Are you looking to
get more performance out of your computer? Over-clocking is the solution.
Over-clocking basically means to raise the rate at which your computer
calculates certain information, thus increasing the performance of your
machine. However, Over-Clocking can have its
consequences and improper settings may damage your system, and in the worst
case, a complete system failure.
While over-clocking
was once a risky art reserved for those with expert knowledge of computing,
today it has become a mainstream tool enabling the average user to get more
performance out of their computer.
The first thing to
note is that not all computers can overclock. Over-clocking will require a
motherboard (as the name suggests, this is the main board on the computer onto
which other components are placed such as the graphics card, processor and
computer memory) which allows for it.
The simplest way to know if you're able to over-clock is to enter your
BIOS and search for an option that enables you to change either the CPU clock
or the CPU ratio. If you cannot find these options then you are not able to
over-clock your computer using the motherboard that you currently have.
Motherboards that support this facility will often explicitly state this in
their advertising, but as a general rule you should be looking at motherboards
in excess of $100 if you are really interested in this option, as pretty much
all motherboards in excess of this price will have this option available.
Step by Step Instruction to Over-Clock your computer
Over-clocking the
processor is performed in the BIOS (Basic Input/output System) of the computer,
which is basically the firmware by which the motherboard controls the
components on the computer. By modifying settings in the BIOS, we can adjust
parameters which control the speed at which components on the motherboard operate
namely the RAM and the processor.
In order to access
the BIOS, we will first need to turn off the computer. Restart the computer and
immediately tap the 'delete' key on your keyboard several times (note that for
some motherboards this will often be a different key, but the key to access the
BIOS will be explicitly displayed upon while starting the computer).
After a short
period the computer will open up the BIOS interface, and you will be greeted by
a blue screen with several options (don't worry, this isn't one of the nasty
Blue Screens of Death you may have heard about!).
As there are many
different motherboards on the market, the options will vary, but will all be
fairly self-explanatory.
Then look for an 'Advanced'
section, or 'Tweaker' menu where you can find the CPU clock speed or the clock
ratio.
The overall CPU
speed (for example, 3 GHz) is calculated by this relationship - the clock speed
x the clock ratio. So to adjust to overall speed of the processor we want to
change one of these settings.
Usually, the best
option is to adjust the clock ratio, but many processors do not allow for this
option. In any case, the important thing is to increase these options in SMALL
increments at a time and test the stability with a program such as Prime 95 - which
will show up instabilities in the functioning of the processor. If any errors appear
as a result of over-clocking - don't worry, this is only temporary and will
revert if the clock speed is reduced again or the voltage supply to the
processor is increased, something which we will now look at. Note that before
you exit the BIOS, save your settings by pressing F10 and selecting save.
After increasing
the clock speed/clock ratio of the processor several times in small increments,
once Prime 95 shows a fault, we want to modify the voltage of the processor, as
instabilities often occur as a result of insufficient voltage supply to accommodate
the overall speed of the processor (as the overall speed increases, so too does
the voltage requirement).
In order to do
this, we want to head back into our BIOS by restarting the computer and tapping
delete (or other such appropriate key) and again finding the advanced
tab/tweaking menu. We are now looking for a tab suggestive of voltage settings.
Once you find it, select the VCore (or CPU Core Voltage or similar) option and
increase this in a TINY increment, save your settings pressing F10 and again
load up Prime 95 in Windows and stress test the CPU again looking for
abnormalities. If Prime 95 finds any, head back into the BIOS and apply a
slightly increased voltage and repeat. If Prime 95 does not find any problems,
you can increase the CPU speed again and repeat the whole process as required.
If your computer fails to start after you've
saved your settings in the BIOS screen, it will usually revert back to stock
settings automatically with current motherboard technology, HOWEVER if it does
not you should open up your computer case and locate the battery (which is used
to enable the motherboard to save the settings you put in) for 15 minutes and
then place it back in. An example is pictured below:
To recap:
1. Restart your
computer and tap delete (or other relevant key as displayed upon start-up)
repeatedly to enter the BIOS screen.
2. Find the
'advanced' or 'tweaking' section of your motherboard.
3. Increase either
the CPU clock or CPU ratio in a small increment.
4. Save and restart
your machine and load up into Windows.
5. Run the program
Prime 95 while using Core Temp at the same time to make sure the temperature of
the processor does not exceed 80-90c.
6. If errors
appear, head back into your BIOS, find the advanced/tweaking section once more
and find the VCore or CPU Core Voltage or similar and increase it slightly.
Test again. If no errors appear repeat steps 1-6. When you reach the limit and
cannot go any further despite how much more voltage you apply, reduce the CPU
clock/CPU ratio slightly and you're done!
7. If your computer fails to start after you've
saved your settings in the BIOS screen, it will usually revert back to stock
settings automatically with current motherboard technology, HOWEVER if it does
not you should open up your computer case and locate the battery (which is used
to enable the motherboard to save the settings you put in) for 15 minutes and
then place it back in.
Congratulations!
You have successfully over clocked your CPU!
Pros and Cons to over-clocking:
Pros:
1. Enables you to get the maximum performance out of your computer.
2. Improves productivity in work environments.
3. Improves performance in games, often allowing you to play games you
may previously have not been able to play on your computer.
Cons:
1. Can be time consuming!
Note: Before you start, you must understand about Over-clocking and is to
be done with your own risk. We will not be responsible for any damage caused.
You will want to run Prime 95 (http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=103) for at
least an hour and in conjunction with CoreTemp (http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/) (a program which monitors the temperature of the
processor), the reason being that as CPU speed/voltage increases, so too does
the temperature of the processor, and this can be harmful if it exceeds
manufacturer specifications (usually about 80-90C while running a program like
Prime 95) and actually cause instabilities in itself. This is where better
cooling comes in handy, and where those big water-cooling systems play their
role!