March Tutor
Overclocking your CPU ●
need for
speed
If you’re machine is starting to feel the Windows-drag syndrome then you may want to think about
overclocking. While you do not want to purchase an overclocked PC, overclocking your machine your-
self to squeeze as much juice as possible out of the unit may be just the ticket to keep it alive and
kicking into the year 2000. In this tutorial we tell you how.
o u r C P U m a y b e an u nder-
Y achiever on a fundamental hard-
w a re level, but there may be
something you can do about it.
That Celeron 366 may actually be able to
run at over 400 MHz, and possibly even up
to 550 MHz! Your PII 300 could be speed-
ing along at 450MHz. And you may be able
to accomplish the performance jump with-
out shelling out for new hardware or soft-
ware.
That’s what overclocking is all about.
Overclocking is a term most readers of
computer magazines have heard, and you
may have even heard that it’s a near un-
derground activity. Less clear is exactly
what takes place during overclocking, and
what results. Basically, overclocking is a
process in which you adjust two configu-
ration settings related to your CPU (micro-
processor) and if everything works out,
you’ll end up with a faster processor. But
it doesn’t always work, and it is not with-
out risks.
Overclocking your CPU can damage it.
PC Magazine does not recommend this
practice; we merely wish to let you know
of the possibility. If you attempt over-
clocking, you do so entirely at your own
92 March 2000
risk. Our advice is to try it on an old, little-
used computer rather than on your main
system.
So why is overclocking appealing? Be-
cause the speed rating that the CPU man-
ufacturer supplies is a conservative one.
The manufacturer produces batches of
CPUs (of a specific type) and assigns the
speed ratings only in post-manufacturing
testing. The testing simulates the worst
conditions the chip is expected to endure.
The Pentium 150 you had in your old ma-
chine was likely manufactured to be a
P/166. But torture testing at 166MHz pro-
duced flaws, while testing at 150MHz did
not. Hence, it was rated at 150MHz to be
on the safe side.
In other words, the processor inside your
computer has had the brakes applied. By
overclocking the CPU, you can let it reach
its greater potential. And (often) with no ex-
tra costs involved.
The speed of a CPU is determined by
two variable measurements: the setting of
the clock multiplier (the CPU clock speed),
and the speed of the front-side bus. Also
called the system bus, the front-side bus lets
the CPU communicate with peripherals
and main memory, while the back-side bus
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 Tutor March

