subject: How to overclock your CPU guide [print this page] How to overclock your CPU guide How to overclock your CPU guide
If you're one of those, and your CPU is INTEL then most probably it will be "locked" unless it's an "Extreme" chip (denoted by the letter "X" in its model number). When a CPU is locked, this means that its multiplier value cannot be set above a certain value. CPUclock = FSB * CPUmultiplier
The FSB is the Front Side Bus clock provided by the motherboard.
Before you start to change your BIOS settings, you have to make sure you can "reset you BIOS" to the default settings. This is important because your system might be unstable or the operating system might refuse to start. In such case you'll need to reset the BIOS so your system is stable again.
The procedure goes as follows:
The lower the memory timings the faster they are. Refer to the manufacture's specs for getting the best values. Don't worry if you're not sure if they're good as you'll get a chance to modify them later.
The "default" settings are generally an over-estimate but we'll take care of them later.
If your system runs stable for sufficient time you can go to your BIOS and increase the FSB a bit more and retest. If you're satisfied with the results then go to step 5.
4- If the system becomes unstable when testing, try increasing Vcore and Vdimm by one level (maybe 0.05v) and retest. You can continue increasing the voltages or lowering the FSB until you get satisfying results. Be careful though that increasing Vcore higher that 15% than the rated value may damage your chip.
5- You can now re-adjust the memory timings to get better memory performance.
When choosing a memory divider value, the memory will be operating in "asynchronous mode". 7- When you are satisfied with what you reached so far, try now to lower the voltages' values. Note that there is a limit for overclocking the memory. You must have a memory that can work with the high FSB speeds you choose. Sometimes you might have to buy another memory. In such case, it's up to you to decide if the performance gain is worth the additional costs of a new memory.
You can follow other mechanisms, as long as you keep your system stable and always observe the temperature. The temperature increases linearly with the FSB and exponentially with the voltage. That's why we don't just set all voltages to their maximum to support max clock speeds. If you have to increase your voltages and you noticed a massive increase in the system temperature, you can purchase additional cooling devices.
Once inside you'll discover what the pros do to get massive overclocks without spending a single cent on hardware!
