Shoutbox

Hey, can anyone tell me what exactly does overclocking your CPU do? I am still a little confused. also, is there an easy way to make my XP run faster?

instead of your computer doing something every 0.000000416 milliseconds, it does something every 0.000000384 milliseconds (assuming you go from 2.4ghz to 2.6ghz)

Overclocking can be useful at times. However, it can be extremely dangerous at many others. Overclocking your CPU could get it heated up faster than before, let alone the obsticles you will undergo trying to figure out what would be the overclocking option that works best for your Processor. Good luck with that.

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Originally posted by James Potter
Overclocking can be useful at times. However, it can be extremely dangerous at many others. Overclocking your CPU could get it heated up faster than before, let alone the obsticles you will undergo trying to figure out what would be the overclocking option that works best for your Processor. Good luck with that.

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This is correct, if you don't know what you're doing. In general you should be perfectly safe for 5-10%, I'm actually running my 1.8 GHz E2160 at 3.0GHz, so that's a 67% increase. You can use tools such as OCCT to test that your overclock is stable.

Generally you overclock by changing the FSB setting for the processor in the BIOS. Some manufacturers (ie. Dell, Acer, HP to name but a few) lock you out of their BIOS. This is especially common on laptops. If you have an OEM motherboard though, you should be fine.

Also, some general things to note:
- You will not notice a difference in things like start up time, etc. This is almost always limited by your hard drive. Things that are affected are CPU intensive tasks, such as games and hash checking.
- Generally an overclock will cause more heat to be generated. This isn't necessarily a show-stopper, you may be able to squeeze a few more degrees out it safely.
- If you do overclock too far, you're unlikely to damage your processor unless it is old. Most CPUs have things like Overheat Protection, which causes the PC to switch off/reboot when they get too hot.
- The higher temperatures can reduce the lifespan of your processor.
- Stock coolers usually dissipate a lot less heat than top end 3rd party ones (i.e. Zalman).
- If you overclock too far and the motherboard doesn't POST, switch off the power to the PC, and pull out the CMOS battery for ~5 seconds. (If you're using an enthusiast motherboard you may actually have a CMOS reset switch).

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Originally posted by andrewdodd13
- If you overclock too far and the motherboard doesn't POST, switch off the power to the PC, and pull out the CMOS battery for ~5 seconds. (If you're using an enthusiast motherboard you may actually have a CMOS reset switch).

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Get ASUS . It has a CPR feature (CPU Parameter Recall). Remove the power cable for 5 seconds and if your computer didn't POST the last time it turned on, it will say that "Overclocking failed" and will prompt you to enter setup to change the settings.

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Originally posted by andrewdodd13
- If you overclock too far and the motherboard doesn't POST, switch off the power to the PC, and pull out the CMOS battery for ~5 seconds. (If you're using an enthusiast motherboard you may actually have a CMOS reset switch).

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Or have a motherboard like Asus which detects OC failures and allows you to reset the settings with no need to touch jumpers, switches or your battery

PS: I hate Mikey But he's right No need to remove it for 5 seconds.. it detects an improper shutdown and prompts (so hitting the reset also causes a prompt only you can press F1 to boot normally or del go into the bios and change your OC )

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Originally posted by John Anderton
No need to remove it for 5 seconds.. it detects an improper shutdown and prompts

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My P5B Deluxe doesn't do that afaik

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Originally posted by Mike

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Originally posted by John Anderton
No need to remove it for 5 seconds.. it detects an improper shutdown and prompts

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My P5B Deluxe doesn't do that afaik

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The P5KPL-E has this. Total win
I guess it might be a version thing.. the latest mobo might have a few more improvements

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Originally posted by Mike

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Originally posted by John Anderton
No need to remove it for 5 seconds.. it detects an improper shutdown and prompts

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My P5B Deluxe doesn't do that afaik

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Mine Does. Not every restart, but it is very safe in that sense.

Owned, my 680i LT has that, if I overclock it too much, and it divides by zero, it doesn't post and when I reboot it goes back to default

Also, I have never successfully overclocked my machine, I fail too much, I moved it up like 10MHz and it wouldn't post