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First and foremost:
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The art of overclocking is the forcing of one's system to its very limit, and then backing down just a little. Below is the list of steps one should take to successfully overclock ones system, please bear in mind that this guide works on the grounds that both your multiplier and FSB are unlocked, and that you have adequate cooling for your system.
For a list of technical terms see the end of this document. If at any time the machine refuses to post, refer to the “recovering from a non-post situation” section at the end of this document)
BEFORE BEGINNING THESE STEPS:
Ensure that your AGP and PCI frequency settings are locked to their default unless impossible (NOT AUTO). With AMD processors ENSURE that the CPU:RAM ratio is set to 6:6 to avoid serious performance degradation.
1) Restart the PC, enter the bios (usually by depressing the DEL key on post)
2) Enter your CPU configuration screen (usually SoftMenu III)
3) Drop the multiplier to 10 or lower
4) Increase the FSB by an increment of 1 to 5
5) Save & exit
6) Run prime95, 3dMark01SE and another benchmarker of your choice for a good while
7) If the pc runs fine after rigorous testing, reboot the machine and enter the bios again
8) Repeat steps 4,5 6 & 7 until one of the benchmarking programs reports errors.
9) Reboot and up the Vcore voltage by the smallest increment possible, save & exit
10) Repeat steps 4 to 9 until you reach the maximum volts suggestible for your CPU (roughly 1.7 for P4 and 1.8 for modern AMDs) and/or you cannot up the FSB further without instability, then fall back to the last known good FSB
11) Note down or remember the maximum FSB you found, now begin to up the multiplier by increments of .5 until again you find instability issues with the system (repeating steps 6, 7, & 11)
12) Reduce the multiplier to the last known stable setting
13) Congratulations, you have just OCed your CPU to it’s limit, you should notice a marked improvement in the general gaming and working environment, as well as improved 3dMark01SE and SiSoft Sandra scores.
Technical Terms:
Bios – the layer of onboard software that manages your computer, it is integral to a machines operation
CPU – Central Processing Unit, or “Processor” this is the component of your machine that manages and executes every command you make.
Multiplier – The number of times the motherboard multiplies the FSB (see below) to achieve your total CPU speed.
FSB – Front Side Bus, measured in megahertz, multiplied by the multiplier
Prime95, 3dMark01Se, SiSoft Sandra, Benchmarker – Utilities that test your system performance and grades it, also pushes your CPU to it’s limits and tests your heat levels
Vcore – the number of volts passing through your CPU
OC (OCed) – Overclock(ed)
Recovering from a non-post Situation:
If the machine refuses to boot after a change to the bios try the following steps:
1) Reboot the machine several times, up to 10 times may be necessary
2) If the machine still will not post, hammer or hold the gatekeeper key immediately after power on (usually INSERT, specified in motherboard manual or on manufacturers website)
3) As a last resort, set the CMOS jumper to reset and leave it in position for a bout 10 minutes, then replace the jumper.
4) Take the power cord out of the back of the pc and press the on button a few times to discharge the PSU
5) Replace the power cord and reboot
6) These steps should at some point have recovered your system, if it has not, this may be a hardware problem, at which point you may have permanently damaged a component, you may wish to try ordering a new bios chip, or testing various components with replacements until you find the culprit
