Overclocking

Does anybody do it?

CPUs, GPUs, RAM, anything at all?

I've just recently got into it having bought a new CPU (my old one burned out). Gigabyte threw me a free motherboard to review, too, which I guess I'll do some time soon.

But does anyone actually OC, and I don't just mean a few MHz, im talking GHz.

Not really but I used to have a video card that came with it's own overclocking software that warned you if you were cranking it up too much. I ignored it and fried my GPU, . Worked brilliantly for about an hour though!

Don't even know what over clocking is, I'm not tech savvy.

Not really but I used to have a video card that came with it's own overclocking software that warned you if you were cranking it up too much. I ignored it and fried my GPU, . Worked brilliantly for about an hour though!

Unlucky mate. It's funny even when it shouldn't be!

Don't even know what over clocking is, I'm not tech savvy.

Overclocking is cranking up the frequency (MHz/GHz) & voltage supplied to your processor in order to make it perform better, basically.

For example, mine was bought at 3.3GHz but is now at 4.4GHz. It's a 25% increase in frequency and about the same in performance.

That's overclocking.

Unlucky mate. It's funny even when it shouldn't be!

Overclocking is cranking up the frequency (MHz/GHz) & voltage supplied to your processor in order to make it perform better, basically.

For example, mine was bought at 3.3GHz but is now at 4.4GHz. It's a 25% increase in frequency and about the same in performance.

That's overclocking.

How do you manage that then, through software or by physically taking your system apart ?

For example, mine was bought at 3.3GHz but is now at 4.4GHz. It's a 25% increase in frequency and about the same in performance.

Though as a note of caution, manufacturers set the requencies at the original level so that they last a bit longer 

How do you manage that then, through software or by physically taking your system apart ?

It's basically entering your BIOS on startup (usually it's pressing F8 or F10 before the computer enters the Windows loading screen).

From there there's several options to tinker with the voltages, frequency multiplier, RAM timings, etc.

I wouldn't recommend it though if you're not "tech savvy"

Though as a note of caution, manufacturers set the requencies at the original level so that they last a bit longer 

Mine is fine and fully stable at 4.4GHz. The temperatures are low 24/7, and this chip was made purely for overclocking.

I could even whack it up to 5GHz at stable and safe voltages.

You're right though. Instead of the MTBF being 100,000 hours, it'd be about 95,000 hours.

It's basically entering your BIOS on startup (usually it's pressing F8 or F10 before the computer enters the Windows loading screen).

From there there's several options to tinker with the voltages, frequency multiplier, RAM timings, etc.

I wouldn't recommend it though if you're not "tech savvy"

I'll stay away from that last time I went into my bios, bloody lap top wouldn't boot up had to take it to a shop.

Interesting, never knew it's done through BIOS. I've heard and read about it many times before but never really got into it as I never felt I needed it. And seeing as I have a Dell computer I'm sure I'd probably fry it if I'd try it.

Like I said though, don't really need it. My computer is a few years old, but it has an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 processor @ 2.5 GHz, and 8GB RAM. And that seems more than enough to surf the internet. It's probably outdated by now though, I used to keep up with all the new stuff coming out, but I don't really anymore.

Interesting, never knew it's done through BIOS. I've heard and read about it many times before but never really got into it as I never felt I needed it. And seeing as I have a Dell computer I'm sure I'd probably fry it if I'd try it.

Like I said though, don't really need it. My computer is a few years old, but it has an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 processor @ 2.5 GHz, and 8GB RAM. And that seems more than enough to surf the internet. It's probably outdated by now though, I used to keep up with all the new stuff coming out, but I don't really anymore.

That's still a good system mate, it'll be decent for years to come.

Yeah if its Dell, I wouldn't trust it. They usually come with crappy motherboards that don't give you any headroom to overclock at all.

You're right though. Instead of the MTBF being 100,000 hours, it'd be about 95,000 hours.

, suppose that's not too bad. I guess it depends on the system / CPU.

