How the hell do I overclock?

[Ironcat]

I don't know what I am doing I guess because I cannot find it anywhere... a buddy told me just reboot, go into your BIOS and viola... but nada!

I am running a Core 2 Duo @ 2.13 Ghz and I like to think I could bump it up to 2.20 with no trouble? Yes? No? Maybe?

Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated... I am using XP, the 2.13 Core 2, my mobo is an Asus P5N32-SLI premium... is that all you need?

[slytherock]

it may not be a problem to go up to 2.2, you can probably go a lot more, but start slowly
read this, it gives a lot of good info on how to

[isunktheship]

I'm not really an overclocking EXPERT per say, but I can help yah.

Basically the way you overclock is by changing things through your BIOS. There are a few different ways to overclock your CPU, but the ASUS boards make it pretty easy.

Just start up your computer, go into the BIOS. Check out options in there, and you may find something that says "increase clock by x%" One of my ASUS boards was really easy, and said "Overclock by 5/10/15/20/25%?" SO EASY!

Before you do anything, you will want to turn on some sort of CPU temperature monitor. Since you are using ASUS, they are smart enough to include a program that does that on the CD they give you.

PS: I overclocked my 1.83ghz to 2.2ghz on the stock cooler without any problems at all.

The CPU temp monitor should start up every time your computer does now. Basically the next thing to do is to slowly change the settings of your BIOS. Little by little, overclock it. Your computer will shut down if it gets too hot. Once it shuts down it will turn off the overclocking you have done, and start without it.


There is a ton to learn about overclocking, it just takes a while to explain. Every motherboard/setup is different, so overclocking will be slightly different for each person. It is a very risky thing to do if you are new, and in NO WAY does my little explanation of the process count as a lesson.

I read about 100 pages of information about overclocking, and then talked to a few expert people IRL about it. All of which said the same thing, "Overclocking usually only ends in a problem, unless done very carefully. Either the overclock instantly ruins some computer product, or it does in the long run."

That being said, overclocking can do some amazing things, and yes the change is very noticeable.

Good luck with the process, search some other pages, and read up about it some more. I hope that reading this helps!

PS: I overclocked my computer from 1.83Ghz to 2.20Ghz on the stock cooler, with the same mobo.

[Ronyx]

good guide man
+ rep to you, you even taught me some things there lolz

[.Maleficus.]

On my Gigabyte board, I just went into an option called MIT (Motherboard Intelligence Tweaker) and there was an option for CPU Clock Frequency. I bumped that up a little bit at a time, and that made my RAM frequency go up to, so I set my RAM multiplier down so after the frequency bump it stayed about at stock speeds, and every time I made a substantial difference in clock speeds, I ran Prime95 for a day to see if there were any errors. If this is your first time OC'ing, be VERY CAREFUL. DON'T GO ALL APE-**** ON IT'S ASS. YOU COULD SERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR HARDWARE.

But, have fun!

[Ironcat]

Okay, it was in the BIOS. I just had to poke around to find it.
I had several options, 5%, 10%, 25%, and even 50 (yes 50) % !
There were also several options for changing my bus speed and a bunch of other crap I didn't want to mess with.

I OC'd by 5% and my system now says it is a 2.24Ghz and my 3DMarks score went up almost 150 points while my temp has remained the same.

I don't really notice any changes in games but I am too askeered to clock it all crazy so I guess I will be satisfied with what I got.

[isunktheship]

Hehe, thanks, I'm glad I helped. There are so many different ways to overclock, I just went with the easiest. Maleficus knows what I'm talking about. I'm sure theres a wikipedia page out there to explain multipliers, voltage, and how they work together.

The simple way to think about it is that your computer is a math problem, many numbers are multiplying together to get the final speed. Adjusting one or more of the factors positively and you will see a positive change in speed.

Thanks for the rep!

[Ronyx]

np =]

Ironcat, i know it's scary this being your first time OCing but if you up it 10% then you will see an even bigger increase in performance. I would say you should oc a bit more because if the temps haven't gone up then you're doing good =]

Wat temps are you on now? If it's not too high then push your system a little higher =]

[Spawn-Inc]

is it worth overclokcing my system and how much better will it let me play games like battlefield or is my vid card holding me back?

i can't find any tempature programs for my motherboard i have found few but they don't list it for w/e reason they only give me my harddrive temps

[klingelton]

i used a tool to help me fathom just what sort of speeds i could expect to over clock to amd x2 5000+ 2.6 overclocked currently to 2.9 and climbing higher! apparently i should be able to safely get it to 3.7 ghz and then some since i have water cooling installed.