Hardware Overclocking AMD's Phenom II X3 720 BE

One mistake in the article is a specification for 65nm process node C2Q was built on.It is NOT SOI,it is bulk silicon(intel doesn't use SOI at all,they use bulk and HK/meta gate now).

 

Point noted.

 

One other note i've been wondering about, yet no one actually mentions it in review that for example compare AMD three-cores to dual cores. Asking, 'cause there are not always times, when you either use all cpu cores to the max. What about lets say, usage experience, when you are doing something, that uses 2 cores to great extent. How much does the extra core that is "idle" to do other things, help to keep the machine responsive and fast?

 

Oh I forgot to say that the article was very informative and delivered the information many people are looking for(ie. a lot of my friends are still deciding whether to go AM2+/AM3 or lga 775 and it seems AM3 or even AM2+ is a better choice at the moment).

Nicely done!

 

By jove, Rich, that's a damn good review/article!

 

Great review and some nice overclocking tips from Sami!

I've always wondered how effective it is to rely on the built-in stress tests in Overdrive, as i can often run all the tests at various clock speeds for over an hour with no crashes, however the same clocks will show an error in prime95 after several minutes on at least one thread. It always makes me think 'how stable is stable'?

 

Is there a reason the DFI LANParty DK 790FXB-M3H5 board has been omitted in the comparison? Given the limited number of mobo's with both an AM3 socket and a 790FX northbridge, its absence seems to standout. Is it unavailable across the pond? I'd really like it if you guys could compare this guy to the other offerings covered in this article.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136067

If I've missed the DFI board review elsewhere, please point me in the right direction.

 

Hi,

I don't understand. I tried the same settings as you set in the bios, but it doesn't work. It reboot and reboot at the start screen. I have a Phenom II 720 too, and almost the same motherboard (MSI 785GM -E65),it has almost the same bios, My RAM is from Crucial (4GB DDR3 1333mhz CL9 kit). My cooling is good enough (Scythe Mugen with 2 big fans, and the standard temperature at stock speed is 19C). I think the RAM is the reason why it doesn't work, because the kit isn't meant for overclocking. The only thing i want to know is how i get my Phenom II at 3,7ghz too, but without overclocking the RAM too. Do you know wich settings i have to change?

Sincerly
Joachim