Overclocking

gabriella

gabriella

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Dear folks

I have probably put this in the wrong section but please read before you move it, so you can see what I am after. I need some information about how this process actually works, how it is done etc... I am not doing it myself but need to understand it in the context of some work I am involved with at present. Please could anyone who can help me PM please? I will have a fair few questions for any helpful person out there.

Thank you

Gabriella xx
 
General discussion section quite ok as it's related to a work topic rather than being practised.

There are more knowledgable folk than I on the forum but I have overclocked in the past.

Put simply, overclocking is making a computer CPU run faster than the speed it was designed for.

Classes of computer have what they call a front side bus speed (fsb) and the CPU's speed is determined by a multiple of the fsb. An fsb of 1200 x a multiple of 20 will give a CPU speed of 2.4Ghz, for instance.

If the fsb speed is increased in the BIOS, say, in the instance above, to 1400, then the CPU speed will be 2.8Ghz.

That's overclocking.

If that example was carried out, the user would now have a CPU running faster than the one he paid for, which is desirable.

There are many factors to consider but that's basically it.

Most CPU's multiplier functuion is locked but some are unlocked, usually the 'special edition' cpu's from both AMD & Intel are unlocked. In this case, the multiplier can be increased and the fsb left standard, which again gives an increased CPU speed.

The biggest disadvantage about overclocking is it will always result in increased heat from the CPU which necessitates extra cooling, usually in the form of a better CPU cooler than the standard cooler, or perhaps water cooling.

If a CPU is overclocked too much it willl become unstable and will likely crash, usually causing a reboot or freezing the system. When that happens, often the BIOS is reset to default as well.

In severe cases overclocking can permanently damage the CPU but in practice that's rare as most people overclocking will have gained some knowledge of what they're doing before proceeding.

To sum up, overclocking will give the user more CPU speed for less money, but with certain factors to be taken into consideration.

Good luck with the work :)
 
Thank you Imploded Hamster

Flops has a handle on what I am after. The techical details are secondary to other issues but thank you anyway for your kind reply.

Love

Gabriella xxxx
 
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