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AMD |
"Beginner's Guide to Overclocking"
"How do I overclock my CPU?" This guide is written in hopes of giving the beginner the basic information needed. It will cover: "Can I overclock my CPU?" and of course the "how-to" question first mentioned. It will reference some of the other Guides written in the Beginner's series, contained in the "Beginner's Section", in the "Major Topics" box, at the top of our Front Page. The beginner is strongly encouraged to read all of these Guides. They were written to lessen the learning curve and save you as much time, money, and trouble as possible. Much of what we know here at O/C is "Bleeding Edge" overclocking. You can gain access to some the most creative, inventive and knowledgeable overclockers to be found anywhere, by entering our Forum. However, benefiting from their collective wisdom can be a problem. Often the beginner struggles with that most difficult question of all: What are the right questions to ask? So here we will try to lay a foundation, try to give you a fundamental understanding of what's going on. Because this is a basic guide, it is also a general guide. It won't try to deal with many of the obstacles you may or may not encounter, but hopefully you will achieve your first overclock when we're through. I feel it will benefit you more if, at the end of this lesson, you are quite comfortable with the idea of entering the forum and asking a clear, short and readily answerable question: One you have formulated to solve your first overclocking problem. A good question attracts clear, useful answers. A short question will always be read before long, drawn-out rambling questions which leave the reader uncertain of just what it is you want to know. Short questions are not always possible, and long questions do usually get answers, but it also takes longer to receive your answer. This is due to the time element. Often people drop by the forum short on time. If they can help someone quickly, they will. But if they see it's going to take longer, they will put it off until they have more time. To make the best use of this Guide, please read ALL the previous Guides.They contain the answers to many of the questions you will have when reading this one.Questions like:
You will need the answers to most of these questions if you wish to avoid confusion while trying to follow this Guide. So PLEASE do your homework first. This guide assumes that you have your ducks in a row and that you have read the first things first. I suppose one of the most confusing things to a beginner is this thing about MULTIPLIERS or CHIP MULTIPLES. Most first-time overclockers enter their BIOS (by hitting the "DEL" key on your keyboard) and try to overclock their CPU by changing their CPU SPEED (pre-set to Auto). While this is a logical enough assumption, this setting will not allow you to overclock your Intel processor. So, Set "CPU SPEED" to the actual speed of your processor. In other words, to 500 or 650 or 800 MHz - whatever your processor actually is. The Multiplier on Intel Chips is LOCKED! It cannot be changed in the BIOS, or anywhere else for that matter. I have some bad news for the beginner: Intel bears no special love for the overclocker. Intel does nothing to help and much to hinder the overclocker. "So how do you guys overclock them?" Now some good news: Motherboard manufacturers adore us. They shower us with features and options of real use only to overclockers. They give us a back door into overclocking. We go in the back door. We overclock the BUS the CPU sits on. This BUS is called the "FRONT SIDE BUS". Strange place for a back door! There is a drawback in having to overclock the CPU in this manner: The "PCI BUS" (your sound cards, network cards, hard drives and possibly your video cards) all sit on the FRONTSIDE BUS (FSB) also. When you overclock your CPU, you overclock everything. Even your AGP PORT for your AGP card is set to operate at a fixed fraction, (2/3 or 1/2), of the FSB. Here's the first place where your motherboard will come through for you: It allows you to set the PCI clock frequency to a different and lower frequency than your CPU. This is most often done automatically for you; usually between 31 and 41 MHz - depending upon the FRONT SIDE BUS speed you select (hereafter referred to as the FSB). "Cool! So how do I overclock?" Even your RAM runs out of spec when you overclock the FSB. The newer VIA Boards - boards using the VIA chipset rather than Intel's BX chipset - show their affection for the overclocker by allowing you to separately set the clock speed of your RAM. The settings are +/-33 MHz added to the PCI BUS speed. This allows you to clock your RAM up or down in relation to your FSB speed. If you're using PC 100 RAM with a CPU running at a FSB speed of 133MHz, you will want to set your RAM to -33MHz. The opposite is true as well: If your using PC133 RAM with a 100MHz FSB setting you'll want a +33 setting for your RAM. Setting RAM properly will greatly add to the speed and stability of any system. If not done properly it can prevent a system from booting. "Wow that's great, so how do I overclock my CPU?" Read your motherboard's manual. "Oh" Then set your CPU SPEED setting to "MANUAL". Then look (usually just below your CPU SPEED setting) for a setting that says, "System/PCI FREQUENCY (MHz)" or, "CPU HOST/PCI CLOCK" or something related to one or both of these titles for this setting. The exact title varies from motherboard to motherboard. But they all do the same thing: OVERCLOCK you computer! Adjust this setting upwards very conservatively. The exact numbers will vary quite a bit depending on whether your using a 66MHz, a 100MHz, or a 133MHz processor (133MHz chips are NOT recommended for overclocking as only modest overclocking can be achieved with them). Please heed my words: Adjust this setting only a few notches upwards, then Save and reboot. Once your at your desktop in Windows, check your temperatures. "Errr...How do I do that?" Good question. You should have already downloaded and installed MBM (Mother Board Monitor) You can do that HERE. Set this progie up BEFORE you try overclocking. You SHOULD also get and USE ShutDown NOW! HERE. ShutDown Now! will turn off your computer if it overheats once you set that up. Be sure to set it up and test it before you overclock. These two programs can save your CPU's life! You're taking it into a danger zone. Give it a safety net or start digging it's grave. I've tried to give you a fair idea of the elements involved in a simple, BASIC overclock. When or if you want to do MORE than this, you will need to:
However, the very ease of your accomplishment can lead you into a world of pain! When you read articles or go into the forum and see 25 to 50% overclocks (sometimes more!) you will be tempted to mosey on back into your BIOS and try for more. But if all you know about overclocking is what we have discussed here today....DON'T DO IT. YOU ARE NOT READY. We can help you prepare, but you must make the preparations. We can tell what precautions to take, but YOU must take these precautions. Remember this: Just by making these two changes I've given you, YOU HAVE VOIDED MOST OF YOUR WARRANTIES!! So don't - I'm asking you, please - Don't presume upon your success. Every step beyond where I've taken you today requires forethought and understanding. It requires specialized or high-grade parts that will take time and study to identify, acquire and learn to use properly. For myself, I don't consider an overclock to be successful unless I LOWER my CPU temperature below where it was at it's normal setting. Not every overclocker agrees with this, but I set a high standard for myself designed to protect my chips! I hope you will do so as well. I've shown you the easy and the safe. From here on, it's less easy and far less safe. From here you will need to protect your gear, add cooling and modify the relationship between your CPU, RAM and motherboard settings. Good Luck! Copied From www.gideontech.com |
Overclocking Guide