▷ What is overclocking and what does it do on our pc

In this article we are going to see in detail what this is about overclocking and what it manages to do on our PC, more specifically on our CPU, graphics card or RAM. Surely we will all love to have leading products in our hands and experience their power and performance, be they cars, motorcycles or computers. One of the most common practices in high-end equipment and gaming is to overclock its components to overcome performance barriers.

Index of contents

If you have recently bought one of the processors from Intel or AMD you will know that in its specifications we find the word TurboBoost or TurboCore (not to be confused with TurboMan), in any case, we will see that we can distinguish one base frequency and another in turbo. But what is this really? Well, so to speak, it is a kind of overclocking that comes from the factory with a processor, or RAM.

CPU operating base

Well, the first thing we must take into account is how our CPU works to know where overclocking works, since, fundamentally, this practice is carried out with microprocessors.

Every component of a computer is synchronized with a clock, be it CPU, RAM, graphics card, etc. Just as every component of a computer works with electric current to transform its impulses into information (0 and 1).

Each component is then synchronized by a clock that runs at a series of cycles per second or frequency, which is measured in Hertz Hz, Megahertz MHz (10 ⁶ Hertz) or Gigahertz GHz (10 ⁹ Hertz). The more hertz a processor has, the more information it will be able to process, or what is the same, the more processes per second it will be able to do. As we can assume, overclocking is based precisely on managing the frequency of our processor.

What is Intel Turbo Boost and AMD Turbo Core

Each of the two main manufacturers of PC processors have technologies that will automatically raise the CPU frequency if necessary. You could say it's like a little factory-implemented controlled overclocking.

• Turbo Boost: This technology is implemented by Intel in its processors in its 14nm generation. It is about increasing the processor frequency in both cores and graphics to obtain higher performance in important workload during a certain time. To increase the frequency, you must also increase the voltage of the cores and therefore their TDP, so the consumption will be higher. It is currently available up to the Turbo Boost Max 3.0 version for high-end CPUs, and it will be possible to manage it from a brand software. Turbo Core: This is the technology that AMD implements in its processors. The working principle is the same, we will dynamically increase the APU frequency for heavy workload.

What is overclocking?

Overclock means in Spanish, above the clock, and this is precisely what this technique intends. Overclocking is a technique that seeks at all times to achieve a higher clock speed of a processor or frequency of an electronic component. This increase implies exceeding the operating characteristics detailed by the manufacturer. In this way we can increase the performance and speed of an electronic component without having to buy a more powerful one. Every electronic component is capable of being overclocked.

By overclocking a processor, what we are achieving is, if for example it is capable of reaching 4 GHz maximum, we are going to make it reach 4.8 GHz. This way it will be able to perform more calculations for second and with this we will obtain a performance improvement in our team.

The practice of overclocking is very common in users who dedicate their equipment to gaming, with the aim of obtaining, at a given moment, a performance improvement in the performance of games with the highest requirements.

But not only can we overclock a processor, it is also possible to do it to any electronic element that the manufacturer has enabled to offer this possibility. Because, in principle, to be able to overclock the electronic component must be enabled for it, something that has been done in recent years and that we will now explain what it consists of.

What do I need to overclock

We already know what overclocking is, now we must know how we can do this and what components or type of components we need to overclock. In addition to the processor, we will also be able to overclock RAM memory and graphics cards, although software will normally be average and in a predetermined range. So the most interesting component to do this practice is without a doubt the processor.

The first thing to keep in mind is that there are locked and unlocked processors, and this is essential to be able to overclock. Of course, we must know the differences between them and how to identify them.

Difference between processor locked and unlocked.

Today's processors have a very high processing speed, reaching frequencies that far exceed 3 GHz or 3 billion cycles per second. These elements derive their speeds from elements called base clock multipliers, which what they do is through an internal element, multiplying the cycles per second of the base clock of the board up to the speed that the CPU requires to work. In this way, a CPU with a multiplication of 10x will work at 10 clock cycles for each cycle that the external clock has.

