Guide to overclocking your CPU

Hi,

So what is overclocking ?
Simply put overclocking is the method of increasing the performance of your computer by changing the Bios settings .

Is it safe ?
If done correctly it is very safe , hardware enthusiasts such as myself and others regularly do it .
Just follow this guide and you should have no problems .Execute all the steps very patiently .No shortcuts .

Why overclock your computer?
Overclocking a computer's processor or memory causes it to go faster than its factory rated speed. A processor rated at 2.4GHz might be overclocked to 2.5GHz or 2.6GHz, while memory rated at 200MHz might be pushed to 220MHz or higher. The extra speed results in more work being done by the processor and/or memory in a given time period, increasing the overall computing performance of the PC.
Most modern processors support/encourage overclocking ..so there is no reason not to overclock your system.

Steps

1. In order to get the best out of current hardware, the most recent drivers and BIOS version for the motherboard need to be acquired.you can download these from your hardware vendors site.

2. Record your system performance
System benchmarks should be run prior to overclocking to establish a performance 'baseline'

In order to get a good idea of how overclocking increases the performance of a computer, it's important to take benchmarks and establish a performance baseline for the system.

Download, install and run the following benchmarking software:

3dmark2001se
PCmark04
Sandra 2005

If you want to go further
you can also use
Prime 95 which performance stress testing on your computer to ensure that it is 100 % stable

Record the results for each test

3. Look at your Bios settings

BIOS (Basic Input Output System)
Reboot your computer and got to the Bios setup by either pressing DEL,F2,F8 or F10 Repeatedly before windows starts loading .
Depending on your motherboard any one of the key may work .

Now just take some time to go thru ur Bios settings Dont change any options yet , just try to familiarize your self with all the options and where they are .

When the BIOS comes up on the screen you will be greeted with a blue menu with about a dozen headings. Navigate through the list by using the arrow keys, and press 'enter' to select a menu .

The first features to look for are CPU and FSB speed adjustment controls. Generally, these will be in a section of the BIOS called 'frequency/voltage control'.

Attachment 490

Attachment 491

This page will contain the FSB adjustment controls and voltage adjustment controls. Increasing the FSB or 'CPU host frequency' or (Motherboard Clock or FSB or a host of other terms for the same thing) will increase the FSB speed of the motherboard, overclocking the processor and memory at the same time.

Increasing the voltage to the CPU core, memory or chipset will feed more power to those components to aid in stability while increasing heat.

This page may also contain memory divider options depending on the motherboard.

Everything needed to overclock the system should be on this one BIOS page

Different motherboard's BIOS screens will look different and use different names for the various menus and options, but the options themselves should be grouped together in one menu as seen above. If the memory timings options are not visible, try hitting CTRL+ALT+F1 when entering the BIOS.

The second BIOS page that should be identified now is the 'PC health status' page, or similar.
This page contains the readouts from the motherboard's temperature monitors, allowing users to check how hot the processor is running.

4. Overclocking

All your going to do is increase the FSB speed

FSB (FrontSide Bus): The data bus(sort of like cable) that carries information from the processor to the main memory and the rest of the system. A processor's internal multiplier multiplied the FSB speed of the system = that processor's speed in MHz or GHz.
Increasing the clock speed of the FSB (and thus the speed of the memory and the processor as well) is the most common and effective way of overclocking a modern computer.

Stock Speed: The default or factory speed settings of computer hardware like the processor, memory and motherboard.. In the case of the motherboard, stock speed refers to the default speed at which the processor and memory work together, the FSB speed.

Stock speeds are ALWAYs lower than the hardware’s true potential

Intel overclocking is thus quite a simple process.
1. Boot the computer into the BIOS screen.
2. Increase FSB speed in 5-10MHz increments. Reboot after each increment to ensure that the system can still boot into Windows properly.
3. If the system hangs, crashes or refuses to boot into Windows, increase the memory voltage slightly and retry. If this does not work, increase the chipset voltage and finally the core voltage. If this still does not work, reduce FSB settings slightly, reset the voltages to their previous values and try again.
4. Keep going until the system can no longer boot reliably into Windows, then back off to the previous 'safe' settings. Keep an eye on the processor's temperature in the BIOS. Remember that it should be under 70°C.
5. Benchmark the overclocked system and compare the results to the performance baseline established earlier. If the system does not complete the benchmarks or crashes, either reduce the FSB setting slightly or increase voltages to compensate and retry.
6. Once a fully benchmarked overclocked setting is achieved, run the Prime95 stress test for a couple of hours to verify that the system is generally stable. Enjoy the free additional performance!

Tips to keep your computer cool

-->Most of us like to keep the backside of our computer facing the wall….
But that’s also the place where your fan is most likely present blowing all the hot air from inside your CPU to the outside, So keep a distance of atleast 2 feet Between the wall and your CPU .

-->Avoid placing it near windows ,if you do during day time keep the curtains closed
Enjoy the free additional performance .

Hi,
I want to overclock Intel CPU
Core 2 Duo .. T5450...1.66 GHz
How do you do it.. Cause my BIOS does not have any such settings...
are there any softwares for such..

I have intel i7 720QM processor , which has the core clock factory tuned as 1.6GHz and the turbo boost is upto 2.8GHz .
My question is , I ran through the stress testing with prime95 software and simultaneously i viewed it in CPU-Z for the system details for more than 3 hours , my core clock speed does not increased a bit from 1.6GHz . How do I increase my core clock speed to atleast 2.2GHz ?