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In the Forums... |
Written By: Keith "Farrel" McClellan Posted: February 25, 2000 Overclocking your CPU and L2 Cache Latency Cont. To overclock your processor, you go to the same section. Make sure you set your FSB multiplier to the correct setting, and then slightly raise the FSB. Then reboot. If it loads up Windows without errors, reboot and raise the speed again. Do this until Windows will no longer boot properly. Then go back, set it one down, and you are done. All you need to do now is test the system and make sure it is truly stable. You may have to increase your core voltage to achieve optimum stability. We have more information on the overclocking process, and testing procedures, in our How To Overclock Your Computer Guide (Part 1/Part 2). While you are in the BIOS setup, there is another setting that you might want to play with a bit - and luckily for you, it is the only one that won't void your warranty. This setting is Speed Error Hold. Turn it off for a couple of more cycles per second - it isn't much, but every little bit helps. When you have it enabled your CPU will warn you when the speed is set incorrectly (e.g. overclocked). When you are overclocking your computer or lowering the latency of your cache, you really need to consider cooling your processor. We have several guides on the subject of cooling your system, including our Case Cutting How To Guide. There is some great stuff in there that you can apply to your system. You don't necessarily need to follow our extreme guides, but adding a larger CPU fan and/or case fan will help reduce heat dramatically. Also, if you choose to overclock, you need to consider what happens to the other parts of your system. One of the biggest culprits, other than your RAM, that can cause a failed overclock, would have to be your hard drive. This is because as you bump up the bus speed, the PCI bus speed is increased. The result is that often times you may lose all the data on your drive, or corrupt system components. We focus on this subject, as well as some other things, in our Hard Drive / Memory Tweak Guide. Tweak Programs I recommend these programs for users looking to take advantage of the "tweakability" of their motherboard and CPU in order to gain performance. Make sure to check them out. TweakBIOS - Mentioned before, this program allows you easily access your BIOS features from Windows. The program even allows you to access features that your BIOS setup won't allow you to alter. There's one downside though.. it will not save features unless you register. Read more at the TweakBIOS homepage or download TweakBIOS here. |
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