Is it possible to overclock an amd athlon processor. The best programs for overclocking an AMD processor. Maximum performance gain

If you go back several decades in the history of processor manufacturing, you can easily notice the difference not only in technology, but also in the very approach to creating products. The entire line could be represented by just one model, but every year the differentiation of CPUs by price grew, and the variety of models has increased significantly since then. How is the price difference achieved within one series? It doesn't matter which CPU manufacturer you take as an example, AMD or Intel, the essence of creating differences within the line is the same for both.

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During the development process, processors with specified characteristics undergo numerous tests to determine their final properties. There is a certain defect rate that the tested batch should not exceed. If this condition is carried out, then it is the verified characteristics that become final for the models sent for sale. To make it clearer what I'm talking about, let's move on to an example.

One of the vendors is creating a new architecture. To determine its frequency capabilities, tests are carried out, during which it turns out that most processors are capable of operating at a frequency of 3.4 GHz. Therefore, CPUs with a clock speed of 3.4 GHz will become top-end for model range CPU of new architecture. But not all of the tested samples turned out to be suitable for entering the top segment. Some of them are not capable of operating at this frequency, or out of eight cores, only four are capable of operating at it. Then a younger model is formed from such “losers”: with the same number of cores, but with a frequency of 3.2 GHz, or with a frequency of 3.4 GHz, but with four instead of eight cores. Naturally, their cost will be reduced relative to the original.

Of course, the situation considered cannot be considered the final dogma for today's market. It is known about the overclocking potential of many top processors that are capable of operating with air cooling at significantly higher frequencies than the nominal. In this case, manufacturers also resort to cunning, blocking the overclocking capabilities of younger models in certain ways. It is not profitable for either Intel or AMD to sell such CPUs that can simply overclock and overtake the older ones, because otherwise the demand for the flagships of the lines, which are also more expensive, will suffer.

In such cases, either some of the cores are blocked, or the possibility of increasing the multiplier is blocked, and the cache is trimmed. In addition, developers are holding back the megahertz race. It is not profitable for either of the two current players to increase the frequency, leaving themselves the opportunity to release new leaders to curb competition after the announcement. But while many people know about the possibilities for improving CPU performance, manufacturers try not to trumpet at the top of their voices about rejects hitting the market.

The most famous cases of rejection of older models were dual- and triple-core AMD processors. Those models that, in the company’s opinion, turned out to be unsuitable for working with four cores, were moved to a lower class series with a smaller number of cores. Manufacturers motherboards one after another, they introduced into their devices the ability to unlock missing cores, thus supporting buyers in their desire to save on top-end CPUs. Of course, unlocking missing cores is a kind of lottery, but a very large number of users played it.

Of course, our readers know everything about overclocking. In fact, many CPU and GPU reviews wouldn't be complete without looking at overclocking potential.

If you consider yourself an enthusiast, forgive us a little basic information - we'll get into the technical details soon.

What is overclocking? At its core, the term is used to describe a component that operates at higher speeds than its specifications in order to increase performance. You can overclock different computer parts, including processor, memory and video card. And the level of overclocking can be completely different, from a simple increase in performance for inexpensive components to an increase in performance to an exorbitant level that is normally unattainable for products sold in retail.

In this guide, we'll focus on overclocking modern AMD processors to get the best performance possible given the cooling solution you choose.

Choosing the right components

The level of overclocking success depends very much on the system components. To begin with, you will need a processor with good overclocking potential, capable of operating at higher frequencies than the manufacturer normally specifies. AMD today sells several processors that have fairly good overclocking potential, with the "Black Edition" line of processors directly aimed at enthusiasts and overclockers due to the unlocked multiplier. We tested four processors from different families of the company to illustrate the process of overclocking each of them.

To overclock a processor, it is important that other components are also selected with this task in mind. Choosing a motherboard with an overclocking-friendly BIOS is quite critical.

We took a pair of Asus M3A78-T motherboards (790GX + 750SB), which not only provide a fairly large set of functions in the BIOS, including support for Advanced Clock Calibration (ACC), but also work perfectly with the AMD OverDrive utility, which is important for squeezing the most out of Phenom processors.

Choosing the right memory is also important if you want to achieve maximum performance after overclocking. Where possible, we recommend installing high-performance DDR2 memory that is capable of operating at frequencies above 1066 MHz on AM2+ motherboards with 45nm or 65nm Phenom processors that support DDR2-1066.

During overclocking, frequencies and voltages increase, which leads to increased heat generation. Therefore, it is better if your system uses a proprietary power supply that provides stable voltage levels and sufficient current to cope with the increased demands of an overclocked computer. A weak or outdated power supply, loaded to capacity, can ruin all the efforts of an overclocker.

Increasing frequencies, voltages and power consumption will, of course, lead to increased heat dissipation levels, so cooling the processor and case also greatly influences the overclocking results. We didn't want to achieve any overclocking or performance records with this article, so we took rather modest coolers priced at $20-25.

This guide is intended to help those users who are less experienced in overclocking processors, so that they can enjoy the performance benefits of overclocking their Phenom II, Phenom or Athlon X2. Let's hope that our advice will help novice overclockers in this difficult but interesting task.

Terminology

Various terms that often mean the same thing can confuse or even frighten the uninitiated user. So before we jump straight into the step-by-step guide, we'll cover some of the most common terms associated with overclocking.

Clock speeds

CPU frequency(CPU speed, CPU frequency, CPU clock speed): The frequency at which a computer's central processing unit (CPU) executes instructions (for example, 3000 MHz or 3.0 GHz). It is this frequency that we plan to increase in order to get a performance boost.

HyperTransport channel frequency: frequency of the interface between the CPU and the northbridge (for example, 1000, 1800 or 2000 MHz). Typically the frequency is equal to (but should not exceed) the northbridge frequency.

Northbridge frequency: frequency of the northbridge chip (for example, 1800 or 2000 MHz). For AM2+ processors, increasing the northbridge frequency will lead to increased memory controller performance and L3 frequency. The frequency must be no lower than the HyperTransport channel, but it can be increased significantly higher.

Memory frequency(DRAM frequency and memory speed): The frequency, measured in megahertz (MHz), at which the memory bus operates. This may include either a physical frequency, such as 200, 333, 400, and 533 MHz, or an effective frequency, such as DDR2-400, DDR2-667, DDR2-800, or DDR2-1066.

Base or reference frequency: By default it is 200 MHz. As can be seen from AM2+ processors, other frequencies are calculated from the base using multipliers and sometimes dividers.

