Tweaking Optimizing Windows.pdf - GEGeek

AMD OVERCLOCKING
- changing the multiplier on amd chips
- fsb and multiplier combinations
GFX CARD OVERCLOCKING
- general
- why should I overclock my gforce?
- cooling
- tools you need
- lets start
- add coolbits entry to your registry and overclock
- other programs for gfx card overclocking
- benchmarking for gfx cards etc
SYSTEM STABILITY TESTING
RELATED SOFTWARE
TROUBLESHOOTING
- operating system crashes immediately after a certain intensive program is run:
- your pc doesn't even turn on
INTRODUCTION
Want the power of a new processor--for free? Would you care for a more muscular graphics card--without upgrading? You just
might have them: all you have to do is learn how to overclock. Overclocking generally refers to forcing a CPU, front-side bus,
graphics chip, or graphics card memory to perform faster than it's supposed to perform. Done successfully, it can increase the
performance of your system without new components. There's risk, of course--for instance, you can age your PC's components
prematurely and void their warranties--but as with any worthwhile risk, there's plenty of reward. Overclocking can damage your
components if done incorrectly. It will void virtually all warranties and it WILL reduce the life of your components.
It's wise to avoid overclocking or otherwise experimenting with a system that you use for mission-critical tasks and data. Don't
overclock your main workstation. Do your experimenting on a system that, should something go awry, you can live without for a
few days. And if there's anything on the hard drive that you care about, back it up on removable media before you tweak the
system.
No matter what component you're planning on pushing to lofty new frequency heights, the preferred methodology, especially for
novice overclockers, is the same. Sometimes called progressive overclocking, the basic philosophy is to take speed increases in
small doses. Knowing the default clock speed of the component, you should attempt to overclock it in very small increments--
perhaps one to two percent at a time.
There are people who spend hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollards for an extra handful of clock-speed. In the past,
overclocking was simply changing your motherboard's settings for the next higher CPU Multiplier. It's not as simple anymore, since
both Intel and AMD have locked the multipliers in their CPU's. As a result, in today's world the bus speed is usually the only easy
way to overclock and achieve CPU speeds that don't officially exist. Bus speed, as opposed to CPU overclocking changes your whole
motherboard's BUS, affecting PCI, AGP (with all the components attached to them) as well as Memory speed, so in effect you are
overclocking everything! Because of the fact you are overclocking your whole system and every component connected to it, one of
the necessary requirements is to have good quality components. You have a better chance of reaching higher speeds and still
running a stable system with good quality brand name components instead of cheap off the wall hardware. Some brands/models of
hardware overclock better then others, some don't overclock very well at all, so it's a good idea to already have a rock stable
system with good quality hardware before you attempt overclocking, since overclocking essentially pushes your system beyond the
manufacturer's specs, adding heat to the equation.
The thing to remember is that ALL processors are the same and are merely "rated" to run at a specified speed. A single wafer (a
wafer contains about 35 chips) will yield many different speeds. The Mhz rating of the chip is not known until it has been assembled
and tested in one of Intel's many assembly plants. A single wafer could have Pentium III processors ranging from the 500e all the
way to the 1Ghz Coppermine, as well as some chips that don't work at all and are thrown out. It is during this 'validation' process
that overclocking becomes a reality. A small wafer comprised of many individual ICs.
The speed at which a CPU operates has less to do with the internal workings of the CPU itself than the settings of the computer's
motherboard. Often, the only factor separating one CPU from another is how they are marketed. For instance, an AMD Duron 700
and an AMD Duron 800 are, for all practical purposes, likely identical parts generated in the fabrication process; except that AMD
has decreed that one's clock should run faster than the other's. We know that a process called "binning" often occurs in CPU
manufacturing, where the CPUs are tested for the highest possible safe frequency, and placed in a particular "speed-bin", but again
it's very likely a processor ranked for 700 MHz came off the same fabrication line as one ranked at 800MHz, and can very likely run
very safely at 800MHz.
Manufacturers like AMD Inc. and Intel Corp. want their components to be stable. If a user's system crashes or hangs, they want the
user to be confident it was, say, a Windows error. Processors and other components, therefore, are often marketed below their
fastest possible operating frequencies: if the Duron from the above example tests stable to 700MHz but fails at a faster speed,
selling it as a 600MHz processor all but guarantees that it won't fail under normal use. This is often referred to as manufacturer
overspec. In addition, the 'rated' speed is guaranteed to work even under extreme environmental conditions such as poorly cooled
cases and poorly regulated voltages for at least 10 years. The goal of the overclocker is to maximize this headroom by keeping the
chip as cool as possible, giving it sufficient voltage and maximizing the available "headroom" that Intel and AMD have so generously
left in their chips. Overclockers also are willing to accept the fact that their chips will probably not last 10 years. In some cases,
chipmakers also sell a faster chip which has been re-labeled as a slower chip, simply due to economic reasons. In the past, both
AMD and Intel have done this and these chips are highly sought after. The Duron 800 is a great example of this right now. Both