Overclocking your gaming PC isn’t a hard thing to do. Once you know the basics of overclocking, it’s easier for you to squeeze more performance out of your machine. Indeed, it’s the cheapest way to get more FPS performance out of your PC. So, in this beginner guide, we’ll talk about what is overclocking and how to do it the right way.
What is Overclocking?
Overclocking means making your computer’s (CPU) or graphics card (GPU) run faster than usual. Overclocking your hardware can help games and programs run smoother. But, it can also make your computer hotter and use more power. If not done carefully, it might harm your computer parts. So, it’s important to have good cooling and know what you’re doing before trying to overclock.
One of the most common hardware to overclock in a gaming PC is the CPU also known as “Processor”. For the sake of this guide, I’ll be overclocking an Intel Core i9-9900K CPU.
As you now know what overclocking is, the next step is to get familiar with the hardware you need for overclocking your PC.
Hardware Required for Overclocking A Gaming PC
To effectively overclock your gaming PC, consider the following essential hardware components:
- Unlocked Processor (CPU): Not every CPU can be overclocked, make sure the one you intend to overclock is unlocked. Intel’s “K” series or AMD’s Ryzen processors are unlocked out of the box and can be overclocked easily.
- Compatible Motherboard: Ensure your motherboard allows overclocking and provides robust power delivery to the CPU. Choose a reliable motherboard as it provides stable power and voltage to your CPU for overclocking.
- High-End CPU Cooler: Overclocking produces a lot of heat that can damage your CPU. Higher temperatures (around 100 °C) can fry up your CPU. Therefore, to cool down your CPU, you will need an efficient CPU cooler.
- Quality Power Supply Unit (PSU): A reliable PSU with adequate wattage ensures stable power delivery during overclocking.
Before you overclock your PC, I highly advise you to record your CPU’s idle and load temperatures using monitoring tools like HWiNFO, Core Temp, HWMonitor, etc. This helps assess thermal headroom.
Furthermore, you should use benchmarking software like Cinebench 15 to measure your CPU’s performance before overclocking it. Cinebench provides you with a benchmark score. You can compare this benchmark score with the one that you get after overclocking your PC.
Overclocking Your Gaming PC
Follow the steps below to successfully overclock your PC.
Step 1: Restart Your PC & Enter BIOS
The first step to overclock your PC is to restart your machine and access the BIOS menu. To enter the BIOS menu, there’s a dedicated key on your keyboard. In most cases, it’s F2, F5, F10, or DEL button that helps you to enter the BIOS settings menu.
I’m using an ASUS motherboard, so I’ll be pressing the “DEL” key to enter into my system’s BIOS.
Step 2: Check RAM
Once you enter the BIOS, it’s time to see if your RAM is running at the best possible speed and setting. See the image above where I’ve selected the XMP 1 (which works best with Intel CPUs) as my preferred RAM setting.
Step 3: Tweaking With Overclock Settings
Once you are done with the RAM profile settings, it’s time to dive down and tweak the CPU settings. This is the section where you’ll find a lot of technical jargon, but there’s nothing to worry about. Most of these settings should be left at “Auto”.
Auto or Manual Overclocking
Depending upon your motherboard manufacturer, you’ll be asked to choose between manual or automatic overclocking. If you want to stay away from technical jargon, choose automatic overclocking. However, automatic overclocking doesn’t offer you performance gains that manual overclocking does.
At this part, we’ll only interact with the settings that matter in the overclocking process.
A: Select CPU Core Ratio
The first thing you need to change is the CPU Core Ratio. See the image above where I’ve changed this from “Auto” to “Sync all cores”. The reason for doing this is to max out all available cores on the CPU at the same clock speed.
B: Adjust CPU Multiplier (Core Ratio)
This is the trickier part of overclocking where newbies get confused. However, by doing a little math, you can easily tackle this part.
The CPU multiplier determines the processor’s speed. Increase it incrementally (e.g., by 1x) to boost clock speed. For example, if your base clock is 100 MHz and the multiplier is set to 50, your CPU runs at 5.0 GHz.
C: Adjust CPU Core Voltage (VCore)
The last step in the overclocking is to manually adjust the CPU Core Voltage. See the image below where I’ve selected the Manual Mode and then set the voltage to 1.250V.
I highly advise you to start with a lower number. To support higher speeds, your CPU may require more voltage. Increase the Vcore cautiously, in small increments (e.g., 0.01 to 0.05 volts), to maintain stability without causing excessive heat.
Step 4: Save Changes & Restart
Save the modified settings in the BIOS/UEFI and restart your computer. Monitor the boot process for any issues.
Once your system boots into Windows, run the Cinebench benchmarks to see if your system is stable or crashes.
If your system crashes, then restart it, enter the BIOS, and lower down on CPU multiplier or increase voltage.
Repeat the process until your system gets stable with the new settings.
Remember, overclocking carries inherent risks, including potential hardware damage and voided warranties. Therefore, proceed with caution, make incremental changes, and install high-end cooling to prevent your machine from frying up.
Risks of Overclocking
Overclocking is a great way to speed up your computer. However, there are risks associated with overclocking that you must be aware of:
Overheating
One of the major risks of overclocking is overheating. Increase in power and voltage can cause your hardware (CPU or GPU) to overheat. Excessive heat can reduce the overall lifespan of your hardware. Always use high-end air or liquid CPU coolers for heat management.
Instability Issues
Lags, stutters, or freezes are common when you overclock your PC. Instability issues like these can cause data loss or BSOD errors.
Void Warranty
Overclocking your PC means you are going beyond the speed limits set by the hardware manufacturer. While overclocking can increase your system’s performace, it also compromises the stability and lifespan of the hardware. Therefore, most manufacturers state that overclocking voids the warranty of the affected hardware.
Is Overclocking Safe?
Yes, overclocking is a safe thing to do if you want extra performance out of your PC. Modern PC hardware comes with integrated sensors and ICs that shut down your system if there are any instability issues.
How to Know If Your PC is Overclocked?
To know if your PC is overclocked or not, simply press the CTRL + ALT + Delete buttons altogether to open up the “Task Manager”.
Once in the Task Manager click o the “Performance” tab, and then select “CPU”. On the right side, you’ll see CPU speed in GHz. Note down the clock speed of your CPU. If the CPU is running at a higher clock speed than the base (stock) clock speed, then it’s overclocked.
Key Takeaways
- With Overclocking you can get extra performance out of your gaming PC.
- You will require an unlocked processor, an expensive motherboard, a reliable PSU, and high-end cooling to overclock your machine.
- Carefully adjust CPU Multiplier and Voltage settings for maximum performance gains.
- Always stress-test your CPU after overclocking to see if your system is stable.
- Continuously monitor your system’s performance and temperatures during regular use to ensure ongoing stability.
Mosaab Jamal Ahmed brings 12+ years of PC Hardware experience to the table. His journey began in 1998 with a Pentium 1 PC, igniting his lifelong fascination with computer hardware and video games. Over the years, Mosaab has honed his skills in upgrading and building gaming PCs. He has built dream gaming machines for multiple brands and local businesses throughout his career. Mosaab’s areas of expertise are building custom gaming PCs, in-depth PC hardware analysis, and PC hardware reviews.