As I discussed in earlier posts, when building, specifying, or buying a computer, it is important to have a balanced platform. It is vital to have that balance of processor, graphics, and chipset to help get the very best experience. In this blog, though, I will drill down on the CPU and specifically on CPU overclocking (1), and share with you the details of more than doubling the headroom in about nine months.

While historically the exclusive realm of technology enthusiasts, CPU overclocking has opened up to a much wider audience. This has been driven by huge improvements in the overclocking tools from motherboard makers and component manufacturers like AMD. As an example, a few weeks ago we launched a new utility called AMD Fusion for Gaming and last year AMD OverDrive™ which when combined together provides simple, one-click CPU (and even GPU) overclocking.

In addition to simple and effective overclocking software, you obviously need a good CPU and chipset. I have been very happy with the progress we have made in the nine months with the AMD Phenom X4 processor and I wanted to share this with you. So last weekend I started building and testing a few rigs to document how far we have come, having more than doubled the overclock. So onto the data I generated…

I wanted to point out that I used all stock components I bought from the internet or from my local Fry’s store. As important, I used the same AMD heat-sink and paste that comes with our processors, not a special one that could have delivered even better raw results. I used an AMD 790FX-SB600 motherboard for the AMD Phenom X4 9500/9600BE processors to coincide with what was sold at launch and a 790GX-SB750 (2) motherboard for the AMD Phenom X4 9750/9850 processors which are primarily sold today. I am certain I am getting a bump from the SB750’s Advanced Clock Calibration (thank you chipset, BIOS teams, and mobo partners). I only had to go into BIOS once ( for the AMD Phenom X4 9500) and changed all other settings through AMD OverDrive. Like reviewers, I used a bench-set to save time versus screwing all the components into a case. Finally, to test stability, I successfully ran the AMD OverDrive benchmark and the stability test. I want put an exclamation out there that your results will vary, sometimes higher, sometimes lower.

So as you can see, according to my experiences, we have more than doubled the raw overclock of the AMD Phenom X4 processor, going from 300 Mhz. in November, 2007 to 700 Mhz. in August, 2008 when the SB750 became available. Given some of the comments and questions I still receive from some folks on the AMD Phenom X4 processor, I hope they find this interesting. I would love to hear their recent experiences.

Configurations: Stock AMD heatsink and thermal paste, Foxconn A7DA-S motherboard (BIOS 81BF1P03) for AMD Phenom 9750/9850 BE, MSI K9A2 Platinum (BIOS V 1.5) for AMD Phenom X4 9500/9600 BE, 4GB Corsair dominator CM2X2048-8500C5D RAM Ver 1.1, Seagate Barracuda 7200 1TB hard drive, 900 watt PSU, AMD Overdrive 2.1.4.

1) ***WARNING*** AMD and ATI processors are intended to be operated only within their associated specifications and factory settings. Operating your AMD or ATI processor outside of specification or in excess of factory settings, including but not limited to overclocking, may damage your processor and/or lead to other problems, including but not limited to, damage to your system components (including your motherboard and components thereon (e.g. memory)), system instabilities (e.g. data loss and corrupted images), shortened processor, system component and/or system life and in extreme cases, total system failure. AMD does not provide support or service for issues or damages related to use of an AMD or ATI processor outside of processor specifications or in excess of factory settings. You may also not receive support or service from your system manufacturer.

DAMAGES CAUSED BY USE OF YOUR AMD OR ATI PROCESSOR OUTSIDE OF SPECIFICATION OR IN EXCESS OF FACTORY SETTINGS ARE NOT COVERED UNDER YOUR AMD PRODUCT WARRANTY AND MAY NOT BE COVERED BY YOUR SYSTEM MANUFACTURER’S WARRANTY.

2) AMD 790GX chipset with SB750 announced August 6, 2008.

Pat Moorhead is Vice President of Advanced Marketing at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.