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Should I use BIOS or Clockgen to overclock?
- Thread starter AY786
- Start date
Chernobyl1
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2004
- Messages
- 1,674
Check out some of the overclocking threads, there are a lot.
Heres some info for Athlon64. The principles are the same for Intel but some steps are a little different.
The basics are:
Lock the PCI bus
Set the Ram speed, CPU and HT multipler low (say 2x for HT if it works, if not then 3x).
You must set the ram speeds not leave them on auto.
Setting Ram timings too slow or fast can stop the memory and your PC working so be careful not to stray too far from the default speeds unless you have read about your ram and know better.
If you go too far you will need to hold INS on boot or reset the cmos.
To find the max speed of the motherboard
Boost the HTT til it becomes unstable.
You need to know this so if your Ram or CPU clocking cant go any further, you know if the board is maxed or you may be able to get more by using higher voltages.
To find the max Ram speed
Set the HTT low again.
Set the Ram back to default speed (dont use the setting default) and boost the HTT til it becomes unstable.
note the max HTT.
To find the max CPU speed
Set the HTT back to default, the CPU multi to default and the Ram to low speed.
Boost the HTT until it becomes unstable.
Note the max HTT.
If the Max HTT isnt anywhere near the max of the motherboard, reduce the CPU mutiplier and keep going.
Note the max HTT once.
Note the CPU Multiplier.
Of the 3 HTT figures you have noted, the lowest is the one you will need to use.
Keep the CPU multiplier at the setting you noted (if the rams max HTT is way lower than the CPUs max HTT, you may want to raise the CPU multi to get the CPU speed back up)
Leave the HT mutiplier at 2x or 3x (the lowest that you could set it to).
You should now be running your memory and CPU near their maximums.
You can boost the voltage for the cpu, Ram and memory to gain more performance.
You can also tweak the timings of the ram, try reducing one setting at a time until it becomes unstable.
Be sure to have all the CMOS settings you have changed written down as you may need to clear your CMOS. If it wont boot try holding the INS key and then powering it up.
Beware of overheating anything, its easy.
I use Clockgen to find the max speeds and then use the CMOS for the final settings.
A good program to test with is Stress Prime 2004.
Set it going on CPU test (Use memory test for the Ram) and wait for the CPU temp to top out.
Once the PC has been stable for a few minutes, boost the HTT in Clockgen by 5MHz or so.
Wait 30 seconds.
If Stress Prime hasnt reported an error, repeat the process.
Once Stress Prime fails, you can either increase the voltage to go higher or back the HTT off by 5 to 15MHz and you should be safe.
Be sure to look up the maximum clocks and temps people are getting for the same hardware you have and make sure your temp is around 55C max for the CPU under load (unless its a P4, they are much hotter).
(You will need some temperature monitoring software for your motherboard. There should be something on the motherboard CD)
Take note of the cpu coolers used compared to yours as you may not be able to get as high clocks with the default cooler.
If you havent bought a specific cooler you are likely to have the default Intel/AMD.
Heres some info for Athlon64. The principles are the same for Intel but some steps are a little different.
The basics are:
Lock the PCI bus
Set the Ram speed, CPU and HT multipler low (say 2x for HT if it works, if not then 3x).
You must set the ram speeds not leave them on auto.
Setting Ram timings too slow or fast can stop the memory and your PC working so be careful not to stray too far from the default speeds unless you have read about your ram and know better.
If you go too far you will need to hold INS on boot or reset the cmos.
To find the max speed of the motherboard
Boost the HTT til it becomes unstable.
You need to know this so if your Ram or CPU clocking cant go any further, you know if the board is maxed or you may be able to get more by using higher voltages.
To find the max Ram speed
Set the HTT low again.
Set the Ram back to default speed (dont use the setting default) and boost the HTT til it becomes unstable.
note the max HTT.
To find the max CPU speed
Set the HTT back to default, the CPU multi to default and the Ram to low speed.
Boost the HTT until it becomes unstable.
Note the max HTT.
If the Max HTT isnt anywhere near the max of the motherboard, reduce the CPU mutiplier and keep going.
Note the max HTT once.
Note the CPU Multiplier.
Of the 3 HTT figures you have noted, the lowest is the one you will need to use.
Keep the CPU multiplier at the setting you noted (if the rams max HTT is way lower than the CPUs max HTT, you may want to raise the CPU multi to get the CPU speed back up)
Leave the HT mutiplier at 2x or 3x (the lowest that you could set it to).
You should now be running your memory and CPU near their maximums.
You can boost the voltage for the cpu, Ram and memory to gain more performance.
You can also tweak the timings of the ram, try reducing one setting at a time until it becomes unstable.
Be sure to have all the CMOS settings you have changed written down as you may need to clear your CMOS. If it wont boot try holding the INS key and then powering it up.
Beware of overheating anything, its easy.
I use Clockgen to find the max speeds and then use the CMOS for the final settings.
A good program to test with is Stress Prime 2004.
Set it going on CPU test (Use memory test for the Ram) and wait for the CPU temp to top out.
Once the PC has been stable for a few minutes, boost the HTT in Clockgen by 5MHz or so.
Wait 30 seconds.
If Stress Prime hasnt reported an error, repeat the process.
Once Stress Prime fails, you can either increase the voltage to go higher or back the HTT off by 5 to 15MHz and you should be safe.
Be sure to look up the maximum clocks and temps people are getting for the same hardware you have and make sure your temp is around 55C max for the CPU under load (unless its a P4, they are much hotter).
(You will need some temperature monitoring software for your motherboard. There should be something on the motherboard CD)
Take note of the cpu coolers used compared to yours as you may not be able to get as high clocks with the default cooler.
If you havent bought a specific cooler you are likely to have the default Intel/AMD.
Arcygenical
Fully [H]
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2005
- Messages
- 25,066
Clockgen to find your maximum values, Bios to set them... That's how I do it.
(cf)Eclipse
Freelance Overclocker
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2003
- Messages
- 30,027
i like to use both. clockgen makes life easy, but set things for real in the biosAY786 said:
by overclocking the cpu, you also overclock the ram as well... so you gotta pay attention to both at once. i have a guide in my sig if you wanna read it
Chernobyl1
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2004
- Messages
- 1,674
As you raise the HTT, your CPU and Ram speed will rise.
If you dont want the ram speed to rise, change it to a slower speed to compensate.
If you dont want the ram speed to rise, change it to a slower speed to compensate.