Frequency calculation

Before we get into the frequency calculations, it's worth mentioning that most of our guide covers overclocking AM2+ processors such as the Phenom II, Phenom, or other K10-based Athlon 7xxx models. But we also wanted to cover the early AM2 Athlon X2 processors based on the K8 core, such as the 4xxx, 5xxx and 6xxx lines. Overclocking K8 processors has some differences, which we will mention below in our article.

Below are the basic formulas for calculating the above-mentioned frequencies of AM2+ processors.

• CPU clock speed = base frequency * CPU multiplier;
• northbridge frequency = base frequency * northbridge multiplier;
• HyperTransport channel frequency = base frequency * HyperTransport multiplier;
• memory frequency = base frequency * memory multiplier.

If we want to overclock the processor (increase its clock frequency), then we need to either increase the base frequency or increase the CPU multiplier. Let's take an example: the Phenom II X4 940 processor runs with a base frequency of 200 MHz and a CPU multiplier of 15x, which gives a CPU clock speed of 3000 MHz (200 * 15 = 3000).

We can overclock this processor to 3300 MHz by increasing the multiplier to 16.5 (200 * 16.5 = 3300) or raising the base frequency to 220 (220 * 15 = 3300).

But it should be remembered that the other frequencies listed above also depend on the base frequency, so raising it to 220 MHz will also increase (overclock) the frequencies of the north bridge, the HyperTransport channel, as well as the memory frequency. On the contrary, simply increasing the CPU multiplier will only increase the clock speed CPU processors AM2+. Below we'll look at simple multiplier overclocking using AMD's OverDrive utility, and then head into the BIOS for more complex base clock overclocking.

Depending on the motherboard manufacturer, BIOS options for processor and northbridge frequencies sometimes use not just a multiplier, but a ratio of FID (Frequency ID) and DID (Divisor ID). In this case, the formulas will be as follows.

• CPU clock speed = base frequency * FID (multiplier)/DID (divisor);
• Northbridge frequency = base frequency * NB FID (multiplier)/NB DID (divisor).

Keeping the DID at 1 will take you to the simple multiplier formula we discussed above, meaning you can increase CPU multipliers in 0.5 increments: 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10, etc. But if you set the DID to 2 or 4, you can increase the multiplier in smaller increments. To complicate matters, the values ​​may be specified as frequencies, such as 1800 MHz, or as multipliers, such as 9, and you may have to enter hexadecimal numbers. In any case, refer to your motherboard manual or look online for hexadecimal values ​​to indicate the different CPU and Northbridge FIDs.

There are other exceptions, for example, it may not be possible to set multipliers. Thus, in some cases, the memory frequency is set directly in the BIOS: DDR2-400, DDR2-533, DDR2-800 or DDR2-1066 instead of selecting a memory multiplier or divider. In addition, the frequencies of the northbridge and HyperTransport channel can also be set directly, and not through a multiplier. In general, we don't recommend worrying too much about these differences, but we recommend returning to this part of the article if the need arises.

Test hardware and BIOS settings

Processors

• AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition (45 nm, Quad-Core, Deneb, AM2+)
• AMD Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition (65 nm, Quad-Core, Agena, AM2+)
• AMD Athlon X2 7750 Black Edition (65 nm, Dual-Core, Kuma, AM2+)
• AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ Black Edition (65 nm, Dual Core, Brisbane, AM2)

Memory

• 4 GB (2*2 GB) Patriot PC2-6400 (4-4-4-12)
• 4 GB (2*2 GB) G.Skill Pi Black PC2-6400 (4-4-4-12)

Video cards

• AMD Radeon HD 4870 X2
• AMD Radeon HD 4850

Cooler

• Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro
• Xigmatek HDT-S963

Motherboard

• Asus M3A78-T (790GX+750SB)

power unit

• Antec NeoPower 650 W
• Antec True Power Trio 650W

Useful utilities.

• AMD OverDrive: overclocking utility;
• CPU-Z: system information utility;
• Prime95: stability test;
• Memtest86: memory test (bootable CD).

Hardware monitoring: Hardware Monitor, Core Temp, Asus Probe II, other utilities included with the motherboard.

Performance testing: W Prime, Super Pi Mod, Cinebench, 3DMark 2006 CPU test, 3DMark Vantage CPU test

• Manually configure Memory Timings;
• Plan Windows power supply: High Performance.

Remember that you are exceeding the manufacturer's specifications. Overclocking is done at your own risk. Most hardware manufacturers, including AMD, do not provide a warranty against damage caused by overclocking, even if you use AMD's utility. THG.ru or the author are not responsible for damage that may occur during overclocking.

Introducing AMD OverDrive

AMD OverDrive is a powerful all-in-one overclocking, monitoring and testing utility designed for motherboards based on the AMD 700 series chipset. Many overclockers do not like to use a software utility under the operating system, so they prefer to change the values ​​​​directly in the BIOS. I also usually avoid utilities that come with motherboards. But after testing the latest versions of the AMD OverDrive utility on our systems, it became clear that the utility is quite valuable.

We'll start by taking a look at the AMD OverDrive utility menu, highlighting interesting features as well as unlocking the advanced features we'll need. After launching the OverDrive utility, you are greeted with a warning message, clearly stating that you are using the utility at your own risk.

When you agree, pressing the "OK" key will take you to the "Basic System Information" tab, which displays information about the CPU and memory.

The "Diagram" tab displays a chipset diagram. If you click on a component, more will be displayed detailed information about him.

The "Status Monitor" tab is very useful during overclocking, as it allows you to monitor the processor clock speed, multiplier, voltage, temperature and load level.

If you click on the "Performance Control" tab in the "Novice" mode, you will get a simple engine that allows you to change the frequency PCI Express(PCIe).

To unlock advanced frequency settings, go to the "Preference/Settings" tab and select "Advanced Mode".

After selecting the "Advanced" mode, the "Novice" tab was replaced by the "Clock/Voltage" tab for overclocking.

The "Memory" tab displays a lot of information about memory and allows you to configure delays.

There's even a built-in test to quickly evaluate performance and compare it with previous values.

The utility also contains tests that load the system to check the stability of operation.

The last tab "Auto Clock" allows you to perform automatic overclocking. It takes a lot of time, and all the excitement is lost, so we didn’t experiment with this function.

Now that you're familiar with AMD's OverDrive utility and have set it to Advanced mode, let's move on to overclocking.

