28 MA XIMUMPC MARCH 2006 MARCH 2006 MA XIMUMPC 29

Overclocking: Step-by-Step

There are several basic tenets to overclocking any system. We’re going to walk you through those here,

then look into the AMD and Intel specifics on the next two pages

STEP 1: ENTER THE BIOS

Get into your system’s BIOS by hitting the Del, F1, or F2 key

during boot. The key varies by motherboard, so check your

documentation if you’re not sure what to press. Alternately,

there are instructions during boot that tell you what key to press.

If you just see a big splash screen with the motherboard logo on

it, hit the Escape key or Tab to reveal the instructions.

STEP 2: FIND THE RIGHT MENU

Buried in your system’s BIOS is a screen that contains your

CPU confi guration info. It might be labeled SoftMenu, CPU

Confi guration, or something else entirely. Look for the front-

side bus (FSB) speed, or CPU-to-FSB ratio. Increasing the

FSB speed is the most common way to overclock a CPU

with a locked multiplier. On most current CPUs, the default

FSB will be 200MHz.

STEP 3: CRANK UP THE FSB

OK, so you’ve found your FSB and you’re ready to crank it up.

As a general rule you should take baby steps: Increase your FSB

speed by just 1MHz or 3MHz at a time. If you get freak-nasty

and punch it up 5MHz, you’ll likely end up with a machine that

won’t boot. If you know your CPU has a rep of giving up 50MHz

without a tick, by all means, crank it! Select an increment, reboot

your PC and see if it POSTs.

STEP 4: MAKE SURE YOUR CPU SURVIVED

If your machine booted just fi ne, you’re in good shape, but

you’re not home yet. If Windows loads and applications run,

you’re in really good shape. Try to play a few games or start

a few applications to see how the machine reacts. If all works

well, you’re ready to keep cranking up the clocks. Go back to

Step 3 and continue to ratchet up the front-side bus until you’re

satisfi ed with the results, then go to Step 6. If your machine

crashes or exhibits wonky behavior, proceed to Step 5.

STEP 5: D’OH!

You got greedy and overclocked the front-side bus by 50MHz

and now your machine won’t boot. No beeps, no POST

screen, nothing. All is not lost. On some motherboards, sim-

ply powering off your machine by fl ipping the switch on the

PSU or unplugging the system will reset the FSB to stock

speeds and get you back in business. If your machine is

still dead, you’ll need to reset the CMOS. Check your mobo

manual for the exact location, but the CMOS reset jumper is

usually near the small coin-cell battery on your mobo.

STEP 6: CRANK IT UP ANOTHER NOTCH

If you’ve successfully overclocked your system but you want

even more performance, you have two options. The fi rst is to

add more cooling. Better cooling greatly increases a CPU’s

overclocking potential. (You can learn about three possible

cooling options on page 32.) Once you’ve upgraded your

cooling, go back to Step 4 and begin overclocking again.

The second option is to up your CPU’s core voltage. This

runs your CPU harder than it was designed to go, and can

help you eke out more MHz. But be forewarned, going more

than 10 percent over stock voltage puts you at risk of juicing

your processor and can decrease the life of the chip.

STEP 5: D’OH!

You got greedy and overclocked the front-side bus by 50MHz You got greedy and overclocked the front-side bus by 50MHz

and now your machine won’t boot. No beeps, no POST and now your machine won’t boot. No beeps, no POST

screen, nothing. All is not lost. On some motherboards, sim-screen, nothing. All is not lost. On some motherboards, sim-

ply powering off your machine by fl ipping the switch on the ply powering off your machine by fl ipping the switch on the

PSU or unplugging the system will reset the FSB to stock PSU or unplugging the system will reset the FSB to stock

speeds and get you back in business. If your machine is speeds and get you back in business. If your machine is

still dead, you’ll need to reset the CMOS. Check your mobo still dead, you’ll need to reset the CMOS. Check your mobo

manual for the exact location, but the CMOS reset jumper is manual for the exact location, but the CMOS reset jumper is

usually near the small coin-cell battery on your mobo. usually near the small coin-cell battery on your mobo.

?

HOW CAN I TELL IF MY

OVERCLOCKED RIG IS STABLE?

Your overclocked rig POSTs, boots, and seems to run

Windows just fi ne. To be sure it’s stable you’ve got to put

your CPU into a hurt locker. A great way to test an over-

clocked CPU is to encode some video. Use an app like DVD

Shrink to resize a disc, if nothing else. If the app crashes,

acts funny, or if you see anything out of the ordinary, your

overclock job is probably at fault. You need to either up the

CPU voltage, add more cooling, or crank the speeds down a

smidge and test again.