New to overclocking, halp!!

[Skittlez]

Do tell.. I don't know the hardware in depth, just really what's compatible with what, and if you know something I don't, I would love it if you'd share. =)

[quido]

Are you looking to overclock your CPU, your GPU, or both?

[r00t]

I like Intel processors cause they have this program called XTU that you can overclock from userland, don't gotta fiddle with BIOS settings or anything, and you can download profiles of people with the same exact hardware to get the fastest and most stable overclock.

Also never overclock with stock cooling they are piles of garbage. I got a cooler master and sit at a max of ~28C overclocked, versus stock fan of like ~75C stock clock.

Originally Posted by quido [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

You realize the full force of your computer's processing power is probably never being used?

I agree with this statement. The only time I notice a big benefit from overclocking is when doing big compiles, overclocking speeds up builds a considerable amount. I guess if you have a terrible CPU that is bottlenecking your graphics card its good too.

[Skittlez]

Originally Posted by r00t [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I like Intel processors cause they have this program called XTU that you can overclock from userland, don't gotta fiddle with BIOS settings or anything, and you can download profiles of people with the same exact hardware to get the fastest and most stable overclock.

Also never overclock with stock cooling they are piles of garbage. I got a cooler master and sit at a max of ~28C overclocked, versus stock fan of like ~75C stock clock.



I agree with this statement. The only time I notice a big benefit from overclocking is when doing big compiles, overclocking speeds up builds a considerable amount. I guess if you have a terrible CPU that is bottlenecking your graphics card its good too.

Having to change my BIOS settings is making me so uncomfortable. I feel like I am gonna check something off just be totally fucked. I am certainly more knowledgable than your avg joe with Windows based computers, but BIOS is uncharted territory for me and it's making me anxious as all hell going through it. I still am trying to figure this shit out so I can be ready when I upgrade, and I wouldn't mind a bonus 5-10 FPS if I could manage it.

[Scrooge]

Originally Posted by Skittlez [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Having to change my BIOS settings is making me so uncomfortable. I feel like I am gonna check something off just be totally fucked. I am certainly more knowledgable than your avg joe with Windows based computers, but BIOS is uncharted territory for me and it's making me anxious as all hell going through it. I still am trying to figure this shit out so I can be ready when I upgrade, and I wouldn't mind a bonus 5-10 FPS if I could manage it.

It may be a good idea to dl a manual for your motherboard, which will explain all the BIOS settings in detail, so there won't be any "accidents." Also, if you do decide to OC through the BIOS, and this is important, be sure that the PCI Express clock is never set above 100!

Check out those forums I recommended in my previous post, at www.overclock.net, they're bound to have the info you're looking for. While it's true that you may receive some generic info on overclocking from this thread, it won't answer your questions in as much detail as the ones at overclock.net, pertaining to your specific hardware combination of motherboard and cpu, as well as ram timings.

Also, if you can, post your CPU-Z verification image here, and when asking questions at the other forums. It makes it much easier for people to help you with your inquiries, when they see those technical details. Here's one, of my old PC, http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=327627.

CPU-Z site: http://www.cpuid.com.

After verification of your system details, mainly Motherboard, CPU and Ram, it will give you your own unique link where anyone you share it with, will see all that detailed info, like so:

[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Skittlez]

Both

[Skittlez]

Just got finished updating my bios and downloaded the software I will need from ASUS.

[Ambrotos]

The little bit you can squeeze out won't make a noticeable difference. If anything just upgrade your video card and you will be fine. By all means play with it and overclock it, but unless you are running 10+ different programs that are intensive you don't need to.

Worse case is you burn the cpu up and trash the mother board. It will give you an excuse to buy higher end stuff!

[Skittlez]

Well I definitely appreciate the advice. Looks like I will just do this again when I upgrade this summer.

[Scrooge]

Make sure your case has good ventilation before you start, good clean airflow is the first step before anything else. I'd also look through sites like overclock.net and Toms Hardware, and see if they have the same motherboard/cpu combination as you, as well as how far they were able to push it.