Automatic motherboard overclocking: advantages and disadvantages

Although Intel already offered its “K” processors , Ryzen's rise has prompted many people to overclock. They don't know how to do it, but they do know that a bad overclock can dramatically reduce processor life. For this reason, the curiosity arises to know what automatic overclocking is like , what advantages and disadvantages it has, etc. You will find all the information below.

Index of contents

What is Overclock?

Overclocking means " over the clock " or " over the clock ". It is a technique whose objective is to achieve the highest possible frequency or clock speed in a processor. In other words, we will be "tricking" the processor so that it gives more power than what it offers at home or as standard.

Why do you want to get more frequency? Because the performance of our PC increases a lot. It is not the same that the processor works at 3.2 GHz than it does at 4.2 GHz. There is a 1 GHz difference, which is a brutal increase.

A priori, people who overclock are usually classified into two types of people:

Enthusiasts who want maximum performance, so they buy an unlocked processor, a motherboard with a chipset prepared for it and a suitable air or liquid dissipation for it. Users with mid-range equipment who want to get more performance than they should. In many cases, there is no happy ending for them because they demand too much from a processor that is not too prepared for it.

Given the choice, it is always better to be the first because, with a good team and good training, we will do a controlled overclock.

What do we need to overclock?

Before overclocking, we must know what we need to do it. It is not worth any component, but we have to have the following.

Processor unlocked

It is a processor that allows overclocking. We cannot overclock a blocked processor.

- At Intel, we find the i5, i7 or i9 processors ending in " K ", which are the unlocked ones. Sometimes there are some exceptions that you can overclock without the -K. At AMD, we found no issues on Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7, and Ryzen 9. AMD gives the user freedom to get the most out of it. They are processors prepared for it.

Logically, it is a technique that can only be done with processors that are focused on gaming or the enthusiastic range. Although there are exceptions such as the Athlon 3000G that allows overclocking.

Motherboard with compatible chipset

Within each processor manufacturer, we find several ranges of chipset. We have the basic, average and enthusiast range, which is what the chipset usually contains to overclock.

- AMD, from the B350 chipset up we can overclock; i.e.B450, X370, X470 or X570. Intel, we find the Z390, Z370, X299 or Z270, among others.

If we have a different chipset, surely we cannot do automatic overclock, no matter if we have an unlocked processor.

Heatsink or cooling

With the overclock we raise the temperature of the processor more than normal in IDLE (or rest), so as soon as we play or work, the temperature will skyrocket. This is because we touch the processor voltages , but this article is not about manual overclocking, but about automatic overclocking.

So we need a good heatsink or cooler. We find several types of heatsinks or cooling that allow heat to be expelled from the processor to keep it at logical temperatures.

Air cooler. It is the most conventional of all, as the cheapest. It is a block that is installed just above the processor and is anchored to the motherboard. Heat is transported from the processor to the heatsink, which has a fan to blow all that heat out.
- If you want to overclock, we are not worth a current heatsink, but we will have to spend more money. As a tip, look at the CoolerMaster, Noctua, Artic and Corsair brands .
Liquid cooler. It performs the same function, but in a more optimal and sophisticated way. It is a pump that incorporates tubes and some exhaust fans. The pump is installed like a regular heatsink and inside the tubes is a liquid that transports heat from the processor to the exhaust fans.
- This installation is highly recommended to keep the processor as cool as possible, but there is always the possibility that the tubes will crack and the liquid will spill into the components of our computer. That said, this problem has been corrected by manufacturers.
Nitrogen or liquid helium cooling kit. This option is very professional and comes at a very high cost. It is used because the liquid nitrogen is at -195.8ºC, so the processor can be overclocked very easily. It goes without saying that it is not necessary to get to this to overclock our PC and it is not recommended for those who do not know how to handle these kits.

Automatic overclocking on the motherboard

For many years, overclocking has been predominantly manual. Users had to handle voltages, temperatures, frequencies, compatibility, etc. The motherboard manufacturers thought that everyone should be able to overclock, even without knowing. Therefore, automatic overclocking technology began to be incorporated into the motherboards.

How does it work?

