Home | Site Map

What is Over-clocking a Processor?

Q : What is over clocking?

Overclocking is when you make your system processor run faster that its normal speed. This has many advantages and dis-advantages.

Advantages : This is obvious, your system will run faster

Dis-Advantages : Your hardware is likely to have a less life span. Your components will run at higher temperatures and there is an increased chance your system will overheat and crash. You need to be very careful or you could blow up your processor and / or motherboard.

Q: What components do I need?

You need to buy a special motherboard. Most motherboards will automatically detect your processor make and speed and you can not make any configuration changes. When buying a motherboard you need to make sure that you can change the processors bus speed. You will also need to buy some extra fans for your computer as it will be working harder and as a result everything will run at a higher temperature. It might also be worth looking for a case that can hold lots of case fans.

Q: How do I overclock a processor?

What you need to do is over clock the processors bus speed. You will need to check the manual that came with your motherboard on how to do this. I would recommend that you start by only overclocking a little bit before you try to get the most out of your processor.

Q: Tips for Over clocking?

Start by overclocking only by a small amount. If you overclock your processor to much your system will not come on and there is a chance that you could damage the processor and motherboard. If you do overclock your processor to much and the computer does not come on you can reset your motherboards configuration by removing the power at the back of your PC and also removing the battery on the motherboard for a few minutes.

- Monitor the temperature of your processor. You can sometimes check this by going into your computer BIOS as it will be displayed in there. If it is not in there, there are freeware programs that you can download, Try searching www.download.com

- Make sure you have a descent processor fan. Always buy a fan that supports much faster processors as this will cool your processor much better. Buy and fit as many case fans as you can.

- Before overclocking your processor do some research by searching the internet for stories of what other people have done. This way you will know how much you can realistically overclock.

Good luck, and remember post your stories and experiences of overclocking in our forums

Article http://www.computing-forums.com/computer/how-to-overclock-a-processor-46.htm

Jason Barrett
www.computing-forums.com

MORE RESOURCES:

Yahoo! News Search Results for hardware
Yahoo! News Search Results for hardware

• Russia army to upgrade 30 percent of arms and hardware in 3-5 years (Itar-Tass)
MOSCOW, November 19 (Itar-Tass) --The Russian army will upgrade one-third of arms and hardware in the next three to five years, chief of the Russian Army General Staff, General of the Army Nikolai Makarov said.
• PC game hardware worth $34 billion by 2012 (CNET)
A report from Jon Peddie Research says the market for PC game hardware is larger than the market for game software. And PC gaming is bigger than console gaming.
• Take the Tom's Hardware Survey! (Tom's Hardware)
Take Tom?s Hardware Readers Survey and be automatically entered for a chance to Win one out of five $50 Amazon.com Gift Certificates! Having a frustrating time looking for information that helps you make your tech and hardware buying decisions?
• Tiny hardware firewall opened to Linux hackers (Linux Devices)
? Nov. 11, 2008 ? [Updated Nov. 13] -- Linux hobbyists and hackers have gained access to two of the most highly miniaturized hardware platforms shipped to date. Yoggie has started shipping ope-source based, user-modifiable versions of its inline and USB key-shaped security appliances. ...
• Holiday Gift Guide: High-end hardware (ZDNet)
Lists ... if there's one thing that people seem to what at this time of year it's lists. Over the next few weeks I've planned on posting several kit lists for the Holiday season covering a wide variety of different kit. To kick off the lists, I thought I'd start by getting the big numbers out of the way first and look at high-end hardware! The top-end, sky's the limit stuff that, if nothing ...

RELATED ARTICLES

Ten Tips to Safeguard Your Laptops
The following is a list of tips to help safeguard your laptop while traveling or conducting business.1.

Cisco CCNA Certification: Why You NEED Hands-On Practice !
CCNA and CCNP candidates hear it all the time: "you have to get some hands-on experience to pass the exams".Candidates tend to think that's just so they can solve the simulator problems, but that's only the more obvious reason.

