since. Hopefully with AM5 AMD fixes this problem.

 

[Uncle Al]

And don't forget it's a great way to get rid of those nasty warts you've been promising to get removed!!!

 

[Reallyhow]

This is something infuriating about the AMD PGA sockets. This has been a problem for a LONG time, thermal paste provides enough grip and vacuum to stick the CPU to just about any cooler with modern IHSs. It wasnt an issue back ithe day as the bare dies were so small there was not enough paste in use to stick things to the same degree.

Intel had this same problem, and with LGA 775, they added the metal frame around the CPU that prevents this problem, and it has stuck around ever since. Hopefully with AM5 AMD fixes this problem.

You twist the cooler before removing it. Stops this problem from ever happening.

 

[ZackL04]

That last bit of cinebench results is ridiculous.

7.5ghz = stock 4770k.

 

[Vulcanproject]

That last bit of cinebench results is ridiculous.

7.5ghz = stock 4770k.

It was a dismal time for AMD.

Then you realize in the 7 years since the 4770k AMD have gone from IPC and performance per watt not even remotely close, to edging past Intel on both fronts when you look at the latest Renoir mobile APUs in particular.

Either AMD have done amazing or Intel have been awful. I'm inclined to think AMD have done quite well but have been helped enormously by Intel making the biggest hot mess of a node transition ever seen in the industry.

 

[grumblguts]

A sad reality of Buldozer efficiency.
Stock clock slower than i3/pentium, twice the frequency and it's almost as fast as i7.
Power constuption is probably really close to that electric mustang.

salty

 

[scavengerspc]

Oh man, you would think an "extreme overclocker" would know that whatever CPU you are working with if you are about to remove an old cooler you give the system power for a minute or so, let things heat up and soften even the oldest paste. Then it almost slides off.

 

[Nathan Joly]

They should try some liquid helium and see what they can get it at.

 

[Dimitrios]

INTEL should use this chip instead lol.

 

[Dimitrios]

salty

Not a FX fan but watch the benchmarks on YOUTUBE. It actually holds up in most games!

 

[fadingfool]

A sad reality of Buldozer efficiency.
Stock clock slower than i3/pentium, twice the frequency and it's almost as fast as i7.
Power constuption is probably really close to that electric mustang.

[cough] Piledriver[/cough]

But your point still stands.

 

[Squidocide]

This isn't even the fastest clock on record: https://valid.x86.fr/lpza4n

That's an FX-8350 OC'd to 8.79 GHz, back in 2012.Still won't outperform new chips for actual work, but I'm impressed.

 

[KiljoyMcCoy]

You twist the cooler before removing it. Stops this problem from ever happening.

depends on the paste used

 

[breakthis]

For old CPUs with bent pins, I find using a mechanical pencil with the lead removed makes it a lot easier to straighten without breaking them over using a screwdriver.

 

[Polycount]

This is the same guy that dishwashes his PC components. I'm not surprised.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

You twist the cooler before removing it. Stops this problem from ever happening.

Not always an option on big air coolers or in cramped cases. With my be quiet pro 4, you cannot twist it sufficiently inside a computer case to remove it from the CPU, and you must remove it to get to one of the motherboard screws. Intel's CPU retention bracket prevents this problem.

 

[Markoni35]

It's probably a counterfeited AMD FX-8350 from China. When you open it, inside is actually an old Ryzen 3990X. You honestly pay 8350 but you get 3990 which is lower by 4360. Scammers.

 

[ubronan]

This isn't even the fastest clock on record: https://valid.x86.fr/lpza4n

That's an FX-8350 OC'd to 8.79 GHz, back in 2012.Still won't outperform new chips for actual work, but I'm impressed.

It has been said clearly its not near a new world record for a similar cpu.
But its really super impressive.
Regarding the low result in certain tests is nothing new I have had several intel cpu overclocked which really did bad on many benchmarks besides the silly passmark one
Also many overclocked cpu do not really work well in real life, that is why almost everyone uses the standard clocks and does not run overclocks 24/7.
I never seen any benefit from a constant overclock, the days that I ran a cpu at 200% its normal clock are long gone. Now these run so fast with their standard boosts that the need for that is gone.
Hopefully some day a new material gets cooked up that can go paste the current limits.
But for now I am pretty content with the performance of current products, who had thought 10 years ago you can buy a 5.0 Ghz cpu direct from the store .. now we can in almost every pc shop.