Tweaking Optimizing Windows.pdf - GEGeek

Examples of terminology used
You will encounter terms like "multiplier" and "bus-speed". If you have an Intel CPU, you do not need to worry too much about
"multiplier" as you cannot alter this on any CPU manufactured after August 1998. Chances are your Intel CPU was made after that
date. You are more interested in "bus-speed". A Celeron 400 runs at a multiplier of 6x, and a bus speed of 66Mhz. So multiply 6 by
66 and you have 400Mhz. The "multiplier" in this case is 6x and the "bus speed" in this case is 66Mhz. Easy!
Ok, lets try another - a Pentium III 700e runs at 7x multiplier and 100Mhz bus speed. Yep - that rights - times 7 x 100 = 700Mhz.
In this case you have a "multiplier" of 7 and a "bus speed" of 100Mhz. OK try one yourself - a Celeron 300 runs with a multiplier of
4.5. What is the "bus speed" of that CPU?. If you did the math and divided 300 by 4.5 (300 / 4.5) and got 66Mhz then award
yourself a gold star!
Here's one for you AMD fanatics - the water is slightly muddied here as internally AMD chipsets run at 200Mhz. However you don't
really need to worry about that since the clock itself is running at 100MHz. What you see as the end user is the 100Mhz. So a Duron
650 runs at 6.5 x 100 as far as you - the overclocker - is concerned. So to get 715Mhz out of a Duron 650, you'd set the bus speed
to 110Mhz and Presto! Your Duron 650 is now running at 715Mhz or 6.5 x 110.
From initial reports, it appears that the Pentium 4 uses a similar method to the Athlon, running its Front Side Bus clock at 100MHz
while actually transferring data at 400MHz. For our purposes, you can assume that the clock is actually 100MHz. So the 1.5Ghz unit
will be running 15x100=1500MHz. Initial reports indicate that the FSB can be pushed to about 125MHz without too much difficulty,
yeilding a 500MHz effective FSB speed and reasonable overclocking potential. Note that the DRDRAM speed is derived from the FSB
speed using a 4x Multipler. PC800 DRDRAM runs at 400MHz so this is perfect for it. 500MHz may be beyond the capabilities of some
DRDRAM so we might begin to see motherboards that allow adjustment of this DRDRAM multiplier. Armed with this knowledge you
will attempt to increase the bus speed on your motherboard to increase the speed of your CPU! For instance, if you can increase the
bus speed of your Celeron 566 up to 75 Mhz, your new speed will be 8.5 x 75 = 638MHz!
Is overclocking dangerous?
Several times you've probably heard people say that CPU overclocking is dangerous. Usually it seems like newbies, PC retailers, and
CPU manufacturers say these things. Is overclocking really dangerous? Well, yes and no. And keep in mind, it's "dangerous" for
your CPU; not for you, personally. If you truly know what you're doing, it really isn't that dangerous. But even an experienced
overclocker can kill a CPU if they aren't careful or overlook certain things like voltage. For the average PC user, overclocking is more
dangerous. The safety precautions that an overclocking veteran would take may be overlooked by a newbie. So, when Intel (for
example) declares that overclocking is risky and can be dangerous, they are usually saying so for all the newbies out there that are
new or unfamiliar to overclocking. It's simply for liability.
Overclocked processor lifetime
Worst case scenario for the lifetime of a non-burned out overclocked processor is over two years, while most processors will
continue to function after five or six years. Unless you don't upgrade your system except when it breaks (this is very uncommon
among overclockers and tweakers alike), you should never run into a problem with your processor's lifetime.
Electromigration
If you strip everything down to its most basic function, a processor conducts electricity through a series of transistors to perform its
various functions. Electrical currents generate heat. Heat assists in the breakdown of metal. Since transistors are made of
conductive metals, heat is a danger to them. When you force them to work faster, they consume more power per unit time, and
generate even more heat. Each transistor within the chip's core develops an electrostatic charge over time, much like the way iron
can develop a magnetic charge that will linger after any electric current has subsided.
CPUs and other processors are subject to electromigration, which is the gradual breakdown of the very components that carry the
circuit's electricity. The actual circuit paths may form shorts or create open circuits through electromigration. Due mainly to this
phenomenon, every component in a PC has a one hundred percent failure rate--provided it's operated long enough, any computer
processor will eventually fail. Heat accelerates electromigration. Keeping a processor in an overclocked state for a long time will
hasten its demise. Overclocking has the equivalent effect on a component as running a car engine over the redline for extended
periods: it shortens their life expectancy. Considering that modern processors are designed to have a life of at least 10 years, even
if you shorten your CPU's life by half, it would still be obsolete much faster than it will fail.
Even if a system keeps its processor at a relatively cool temperature, pushing it beyond its limits can still result in unpredictable--
and risky--behavior. Simply cooling at the surface of the chip doesn't necessarily dissipate all the heat generated inside the CPU
itself. Overclocked systems can exhibit symptoms ranging from graphical glitches to data loss. Electrostatic migration shouldn't be a
problem for most overclocked processors unless you exceed the company's maximum core frequency for that particular model of
core.
If you are exceeding the maximum frequency for a particular model of core, you need to be careful as to how long you have your
computer running and how many consecutive hours a day you have it turned off. The longer you have your computer turned off at
one time, the longer it will take for electrostatic migration to affect your system. You can't stop electrostatic migration from
occurring, but depending on how you use your computer will determine how fast it will begin to take hold. Don't worry about it too
much though, because even in the worst cases, it still takes a few years before it starts causing problems.
Safety precautions
There are a couple of very important things to keep in mind when you are attempting to overclock a computer, so that you don't
damage your equipment. The first of these things is to make sure you have adequate cooling to take on the project you are
planning. As will be discussed later, cooling can make or break an overclock - but that isn't its only benefit. It also helps prevent
damage being done to the chips due to excessive heat.
Ok, now that I have taken care of explaining the importance of cooling to you, on to the (second) most important safety precaution
- which has to do with progressive overclocking. I know, I know, that isn't a term most people have ever heard of - and that's
because I just coined the term. Progressive overclocking has to do with the process of slowly clocking your system faster and faster
until it reaches its peak stable speed. The process with a CPU is more difficult - mainly because it is hastlesome to go back into the
BIOS for every clock change. With bus clocks, bus multipliers, and chip voltages to contend with, things aren't always hunky-dory.