well there's always gonna be people telling you how you can overclock your computer and getting it to perform better than what it's rated on the box. and they'd be right you know. most PC components today are made to much tighter specifications in terms of performance, with sufficient (and significant) margins for even better performance if you'd just know how to unlock it.
that said, overclocking is not for everyone, and in most cases it would void your warranty. also, there's a fair bit of elbow grease involved, as well as a certain level of competence and comfort required to go about tweaking the BIOS.
well, that's for those who want to push their machines to the limit. but what if you're a middle of the road kind of guy - just want the computer to perform to specs, and maybe get a little more useful life out of the components? there's something for you too! and its known as under-volting.
see, when it comes to computers and performance, the key variables are speed (measured as a product of clock-speed and multiplier), voltage, and heat created.
when most people talk about overclocking, they'd take a 3200MHz chip and bump it up to 3600MHz, for example. what this does is to force the CPU to run at a higher speed than it's spec'd, and while most processors will do that for you without breaking a sweat, some will require you to increase a little voltage to the chip to get her innards humming along nicely. with increased voltage comes our bugbear, increase heat output, and the requirement of heat dissipation products.
incidentally, this is why hardcore 'gamer' PCs almost always come with gigantic heatsinks and fans where the CPU is located.
now, the delightful thing about modern CPUs is that it isn't only margined for better performance - it's also sold with standardised input voltage, much more in fact, than is actually required for the chip to run at the rating it says on the box. for example, i am using an AMD x955 quad core chip, and it's defaulted to 1.375v to achieve 3.2GHz. however, at this voltage, the CPU generates close to 100deg C of heat that my HSF has trouble dissipating.
to solve the problem, i undervolt the chip via BIOS, limiting the maximum amount of juice that goes to my CPU. at 1.2v, my CPU hums along happily at 60deg C under full load, a temperature reduction of ~40deg C!
the downside of undervolting is (for windows machines) a blue screen, as the CPU tries to hit its rated speed without sufficient juice to power her. simply increase the voltage ceiling available to the next available step until you find one that is stable for your system. easy hack, and your PC now runs cooler. job done!
that said, overclocking is not for everyone, and in most cases it would void your warranty. also, there's a fair bit of elbow grease involved, as well as a certain level of competence and comfort required to go about tweaking the BIOS.
well, that's for those who want to push their machines to the limit. but what if you're a middle of the road kind of guy - just want the computer to perform to specs, and maybe get a little more useful life out of the components? there's something for you too! and its known as under-volting.
see, when it comes to computers and performance, the key variables are speed (measured as a product of clock-speed and multiplier), voltage, and heat created.
when most people talk about overclocking, they'd take a 3200MHz chip and bump it up to 3600MHz, for example. what this does is to force the CPU to run at a higher speed than it's spec'd, and while most processors will do that for you without breaking a sweat, some will require you to increase a little voltage to the chip to get her innards humming along nicely. with increased voltage comes our bugbear, increase heat output, and the requirement of heat dissipation products.
incidentally, this is why hardcore 'gamer' PCs almost always come with gigantic heatsinks and fans where the CPU is located.
now, the delightful thing about modern CPUs is that it isn't only margined for better performance - it's also sold with standardised input voltage, much more in fact, than is actually required for the chip to run at the rating it says on the box. for example, i am using an AMD x955 quad core chip, and it's defaulted to 1.375v to achieve 3.2GHz. however, at this voltage, the CPU generates close to 100deg C of heat that my HSF has trouble dissipating.
to solve the problem, i undervolt the chip via BIOS, limiting the maximum amount of juice that goes to my CPU. at 1.2v, my CPU hums along happily at 60deg C under full load, a temperature reduction of ~40deg C!
the downside of undervolting is (for windows machines) a blue screen, as the CPU tries to hit its rated speed without sufficient juice to power her. simply increase the voltage ceiling available to the next available step until you find one that is stable for your system. easy hack, and your PC now runs cooler. job done!
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