Help with overclocking/is it possible with my build?


  1. Posts : 62
    Windows 10 Home Edition
       #1

    Help with overclocking/is it possible with my build?


    Hello there
    I'm interested in overclocking my system but have never done it before. I did some research and read some articles about it but I am not sure how safe it is and am worried about damaging my hardware. From my specs, I wanted to ask experienced folks here whether they would recommend it for my current build, and if so how much by. My main concern is that I don't really have a huge amount in the way of cooling, just the stock fan over the CPU and one in the back of the case.
    Any tips or advice would really be appreciated. I'm not sure I can really shell out to upgrade my CPU or GPU right now (although as it stands I think my GPU is still okay?? just not for any recent AAA* games haha..)

    CPU:Intel i5-4690 @ 3.50GHz
    Motherboard:Gigabyte Technology H97M-HD3
    Memory:Corsair DDR3 16GB
    Graphics Card(s):NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
    Sound Card:IntegratedMonitor(s)
    Displays:1x LG 1920x1080, 1x UGEE 2150 tablet display 1920x1080
    Screen Resolution:1920x1080 x2
    Hard Drives:Corsair Neutron SSD [118GB]
    Toshiba External USB [1TB]
    Transcend External USB [1TB]
    PSU:Corsair CX600
    Case:CIT G Force Blue
    StockKeyboard:Logitech K360
    Mouse:Logitech MX Anywhere 2
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 27,157
    Win11 Pro, Win10 Pro N, Win10 Home, Windows 8.1 Pro, Ubuntu
       #2

    Only if your motherboards BIOS lets you change the base clock.
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 62
    Windows 10 Home Edition
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Cliff S said:
    Only if your motherboards BIOS lets you change the base clock.
    How can i find out for sure? The page on my manufacturer's website mentions overclocking via some phone/tablet app called Cloud Station that I have never heard of where you can apparently remotely overclock but that sounds nuts to me? Other than that it doesn't seem to mention if it's possible anywhere..
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 16,605
    Windows 11 Pro X64
       #4

    You will only get a couple hundred Mhz OC, you would need an unlocked K chip to OC, I wouldn't OC on the stock fan.
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 27,157
    Win11 Pro, Win10 Pro N, Win10 Home, Windows 8.1 Pro, Ubuntu
       #5

    The thing is to do real overclocking you need an unlocked i7 K SKU(series) chip, but for i5(locked) where you can't change the multiplier, some boards allow you to change the base clock & voltage, and you find that in BIOS, as those adjustments won't be grayed out if it lets you make htese changes..

    Also if you cannot save BIOS profiles, you need to have either a BIOS reset button, or the two jumper pins on the board.

    Another thing, when adjusting baseclock you should also make sure you rest the XMP profiles RAM speed, as base clock OCing changes the clock speeds for CPU, PCIe, RAM and a couple of other thing, but RAM is what to keep an eye on.

    And like Dude said, you should get better cooling too if you can make changes.
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 62
    Windows 10 Home Edition
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Dude said:
    You will only get a couple hundred Mhz OC, you would need an unlocked K chip to OC, I wouldn't OC on the stock fan.
    Oh okay, I'm guessing I don't have an "unlocked k chip" ? Sorry, not quite sure what that is
    And yeah it already gets a little warm after playing for a while so I thought this might be the case..

    Cliff S said:
    The thing is to do real overclocking you need an unlocked i7 K SKU(series) chip, but for i5(locked) where you can't change the multiplier, some boards allow you to change the base clock & voltage, and you find that in BIOS, as those adjustments won't be grayed out if it lets you make htese changes..
    Also if you cannot save BIOS profiles, you need to have either a BIOS reset button, or the two jumper pins on the board.
    Another thing, when adjusting baseclock you should also make sure you rest the XMP profiles RAM speed, as base clock OCing changes the clock speeds for CPU, PCIe, RAM and a couple of other thing, but RAM is what to keep an eye on.
    And like Dude said, you should get better cooling too if you can make changes.
    Ah so unless it's an i7 I can't? Damn, okay..
    Okay, I am not sure what XMP profiles are but I am sure I can look into it. Perhaps it's best I revisit overclocking once I upgrade my CPU.
    Thanks both of you for your replies to my baby OC question.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 16,605
    Windows 11 Pro X64
       #7

    Are you planning an upgrade soon? Keep reading up on OCing, once you do it you will be addicted
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 27,157
    Win11 Pro, Win10 Pro N, Win10 Home, Windows 8.1 Pro, Ubuntu
       #8

    Dude said:
    Are you planning an upgrade soon? Keep reading up on OCing, once you do it you will be addicted
    Yep you sure will
      My Computers


  9. Posts : 936
    xp
       #9

    arisutan said:
    Oh okay, I'm guessing I don't have an "unlocked k chip" ? Sorry, not quite sure what that is
    And yeah it already gets a little warm after playing for a while so I thought this might be the case..


    Ah so unless it's an i7 I can't? Damn, okay..
    Okay, I am not sure what XMP profiles are but I am sure I can look into it. Perhaps it's best I revisit overclocking once I upgrade my CPU.
    Thanks both of you for your replies to my baby OC question.
    If You had something like the i5-4690K or i5-4670K those would be overclockable. As you posted "it gets a little warm" seems you might want to invest in a better CPU cooler ?
      My Computer


 

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