How to Overclock your CPU and GPU?

Have you ever wondered if it is possible to increase the gaming performance of your PC? Well, it is possible and the process through which it is achieved is called overclocking. We got a record holder, Parth Tomar, to write us a guide on how to overclock your Intel CPUs, and GPUs, thus increasing your PCs performance. Parth holds a record in overclocking, wherein he overclocked an Intel i7 6900k to 5223 MHz. The next part of the article is written by Parth himself.

Overclocking is the way to get more performance out of your computer hardware, mainly there are 3 main hardware components that can be overclocked to gain more performance out of your computer which are CPU, DRAM, and GPU.

Today you will get a quick and brief guide on how to start Overclocking your CPU if you haven’t done so in the past, the 9th gen processors from intel scales very well they can easily get up to 5ghz without a problem provided you have sufficient cooling and power delivery to the chip, so lets get started with the process.

Where do I start?

CPU: You will need a "K-SKU" CPU such as the 9900KS,9900K,9700K, 9600K, or 9350K

Disclaimer: Overclocking your CPU technically Voids your warranty, though most motherboards have built-in protection systems these days but Overclocking can also damage your CPU, especially if done incorrectly. This guide is about how to overclock, but doesn't take responsibility for damages that could occur; you bear sole responsibility for any damages that may arise.

Motherboard: You need a Z390 chipset motherboard, preferably with a decent VRM setup.

Motherboards these days do offer Overclocking features that are built in the BIOS but I still prefer a manual overclock.

DRAM: Intel and Motherboard OEMs have greatly improved DDR4 compatibility and speed potential with Memory kits going well above 4000Mhz but don’t worry you don’t need such a high-speed kit anything above 3000Mhz these days is fine.

Cooler: High-End Air coolers are recommended but frankly you are better of with All in one(AIO) Cooler since the new CPU’s generate a lot of heat and needs proper cooling to ensure maximum performance for i3 and i5 CPU’s 240MM AIO is recommended and for i7 and i9 CPU’s a 360MM AIO is recommended.

PSU: I can’t stress this enough but you definitely need a Decent PSU for a Stable overclock if you don’t have High-end GPU like an RTX 2070 or 2080ti then you can get away with a 600-750 Watt Bronze rated PSU but if you have High-End GPU then would recommend an 800-1000 Watt PSU.

Do note the Airflow in your cabinet also plays a crucial role because while on load the Motherboard VRMs generate heat and if the Airflow in your cabinet is not sufficient then your overclock might not be stable.

Hardware Used for this guide: 

CPU: i5 9600k 9th Gen Intel Processor 

Motherboard: Asrock Z390 Steel Legend 

DRAM: Adata XPG D40 Spectrix 16gb @3600Mhz

Cooler: Cooler Master Master Liquid 240 Pro (Push-Pull Configuration)

GPU: Zotac Nvidia GT 610 Synergy

PSU: Cooler Master Masterwatt 750 Bronze 

SSD: Gigabyte 120gb 

Start by entering in the BIOS of your motherboard by pressing the Delete or F2 (on most motherboards) button on your keyboard, most OEMs have an Easy and Advanced mode you’ll need to skip directly to the Advanced mode to find all the overclocking features, with most modern motherboards having UEFI BIOS you can also navigate with your mouse but that’s not convenient so you are better off navigating with a keyboard.

CPU Multiplier:

Once you are in the Advanced mode of the BIOS, you have to find the CPU Multipliers there will be different tabs for CPU, DRAM, and Voltage Control, as shown here on the Asrock Motherboard the tab is labelled as OC Tweaker this will change depending on your motherboard but you should  find it with ease.  

Once you are in the CPU configuration tab, you enter your desired CPU frequency in the CPU Ratio tab (again the naming may differ for other OEMs) and select All Cores, in this instance I have started with 4.6Ghz but I would recommend starting just below your CPUs Turbo frequency like 4.4Ghz and slowly move your way forward just don’t go ahead and right away AIM for 5Ghz take it slow and steady and find the sweet spot between your CPU frequency and Vcore.