Overclocking via multiplier

WITH motherboard On the 790GX chipset and the Black Edition processors we used, overclocking using AMD OverDrive is quite easy. If your processor is not a Black Edition processor, you will not be able to increase the multiplier.

Let's take a look at the stock operating mode of our Phenom II X4 940 processor. The motherboard base frequency varies from 200.5 to 200.6 MHz for our system, which gives a core frequency between 3007 and 3008 MHz.

It is useful to run some performance tests at the standard clock frequency, so that you can then compare the results of an overclocked system with them (you can use the tests and utilities we suggested above). Performance tests allow you to measure performance gains and losses after changing settings.

To overclock a Black Edition processor, check the "Select All Cores" checkbox on the "Clock/Voltage" tab, then start increasing the CPU multiplier in small steps. By the way, if you don’t check this box, you can overclock the processor cores individually. As you overclock, be sure to keep an eye on temperatures and constantly run stability tests. In addition, we recommend making notes regarding each change where you describe the results.

Since we were expecting a solid boost from our Deneb processor, we skipped the 15.5x multiplier and went straight to the 16x multiplier, which gave the CPU core clock at 3200 MHz. With a base frequency of 200 MHz, each increase in the multiplier by 1 gives an increase in clock frequency of 200 MHz, and an increase in the multiplier by 0.5 - 100 MHz, respectively. We performed stress tests after overclocking using the AOD stability test and the Small FFT Prime95 test.

After running Prime 95 stress tests for 15 minutes without a single error, we decided to further increase the multiplier. Accordingly, the next multiplier of 16.5 gave a frequency of 3300 MHz. And at this core frequency, our Phenom II passed through stability tests without any problems.

A multiplier of 17 gives a clock speed of 3400 MHz, and again stability tests were completed without a single error.

At 3.5 GHz (17.5*200) we successfully completed a one-hour stability test under AOD, but after about eight minutes in the heavier Prime95 application we got " blue screen" and the system rebooted. We were able to run all the performance tests at these settings without crashing, but we still wanted our system to go through the 30-60 minute Prime95 test without crashing. Therefore, the maximum overclock level for our processor at stock voltage is 1.35 V is between 3.4 and 3.5 GHz. If you don't want to increase the voltage, you can stop there. Or you can try to find the maximum stable CPU frequency at a given voltage, increasing the base frequency in steps of one megahertz, which for a multiplier of 17 will give 17 MHz at each step.

If you don’t mind raising the voltage, then it is better to do this in small increments of 0.025-0.05 V, while you need to monitor the temperatures. Our CPU temperatures remained low, and we began to gradually increase the CPU voltage, with a small increase to 1.375 V resulting in Prime95 tests running at 3.5 GHz completely stable.

Stable operation with a multiplier of 18 at 3.6 GHz required a voltage of 1,400 V. To maintain stability at 3.7 GHz, a voltage of 1.4875 V was required, which is more than the AOD allows to set by default. Not every system will be able to provide sufficient cooling at this voltage. To increase the default AOD limit, you should edit the AOD .xml parameters file in Notepad, increasing the limit to 1.55 V.

We had to raise the voltage to 1,500 V to get the system to work stably in the 3.8 GHz tests with a multiplier of 18, but even raising it to 1.55 V did not lead to stable operation of the Prime95 stress test. The core temperature during Prime95 tests was somewhere in the region of 55 degrees Celsius, meaning we hardly needed better cooling.

We rolled back to the 3.7 GHz overclock, and the Prime95 test ran successfully for an hour, meaning system stability was verified. We then started increasing the base frequency in 1 MHz increments, with the maximum overclock level being 3765 MHz (203*18.5).

It is important to remember that the frequencies that can be obtained through overclocking, as well as the voltage values ​​​​for this, change from one processor sample to another, so in your case everything may be different. It is important to increase frequencies and voltages in small increments while performing stability tests and monitoring temperatures throughout the process. With these CPU models, increasing the voltage does not always help, and processors may even become unstable if the voltage is increased too much. Sometimes for better overclocking It is enough to simply strengthen the cooling system. For optimal results, we recommend keeping the CPU core temperature under load below 50 degrees Celsius.

Although we were unable to increase the processor frequency above 3765 MHz, there are still ways to further improve system performance. Increasing the frequency of the northbridge, for example, can have a significant impact on application performance, since it increases the speed of the memory controller and L3 cache. The northbridge multiplier cannot be changed from the AOD utility, but this can be done in the BIOS.

The only way to increase the northbridge clock speed under AOD without rebooting is to experiment with the CPU clock speed with a low multiplier and a high base frequency. However, this will increase both the HyperTransport speed and the memory frequency. We'll look at this issue in more detail in our guide, but for now let me present the results of overclocking three other Black Edition processors.

The other two AM2+ processors are overclocked in exactly the same way as the Phenom II, with the exception of one more step - enabling Advanced Clock Calibration (ACC). The ACC function is only available on motherboards with AMD SB750 Southbridge, such as our ASUS model with the 790GX chipset. The ACC feature can be enabled in both AOD and BIOS, but both require a reboot.

For 45nm Phenom II processors, it is better to disable ACC as AMD states that this function already present in the Phenom II crystal. But with 65nm K10 Phenom and Athlon processors, it is better to set ACC to Auto, +2% or +4%, which can increase the maximum achievable processor frequency.

Standard frequencies.

Maximum multiplier

Maximum overclocking

The screenshots above show the overclocking of our Phenom X4 9950 at the stock frequency of 2.6 GHz with a 13x multiplier and a processor voltage of 1.25 V. The memory frequency is crossed out because it was set to DDR2-1066, and not to the DDR2-800 mode that we used for overclocking. The multiplier was increased to 15x, giving a 400 MHz overclock at stock voltage. The voltage was increased to 1.45V, then we tried ACC settings on Auto, +2%, and +4%, but the Prime95 could only last 12-15 minutes. Interestingly, with ACC in Auto mode, a 16.5x multiplier and a voltage of 1.425V, we were able to increase the base frequency to 208MHz, which gave a higher stable overclock.