This is where the concept of locked and unlocked processor comes in. When a processor is locked, it means that the internal multiplier it has to transform clock cycles into internal cycles cannot be modified by the user. This item is accessible in the BIOS of a computer. This means that if we cannot modify the multiplier, we will not be able to modify the frequency at which it works, and therefore we will not be able to overclock it.

At the other end is the unlocked processor, which does have this multiplier accessible by the user to be able to place the value that we want, of course it is within a certain range. In this case, yes we can overclock a processor.

Can a locked processor be unlocked?

You cannot unlock a locked CPU to overclock it, this is something the manufacturer determines in the architecture of the processor in question. To overclock a blocked processor, we would have to raise the frequency of the front side bus, which is the data bus of the motherboard itself. This practice involves possible failures and restarts in our system and the performance improvement is practically negligible.

On the other hand, manufacturers like Intel have a range of factory- unlocked processors with the "K" badge on the model. So a CPU that has the K behind the number will be a CPU that can be overclocked. AMD for its part has the entire new Ryzen range with unlocked multipliers, making them the best processors for overclocking.

The chipset is also important

The chipset is the processor in charge of managing part of the information that circulates through the motherboard, the components and the CPU. That is why, just as a processor needs to have the ability to be unlocked to be overclocked, so the motherboard will need to have a chipset to match the circumstances and with this property.

The range of chipsets for these practices is, by Intel, all those that have the distinctive Z or X in front of the model, for example, Z77, Z87, Z97, Z170, Z270, Z370, X99 or X299. On the AMD side, when we have the entire range unlocked, in principle any chipset will be appropriate for overclocking, although the most indicated are, for Socket AM4: A300, A320, B350, B450, X370 and X470.

Heatsink or liquid cooling

The next thing we will need to do overclocking will be to have a good cooling system. A processor generates a lot of heat due to the high frequencies at which it works, and even more so if we intend to further raise the frequency. For this reason, we are going to need a good system capable of capturing all the heat that the encapsulation generates to exchange it in the environment.

We have two possibilities, either to install an air sink or a liquid cooling system, which is very well priced today. The difference between the three systems is as follows:

• Air sink: This equipment consists of a block, normally made of copper or aluminum, which is made up of fins and also has a fan to pass air through these fins. In this way, the heat collected by the metal block in its fins is transferred to the air.

• Liquid cooling: in this case the system consists of a block that is installed in the CPU and an exchanger that is also a finned metal block. But in this case, both elements form a circuit in which a liquid collects the heat from the CPU block and transports it to the exchanger, where it will be expelled back into the air using fans.

• Refrigeration by nitrogen or liquid helium: This is the most extreme configuration that is only available for the most exclusive and of course they have a higher cost. The colder the better, and the liquid nitrogen is at a temperature of -195.8 ^o C, so a CPU will be able to break frequency limits widely.

In any case, there are excellent components of both types, although a liquid cooling system is always going to be more effective than one by air.

Visit our guide to the best PC coolers, fans and liquid cooling on the market

Parameters to modify to overclock and where they are located

We will now turn to see what parameters we are interested in when overclocking our PC. All of them are in the BIOS of our computer, which, in most cases will be of the UEFI type with a nice graphical interface where we can handle ourselves perfectly. We also have programs by manufacturers to overclock from the operating system itself, although it will be in a predetermined range by them and almost always oriented to RAM and graphics card.

Through BIOS (advanced form)

Of course, on each board the situation and quantity of these options would vary. Here we aim to give a general idea, not a practical overclocking guide.