To start it we have to access the BIOS of our motherboard. Once inside, surely you can find an option called " Turbo Boost " or similar. It is an option that automatically overclock our processor and, in certain cases, our RAM memory.

In this way, we do OC on our PC without having a clue, leaving all this work to our motherboard, which will do so by optimizing resources automatically. But does this really work? Worth? Is it better than doing it manually?

At this point, we must call upon everyone's experience to conclude this. It is known by vox populi that automatic overclocking is not good because it does not optimize processor performance well. So, we have decided to put its advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of automatic overclocking

Automatic overclocking is perfect for those who have neither the time nor the desire to learn to do this technique manually. Solve this need to do OC that many users have.

It is also known by vox populi that these automatic overclocks are characterized by being basic and light, so that our CPU does not have to be in danger. The configuration or programming of the motherboard is supposed to be done to practice this technique without damaging any component. This does not mean that it is safer than a manual one, but it is usually more stable.

On the other hand, since we do it on the motherboard itself, we do not have to download programs and occupy space on the hard disk to overclock. It is true that these exist, but we always recommend doing OC from the motherboard, either automatic or manual.

In summary:

Perfect for those who do not know how to do it manually. It is "safer" or stable than playing without knowing. No third party or official programs are needed.

Disadvantages of automatic overclocking

Obviously, nothing is perfect.

First of all, automatic overclocking is not functional because it is a decaf OC. For example, in my case I have an MSI B350 with a Ryzen 1600 that has a home frequency of 3.2 GHz. I can get into the MSI motherboard I have and enable Game Boost, which is a lightweight OC. In this way, it goes from 3.2 GHZ to 3.4 GHz, being a clearly insufficient OC .

It goes without saying that the motherboard modifies voltages and certain values to achieve that 200 MHz rise. Therefore, I am going to spend more energy and the performance change I will not even notice. Perhaps, there are certain plates that do this work better, but the difference will not be noticeable.

Second, a stable and tested manual overclocking is always better. Why? Because it is always more optimal to perform a custom configuration, because there are several factors that motherboards do not take into account, such as:

If we use a heatsink better than most users. If it is much hotter in our house than in Michigan. If our box or tower has better ventilation than most. The engineer establishes a series voltages and they are normally high for the processor be stable. It is best to always do it manually.

As you can see, it is not about modifying some values and that's it, but about making a full trial and error. All OCs are marked mainly by temperature and stability. Many factors differ in temperature, such as those mentioned above. In short, with a manual overclock we get more performance.

Finally, that automatic OC is not always so safe. It is true that we are not going to lose stability, but I am going to put you at the next crossroads: the OC is a weapon that cannot fall into the hands of anyone. The OC is very useful and has its great function, but only if you have knowledge of this technique.

It's okay to put an automatic OC on for those who don't know how, but what heatsink do they have? What video games do they play? How do they use the PC?

If they don't have a good heatsink, the automatic OC can take a lot of life out of the processor. The reason is that, after all, we are tightening the processor more and it is heating up more than it should. Not just any heatsink works. If they play video games that use a lot of CPU, they may have stability issues. There is a game called Tarkov that makes abysmal use of CPU, stressing the processor a lot. This results in very high temperatures. Playing Minecraft is not the same as playing these types of games. If they put a lot of work load or not. If the user who does Auto OC and is continuously rendering, loading work to the PC, he may experience problems.

In summary:

A custom overclock is better. We have many guides that can serve as references. Automatic overclocking does not optimize performance well.

Conclusion about automatic overclocking

This overclocking is a good option for those who are not demanding on PC performance and want a little push at the start of certain tasks. On the other hand, it is not a recommended option for those who want a large performance boost or custom processor "mapping".

It is also not a good option, if you don't have the tools to make it safe, such as good ventilation in the box, a good heatsink or not living in the desert.

Always remember that with the OC there are many possibilities to reduce the useful life of our processor if we overload it with voltage, we will electro-migrate it. If you do manual OC on your own without knowing, you run the risk of running out of processor.

We hope we have comprehensively explained these advantages and disadvantages of automatic overclocking. If you have any questions regarding the subject, do not hesitate and comment below. Do not leave with a question for embarrassment to ask!

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What experiences have you had with overclocking? Have you ever used automatic overclocking?