the programs you need for overclocking are:
1. everest - this will show you important data information about your whole system like:
baseline for cpu speed, volts, temps
complete spd for your ram which you need to set the correct timings in the bios
(go to the ram manufacturer site and look for your ram specs, take note of the max voltage your ram can handle, do not go above it it will fry)
2. cpu-z this will also show you information about your system including mb chipset, northbridge speed etc, ram spd, video card specs
3. prime 95 - this is what you need to test the stability of your system
*** important notes about overclocking
1. don't be blinded by speed alone, some peeps see an article on the net about maxing out the overclock for their current type of cpu and end up frying the cpu. not all cpus are made the same, it's just being lucky. some cpus can be overclocked to the max while others are very sensitive to voltage
2. i was overclocking mine using 2 methods:
a. using the base 200 mhz and just adjusting the multipliers - this is the easiest to do and won't change the northbridge / ht link speed (this regards to memory) one caution is that people tend to think that overclocking is that simple and then end up frying up the cpu
b. adjusting the cpu bus speed while also adjusting the multiplier, this is better since you can also raise the northbridge speed (this kinda maximizes the speed of your cpu and ram)
if you're new to overclocking don't overclock too much too quickly and attempt to even change the cpu voltage if you dont know what you're doing, one mistake can be fatal for the cpu and for the whole system
try to overclock conservatively, so if your base is 3.2, maybe go 1 or 3 points above, so maybe aim for 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5
also you should make a list on paper the possible overclock calculations that you can think of, combination of alternating cpu fsb and multipliers but don't go above 3.5 or 3500 for now. once you perfected overclocking without the voltage changes then you can experiment some more with overclocking with voltage alterations. goodluck!
***
fsb x multiplier = cpu speed
200 x 16 = 3200 or 3.2 ghz (is this what appears on your cpu-z?)
If I will overclock your cpu, I will overclock the northbridge and ram first and stay on the exact cpu speed which is 3200 mhz or less
I will try these computations:
210 x 15
220 x 14.5
230 x 13.5
240 x 13
250 x 12.5
This is overclocking without adding voltage to the cpu. Voltage may be added to the memory to make it run at its maximum speed but not beyond the manufacturer max voltage.
This will overclock the northbridge and yo will see an increase in performance as you see an increase in HT Link and NB Frequency. BUT you have to make sure that you know the correct timings for the ram. How will you know the correct timings for the ram? Using everest and checking the spd info will tell you all the timings that your ram is capable of, also know the MAX voltage that your ram can handle, going above it will fry it, check the manufacturer website. Make sure that all the ram you have are the same, same maker, specs, model, if you are overclocking. I wouldn't suggest overclocking using different sets of ram especially if they have different voltages.
Now before you do any overclocking, run cpu-z and take screenshots of all the tabs, you may wanna print them for easier referencing. This is important so you know your computer's original baseline specs.
Also use everest to see the correct timings for the memory:
you need to list down all the info: cl,rcd-rp,ras,rc,rfc,rrd,wr,wtr,rtp as you need these values to input in the bios later for the ram timings
ok goodluck!
-knil