Raspberry Pi 3: Tested Overclock Values – Failures and Successes

This page contains sets of overclock values which I have experimented with on my Raspberry Pi 3. It forms an appendix to the main post: Overclocking the Raspberry Pi 3: Thermal Limits and Optimising for Single vs Multicore Performance

On stock Pi 3 hardware, with passive cooling (aluminium heatsink) on the SoC, and a naturally vented case, the final maximum settings for CPU, GPU, RAM, and voltage were:

arm_freq=1350
core_freq=500
over_voltage=4


The following is a set of various attempted overclock setting values extracted from Config.txt – all values except tested, working, entries are commented (initial ‘#’ character)

Test values were left in the config file to progressively narrow down a stable set of values.

#note: do not set force turbo with over voltage - voids warranty


Stable Values


# stable on 4 memtester, 4 core mprime, but governor applied at c 82c
#arm_freq=1300
#over_voltage=2

# STABLE in 4 core memtester c 73c
#arm_freq=1300
#over_voltage=1

# appears stable - memtester 4 simultaneous
#arm_freq=1350
#sdram_freq=450
#core_freq=525
#over_voltage=4
# note: sdram value is system default

# appears stable
#arm_freq=1350
#sdram_freq=450
#core_freq=525
#over_voltage=4

# reducing core (gpu) to 500 (default 400) in absense of reliable test tools
# display sending no dvi - keyboard unresponsive. unfortunately network was not connected before the test. 4 x memtester
#arm_freq=1350
#sdram_freq=450
#core_freq=500
#over_voltage=4
# appears to be issues with memtester causing the Kernel to run out of memory

# only overclocking cpu. gpu core default 400. ram default 450
#arm_freq=1350
#over_voltage=4

arm_freq=1350
core_freq=500
over_voltage=4


Unstable Values


# lockup during boot
#arm_freq=1400
#over_voltage=1

# lockup during 4 core mprime
#arm_freq=1350
#over_voltage=1

# lockup during 4 core mprime
#arm_freq=1350
#over_voltage=2

# lockup during 4 core mprime
#arm_freq=1325
#over_voltage=1

# not stable - errors in mprime, lockups etc
#arm_freq=1300
#over_voltage=1

# initially appears stable - hits limiter in 4 core memtester at 80c
# unstable on 4 core memtester
#arm_freq=1300
#sdram_freq=500
#over_voltage=2

#freezes mprime 3 cores
#arm_freq=1350
#sdram_freq=500
#over_voltage=2

# froze mprime 4 core from cold
#arm_freq=1350
#sdram_freq=500
#over_voltage=3

# errors in mprime 4 cores. froze
#arm_freq=1375
#sdram_freq=500
#over_voltage=4

# appears stable - note sdram @ 500; pi 2 max 450
# subsequently determined to be unstable (4 x Memtester)
#arm_freq=1350
#sdram_freq=500
#over_voltage=4

# appears stable - raspbian / kodi / retropie
# subsequently determined to be unstable (4 x Memtester)
#arm_freq=1350
#sdram_freq=500
#core_freq=500
#over_voltage=4

# memteseter - multiple failures
#arm_freq=1350
#sdram_freq=550
#core_freq=500
#over_voltage=4

# memtester 4 simultaneous - failures in all
#arm_freq=1350
#sdram_freq=525
#core_freq=525
#over_voltage=4

# failure - memtester 4 simultaneous; loop 2. bit flip
#arm_freq=1350
#sdram_freq=500
#core_freq=525
#over_voltage=4

# failure - system froze - 4 x memtester
#arm_freq=1350
#sdram_freq=475
#core_freq=525
#over_voltage=4


Related Posts

• Links: Raspberry Pi and Gaming Emulation via RetroPie
• Overclocking the Raspberry Pi 3: Thermal Limits and Optimising for Single vs Multicore Performance
• Overclocking and Stability Testing the Raspberry Pi 2 – Part 1: Overclocking
• Overclocking and Stability Testing the Raspberry Pi 2 – Part 2: Stress testing the CPU with mprime
• Overclocking and Stability Testing the Raspberry Pi 2 – Part 3: Stress testing the RAM with Memtester
• Overclocking and Stability Testing the Raspberry Pi 2 – Part 4: Stress testing the SD card storage with the Stability Test Script

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