Standard frequencies

Maximum overclocking without increasing voltage

Maximum overclocking without using ACC

Maximum overclocking

Our Athlon X2 7750 operates at a standard frequency of 2700 MHz and a voltage of 1.325 V. Without increasing the voltage, we were able to increase the multiplier to 16x, which gave a stable operating frequency of 3200 MHz. The system was also stable at 3300 MHz when we increased the voltage slightly to 1.35 V. With ACC disabled, we increased the processor voltage to 1.45 V in 0.025 V increments, but the system was not able to operate stably at the 17x multiplier. It crashed even before stress testing. Setting ACC for all cores to +2% allowed Prime95 to run for an hour at 1.425 V. The processor did not respond well to voltages above 1.425 V, so we were able to get a maximum stable clock of 3417 MHz.

The benefits of enabling ACC, as well as the results of overclocking in general, vary significantly from one processor to another. However, it’s still nice to have such an option at your disposal, and you can spend time fine-tuning the overclocking of each core. We didn't see any significant overclocking gains from enabling ACC on either processor, but we still recommend checking out our 790GX review where we took a closer look at ACC and where it made a more significant impact on the Phenom X4 9850's overclocking potential.

BIOS options

Our maternal Asus board M3A78-T has been flashed latest version A BIOS that contains support for new CPUs and also provides the best chance of successful overclocking.

First you need to log in Motherboard BIOS board (usually done by pressing the "Delete" key during the POST boot screen). Check your motherboard's manual to see how you can clear the CMOS (usually using a jumper) if the system fails the POST boot test. Remember that if this happens, all previously made changes such as time/date, GPU off, boot order, etc. will be lost. If you're new to BIOS setup, pay close attention to the changes you make and write down the initial settings if you can't remember them later.

Simply navigating the BIOS menu is completely safe, so if you're new to overclocking, don't be afraid. But make sure you exit the BIOS without saving any changes you've made if you think you might accidentally mess something up. This is usually done by pressing the "Esc" key or the corresponding menu option.

Let's dive into the Asus M3A78-T BIOS as an example. BIOS menus vary from one motherboard to another (and from one manufacturer to another), so use the manual to find the appropriate options in your model's BIOS. Also, remember that the available options vary greatly depending on your motherboard model and chipset.

In the main menu (Main) you can set the time and date, and the connected drives are also displayed there. If a menu item has a blue triangle on the left, you can go to a submenu. The "System Information" item, for example, allows you to view the BIOS version and date, processor brand, frequency and amount of installed random access memory.

The "Advanced" menu consists of several nested submenus. The "CPU Configuration" item displays information about the processor and contains a number of options, some of which are best disabled for overclocking.

You will probably spend most of your time in the "Advanced" menu item "JumperFree Configuration". Manual setting of important settings is ensured by switching the “AI Overclocking” item to the “Manual” mode. On other motherboards, these options will probably be located in a different menu.

Now we have access to the necessary multipliers that can be changed. Please note that in the BIOS the CPU multiplier changes in steps of 0.5, and the northbridge multiplier in steps of 1. And the HT channel frequency is indicated directly, and not through the multiplier. These options vary significantly between different motherboards; for some models they can be set via FID and DID, as we mentioned above.

In the "DRAM Timing Configuration" item you can set the memory frequency, be it DDR2-400, DDR2-533, DDR2-667, DDR2-800 or DDR2-1066, as shown in the photo. In this BIOS version you will not need to set the memory multiplier/divider. In the "DRAM Timing Mode" item you can set delays, either automatically or manually. Reducing latency can improve performance. However, if you do not have completely stable values ​​of memory latencies at different frequencies at hand, then during overclocking it is very reasonable to increase the latencies CL, tRDC, tRP, tRAS, tRC and CR. Additionally, you can get higher memory frequencies if you increase tRFC latencies to very high values ​​such as 127.5 or 135.

Later, all the "relaxed" delays can be returned back to squeeze out more performance. Reducing one latency per system run is time-consuming, but worth the effort to get maximum performance while maintaining stability. When your memory is operating outside of specifications, run a stability test with utilities such as the Memtest86 boot CD, as unstable memory performance can lead to data corruption, which is not desirable. With all that said, it is quite safe to give the motherboard the ability to adjust the latencies on its own (usually this will set fairly “relaxed” latencies) and focus on overclocking the CPU.

Advanced overclocking

In this case, the adjective “advanced” is not very appropriate, since, unlike the methods discussed above, we will present here overclocking through the BIOS by increasing the base frequency. The success of such an overclock depends on how well the components in your system can overclock, and to find the capabilities of each of them, we will go through them one by one. In principle, no one forces you to follow all the steps given, but finding the maximum for each component can ultimately lead to higher overclocking, since you will understand why you are running into one or another limit.

As we said above, some overclockers prefer direct overclocking through the BIOS, while others use AOD to save testing time by not having to reboot every time. The settings can then be manually entered into the BIOS and try to improve them even further. In principle, you can choose any method, since each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Again, it would be a good idea to disable the Cool"n"Quiet and C1E, Spread Spectrum and automatic systems fan controls that reduce its rotation speed. We also turned off the "CPU Tweak" and "Virtualization" options for part of our tests, but did not find a noticeable effect on any of the processors. These features can be enabled later if required and you can check if they impact system performance or the stability of your overclock.

Finding the maximum base clock speed

Now we'll move on to the techniques that owners of non-Black Edition processors will have to follow to overclock them (they cannot increase the multiplier). Our first step is to find the maximum base frequency (bus frequency) at which the processor and motherboard can operate. You will quickly notice all the confusion in the naming of the various frequencies and multipliers, as we already mentioned above. For example, the reference clock in AOD is called "Bus Speed" in CPU-Z and "FSB Frequency" in this BIOS.

If you plan to overclock only through the BIOS, then you should lower the CPU multiplier, northbridge multiplier, HyperTransport multiplier and memory multiplier. In our BIOS, lowering the Northbridge multiplier automatically reduces the available HyperTransport channel frequencies to or below the resulting Northbridge frequency. The CPU multiplier can be left as standard and then lowered in AOD, which makes it possible to further increase the CPU frequency without rebooting.

For our Phenom X4 9950 processor, we selected an 8x multiplier in the AOD utility, since even a 300 MHz base frequency with such a multiplier will be lower than the standard CPU frequency. We then raised the base frequency from 200 MHz to 220 MHz, and then increased it in 10 MHz steps up to 260 MHz. We then moved to 5 MHz steps and increased the frequency to a maximum of 290 MHz. In principle, it is unlikely to increase this frequency to the limit of stability, so we could easily stop at 275 MHz, since it is unlikely that the northbridge will be able to operate at such a high frequency. Since we were overclocking the base clock in the AOD, we ran AOD stability tests for a few minutes to ensure the system was stable. If we did the same in the BIOS, then simple opportunity Booting to Windows would probably be a good enough test, and then we'd run final stability tests at a high base clock to be sure.

