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04-19-10, 05:01 AM

Overclocking is not that hard really, just time consuming plus an initial learning curve on the core concepts.

The goal is to boost your system for better game playing so you have three main areas to OC

1. The Graphics Card....easiest to OC in my oppinion. Use the BIOS or a fan control program to set the fans to 100%. Then use another program to OC the graphics card till you see artifacts, then either increase voltage or decrease the OC. Of course more voltage means more power and hence more heat. Once your graphics card starts hitting the 70 degress then you'll need to improve your cooling.

2. The CPU...again, bump all the fans to 100% then increase FSB till the PC becomes unstable. Then try to increase core voltage (but no more than 2V). Again, more power equals more heat. You don't really want to push it beyond 60 degrees.

3. The Memory....you wont get much of an improvement unless you acheive 1:1 parity with your FSB. Dooable but again watch the voltages - largely depends on mem chip manufacturer.

Okay, now the caveat....OCing risks melting your rig, so the only way to do it well is to learn the capabilities of your bios, your motherboard, your graphics cards and your memory. Then learn the core concepts to overclocking. Then download the right programs (CPU-ID, GPU-Z, RealTemp, CoreTemp, TheListIsEndless etc). Then accept that the temp sensors in modern PCs are mainly diode temp sensors and thus not very accurate. For example, my PC provides temp readings which differ by as much as 12 degrees depending on what temp monitor program I use....so you have to develop a 'feal' for your rig.

And lastly, Little Steps Elly, Little Steps!

You should tweak a little and run it a lot to test stability whilst ALWAYS keeping an eye on your temps. Its all about the temps at the end of the day.

The good news is most CPUs and GPUs will start moaning before they blow. so if you suddenly get BSODs then you're either running the CPU too hot or not enough voltage. If you get graphic artifacts then the same applies to the GPUs. Memory stability is a little harder to test.

I got my 2.4Ghz E6600 to run at 3.5Ghz by buying a CPU fan for 30 bucks...but if you're getting 50fps in open water then thats pretty good already. You can bump this by getting rid of dynamic shadows, lowering your anti-aliasing and switching of V-Sync.

Now get reading :-)

04-19-10, 05:01 AM	#12
Uber Gruber Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	Overclocking is not that hard really, just time consuming plus an initial learning curve on the core concepts. The goal is to boost your system for better game playing so you have three main areas to OC 1. The Graphics Card....easiest to OC in my oppinion. Use the BIOS or a fan control program to set the fans to 100%. Then use another program to OC the graphics card till you see artifacts, then either increase voltage or decrease the OC. Of course more voltage means more power and hence more heat. Once your graphics card starts hitting the 70 degress then you'll need to improve your cooling. 2. The CPU...again, bump all the fans to 100% then increase FSB till the PC becomes unstable. Then try to increase core voltage (but no more than 2V). Again, more power equals more heat. You don't really want to push it beyond 60 degrees. 3. The Memory....you wont get much of an improvement unless you acheive 1:1 parity with your FSB. Dooable but again watch the voltages - largely depends on mem chip manufacturer. Okay, now the caveat....OCing risks melting your rig, so the only way to do it well is to learn the capabilities of your bios, your motherboard, your graphics cards and your memory. Then learn the core concepts to overclocking. Then download the right programs (CPU-ID, GPU-Z, RealTemp, CoreTemp, TheListIsEndless etc). Then accept that the temp sensors in modern PCs are mainly diode temp sensors and thus not very accurate. For example, my PC provides temp readings which differ by as much as 12 degrees depending on what temp monitor program I use....so you have to develop a 'feal' for your rig. And lastly, Little Steps Elly, Little Steps! You should tweak a little and run it a lot to test stability whilst ALWAYS keeping an eye on your temps. Its all about the temps at the end of the day. The good news is most CPUs and GPUs will start moaning before they blow. so if you suddenly get BSODs then you're either running the CPU too hot or not enough voltage. If you get graphic artifacts then the same applies to the GPUs. Memory stability is a little harder to test. I got my 2.4Ghz E6600 to run at 3.5Ghz by buying a CPU fan for 30 bucks...but if you're getting 50fps in open water then thats pretty good already. You can bump this by getting rid of dynamic shadows, lowering your anti-aliasing and switching of V-Sync. Now get reading :-)