How to overclock Intel CPU? Well, here’s the whole procedure!
Intel Processors are named after the CPU’s base frequency, rather than their turbo boost. For example, an i7-4790 with a base frequency of 3.6GHz will be able to overclock up to 4.4GHz when needed without any manual overclocking involved (aside from some extra voltage). A high-end non-K series Intel processor might have default clock speeds of around 3 – 4GHz or so.
Without changing anything on your motherboard or powering off your whole computer. It is usually possible to get at least another 0.3 GHz out of these CPUs though this varies drastically depending on which particular chip you happen to be using and what you do afterward in order to optimize your overclock. The more powerful your computer is, the more likely it will be that you can safely overclock your CPU and get a good speed increase out of it.
Know your hardware:
Intel CPUs often come with overclocking included in their feature set, and many users attempt to push their chips well beyond even these frequencies. This causes heat and instability problems, leading to system crashes and total hardware failure if not properly cooled or regulated. In order to prevent this from happening to you, you need a motherboard that features a higher-end power regulating unit (VRM).
These are usually capable of powering an overclocked chip at no greater than 30% above its stock configuration without frying the machine’s circuits. For example, pushing a CPU running at 3GHz to 4GHz would require an 800W power supply at a minimum. If you are overclocking your computer to the point where it will approach or even break this limit, then you need an even more powerful power regulator.
So, How To Overclock Intel CPU?
The best way to overclock your Intel Core i5-4690K (or other Unlocked Core i5/i7 Core Processors like Core i7-4790K) is by using a Z97 Board with UEFI Bios. You can also use any Z87/Z77 Board with UEFI Bios if that’s what your budget allows for though they’ll likely require additional voltage (CPU Vcore) in order to do so safely. With the latest version of Windows 10, it should be possible to manually Turbo Boost rules through its Task Scheduler. Under Windows 7 this is not possible, and overclocking must be performed via the UEFI BIOS.
If you’re on a budget and want to overclock your i5/i7 without spending too much money, we recommend you to check this budget motherboard list.
You will learn how to set up your Motherboard Bios, and you will increase your CPU Frequency and Voltage (CPU Vcore). Here is an example: You can change the multiplier from 35 to 45. That’s a 16% improvement in performance!
Note:
This method may destroy hardware if done incorrectly so please be careful when doing ANY kind of overclocking. As always – no warranty for any damage which might product because by this guide! You should understand all risks involved before trying such a procedure.
Take some time and read some guides from forums or on YouTube. You may also ask for help from an overclocking expert here if you don’t feel confident about what you’re doing.
Important:
Please note that BIOS settings may change depending on the motherboard manufacturer and your particular hardware configuration. That is why we recommend using the F3 or F7 version for this guide, but any current UEFI bios should work just fine as long as it allows for overclocking.
Gigabyte motherboards have a “Dual BIOS” feature that allows switching between two different Bios versions with a simple flick of a switch on the back of the board which can be very helpful when tinkering with advanced overclocking settings as it provides added protection against accidentally corrupting one’s new Bios settings if something goes wrong during this process.
Some older boards, such as the Gigabyte H67A-UD3H or Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 require a different procedure involving multiple presses of the F12 key to enter the UEFI Bios on those models. This guide will not work on those motherboards. To check your motherboard model simply press and release your computer’s “DEL” key and look at the first four characters in your computer’s boot-up screen: If they say anything other than “P1”, “P2”, or “G1” you can use this guide with no problems.
Quick Summary To Overclock Intel CPU:
Overclock Intel Core i5/i7 by increasing multiplier (in CPU Frequency) and CPU Vcore (in Voltage).
- Make sure that you increase CPU Vcore to the point where your system is stable. It should be fine if it passes a stress test such as Prime95 v26.6 for at least 15 minutes (this will tell you if your PC crashes after 10 minutes, 8 minutes, etc.) but we recommend running it overnight before booting into Windows so that you never boot into an unstable system by mistake. If it crashes immediately or BSODs then decrease CPU Vcore and try again.
- Increase “CPU Cache Ratio” very slowly: Start from 39x and go upwards until your computer starts crashing during stress tests such as Prime95 v26.6. Then decrease it by one and try again.
- Disable “Turbo Boost” (in the Bios) when overclocking your CPU as this will make it unstable (we don’t want to overclock your GPU with this method, do we?)
- You can stop or start/pause any Prime95 instance at any time by pressing the F8 key on your keyboard. This is useful if you want to increase CPU Vcore very slowly because Prime95 may use more power than what you’re comfortable with. It is also useful for pinpointing an unstable system to know which of these settings are causing it before sending them back to default values to create a stable system without accidentally decreasing other important ones in the process.
- You will see a decreased performance in real-time programs such as games if you are not running enough System Memory (RAM). If an application is using too much memory – close it!-Do not overclock your CPU if you have less than 8 GB of RAM or an old, slow hard drive! Your computer needs memory to do calculations, and having 6 GB instead of 8 GB is very noticeable for most modern games even when they are minimized.
