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How to overclock your CPU in BIOS
Overclocking your CPU is a great way to get a few more years and slightly better performance from older hardware. With the price of newer GPUs and CPUs, the way they are, simply upgrading your PC is not always an option for everyone. If this is a situation that you find yourself in, then you'll be happy to hear that you could easily improve your PC components by changing a few CPU settings.
While anyone with a gaming PC knows that it is possible to overclock graphic cards, it is less well-known that you can overclock your CPU, which will give you a similar performance boost. To do so only requires a relatively new CPU (made in the last 10–15 years) and a little bit of fine-tuning in the BIOS menu.
What is overclocking?
Overclocking a CPU is the process of increasing the CPU's internal clock speed to an amount higher than the processor is intended to run. Overclocking was once a way for tech enthusiasts to get a little more juice out of their computers. The process used to be much more difficult, requiring users to unlock their graphics cards and tinker with certain settings.
But, nowadays, developers enable overclocking in most CPUs and GPUs so that anyone who knows how to enter BIOS or download a third-party application can tweak their clock speed and improve their chip’s performance. This process is like adding NOS to a car to make it faster or drinking an energy drink to focus and work harder/longer. Unfortunately, the downside is also the same; a shorter lifespan and irregular performance.
Is overclocking your CPU safe?
Yes, it’s completely safe to overclock your CPU and GPU. But there are a few things that you will need to consider if you decide to try it out. First, overclocking your CPU will raise its core temperature quite a bit. So, you must ensure that you have a lot of ventilation and an additional fan if possible.
Secondly, overclocking isn't magic; it also has drawbacks. Increasing your clock speed will improve the CPU and make it perform actions faster. But it will also lower the CPU's lifespan and stability the longer it's used. On top of this, raising your clock speed too much can result in overheating or causing the chip to “short out.” This is unlikely to break the CPU, but it isn't healthy for it either.
Lastly, balance is key. Overclocking a CPU to the maximum settings it can handle without overheating may not offer as much of a performance boost. If you run only your CPU or GPU at maximum settings, you will bottleneck the system. So it may be more advantageous to overclock your CPU, GPU, and motherboard all by 30% rather than running one component at 80%.
Accessing the BIOS
Accessing the BIOS is unique for every computer, as manufacturers use different shortcuts to enter the BIOS. But the process is fairly simple. When you turn on your PC or laptop, there is a 15-second gap between the start and your operating system loading screen. This is your BIOS loading screen, and you can access it by tapping a particular key repeatedly until the BIOS window opens.
The most common keys used to open BIOS are Del, Esc, Tab, F2, F10, and F12. The best way to identify what key to press is to search for your PC manufacturer's BIOS shortcut, or sometimes, the key prompt will show on the BIOS boot screen when you start the PC.
Undervolting your CPU
Before you start overclocking your CPU, you should try to undervolt your CPU. When a CPU is shipped with factory settings, it often uses more voltage than the CPU requires. This can give you some leeway if you start overclocking immediately. But if you want to truly optimise your CPU, then it's a good idea to undervolt your CPU to its minimum voltage requirements and then start overclocking from there. This step is important because you reduce the amount of heat build-up on the CPU, and with less heat present, you can overclock your CPU further.
Checking your CPU temperature in BIOS
You will need to know what your CPU's resting temperature is before any settings are changed. As a rule of thumb, your computer's components usually have a temperature slightly higher than room temperature when resting. The simplest way to view your CPU temperature is in BIOS.
- Turn on your computer and enter the BIOS screen.
- Open the Monitor/Performance section in your BIOS.
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- Open the CPU Information tab and look for your CPU Temperature. A healthy CPU will usually run ten degrees higher than room temperature. If it is higher than this, there may be issues.
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System Temperature is the second value to look for. This value should only be a few degrees higher than room temperature. If it is any higher, there's bad ventilation, and will probably require a new case or better fans before you start overclocking any hardware.
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Perform a benchmark on your CPU
Benchmarking your CPU is an important step to determine what the CPU can handle before and after overclocking. As you tweak settings, remember to benchmark your PC to ensure the modified settings aren't affecting performance. In this example, we will be using Cinebench.
- Download Cinebench for your PC. If you have a very old CPU, it may not run, and you'll need an alternative, or the older Cinebench R23, which can be found on the Microsoft Store.
- Install the application and open Cinebench.
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- Now it's time to test your CPU. Click Start on the CPU (Single Core) benchmark. This may take a while.
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Screenshot (Win+Shift+S) your CPU (Single Core) Ranking in the bottom left corner.
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- Next, Start the CPU (Multi Core) benchmark and wait for it to finish.
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Screenshot (Win+Shift+S) your CPU (Multicore Core) Ranking.
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Automatic vs manual overclocking
Now that you have reviewed your CPU's core temperature and have its current benchmark results, it's time to start overclocking your CPU. But first, you must determine if it should be done manually or automatically.
What does this mean? Since CPU and GPU manufacturers have become comfortable with overclocking, some companies have integrated software that allows you to overclock your CPU automatically or with customized presets for higher performance. Older cards that don’t have these functions and some newer cards will need to be manually overclocked in BIOS.
Overclocking your CPU in BIOS
Manually overclocking your CPU is a tricky process to replicate. Every computer uses a different motherboard, and because there are so many CPU variations, every BIOS will look unique.
- Turn on your PC and open your BIOS. (The BIOS key is different for every manufacturer.)
- Open the section that has your CPU Settings. This BIOS uses the Cell Menu, but your system will have its own name for the section.
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- Once you have found your CPU settings, open your CPU Specifications tab and review your CPU’s Base Clock speed and current Voltage usage.
- Manually increase your Base Clock speed (133), Memory Ratio, and Uncore Ratio. Memory Ratio (5) should always be half your Uncore Ratio (10).
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- Some systems will automatically increase the CPU Voltage as you raise your clock speed, but in others, you must do it manually. Raise your voltage to increments of +0.05 V and test your CPU temperature as you do it.
- After changing the base clock speed, you should be able to see the Adjusted Frequencies on screen. Compare these to your previous frequencies, then save and exit (F10) and perform a benchmark to compare with your previous results.
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This might seem easy at a glance, but the real work comes when you have to constantly turn your computer on and off to test every setting that you have changed. While this can be done in a single afternoon, the amount of tweaking and fine-tuning settings can be rather exhausting. That's why it is also a good idea to search for tested overclocking settings for your exact motherboard and CPU combination.
Is overclocking your CPU worth it?
If you have a relatively good PC, there might not be any need to overclock your CPU. In all honesty, if your computer can run everything required adequately, your components should have a longer lifespan rather than perform slightly better.
If you have an older CPU and you aren't quite ready to invest in a new one, it's a great idea to slightly overclock the components to improve your PC’s performance. It could give you the boost it needs to run modern games/programs without damaging your PC. But try not to push the hardware too far because older tech is more likely to already have wear and tear from years of use.
