Beginner's Guide to Overclocking

"So how do you guys overclock them?"

Now some good news: Motherboard manufacturers adore us. They shower us with features and options of real use only to overclockers. They give us a back door into overclocking. We go in the back door. We overclock the BUS the CPU sits on. This BUS is called the "FRONT SIDE BUS". Strange place for a back door!

There is a drawback in having to overclock the CPU in this manner: The "PCI BUS" (your sound cards, network cards, hard drives and possibly your video cards) all sit on the FRONTSIDE BUS (FSB) also. When you overclock your CPU, you overclock everything. Even your AGP PORT for your AGP card is set to operate at a fixed fraction, (2/3 or 1/2), of the FSB.

Here's the first place where your motherboard will come through for you: It allows you to set the PCI clock frequency to a different and lower frequency than your CPU. This is most often done automatically for you; usually between 31 and 41 MHz - depending upon the FRONT SIDE BUS speed you select (hereafter referred to as the FSB).

"Cool! So how do I overclock?"

Even your RAM runs out of spec when you overclock the FSB. The newer VIA Boards - boards using the VIA chipset rather than Intel's BX chipset - show their affection for the overclocker by allowing you to separately set the clock speed of your RAM. The settings are +/-33 MHz added to the PCI BUS speed. This allows you to clock your RAM up or down in relation to your FSB speed.

If you're using PC 100 RAM with a CPU running at a FSB speed of 133MHz, you will want to set your RAM to -33MHz. The opposite is true as well: If your using PC133 RAM with a 100MHz FSB setting you'll want a +33 setting for your RAM.

Setting RAM properly will greatly add to the speed and stability of any system. If not done properly it can prevent a system from booting.

"Wow that's great, so how do I overclock my CPU?"

Read your motherboard's manual.

"Oh"

Then set your CPU SPEED setting to "MANUAL".

Then look (usually just below your CPU SPEED setting) for a setting that says, "System/PCI FREQUENCY (MHz)" or, "CPU HOST/PCI CLOCK" or something related to one or both of these titles for this setting. The exact title varies from motherboard to motherboard.

But they all do the same thing: OVERCLOCK you computer!

Adjust this setting upwards very conservatively.

The exact numbers will vary quite a bit depending on whether your using a 66MHz, a 100MHz, or a 133MHz processor (133MHz chips are NOT recommended for overclocking as only modest overclocking can be achieved with them).

Please heed my words: Adjust this setting only a few notches upwards, then Save and reboot. Once your at your desktop in Windows, check your temperatures.

"Errr...How do I do that?"

Good question.

You should have already downloaded and installed MBM (Mother Board Monitor).

Set this progie up BEFORE you try overclocking.

You SHOULD also get and USE ShutDown NOW!. ShutDown Now! will turn off your computer if it overheats once you set that up. Be sure to set it up and test it before you overclock. These two programs can save your CPU's life! You're taking it into a danger zone. Give it a safety net or start digging it's grave.

I've tried to give you a fair idea of the elements involved in a simple, BASIC overclock.

When or if you want to do MORE than this, you will need to:

Invest in way better cooling than you have now.

Really understand your motherboard by studying (not just reading) your manual.

Expand your reading to include the wealth of materials we have gathered together on this Site to aid you.

Spend a lot of time in the forum. This is the best possible preparation for dealing with problems you will encounter overclocking your particular CPU on your particular motherboard.
I've spent a lot of time here just to tell you how to change two settings. If you set your CPU SPEED to MANUAL and adjust your PCI FREQUENCY upward a bump or two, you will achieve you first overclock! If that's all you ever do you will be extremely unlikely to ever have any troubles due to this minor change in your system.
However, the very ease of your accomplishment can lead you into a world of pain! When you read articles or go into the forum and see 25 to 50% overclocks (sometimes more!) you will be tempted to mosey on back into your BIOS and try for more.

But if all you know about overclocking is what we have discussed here today....DON'T DO IT. YOU ARE NOT READY.

We can help you prepare, but you must make the preparations. We can tell what precautions to take, but YOU must take these precautions. Remember this: Just by making these two changes I've given you, YOU HAVE VOIDED MOST OF YOUR WARRANTIES!!

So don't - I'm asking you, please - Don't presume upon your success.

Every step beyond where I've taken you today requires forethought and understanding. It requires specialized or high-grade parts that will take time and study to identify, acquire and learn to use properly.

For myself, I don't consider an overclock to be successful unless I LOWER my CPU temperature below where it was at it's normal setting. Not every overclocker agrees with this, but I set a high standard for myself designed to protect my chips! I hope you will do so as well.

I've shown you the easy and the safe. From here on, it's less easy and far less safe. From here you will need to protect your gear, add cooling and modify the relationship between your CPU, RAM and motherboard settings. You will need detailed and specific advice such as is found in the Forum.

Good Luck!

H猷L鰃頧

Some note

Pros
+ Save your money
+ Increase performance

Cons
+ Limit your CPU lifespan
+ Unstable result