- Don’t worry about crashing during everyday tasks because that’s normal with every CPU/hardware configuration! Stop overclocking when your PC becomes unstable, crashes during Prime95 v26.6 stress tests, or randomly restarts. You can still play games without problems but don’t try to do heavy work on it if it crashes when you launch a program or play a game.
How to overclock Intel CPU using the software?
If you don’t know how to overclock Intel CPU using software, you can try this:
- You need a motherboard that supports overclocking.
- Prepare an appropriate heatsink and cooling fan (check best CPU coolers) to dissipate heat from the processor and long lead wires so that they can be moved near the opening of your computer’s case if necessary.
- Find a safe area inside your case for placing the computer while you work on it and clean off any dust or dirt that may dirty up the interior part of the PC system unit.
- Turn off your computer because you’ll have to remove its cover to gain access to its processor chip. The piece which handles all calculations in an active state when running an application or several parts of one program.
- Once you’re ready to begin, power on the computer and let it boot up into Windows as usual.
- Open Intel’s Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU), which can be found by clicking the “Start” button followed by searching for “Intel XTU“.
- Go to clock frequency settings and click on “change max turbo“.
- Set the maximum clock frequency to a modest amount like 4 GHz and click “Okay“, then close XTU and your PC should automatically return to its normal working state after restarting itself–the overclocking is complete at this point but of course, if you feel that 4 GHz of an overclock will not be enough or that many programs lend themselves better to more than just a modest boost in power, you could try using XTU again to overclock the processor further.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to overclock CPU Intel i7?
Intel I7 processors are very powerful, high GHz processors. When overclocked, these processors can produce a lot of heat. You can try to underclock your processor for a while and then overclock it again. If it does not work, then you have to buy a new processor. It is important to know that all processors have a maximum frequency, so you have to be careful when you overclock it. You have to change a few settings in your bios to be able to overclock.
How to overclock CPU Intel i3?
Overclocking the Intel i3 is very easy and all you need to do is to change the FSB and multiplier. The FSB (front side bus) is the speed at which information enters and leaves the CPU. You can use the Intel software to overclock the FSB. The multiplier is the speed that the cores of the processor run. The multiplier is probably the most important thing to overclock for maximum performance. To overclock the multiplier, you must first raise the FSB to a value that you think will be stable for your computer.
Once you have raised the FSB and installed the new RAM, start the computer, go into the bios, and set voltages and clocks to how you want them. Once you have done that and the computer is back up and running, check the CPUID hardware monitor program to see your CPU’s clock. If the CPU is at the speed you set it at, then you are good. If not, try raising the FSB a little more and it should be stable. Once you have the CPU clocked at the speed you want it to be, you can raise the multiplier. If you want to be safe, just raise the multiplier one notch at a time. This is the safest way to overclock.
How to unlock the processor for overclocking?
In order for a processor to work, it must be unlocked. When a processor is not unlocked, it only works with the programs that are meant for it. In order to unlock a processor, you must have a computer that is called a “Hackintosh.” Once a processor is unlocked, you can increase the speed of the processor, change the motherboard, and make other changes to the computer. Unlocked processors are used for extreme multitasking and gaming.
How to overclock the CPU Intel laptop?
The easiest way to overclock a laptop processor is through software. Since most laptops have a mobile processor, both Intel and AMD have software that allows the user to overclock the processor via a simple, user-friendly interface. There are a few different software programs that will allow you to overclock a mobile processor. The most popular program used for this purpose is Intel Extreme Tuning Utility which can be downloaded from the Intel download site.
Is it safe to overclock the CPU?
Overclocking, as it is called, means increasing the clock speeds of your computer’s components. It is done through software, and by changing the voltage that your computer’s hardware components receive. When you increase the voltage of a component, such as a CPU or RAM, it increases its speed. However, an increasing voltage can also damage hardware, and can even cause a system to crash.
That’s why you need to know the risks and precautions involved with this. You should always make sure that you don’t overclock your hardware too much, and that you don’t push the voltage too high. If you’re not careful, you could damage your components. Even worse, you could cause your system to crash, which would be a very bad thing to do if you’re trying to keep your computer stable.
Does Intel automatically overclock?
No. If you want to overclock, you will need to change the multiplier in the BIOS to a higher value. This is done because the CPU has a multiplier to control the speed, but the motherboard has a base clock that controls when the CPU can access the bus. The higher the multiplier, the higher the CPU will go. The higher the base clock, the lower the multiplier will have to be to achieve the same CPU speed.
Summary:
It is important to know that overclocking your CPU can sometimes be risky. But it will be worth it if you are careful and know what you are doing. This post was only meant to educate you on the basics of how to overclock your CPU. If you are interested in learning more about how to overclock Intel CPU, we recommend you do some research on your own.