● Overclocking your CPU

is responsible for communication with the time. tomatically), change

CPU’s secondary (L2) cache. Multiplying the
clock multiplier setting by the front-side
O b v i o u sl y , y o u
want to overclock as a TOOL TIME the CPU’s settings in
the BIOS, if you can,
bus speed gives you the speed of the CPU. way to get something and then boot into
Overclocking is the process of changing ei- for nothing, so pur- Å You’ve ove rcloc ked suc- Windows.
ther the multiplier or the front-side bus chasing new mother- cessfully, you’ve enjoyed it be- If Windows loads
speed and therefore changing the speed of b o a rds and cooling cause it feels as if you’ve got- properly, work with
the processor. systems isn’t some- ten away with something, and applications for a
thing you want to do now you’re hooked. What’s while and see that
BEFORE STARTING right off the bat. Try a next? all’s well. You might
The two most important considerations small overclock (in- Å There’s a ton of overclocking notice strange be-
when overclocking are the motherboard crease the multiplier information on the Web. If you haviour, application
and the CPU. The motherboard contains the or the bus speed by have a Celeron processor, for crashes or even Win-
jumper or switch necessary to change the the lowest possible example, start with the Over- do ws c ras h es, in
clock multiplier and front-side bus speeds. amount). If it works, clocking FAQ at www.ars-tech- which case there’s a
You’ll need your motherboard manual (of- try a h igh er s et of nica.com/paedia/celeron_oc_f problem. Try a bet-
ten online at your system manufacturer’s numbers. If you like aq.html. ter cooling system
Web site) to determine how to adjust these; the idea and you want Å Use the Web to find reviews an d bo o t ag ai n ,
the methods differ from system to system. to get serious about of motherboards, cooling sys- changing settings
But there are some motherboards that don’t o v e rclocking, then tems and processor overclock- each time, until you
provide this capability. p u rchase a mother- ing. An example is BXBoards at arrive at a workable
Typically, however, overclocking is a board that allows mul- www.bxboards.com. new clock speed.
matter of changing the pin covered by the tiple settings and a Å Buy a motherboard that lets Note, however, that
jumper, or changing the on/off status of a cooling unit that will you specify all CPU parameters, you might never do
set of switches. As for the CPU, the prima- let you experiment including core voltage. ABIT so, in which case
ry issue is whether or not it has already fully. and AOpen offer such boards. your processor sim-
been overclocked. If you bought your CPU The review sites will help you. ply isn’t overclock-
independently of the computer (especial- THE PROCEDURE Å L e a rn everything you can able.
ly if you bought it used), or if you’re not Okay, you’re ready to about applying increased volt-
sure of the trustworthiness of the store that try it. Start by deter- age levels. The sites will help, THE RESULTS
sold you your system, check the CPU. One mining whether you but you can also contact a re- There are no set re-
way to tell if a CPU has already been over- can perform the over- liable electronics supply store. sults you can expect.
clocked is to look for a peel-off sticker on clocking through the Å Be sure to have an addition- Everything depends
the chip giving the CPU’s speed. But you BIOS or you have to al computer available so you on the indi vidual
may need to get your hands on some test- work directly on the can work even if bad things CPU, the clock and
ing software to determine if overclocking m o t h e r b o a rd. Here , happen to your overclocked ma- b u s s e t t i n g s yo u
has already occurred. we’ll assume the lat- chine. If you’re working on an choose, whether the
Some motherboards (especially jumper- ter, since it’s the most overclocked machine, set au- CPU allows you to
less ones) let you control all these settings commo n scen ar io . tosave settings in your appli- change clock set-
through the BIOS. A section of BIOS set- Turn off the comput- cations to save frequently and t i n gs i n t h e f i r s t
tings called CPU Softmenu, included on er an d un pl ug th e back up important files often. place (the faster PIIs
m o t h e r b o a rds manufactured by A B I T power cord from the Å Refuse to overclock your and all P I I Is have
(www.abit.com), is the most useful for case, then open the friends’ and relatives’ comput- locked settings) and
overclocking procedures, but other BIOSs case and grab your ers, unless you want to become w h e t he r t h e b u s
have them as well. If you have this capa- motherboard manual. a full-time technical-support speed can be set to
bility, overclocking becomes much easier. From the manual, de- person. p roduce a worth-
The other major issue is cooling. The termine the location wh ile effec t. The
higher the CPU’s speed, the greater the o f t h e j u m pe r s o r 100MHz bus, for ex-
heat it generates, and the greater the chance switches that set the clock multiplier and ample, can be changed to 112MHz, but
the system will crash. The little plastic fan bus speeds, and the jumper that controls the there may not be enough of a benefit to
that often ships with the computer might core voltage. Note all three settings on pa- make doing so worthwhile. The table on
not be enough to handle the heat; you’ll per so you can re-set them if necessary. the previous page shows the most common
need a more powerful cooling system, such Now, ground yourself by touching some- settings and their resulting CPU speeds.
as a large fan and heat sink combination thing metal (to avoid destroying the moth- Ultimately, the question is whether over-
(see the photo). Go to an electronics sup- e r b o a rd with a static shock) and then clocking is worth the effort, but that’s a
ply store to find one. change the clock multiplier or the bus purely individual decision. Don’t expect
Finally, there’s voltage. More speed re- speed by adjusting the appropriate jumper the IT people in your company to approve
quires more power. Your motherboard or or switch. Don’t change both settings at of it, and indeed, don’t try it at work at all.
your BIOS may let you adjust the core volt- once; try one at a time, and then if every- But at home, overclocking might well give
age of the CPU beyond its default setting. thing’s okay, try either the next CPU mul- an old computer some new life; and trying
But increasing voltage is not to be taken tiplier or bus speed setting. With the setting it makes sense, especially if you’re not us-
lightly. It can burn out your CPU. If you changed, plug in the power cord and try to ing that old computer much anyway. Be-
choose to increase voltage to provide more boot the machine. If it gets as far as the sides, despite the potential danger, over-
juice to the CPU, do so one setting at a BIOS setup (which will likely appear au- clocking is just plain fun.

www.DITnet .co.ae ■ www.pcmag -mideast.com March 2000 93