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

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