What Is Overclocking and What You Need to Know About It

In simple terms, overclocking is the process where you tell your hardware to run at speeds above their stock, or default, manufactured rating. For a CPU, that might mean increasing its core multiplier (a CPU's speed is always its base clock times the core multiplier).

1. What is overclocking and should I do it?
2. Is it good to overclock?
3. Is it bad to overclock?
4. What does overclocking your CPU do?
5. How much overclocking is safe?
6. Does overclocking increase FPS?
7. Is XMP worth using?
8. Does overclocking damage RAM?
9. Does overclocking shorten lifespan?
10. Is overclocking permanent?
11. Does overclocking damage your computer?
12. Can overclocking damage monitor?

What is overclocking and should I do it?

When overclocking, what we're doing is increasing the multiplier on the CPU, allowing it to run faster. The higher we clock the CPU, the higher voltage the CPU will require, which will thus produce more heat. Heat is the main concern of CPUs, and too much heat can lead to a shorter lifespan for the chip.

Is it good to overclock?

Overclocking your CPU is a great way to make your PC run faster — without spending a cent on an expensive upgrade. Overclocking is achieved by running your CPU at a higher-than-intended frequency.

Is it bad to overclock?

Overclocking can damage your processor, motherboard, and in some cases, the RAM on a computer. ... Getting overclocking to work requires incrementally increasing the voltage to the CPU, running the machine for 24-48 hours, seeing if it locks up or experiences any kind of instability, and trying a different setting.

What does overclocking your CPU do?

Overclocking is the action of increasing a component's clock rate, running it at a higher speed than it was designed to run. ... Overclocking can help squeeze more performance out of your components, but they'll often need additional cooling and care.

How much overclocking is safe?

Try 10%, or a 50-100 MHz boost. Anything around or below 10% should still give you a stable performance. If your computer crashes or if games show weird artifacts at these low overclocks, either your hardware isn't designed to be overclocked at all… or you need to increase the temperature limit.

Does overclocking increase FPS?

Overclocking four cores from 3.4 GHz, to 3.6 GHz gives you an extra 0.8 GHz across the entire processor. ... For your CPU when it comes to overclocking you can reduce rendering times, and increase in-game performance at high-frame rates (we're talking 200 fps+).

Is XMP worth using?

Realistically there's no reason not to turn on XMP. You paid extra for memory capable of running at a higher speed and/or tighter timings, and not using it just means you paid more for nothing. Leaving it off won't have a meaningful impact on the stability of the system or the longevity.

Does overclocking damage RAM?

Overclocking your ram will inevitably reduce the lifespan of your ram modules. This is because when you overclock you are surpassing the manufacturers specifications of the module. This can in turn generate more heat and eventually destroy your ram modules.

Does overclocking shorten lifespan?

To summarize; yes, overclocking does reduce the lifespan of components (excepting overclocks where there is adequate cooling to prevent extra heat and no additional voltage added), but the drop in lifespan is so small that your CPU is going to be obsolete by the time it dies whether you overclock it or not.

Is overclocking permanent?

Overclocking, as in raising the clock speed or multiplier shouldn't damage modern CPU's. ... If you're raising various voltages in an attempt to run even faster, you can inadvertently cause permanent damage to the CPU. It's good to stay within the max voltage specifications given by the CPU manufacturer.

Does overclocking damage your computer?

An improperly configured overclocking can damage the CPU or graphics card. Another disadvantage is instability. Overclocked systems tend to crash and BSOD than a system working in stock clock speed.

Can overclocking damage monitor?

Overclocking Your Monitor: Risks

Overclocking won't cause too much harm to your monitor, but if it isn't covered, then be aware you are continuing at your own risk. Overclocking the refresh rate on your monitor would rarely damage the internal hardware, but the capabilities of each monitor are different.