Finding the maximum CPU frequency

Since we already reduced the multiplier in AOD, we know the maximum CPU multiplier and now we already know the maximum base frequency we can use. With the Black Edition processor we can experiment with any combination within these limits to find the maximum value of other frequencies, such as the northbridge frequency, the HyperTransport channel frequency and the memory frequency. On this moment We will continue the overclocking tests as if the CPU multiplier was locked at 13x. We will look for the maximum CPU frequency by increasing the bus frequency by 5 MHz at a time.

Whether overclocking via BIOS or via AOD, we can always go back to the base clock of 200 MHz and set the multiplier back to 13x, which will give a stock clock speed of 2600 MHz. By the way, the north bridge multiplier will still remain 4, which gives a frequency of 800 MHz, the HyperTransport channel will operate at 800 MHz, and the memory will operate at 200 MHz (DDR2-400). We will follow the same procedure of increasing the base frequency in small increments, performing stability tests each time. If necessary, we will increase the CPU voltage until we reach the maximum CPU frequency (by enabling ACC in parallel).

Maximum performance gain

Having found the maximum CPU frequency of our AMD processors, we have taken a significant step towards increasing system performance. But processor frequency is only part of overclocking. To get maximum performance, you can work on other frequencies. If you increase the voltage of the north bridge (NB VID in AMD OverDrive), then its frequency can be increased to 2400-2600 MHz and higher, and you will increase the speed of the memory controller and L3 cache. Increasing the frequency and reducing RAM latency can also have a positive effect on performance. Even the high-end DDR2-800 memory we used can be overclocked above 1066 MHz, increasing voltage and possibly reducing latency. HyperTransport channel frequency generally does not affect performance above 2000 MHz and can easily lead to instability, but it can also be overclocked. The PCIe frequency can also be slightly overclocked to around 110 MHz, which can also provide a potential performance boost.

As all mentioned frequencies slowly rise, stability and performance tests should be carried out. Setting up different parameters is a lengthy process and may be beyond the scope of our guide. But overclocking is always interesting, especially since you will get a significant performance boost.

Conclusion

Let's hope that all our readers who want to overclock an AMD processor now have a sufficient amount of information on hand. Now you can start overclocking using the AMD OverDrive utility or other methods. Remember that the results and exact sequence of actions vary from one system to another, so you should not blindly copy our settings. Use this manual only as a guide to help you discover the potential and limitations of your system for yourself. Take your time, don't increase your pitch, monitor temperatures, perform stability tests, and increase the voltage a little if necessary. Always carefully probe the safe overclocking limit, since a sharp increase in frequency and voltage blindly is not only a wrong approach for successful overclocking, but it can also damage your hardware.

The last piece of advice: each motherboard model has its own characteristics, so it doesn’t hurt to familiarize yourself with the experiences of other owners of the same board before overclocking. Advice from experienced users and enthusiasts who have tried it this model motherboard in operation, I will help you avoid pitfalls.

Addition

We tested another instance AMD processor Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition, provided by the Russian representative office of AMD. It ran successfully at 3.6 GHz when we increased the supply voltage to 1.488 V (CPUZ data). It looks like 3.6GHz is the threshold for most CPUs when air cooled. We successfully overclocked the memory controller to 2.2 GHz.

Of course, AMD engineers did not have the luxury of removing overclocking protection. The new Athlon XP/MP based on the Palomino core is a great example of the high-quality work that only a chip manufacturer can do. If you now want to connect the L1 bridges with a regular pencil, this will no longer help. As we remember, this method was very effective on previous Athlons with the Thunderbird core. Thus, the dreams of cool “overclockers” who made plans for overclocking even before purchasing a processor disappeared.

What has changed with the arrival of Palomino? In addition to adding new L bridges, pits were burned into the processor using a laser. The pits make it difficult to connect the contacts (using, say, the same pencil) to remove the protection. From a technical point of view, the protection of the old Athlon and the new Athlon XP/MP has not changed.

And although we found several technical features During testing, all you need to do to overclock is connect the L1 pins. This unlocks the multiplier set at the factory via bridges L3 and L4.

After we connected the L1 pins, the AMD Athlon 1900+ ran at 1666 MHz (2000+) without any problems.

After numerous trials and errors, taking into account the advice of our readers, in the end we came up with a clear step by step guide, which will help users remove multiplier protection on the Athlon XP. And that's not it. In addition, we have added testing of the “new” processor so that you can evaluate the performance increase.

The time it takes to remove the multiplier is about 30 minutes. After this, you can overclock the processor by changing its multiplier. We do not take into account overclocking by increasing the FSB frequency, because this leads to an increase in the frequencies of the AGP and PCI buses, which does not have the best effect on stability.

Loading screen with overclocked Athlon XP:
BIOS recognized it as Athlon XP 2000+,
although we won't see this processor for another 6 weeks or so.

Step-by-step instruction

Before starting the whole operation, make sure that your motherboard can change the multiplier either in the BIOS or through switches on the board (the latter option is most often found on Socket A motherboards with VIA KT133A, VIA KT266A, SiS 735 chipsets). In our L1 pin-bonding testing, we used several Athlon XP processors. Of the motherboards, we chose Epox EP-8KHA+, which allows you to control the multiplier through the BIOS.

To connect the L pins you will need the following tools:

• Conductive tsapon varnish, which we actually used to connect the contacts
• Scotch tape for insulation and separation
• Superglue (or something similar) to fill scorched holes
• Scalpel to remove glue residue (at Tom's Hardware they used a paper cutter)
• Avometer/Multimeter for measuring resistance

Appearance of Athlon XP 1900+.
The arrow points to contacts L1, with which the operation will be performed.

Why doesn't the pencil connection work?

Unlike the regular Athlon (ceramic substrate with a Thunderbird core), on which the L1 pins were easily connected using a regular pencil, AMD has built in more sophisticated protection into the Palomino. If on the old Athlon Thunderbird the resistance between ground and the lower row of L1 contacts was close to infinity, then on the new Athlon XP (Palomino core, organic packaging) the resistance turned out to be 945 Ohms (about 1 kOhm).

For this reason, the pencil will not work: if you connect the L1 contacts with a pencil, the graphite resistance will be too high. Accordingly, the current will not flow through the bridges, and the contacts will be open. In other words, AMD tried to make life difficult for overclockers from this side as well. The only way out of this situation is to use a substance with minimal resistance, for example, conductive capon varnish, which can be purchased at a radio store.

