My first time attempting to overclock, need directions if possible

[gamedevpc]

Hello, I have the following hardware

Asus P8P67 EVO, motherboard. EVGA GeForce GTX 960, video card, Intel Core I7 2600K, cpu.
Also, I have 16GB of ram.

I plan on upgrading in the near future, so I am willing to take a few risks. I heard that you can damage your computer if overclocking is not done right. I am very familiar with my computer, but I have very little knowledge about BIOS configurations. Also, in the ASUS Bios, the overclocking stuff looks very complicated.

On this computer, I have access to Windows 10 Pro, Windows 7 Pro and Linux (a couple of different distros). I plan on using Linux.

I would like to learn to overclock the CPU as well as the Video card. I don't know if this involves doing something with the ram? Mostly I would like to do this for gaming performance.

Some initial questions I have are: What kind of results am I looking for? If I play a game for example, what improvements would I get? How do I know my system won't go critical. What other effects are there on my system.

Also, will it make a difference with Linux or Windows. In other words, is overclocking simply a hardware performance concept or does the operating system and drivers make a difference between the os's.

Also, please add any additional comments a beginner might not have thought of. I think that would be very helpful.

Thank you!

 

[william p]

Since you have an unlocked CPU overclocking can be pretty simple.
It works like this. If you increase your clock speed 20% then you get 20% more heat
if you increase your Voltage 20% to get 20% more speed you get 1.2X1.2=1.44 or 44% more heat.
50% Voltage and 50% speed is 1.5X1.5=2.25 so 125% more heat. So good cooling is the first thing you should adress if you want a good result. It also prevents damage.
Add cooling, raise Voltage, then increase multiplier, and test for stability and cooling. The unlocked CPU means most other settings stay the same and this simplifies things. But you can tune BCLK and memory timings etc. later. Tuning in BIOS applies to any OS. Software overclocking is usually reserved for OEM computers like the Dell in my sig. and than it becomes OS specific
Intel publishes Voltage and temperature limits for each of it's CPUs. Staying within those limits is a good place to start. But with extra cooling, extra Voltage becomes possible. But the thermal limits should be respected. Over time any CPU will be degraded somewhat by overclock ing. As you said you're going to upgrade soon anyway go for it!

 

[gamedevpc]

Since you have an unlocked CPU overclocking can be pretty simple.
It works like this. If you increase your clock speed 20% then you get 20% more heat
if you increase your Voltage 20% to get 20% more speed you get 1.2X1.2=1.44 or 44% more heat.
50% Voltage and 50% speed is 1.5X1.5=2.25 so 125% more heat. So good cooling is the first thing you should adress if you want a good result. It also prevents damage.
Add cooling, raise Voltage, then increase multiplier, and test for stability and cooling. The unlocked CPU means most other settings stay the same and this simplifies things. But you can tune BCLK and memory timings etc. later. Tuning in BIOS applies to any OS. Software overclocking is usually reserved for OEM computers like the Dell in my sig. and than it becomes OS specific.

 

[gamedevpc]

I have a decent heat sink on my cpu, I know about watercooling but do I absolutely need that, or how should I select cooling components if I need to add them?

 

[Kasper Jorgensen]

Since you have an unlocked CPU overclocking can be pretty simple.
It works like this. If you increase your clock speed 20% then you get 20% more heat
if you increase your Voltage 20% to get 20% more speed you get 1.2X1.2=1.44 or 44% more heat.
50% Voltage and 50% speed is 1.5X1.5=2.25 so 125% more heat. So good cooling is the first thing you should adress if you want a good result. It also prevents damage.
Add cooling, raise Voltage, then increase multiplier, and test for stability and cooling. The unlocked CPU means most other settings stay the same and this simplifies things. But you can tune BCLK and memory timings etc. later. Tuning in BIOS applies to any OS. Software overclocking is usually reserved for OEM computers like the Dell in my sig. and than it becomes OS specific
Intel publishes Voltage and temperature limits for each of it's CPUs. Staying within those limits is a good place to start. But with extra cooling, extra Voltage becomes possible. But the thermal limits should be respected. Over time any CPU will be degraded somewhat by overclock ing. As you said you're going to upgrade soon anyway go for it!

That's just not true. Increasing clock speed by 20% wont give you 20% more heat, and your clock speed multiplied by VCore is simply just rubbish and false information. You cannot put it up like that. If what you said is true, then all those who overclock their 4.2 GHz 7700K to 5 GHz with increased Voltage would get temps far beoynd 100 C.

 

[william p]

You always run into a limit. either Voltage, temperature or what the CPU will support. Those were just examples. Some CPus will overclock without much Voltage, some won't take much Voltage. Some will take quite a bit. The principle of more speed and more Voltage increasing heat is true. The G3258 will go 50% overclock with about 50% more Voltage.
it's just a way for the beginner to understand the results of the changes he'smaking. In principle it's true But actual results can vary. the memory controller on the CPU might not cooperate, or the Northbridge. I'm pretty sure anyone running 5Ghz on a quad core has a pretty good cooler removing the extra heat, which is the point i was trying to make. I think your taking 20% more heat as meaning 20% more temperature wihich isn't what that means. if the cooler/fans can remove the extra heat the temperature will stay the same or possibly even be lower. At a 20% overclock the PWM fan usually speeds up a little bit and the temperature stays the same. if the fan or cooler can't remove the extra heat only then will the temperature increase. for a serious overclock it's best to plan ahead for this. It's not rubbish, it's called thermodynamics and physics. In reality it's usually quite a bit worse than I stated it due to inefficiency.
An All in one AIO water cooler usually performs about like a high end air cooler. the big cutom water loops are where the advantage comes in.
I would suggest getting the biggest high quality air cooler that will fit in your system. There are reviews and comparison article out there for this.
They can get the job done, and there are a ot less things to go wrong.

 

[william p]

I have a decent heat sink on my cpu, I know about watercooling but do I absolutely need that, or how should I select cooling components if I need to add them?

You can start overclocking with whatever you have now. Stress testing with Prime95 and Realtemp will tell you if your result is stable, and how your cooling is doing. You can overclock without raising Voltage and see how far you get. then OC with Intels Max Voltage/ temperature limits and you'll see how fast it can go and live a normal life span. Beyond that it's add voltage, then increase multiplier and test for stability and temperature. Look for a forum in Overclock.net that applies to your CPU and you can find out if there are Voltage limits for your CPU. Once you get a basic overclock then you can start tweaking BIOS settings and lapping CPU heatspreaders. exotic thermal paste and other tricks to increase it further if you want to. You do need cool air coming into the case and hot air going out in sufficient quantity to provide cooling, not just a fan on the CPU.

 

[william p]

Here's the reason why water cooling isn't such a big deal. The heatpipes in your existing cooler have water ( ar another liquid) in them. By putting a vacuum in the tubes the liquid can be made to evaporate at any desired temperature. The vapor carries the heat to the far end of the tubes at high speed, then condenses and returns through a wick to the CPU end. The evaporation cycle is called phase change (from liquid to gas) which water cooling doesn't do. Water cooling only works if the radiator is much bigger and has more air flow becuase at the end of it all the heat still gets removed by room temperature air. So your heatpipe cooler is a "solid state" "phase change" iquid cooler. They're not called phase change because that term is applied to powered phase change systems using Freon that have the advantage of cooling below room temperature. Cooling below room temperature is uncommon because fi you go cold enough to make it worth doing you run into problems with comdensation from the atmosphere getting into the electronics.