Security Risks and Ways to Decrease Vulnerabilities in a 802.11b Wireless Environment
IntroductionThis document explains topics relating to wireless networks. The main topics discussed include, what type of vulnerabilities exist today in 802.

Printer Cartridges - Step Back in History
You are working and trying to print out important documents when you discover that you are out of ink. This would have been a big drawback in the past.

How to Avoid Getting Ripped-Off When You Purchase A New Printer
It's no big secret that printer companies like HP and Brother are marketing their printers with the cost of refilling the cartridges in mind. Just the other week my family and I were at our hometown Wal-Mart and we were amazed at the price of a new printer.

A Review of Samsung Laser Toners
Samsung laser toner is just as popular as its Hewlett-Packard and Brother counterparts. Samsung is a group of products and services that began in Korea in 1938.

Computer Cooling Hardware
PC cooling systems are one of the hottest - and coolest - computer hardware accessories avaliable. Most computers, however, still do not come with a cooling system more advanced than the typical heat sink and cpu fan.

ATA vs SATA
Hard Drives: ATA versus SATAThe performance of computer systems has been steadily increasing as faster processors, memory, and video cards are continuously being developed. The one key component that is often neglected when looking at improving the performance of a computer system is the hard drive.

What is Blu-Ray DVD
Video technology has increased significantly over the past years, and is continuing to grow at an incredible rate. Digital Video Disc's aka DVD's are the most likely the last big jump in consumer video technology that everyone is familiar with.

Looking for Information on CD Duplication and Replication?
Time is one of the most important things we have that we are always short on. One way to maximize your time is to have the most up to date technology available.

Refurbished Laptop Batteries
There are three refurbished laptop battery types, each named for its component materials:Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) batteries are hardly ever seen anymore. They have dismally low capacities (2000-3000 mAH) and contain heavy metals that harm the environment.

Five Band Resistor Color Code-What Does The Last Band Of White Color Represent?
In electronic repair, most of the time i came across five band resistor color code. The purpose of using the five colour band resistor in a circuit is that it provide a more accurate value compare to the four color band.

Laptop Security -Where'd My Laptop Go?
Laptops are lovely. They are convenient, mobile, powerful and prestigious.

The Printer Cartridge Review
Years ago computers were huge and their accompanying printers were huge as well. Instead of ink cartridges like those used now, they had toner reservoirs and later toner cartridges.

Learn How To Diagnose Power Supply Problems
The Power Supply convert's your regular household current into low DC voltage used by the computer. When this component fails,there is simply no activity going on wih your computer.

The Newest Thing in Lighting - LED Lighting and What It Can Do
The other day my son said to me, what else could anyone possibly invent? Sometimes it would seem that way, but I think that couldn't be further from the truth. Back in the late sixties and early seventies someone realized that light emitting diodes could be used for indicator lights.

Inexpensive Radius Server Gives Wireless Networks The Security They Need
Many small businesses have considered connecting computers and other devices to their corporate network via wireless (WiFi) connections, and a brave few have actually done so. Many of these early networks required that wireless devices be carefully placed within the building so that the wireless signal reached all intended recipients.

The Printer Cartridge Wars: Generic or Remanufactured Cartridges Right for You?
OverviewAs "generic", "remanufactured", and "new compatible" inkjet printer cartridges and laser toner cartridges creep deeper into the printer accessories market, the choices become varied and often confusing. It is estimated that by the year 2004 the aftermarket share of the inkjet and toner cartridge market will exceed 11% of the estimated 12 billion dollar printer accessory market [source: CART magazine, March 2001] Here's a look at what all these terms mean, and an examination of the upside and downside of using non-"brand name" printer cartridge products in your printer.

The Top 10 Must-Have Laptop Accessories
You've laid out good money for your laptop computer, but you're not done spending just yet.There are a few more laptop accessories you may want to consider to make the package complete.

Getting A New Laptop At A Great Price
With all the wheeling and dealing that seems to take place on the internet at all times of the day, it can sometimes get confusing just trying to find your own deal. Finding the best price on your new laptop is most likely your highest priority at this point, but there are other important factors as well.