The resistance between ground and L1 pins has been reduced to about 1 kOhm - the pencil no longer works.

Old Athlon Thunderbird: We measured the resistance of the graphite bridge made with a pencil. As you can see, it is higher than 1 kOhm, but in this case everything will work.

Another measurement showed that the symbols "L1", "L2" and the triangle (circled in blue) are grounded. You should avoid accidentally letting the varnish leak to these points, otherwise all your efforts will go down the drain.

Here's our secret - close contacts

Before practicing with varnish, you should fill in the holes burned by the laser. If the capon varnish leaks into these pits, you will again be faced with the problem of unnecessary grounding. With the naked eye it is difficult to notice the grounded copper plate that closes the hole from below.

First, you should cover the L1 pins (top and bottom rows) with a piece of tape or something similar. This will allow you to separate the pits from the contacts for the next step - filling the pits with superglue.

Appearance of L1 contacts on Athlon XP 1900+

Same thing at high magnification

Be careful. Carefully check the connection of the tape and the backing along the entire length so that the glue does not penetrate where it should not.

We use superglue to isolate the pits

Once the contacts have been completely sealed with tape, superglue can be applied. Carefully monitor the amount of glue so that only a small amount is squeezed onto the processor.

Add superglue to the open area between contacts L1

Enlarged view of pits filled with glue

Remove tape and glue residues

Wait 10 minutes for the glue to dry completely. Next, carefully remove the tape and use a scalpel to carefully remove any remaining adhesive.

Removing glue residue between L1 pins using a paper knife

The second time we close the contacts - we use conductive capon varnish to create bridges L1

Now it's time to connect the L1 pins (in pairs, top and bottom) using conductive lacquer. Again, you will have to cover some of the contacts with tape, otherwise the varnish may get into unnecessary places. First, attach tape on both sides of the future L1 bridge (in the picture below - from top to bottom). Secondly, cover everything unnecessary except the bridge by applying strips of tape in a horizontal direction (in the picture below - from left to right). Given several failed attempts (including broken processors), we highly recommend following our instructions.

Each bridge is “built” individually to ensure accurate application of the tsapon varnish. In the picture you can see how exactly to surround the contact with tape. Otherwise, you will not be able to connect the contacts correctly. After covering any excess areas, apply varnish using a small brush.

Conductive capon varnish, which can be purchased at a radio supply store.

Applying varnish to a homemade “window” in film.
In fact, the window will be completely filled with varnish.

Enlarged image of the first bridge created with varnish

Now you should remove the film and you will get a fairly good connection. Follow the same procedure for each remaining pair of contacts until all L1 bridges are closed. Next, measure the resistance of the resulting bridges (from the bottom contact to the top). The resistance should approach 0 Ohm! Check again to see if adjacent bridges have accidentally connected to each other. If you find such a connection, it should be carefully opened using a scalpel. When measuring resistance, do not press too hard on the probe, otherwise you may chip off the varnish.

The bridges, of course, can be removed. To do this you will need a hard eraser. Then you can do the bridging procedure again.

Sample Athlon XP 1900+, overclocked to 2000+

So, the contacts are connected properly (for better safety, you can seal the contacts with tape). It's time to place the processor on the motherboard, in our case an Epox EP-8KHA+ with a VIA KT266A chipset. The following illustration shows that the multiplier can be easily changed.

The multiplier can now be easily changed from the BIOS

The 12.5X multiplier is not available in the BIOS - the processor interprets 13X as such. We believe that Epox specialists will correct this situation in the future.

Changing the core voltage in the BIOS for overclocking

As you can see, to successfully overclock the Athlon XP 1900+ to 2000+, we had to increase the core voltage to 1.85 V.

Picture with the new clock frequency and multiplier under Windows 98. After the BIOS shows the Athlon XP frequency of 1666 MHz (Athlon XP 2000+), you can boot the operating system (in our case, Windows 98SE). As you can see, the popular WCPUID tool shows the following data: core frequency 1666 MHz, multiplier 12.5X, FSB frequency 133 MHz. The acceleration was a success.

The situation has not changed under Windows XP

Multiplier and voltage settings

For the most curious, we have prepared two tables of the dependence of the values ​​of the multiplier and voltage on the closure of the corresponding bridges.

Decoding the values ​​of bridges for changing the multiplier

If your motherboard supports overclocking (for example, it allows you to set the multiplier in the BIOS), then shorting the L1 bridges will be the most convenient solution for you. Above we described this process in detail. Initially, the processor is supplied with open L1 bridges. In this case, the multiplier is set by bridges L3 and L4. But if you want to change these bridges, you will not be able to return everything as it was. Therefore, we do not provide instructions for working with bridges L3 and L4.

Decoding the meanings of L11 bridges
to regulate core voltage

Motherboards that support overclocking usually allow you to manually change the core voltage. If your motherboard only performs automatic voltage adjustment, you will have to find a way to increase the voltage for normal overclocking.

Errors

We had to go through trial and error before finding the best method for bridging. The biggest challenge was creating a window for a separate bridge. Initially we used paper that does not work well with tsapon varnish. In addition, there is no guarantee that the paper adheres tightly to the substrate. If you drop varnish onto a paper window, the varnish will easily pass behind the paper, smear across the surface, and all your work will go down the drain.

Erroneous attempt to create a window for the L1 bridge using paper

The enlarged picture clearly shows the sloppy connection of the bridges

Pencil connection to Athlon XP no longer works. An enlarged image of the bridges is shown nearby. But the resistance of such bridges is too high, so this connection does not work. As we have already said, the resistance of the bridge exceeds 1 kOhm, and no current flows through it. On the old Athlon Thunderbird, the resistance between the lower contacts of L1 and the ground was close to infinity, so the current still passed through the graphite bridges.

If, when applying the glue, you do not thoroughly check the adherence of the tape to the substrate, you may encounter the following situation.

In this illustration, the layer of glue extends well beyond the pits,
even partially closing the contacts

The situation had to be corrected in this way

Overclocking various computer hardware components (also called overclocking) is both a hobby and a professional necessity for a wide range of IT specialists. Each chip is accelerated according to special algorithms. The processor, as the main chip of the PC, too.

On the one hand, overclocking a processor is not difficult. As a rule, the matter is limited to making literally a few changes to a certain kind of settings. However, determining what kind of numbers and indicators should be present in them sometimes requires almost engineering, professional knowledge. It’s not for nothing that overclocking is the prerogative of not only amateurs, but also experienced IT specialists.

