(04-10-2012, 05:55 AM)eatmagnetic Wrote: You can easily OC your 955 to 3.8 GHz - as every CPU is not like the others of the same kind, you can get to 3.8 without or with a slight increase of the vCore, or you are fine to run it with 1.45 V max to achieve 3.8 GHz. Be advised that if you turn the multiplier to reach that clockspeed, no more Cool'n'Quiet avaiable.
If you have a good aftermarket air-cooler you have no problems with the temperature. Core-Temp shouldn't exceed 65°C as AMD specifies the CPU to that temp. And don't push up the vCore over 1.5V as it will shorten the life of the CPU by a big amount. Even 1.5V is killer, but inside specifications. Disable Loadline Calibration (LLC or w/e - depends on what Mainboard you use, could be named different)! As you don't want voltage spikes above 1.5V if you set your vCore to 1.45V - that's probably why I have to set a vCore of 1.45V because on heavy-load the vCore of your CPU drops a bit below 1.45V, so you just set a higher vCore in your BIOS to keep it stable.
As I said: I don't know how lucky you are, and on what point you have to increase your vCore but always watch temperature and vCore under heavy-load (Prime95, Battlefield 3, Crysis, Benchmarks like 3DMark11 etc.) and test for 4-5 hours under heavy-load to be certain to achieve a stable state. If your PC freezes, set vCore higher for 0.25Volts. If you dont reach 3.8GHz with 1.5V you just have a bad chip and you have to give it a try with 3.7GHz or less.
I don't know if OC will bring you that a playable emulation, but you can try and you get a very good CPU for free.
E: If you don't know anything about CPU OC - don't mind and read some FAQs on different Hardware-sites and forums, and just don't overdo it with the voltage (not Higher than 1.5V and not hotter than 65°C core-temp!). nowadays CPUs are nearly undestroyable as they have build in safety-features. Don't be surprised if your PC freezes, reboots, blue-screens etc. just push voltage or lower the Multiplier.
Ill try but my current temp when running crysis demo peaks at around 50 degrees. Is that too high?? Also to clarify, OC will constantly cAuse blue screens? Or just when forst setting it and finding a stable result??