Categories: Reviews

How to overclock your CPU?

 Are you an avid gamer, wanting to improve and perfect your gaming experience?

Sometimes, no matter how great the game is, or the quality of your gaming accessories, sometimes your Gaming PC cannot perform. A solution for many serious gamers is to overclock your CPU, in this article we discuss how you too can overclock your CPU.

By tweaking and making small upgrades to your hardware, you can not just improve your PCs performance but improve the speed at which your computer runs.

What is overclocking?

A term that is commonly thrown about, are you unsure of what exactly overclocking is?

In short, overclocking is where you increase the processor’s clock speed. Surprisingly simple to conduct, by learning how to conduct this task, discover how to CPU overclock for yourself.
Before we go into detail on how you too can complete this overclocking, there are a few facts that we must share with you first.

With all computer processors set to run at a certain clock speed, this clock speed determines how quickly the chip processes instructions. By adjusting the speed, not only can you improve the performance, you can improve the efficiency of the computer.

With manufacturers choosing the original clock speed to fit certain criteria, this can include price, cooling as well as performance. As the speed of the clock speed is set in the firmware instead of the hardware, tech fans and avid gamers have the opportunity to change and overclock at will.

Basics to overclocking?

With all chips, in theory, being born equal, when it comes to overclocking, sometimes it can be a lottery. With small imperfections possible, how your chips perform after the overclock can vary. With the increase in voltage, heat and speed, some overclocked chips may frazzle under the added pressure. When starting out on your overclocking adventure, be sure to invest in the best CPU coolers, helping to keep your system cool.

Source:https://www.flickr.com/photos/81831986@N07/

Overclock your PC too far, however, and you can see the reverse effects, damaging your experience while seeing a drop in frame rates for GPU, corrupted CPU to the computer failing to boot.

9 Steps – How to overclock

Step 1

For those starting out overclocking, we recommend to start by downloading the correct software. Through the software Prime95, you can discover whether your CPU is stable during both idle and max load. Programs like Prime95 are also useful in discovering the output temperatures of your CPU.

Step 2

Use your newly installed software to check the temperature of your processor. When monitoring your processor temperature, take into consideration all your core temperatures to get a general idea of how hot your whole processor will get.

Step 3

Before you start tweaking with the different settings, first you must run a stress test. By discovering how your processor runs at 100%, we recommend using Prime95. When loading the software, select “just stress testing” this will give you a list of options that you can perform, we recommend choosing “blend test” and clicking “ok”.

Step 4

Next, you must get into the BIOS, the program that your computer microprocessors will use to start up the system once you switch it on. After 5-10 minutes of running a stress test, go to “test” and click “stop” before restarting your PC and tapping the delete button until you get into your BIOS.

Pay attention to your early login screen.

Step 5

Now that you are inside the BIOS of your computer, find the overclocking tab, this can sometimes be called “OC Tweaker” With many manufacturers including overclock profiles, these can range from 4GHz to 4.8GHz, by setting your motherboard to one of these profiles will allow the chip to attempt to overclock without any manual adjustments.

However, if you are wanting to dramatically overclock your processor, then a manual change will be required. You can either use BIOS or Intel Extreme Tuning Utility to manually tweak the software settings.

By adjusting the power limits and the ICC Max, you can adjust the power limit. When making any changes, it is recommended to keep any tweaks in line with the power of the motherboard, power supply and the cooling solution that you have in place.

When adjusting the ratio, it must be equal to ratio multiplied to the base clock, if a target increase to 5,000 MHz, the ratio would then be 50, if the original base clock is 100 MHz. It is recommended that you always conduct a stress test before overclocking to find your reference point.

Step 6

Now that you have made some small changes, it is time to test the system at max load. When you have made your changes, it is recommended to save them before exiting the BIOS and rebooting the system.

By loading Windows and opening Core Temp, you can monitor the teampture of the processor before loading Prime95 and selecting, “options”, “Torture Test” and then “Blend Test”, this will show you how your chips stand the added pressure.

If the chip remains stable for five minutes, you can begin to move up the multiplier to reach a higher overclock.

Step 7

When adjusting the figure of your multiplier, each time you adjust the number, you must remember to conduct a stress test. By using the same procedure as before, you will eventually reach a point where you will get a blue screen of death or the CPU will begin to throttle itself. In the ideal overclocking experience, a blue screen is more desirable than reaching a thermal limit.

Step 8

Once you have reached the blue screen of death, you will have to resolve the issue of Vcore voltage. By going back into BIOS, you can find the CPU Vcore Voltage Mode, by clicking “Fixed” you can adjust the settings. It is also recommended that you discover the stock Vcore that your processor can handle and by searching what others are recommending when overclocking.

It is advised that you increase the voltage by 0.01 volts each time, until your system allows you to successfully reboot, conduct a stress test and maintain stability at your target frequency.

If you reach a point when you are unable to meet the next frequency no matter the voltage, you will have to go back to your overclock and drop it by 0.1GHz, while dropping the Vcore Voltage back to a stable setting. This will mark the end of your overclock and your final adjustment setting.

Step 9

Now that you have completed a stable overclock, it is recommended that you benchmark for anytime between an hour and a day. By assessing the performance of your computer, you can discover how successful your overclock was before experiencing and enjoying your Gaming PC to the fullest.

There you have it, by following these simple steps, you too can master the skill that is overclocking. Able to adjust and improve your experience gaming performance, the more you overclock, the more confident and skilled you will become.

Able to improve the speed and performance of your PC, if you are wanting an instant lift to the pace of your computer, then an overclock of your processor is a top choice.

About the Author: Charlotte Johnson is from the sunny south of England and is a copywriter and SEO assistant. With clients ranging from construction, beauty to the enchanting world of gaming, there is little that Charlotte cannot write about.

Your Best Gaming Blog Online

View Comments

Recent Posts

The Ultimate Guide To LEGO For Every Age

Are you looking for fun and exciting ways to spend quality time with your loved… Read More

12 months ago

What Game Modes Are Available in WWE2K23?

The most recent installment of the WWE 2K franchise was released on March 17th, with… Read More

1 year ago

Get Ready to Play Flower Quest: The New Hidden Object Challenge

Flower Quest is a hidden object game that has captured the hearts of many gamers… Read More

1 year ago

15 Highly Anticipated Games of 2023

2023 is shaping up to be a great year for video games, with highly anticipated… Read More

1 year ago

5 Essential Tips for Improving Your Gaming Performance

Are you tired of constantly losing in your favorite online multiplayer games? Do you want… Read More

1 year ago

Trolling on Roblox: How to Do it Right

Trolling is often viewed negatively on online platforms, but did you know there's a way… Read More

1 year ago

This website uses cookies.

Read More