There is a version among IT experts that the most overclockable chips are produced by the Canadian company AMD. Therefore, chips of this brand are especially popular among overclockers. Of course, this point of view has ardent opponents who believe that the eternal competitor of Canadians is Intel company(by the way, it is still a confident winner in terms of global sales volumes) - is capable of producing microcircuits that are compatible with overclocking procedures no worse. However, according to many experts, AMD chips have the ability to overclock by at least 20%, or even more. Perhaps, they admit, chips from Intel are capable of showing better results, but guaranteed acceleration from AMD, regardless of the specific brand of chip, will most likely look preferable.

How to overclock an AMD processor and achieve optimal performance? What nuances of microcircuit acceleration should be taken into account? What programs should I use?

Why overclock your processor?

As we have already said, overclocking is a way to artificially increase the performance of the processor (and after it, the entire computer as a whole). This operation is carried out, as a rule, by making appropriate changes to the operating settings of the main PC chip. Somewhat less often, overclocking is carried out using hardware methods (this is understandable - there is a possibility of damaging the processor). Changing software settings is one way or another associated with an increase in the clock frequency of the chip. If in the factory state the processor operates at, say, 1.8 GHz, then by overclocking this figure can be increased to 2-2.5 GHz. At the same time, the computer is highly likely to continue to work stably. Moreover, it is quite possible that it will load games and applications that the processor in the factory state would not support. Thus, overclocking is also a way to increase the functionality of a PC.

The fastest AMD processors

The best AMD processor for overclocking - what is it? Experts recommend paying attention to the following microcircuit models. Among the inexpensive chips - Athlon processor 64 3500. Despite the fact that it is single-core and far from the most modern, its architecture, as experts admit, is well compatible with overclocking. If you take more expensive chips, you can pay attention to the Athlon 64 X2 chip. However, according to many experts, the AMD FX processor in a wide range of modifications has the greatest overclocking ability. Of course, each model has different acceleration compatibility. It often happens that microcircuits of the same series, but with different indices, show completely different results during performance testing in an overclocked state. There are even cases when chips of the same brands, the capabilities of which are studied in parallel on separate computers, behave very differently.

Many IT specialists try to compare the performance of AMD processors based on overclocking. But regardless of the results obtained (which, as we said above, may differ even for chips of the same brand on different PCs), experts note a pattern: as the technology of microcircuits increases, the Canadian manufacturing company, as a rule, expands the capabilities for overclocking its chips .

Preparing for overclocking

Before you start overclocking your processor, you should do some preparatory work. Conventionally, it can be divided into two stages - hardware and software. Within the first one, the most important task is to acquire a high-quality cooling system. The fact is that overclocking a processor is almost always accompanied by an increase in the operating temperature of the microcircuit (this can result in instability of its functioning and even failure). There is a high probability that the standard cooler will not be able to cool the chip effectively enough. Therefore, if we decide to do overclocking, we buy a good fan for the processor.

Regarding the software stage of the preparatory work, it should be said that it is important to acquire the appropriate software. We will need good program to overclock the processor. In principle, you can get by with a standard tool in the form of a BIOS interface (especially since a significant part of our work will be carried out in it). But experienced specialists still recommend using third-party software. What is the best program for overclocking an AMD processor? According to many experts, this is AMD OverDrive. Its main advantage is its versatility. It is equally well suited for overclocking most processor models from the Canadian brand.

We will also need a program for measuring processor temperature in real time via Windows. A utility like SpeedFan is quite suitable. It, like AMD OverDrive, can be easily downloaded using simple queries in search engines.

The most important parameter is frequency

As we said above, the performance of a processor is determined mainly by its frequency. But this is far from the only parameter of this kind. There are also other important frequencies:

North Bridge;

HyperTransport channel (used in most modern AMD processors).

The basic rule regarding the frequency ratio: the value for the northbridge should be identical to that set for HyperTransport (or a little more). With memory, everything is somewhat more complicated (but we will not overclock it in this case, so we do not take into account the nuances associated with RAM now).

As such, the frequency for each of the specified components is calculated using a simple formula. The multiplier set for a specific microcircuit is taken, and then the product of it and the so-called base frequency is calculated. Both parameters can be changed by the user BIOS settings.

Having completed a short theoretical excursion, we move on to practice.

Working with the OverDrive program

As we said above, AMD OverDrive, according to many experts, is the best program for overclocking a processor under the Canadian brand. At least, as experts note, it is ideal for the typically overclocked AMD 700 series of chips. There are no problems with how to overclock the AMD Athlon processor in most modifications, experts believe.

Having opened the utility, you immediately need to switch it to the operating mode, which is called Advanced. Then select the Clock/Voltage option. Check the box next to Select All Cores. After this, we can begin to increase the processor frequency through a multiplier. The characteristics of AMD processors, as a rule, allow you to immediately set the figure to 16 (with a default base frequency of 200 MHz). If the computer works stably and the chip temperature does not exceed 75 degrees (measured using the SpeedFan program or its equivalent), then you can try increasing the multiplier to 17 or more units.

Is it worth increasing the voltage?

Some overclockers talk about the usefulness of changing not only the chip frequency, but also the voltage. The AMD processor overclocking utility that we use allows us to do this. Experts recommend: it is better to increase tension in extremely small portions. You need to add literally 0.05 volts at a time, and then measure the stability of the system and the temperature of the chip. If all parameters are normal, then add the same amount.

Working with BIOS

The AMD processor overclocking program, the capabilities of which we studied above, is not the only tool for accelerating the operation of the chip. The BIOS interface provides no less opportunities, as many experts admit. As you know, it is in every computer. There is no need to install anything additional in terms of software. How to overclock an AMD processor via BIOS?

First of all, we go to software interface this system (usually this is done by pressing the DEL key at the very beginning of the computer boot). The names of menu items are very different, depending on specific model motherboard. Therefore, it is quite possible that some values ​​in the instructions below will not coincide in location with the actual ones. In this case, the user should look at the factory manual for the motherboard - it is usually included when the computer was delivered.

Options related to overclocking the processor are usually located in the Advanced section of the main menu. The item that contains frequency settings in many cases sounds like JumperFree Configuration. In order to set the required values ​​manually, you should set the AI ​​Overclocking line to the Manual parameter. After this, the user will have the opportunity to change the frequency and multiplier settings.