• Multiplier: Also called CPU ratio or turbo ratio and we have already seen the function it has. The first basic and safest way to overclock is to modify the CPU multiplier. Only the unlocked processors will have this possibility in the BIOS, and with this we can gradually increase this multiplier to achieve higher frequencies. Voltage: We will find it as CPU voltage, and we must activate the "manual" option to be able to modify it ourselves. By raising the multiplier the CPU will begin to need more voltage and power to function properly. At this point and before changing that critical parameter, what is indicated will be to go to the Internet and see an example and overclocking data from our same model. We cannot place a random voltage because the result could be fatal, it should be done in 0.01V steps. Increasing the voltage and will also increase the load of other components of the board, such as RAM, so we must be very well informed before proceeding. Other parameters: each motherboard manufacturer has its own BIOS, and therefore its own options to activate the overclocking mode of a processor or RAM. Possibly we will find options such as CPU Level Up, Ai Overclock tuner, BCLK / PCIE, etc. We must consult the BIOS manual or the Internet to know everything about our BIOS in this regard.

Using software (basic form)

If we buy a bae board, graphics card or equipment from a gaming-oriented manufacturer, such as MSI, ASUS ROG or Gigabyte, it is certain that we will have additional software to modify overclocking parameters or the need to enter the BIOS. What happens frequently is that the frequency range or voltages to modify will be pre-established by the manufacturer, so as not to compromise the integrity of our components with the consequent bad image of the brand.

On the part of graphics cards, if we have an AMD, in the Catalist software itself we will have the possibility of overclocking our graphics card by modifying the clock frequency.

After modifying values ​​it is time to test the stability and results

Changes in these parameters should be made in small steps, and in each one of them check how it affects the stability of the system. In this sense, what we have to do is enter Windows and use a stress program to evaluate the modifications.

The most used programs to do this are AIDA64 and Prime95 to check the stability of both CPU, memory and GPU. We can also use Furmark to stress our graphics card individually, if it is what we have overclocked.

If we have significantly increased voltage and multiplier, we will have to be at least 30 minutes with AIDA64 working. If no reboots and crashes have occurred in this period, it will mean that the overclocking level is stable.

How often can I overclock my CPU?

Well, many factors will influence what speed your CPU will be able to reach in an overclocking. Factors such as the model of the processor, motherboard, cooling used and other components that the equipment will have, will influence the final result. And this is precisely why we always recommend overclocking in small steps and checking stability.

There is often news about state-of-the-art processors hitting brutal frequencies with helium or nitrogen. We are talking about frequencies that go up to 7.6 GHz from a base frequency of 3.6 GHz.

Everything will depend on these factors and how daring we are ourselves. Of course each one will have to find out on the Internet about the specific model they have and see how far other users have come and under what conditions.

Final words: advantages and disadvantages of overclocking

As you will have read throughout this article, overclocking implies going beyond the security limits established by the component manufacturer, whether it is a processor, graphics card or RAM, so in addition to benefits, we could also find ourselves an unpleasant one. surprise.

The advantage is obvious, the power of a processor is measured by the number of operations per second it can do. If we increase the frequency, we are increasing that number of operations. Therefore, our system will become faster, we will be able to render videos faster, reach more FPS in our games and find a faster computer.

But we also have a serious price to pay. If we force the processor too much, we could cause internal failures in its structure. Today's processors are quite sensitive to tampering especially with the reduced size of transistors. Increasing the frequency and voltage also generates much more heat, and if we don't have a good cooling system we could run into serious problems.

But not everything would be lost, the processors have a function called "thermal throttling" that automatically limits the frequency of a processor to cool it down. This means that if the processor is reaching the integrity limit it will automatically lower performance to preserve the component. In addition, the motherboards also have a security system that cuts off the power and turns off the system to prevent damage.

Generally speaking, the life expectancy of a processor tends to decrease if we use continuous overclocking. Remember that this practice is only for certain moments when we need an extra performance.

We believe that with all this information you will have a very complete idea of ​​what overclocking is and the main concepts, components and procedures that must be known to start experimenting with our team.

You can also complement this information with the following articles:

What processor and graphics card do you have? Are you thinking of overclocking your team? Tell us your opinion about overclocking and it's worth it.