You can also set the Cache Ratio/frequency but you will not be able to match it with your CPU frequency, you should start with 4.2-4.4Ghz you should be able to stay at least 400-600Mhz lower than your CPU frequency without requiring much Vcore but,

By default, motherboards should set FCLK to a multiplier of x8 (800MHz), but many vendors have set 1GHz by default. If your motherboard has it set at x8/800MHz, you should go and increase it to 1x or 1GHz, as it could help GPU performance slightly. FCLK typically doesn't compromise the stability when increased.

But FIRST REACH YOUR DESIRED CPU FREQUENCY THEN START WITH CACHE FREQUENCY.

CPU Power Saving Settings:

Once you have set your CPU frequency go to the Advanced CPU configuration/Settings Tab as shown below (this tab may be on the same page or different depending on your motherboard), Disable the C states supports all of them 

(C states are basically power-saving settings but I would recommend to disable them) 

Another Power-saving setting is Enhanced Intel Speed Step(EIST) or Speed step disable it also and once you boot into windows keep you Windows Power Plan to High 

Note: Disable the above only if you don’t want your CPU to drop it’s multiplier while not on load. 

Now go ahead and disable INTEL Turbo-boost Technology what this will do is keep all cores at your desired frequency at all times and also will ensure when the cores are loaded they won’t face a bottleneck of frequency.

CPU Voltage and Power settings:

Well now you have to set the correct voltages so that you can provide sufficient power to your CPU, now do note that while doing so you will not get lucky the first time as every CPU is unique and have its own combination of frequency and voltage to be able to stay stable after an overclock and finding it is not that hard but will definitely take some trial and error so don’t be disappointed when Windows will show you the famous Blue Screen or Freeze up after an Overclock that simply means that you have not supplied enough voltage to the CPU.

Though you have to keep a strict watch on your CPU temperatures after an overclock because if it's overheating either it will shorten its lifespan or will not run properly, I would advise not to exceed 70-75 degrees Celsius during full load, mainly if you provide more than the required voltage you will see high temperature.

Given Below are the Voltages you will need to tinker around for the CPU:-

CPU Vcore: 1.2-1.35 Volts 

Vcore is your main voltage for stabilizing the CPU core and cache overclock, there are override, offset and adaptive modes on most motherboards models

Override is what you want if you are keeping your CPU at the same frequency at all times, if not then adaptive mode can be used.

Go with 30-50Milli volts increment ex-1.250,1.255 and so on as to not overvolt the CPU.

For Example: Try 1.26@4.8Ghz, 1.28-1.3@5.0Ghz.

CPU Load Line Calibration(LLC): Level 1 (for Asrock)

Override LLC reduces the voltage drop once the CPU is loaded and helps a lot in stabilizing the CPU, for Asrock Level 1 is the highest whereas for Asus level 5 is the highest and for Gigabyte Normal,High Extreme is what you have to select so do read what the BIOS says when you select the LLC 

Now when that’s all you should try and boot if the system boots successfully then move towards stress testing if not try increasing the voltage.

Systems Stability and Stress Testing:

Once you boot into windows you have stress test your overclock and check if it's stable or not if you crash don’t worry just go back into the BIOS dial the voltage up while keeping a strict watch on the CPU temperature but do not exceed the voltages above

Some stress testing programs and benchmarks are listed below:

Intel Burn Test @ Full load for 30 Minutes-1Hour 

Aida 64 Stress Test for 30-1hour

Blender Scene Render Test 

Cinebench R20 

Intel XTU

If all these execute without a problem then you have successfully Overclocked your CPU.

You should also go ahead and set a custom fan curve in the BIOS to keep your CPU cool.

You can get in touch with Parth on his " target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Facebook profile.