The rules for setting values ​​for each parameter are the same as in AMD program OverDrive. You should not get too carried away with large numbers for multipliers and a sharp increase in voltage. You also need to keep in mind that if we increase the performance of AMD processors through the BIOS, then to activate the configured settings we need to reboot each time (after saving the values ​​- as a rule, to do this you need to return to the main menu and press the F10 key). This, as many users rightly believe, is less convenient than through the OverDrive program.

At the same time, according to some experts, the BIOS interface allows in some cases (it all depends on the specific motherboard model) to work with advanced settings for the processor frequency and multipliers. In particular, through the BIOS you can disable energy saving modes, which can limit the intensity of the cooler speed, which should be at the maximum during overclocking.

How to reach maximum frequency?

One of the key points of overclocking is finding the limit values ​​for the chip frequency. How to overclock an AMD processor to the maximum? The main thing here, experts say, is to identify the limit values ​​for all components of the formula that we described above. That is, the overclocker will have to experiment not only with the multiplier, but also with the base frequency. Experts recommend identifying its limiting value very gradually. At the same time, it is not recommended to increase the multiplier (as well as the voltage). The criterion for achieving the maximum value of the base frequency is the overall stability of the system while, of course, maintaining the processor temperature within normal limits.

Frequencies of other components

As we said above, in addition to the chip frequency, there are other parameters that are important from the point of view of the overall speed of the computer. What are the patterns here? How to overclock an AMD processor and at the same time other hardware components - such as memory, northbridge and HyperTransport channel?

Experts note that it is RAM that lends itself best to increasing the frequency. In particular, modules whose standard value is 800 MHz can be overclocked to 1000 MHz and higher. In turn, the frequency of the northbridge is effectively increased by increasing its voltage. At the same time, by the way, the performance of some controllers may also increase. The frequency of HyperTransport, as we said above, is better not to make it too high. Let it be equal to the values ​​​​set for the north bridge. Experts note that it does not need to be changed - the fact that the HyperTransport frequency is lower than that of the northbridge, as a rule, does not affect the overall performance of a computer running on an AMD processor.

Overclocking the FX processor

As we said above, AMD chip FX, according to many experts, is one of the best for overclocking. What are the features of its acceleration? How to properly overclock AMD FX processors?

At the very beginning we talked about the stages preceding acceleration. This rule is also relevant for working with FX. As for the hardware stage, in addition to installing a powerful cooler, it is necessary to carry out one more procedure, highly recommended by many experts - replacing the factory thermal paste with fresh one. To do this, we have to remove the cover of the system unit case and remove the processor from the motherboard connector. This must be done extremely carefully - the surface of the chip is very sensitive to external influences. Thermal paste should be applied in a thin, even layer.

The software stage of preparation for overclocking FX will include slightly different procedures compared to those that we described at the beginning of the article. We will not use AMD OverDrive in this example. However, we will need another useful utility - CPU-z - it is designed to track processor frequency values ​​​​in real time. You can download it on a large number of portals. The request is simple: “download CPU-z”.

So, we go into the BIOS again. Many motherboard models on which the FX processor is installed have a modern UEFI interface. Therefore, this small instruction is designed to work in it. After entering the UEFI BIOS, the user should select the Extreme Tweaker item. In the window that opens, you need to find the line CPU Ratio. The default value should be replaced with the number 24.

Just below is the line NB Voltage. There we need to activate the Manual option, which will allow us to set the voltage manually: set the number to 1.5 volts. The next setting we are interested in is Power Control. It is slightly higher than NB Voltage. Having selected it, set the Load Line Calibration value to Ultra High.

We return to the main UEFI menu. Find the CPU Configuration item and select the Cool and Quiet line. Set the value to Disabled. Save the changes in the BIOS settings by pressing the F10 key. Let's reboot.

We are waiting Windows boot and run CPU-z. We study the program logs. If the frequency we set (it should be approximately 115-120% of the factory one) is maintained at stable values, then the overclocking was successful.

The best AMD processor overclocking software will allow your computer to run significantly faster and perform complex tasks more efficiently.

AMD is a type of microprocessor for personal computers and laptops that are manufactured and released by AMD.

The technology of such microprocessors allows you to perform tasks with high performance for 32-bit systems.

The processor built into the system does not use all its resources. Thus, its service life is extended. Acceleration must be carried out purposefully and irregularly.

Otherwise, you can cause serious damage to the hardware components of your PC or laptop.

Let's look at the most effective applications that can increase the operating frequency of an AMD processor.

Over Drive utility

Powerful application for AMD 64. The program is free.

Immediately after the first launch of the program, a dialog box pops up, which warns the user that he bears full responsibility for all actions performed in the program that may lead to processor failure.

After agreeing with the information provided, the main program window will appear.

Follow the instructions to overclock the system microprocessor:

• On the left, find an item called Clock Voltage;

• Carefully examine the window that appears. The first column of data is the clock speed of each available microprocessor core. The second tab is the ordinal factor of the kernel, this is the number that needs to be changed;
• To adjust the multiplier, you must click on the Speed ​​Control button. It is highlighted in green in the picture below. Then adjust the sliders.

Overclocking with Advanced Clock Calibration

ACC is an overclocking feature for AMD athlon. The peculiarity of this application is that the adjustment and selection of the required frequencies is carried out very accurately.

You can work with the application as if you were operating system, and in BIOS.

To adjust the operation of the central microprocessor, go to the Performance Control tab in the motherboard menu.

The key is located at the top of the utility's main toolbar.

Helpful information:

To overclock the processor, you can use the program . This is a simple and understandable utility for overclocking (overclocking the processor). With its help, even a beginner can slightly overclock his CPU.

ClockGen program

The main goal of the utility is to increase the clock frequency of the microprocessor through a program in real time.

Also, using the convenient program menu, you can overclock other hardware components: system buses, memory.

The program is equipped with a powerful frequency generator and several system monitoring tools, with which you can regulate the temperature of components and control the operation of the cooling system.

Brief instructions by use:

1. To overclock the processor, run the utility. In the left panel of the main window, find the PLL Control item and click on it;
2. Two sliders will appear on the right side of the window. Change the position of the Selection slider little by little. Remember! This needs to be done little by little and very slowly.
   Dragging suddenly can cause overclocking and instant failure of the processor or other hardware components of the computer;
3. Click the Apply Changes button.

In the same way, you can speed up RAM and system buses. To do this, select the required component in the PLL Setup window.