There's a place 2 miles from me called, funnily enough, Overclockers and they sell custom built PCs that are pre-overclocked or just 'overclocked bundles' (motherboard, CPU, RAM and fans). If you're a pc gamer then they're definitely worth a butchers : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/index.php

Like I said though, don't really need it. My computer is a few years old, but it has an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 processor @ 2.5 GHz, and 8GB RAM.

I'd LOVE a system like that! I've got an old Athlon 64 system that constantly 'stutters' and crashes now and then. Not much use for anything.

, suppose that's not too bad. I guess it depends on the system / CPU.

There's a place 2 miles from me called, funnily enough, Overclockers and they sell custom built PCs that are pre-overclocked or just 'overclocked bundles' (motherboard, CPU, RAM and fans). If you're a pc gamer then they're definitely worth a butchers : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/index.php

Nah they'd overcharge for bundles, I prefer to build my own. Much cheaper.

That's still a good system mate, it'll be decent for years to come.

Yeah if its Dell, I wouldn't trust it. They usually come with crappy motherboards that don't give you any headroom to overclock at all.

That's good to hear! And didn't expect more from Dell to be honest, it wasn't very expensive considering. But it does all the things I need it to and fast too, downloading stuff, streaming hd, stuff like that. With my current connection I can download 720p and 1080p series and movies in minutes and watch them fluently on here, love that! Was just thinking about how my harddrive used to be 20 GB or something, and now I download blu ray rips that are like 10 GB each at times, pretty crazy! I have like 1 TB space now on my harddrive. Though I have an external one too now, because I got a new tv recently, and I can just hook up my external hd on there through USB and watch my downloaded 1080p movies on my 42 inch tv, awesome! Though apparently I can even hook up my tv on my wifi and stream everything straight from my internal harddrive, but I haven't got into that yet. We're living in such a fast paced developing age when it comes to technology, truly a technological revolution. Sorry if I went a bit offtopic there.

I'd LOVE a system like that! I've got an old Athlon 64 system that constantly 'stutters' and crashes now and then. Not much use for anything.

Mate, I had an older system too before this one. It was a pentium 2 I think, it had issues from the start, awfully slow and it used to regularly reboot by itself while I was doing stuff. And it would regularly give me the infamous blue screen aswell. I think it served me for 7-8 years or something, so all in all I was very happy it lasted that long without completely giving up on me, even though it frustrated the hell out of me at times. But yea, I feel your pain.

Overclocking nowadays isn't what it used to be.

You could get away with it on the Pentium's and even some dual core's but as you move up to the quad cores - they come almost as efficient as they can get.

I've heard once you push a quad core up by more than 10%, then the chip won't make it through 6 months.

Overclocking nowadays isn't what it used to be.

You could get away with it on the Pentium's and even some dual core's but as you move up to the quad cores - they come almost as efficient as they can get.

I've heard once you push a quad core up by more than 10%, then the chip won't make it through 6 months.

When using multi-threaded apps such as Premiere Pro, or any video-editing of encoding software, it's good to have as much RAM and as many cores as possible.

With a few older quad-cores that might be the case, such as the first-gen Phenoms, Core 2 Quad, etc. But the newer ones are built specifically for overclocking, which is why Intel have made it so much easier with their Sandy Bridge architecture.

I know several people who've stayed at 5GHz+ from 3.3/3.4GHz stock speeds for over a year. The main thing that degrades the chips is voltage, not frequency, and the magic number for the 32nm die chips is 1.45v. If you surpass that number, don't do it for long. As long as you remain at or under it, you're fine.

I've heard once you push a quad core up by more than 10%, then the chip won't make it through 6 months.

Would a similar thing happen with a dual core? Because I'd like a bit more than 2.1Ghz. Also is it safe to overclock a laptop?

Would a similar thing happen with a dual core? Because I'd like a bit more than 2.1Ghz. Also is it safe to overclock a laptop?

It mostly depends on the motherboard really.

What mobo & processor do you have?

My processor is an AMD Athlon II 2.1 GHz Dual-Core P320. No idea what the motherboard is.

My processor is an AMD Athlon II 2.1 GHz Dual-Core P320. No idea what the motherboard is.

Play it safe and don't overclock unless you know what your motherboard is.