Overclocking your CPU is an excellent way to get your PC running faster without spending a cent on expensive upgrades.
Read on to learn how to maximize your processor, check your computer’s temperature, and get a stable to overclock. Then, optimize your CPU with a dedicated performance booster.
Can I overclock my CPU?
Let’s start with the most profound question: Can you overclock your CPU? Not every processor supports overclocking. When this happens, the CPU has an “unlock multiplier.”
One way to find out is to check your CPU name. Intel’s “K” processors can be overclocked, such as the Intel Core i7 9700K. Also, you can overclock all Intel “X” series processors (primarily used for professional multimedia).
In theory, we can overclock any CPU. But overclocking can only be done by expanding what is called the base clock – the clock speed of your motherboard and your entire system (including CPU, RAM, and PCI Express devices, such as sound cards or graphics cards).
And just because you can overclock the CPU doesn’t mean you should. If you move the technology too far, you can expect CPU stability issues.
The next portion explains how to benchmark your system to test the actual performance of your CPU, test its pressure, check the temperature, and – finally over your CPU Clock.
Determine your CPU’s core temperature
Before you start, it’s essential to check your CPU’s temperature, as overclocking will increase it – and you’ll want to measure temperature changes.
Perform a system stress test
If you aim to perform a severe CPU overclock, you should watch the stress of testing the CPU for a few hours. You want to ensure your current system is stable under the default clock speed. If you have problems later, you may want to know why.
My favorite appliance for this use is Prime95. Again, check your temperature as you go through this process. It puts a constant 100% load on all CPU cores. Let’s see, it works for an hour or two and see what happens.
Check your CPU’s performance.
Before you can recognize the improvement, you need to know where you are starting. It will help if you start by understanding your current CPU performance.
A bench is an excellent tool for simulating the rendering workload. After extracting the archive, launch Cinebench Windows 64-bit.
After launching Cinebench, click the Run button next to the CPU listing in the left panel. When the rendering is finished, it will display the current score. Note this number so you can refer to it later if you want to compare scores.
3DMark Basic, which focuses on gaming performance, is another benchmark tool I like. As you benchmark, you should monitor your CPU temperature as described above. Could you find out how hot it is under this load?
Access your BIOS.
Are you ready to begin? Changing your computer’s BIOS settings is the only reliable way to overclock your system. The BIOS (sometimes called UEFI) contains the critical settings of your computer.
To access the BIOS, turn it off and then restart your computer. Press the DELETE, F2, or F10 key frequently as the computer restarts. It will give you access to the BIOS controls on your computer. It will allow you to access your computer’s BIOS controls.
The critical combination varies depending on the manufacturer’s brand and model. Typically, a message appears, “Press F2 to enter setup”.
Your BIOS may look different from these screenshots, but you should find some text, such as Advanced CPU Core Settings or OC / Overclocking. It is where you can find the CPU overclocking settings.
Choose between automatic and manual overclocking.
The BIOS may include an automatic overclocking or OC level function, depending on the motherboard manufacturer.
These options give you a little overclocking on certain levels, but the results are usually nothing special. So we suggest going with the manual procedure described in the next step.
Adjust the CPU multiplier.
The first step in increasing the clock speed is to increase the multiplication. It uses a base clock built into the motherboard (usually 100 MHz) – multiplying this number gives you the clock’s speed. For example, multiplying 36 (x100 MHz) gives you 3.6 GHz.
Gradually increase the multiplication one step at a time. It is usually done by typing the number or using the + key on the keyboard. Take things in stride and try not to focus too much on the problem.
Speed up your computer a bit. Then, if all goes fine, go back and speed it up. You can start by increasing the multiplication for one cover and go slowly for the other. The more you overclock the cover, the hotter (and more unstable) things get.
Save your settings and restart the system. Stress tests and benchmarks to assess the stability and performance of your CPU.
It is important to note that overclocking the multiplier only gets you (in our case, 36 to 39) things without being unstable. It is because your CPU needs some more “juice” to move forward.
Is it safe to overclock your computer?
Yes, it is perfectly safe to overclock your computer. Overclocking means pushing your hardware beyond its official limits, but with modern content, your hardware will have no problem. Although rarely, the most significant risk of overclocking your system is increased CPU and other hardware temperatures.
But it is almost hopeless to “fry” the CPU by overclocking it. Your computer will quickly reboot or turn blue if the clock is set high. As mentioned above, it is easy to go back to the original settings using CMOS Reset.
Pros of Overclocking
- Boosted performance
- Enhanced gaming experience
- Raising performance at no extra cost.
- The usefulness of old Components (Device upgrade)
- Increasing FPS frame rates
Cons of Overclocking
- Limited performance gain
- Overheating & Higher temperatures Issues
- Instability, Crash, or even Irreparable Damage
- Degrade the Lifespan
- Puts an end to the hardware warranty.
- Equipment might become trash if it is unsuccessful.
Final Thought
Because you can change settings such as voltage and frequency from the BIOS, it is possible to use it to manually overclock your CPU manually to achieve the clock’s speed and potentially better performance. This article assumes you have a basic understanding of what overclocking is, and how it works.
