Overclockers processors. What is overclocking and what is it used for? It's time to think about the Clear CMOS jumper

Practical CPU overclocking

Processor overclocking methods

There are two methods of overclocking: increasing the frequency of the system bus (FSB) and increasing the multiplication factor (multiplier). At the moment, the second method cannot be applied to almost all serial AMD processors. Exceptions to the rule are: Athlon XP processors (Thoroughbred, Barton, Thorton )/Duron (Applebred), released before week 39 of 2003, Athlon MP, Sempron (socket754; downgrade only), Athlon 64 (downgrade only), Athlon 64 FX53/55. In serial processors manufactured by Intel, the processor overclocking is also completely blocked. by increasing the multiplier is the most “painless” and simplest, because only the processor clock frequency increases, and the frequencies of the memory bus and AGP/PCI buses remain nominal, so determine the maximum processor clock frequency at which it can operate correctly using this The method is especially simple. It’s a pity that now it’s quite difficult, if not impossible, to find AthlonXP processors on sale with an unlocked multiplier. Overclocking a processor by increasing the FSB has its own characteristics. For example, as the FSB frequency increases, the memory bus frequency and the AGP/PCI bus frequency also increase. Particular attention should be paid to the PCI/AGP bus frequencies, which in most chipsets are associated with the FSB frequency (does not apply to nForce2, nForce3 250). This dependency can only be circumvented if your motherboard's BIOS has the appropriate parameters - the so-called dividers responsible for the ratio of PCI/AGP to FSB. You can calculate the divider you need using the formula FSB/33, i.e., if the FSB frequency = 133 MHz, then you should divide 133 by 33, and you will get the divider you need - in this case it is 4. The nominal frequency for the PCI bus is 33 MHz, and the maximum is 38-40 MHz; setting it higher, to put it mildly, is not recommended: this can lead to the failure of PCI devices. By default, the memory bus frequency rises synchronously with the FSB frequency, so if the memory does not have sufficient overclocking potential, it can play a limiting role. If it is obvious that the RAM frequency has reached its limit, you can do the following:

• Increase memory timings (for example, change 2.5-3-3-5 to 2.5-4-4-7 - this can help you squeeze a few more MHz out of RAM).
• Increase the voltage on the memory modules.
• Overclock the processor and memory asynchronously.

Reading is the mother of learning

First, you will need to study the instructions for your motherboard: find the BIOS menu sections responsible for the FSB frequency, RAM, memory timings, multiplier, voltages, PCI/AGP frequency dividers. If the BIOS does not have any of the above parameters, then overclocking can be done using jumpers on the motherboard. You can find the purpose of each jumper in the same instructions, but usually information about the function of each is already printed on the board itself. It happens that the manufacturer himself deliberately hides “advanced” BIOS settings - to unlock them you need to press a certain key combination (this is often found on motherboards manufactured by Gigabyte). I repeat: all the necessary information can be found in the instructions or on the official website of the motherboard manufacturer.

Practice

We go into the BIOS (usually to enter you need to press the Del key at the moment of recalculating the amount of RAM (i.e., when the first data appears on the screen after rebooting/turning on the computer, press the Del key), but there are motherboard models with a different key for entering the BIOS - for example, F2), look for a menu in which you can change the frequency of the system bus, memory bus and control timings (usually these parameters are located in one place). I think that overclocking the processor by increasing the multiplier will not cause any difficulties, so let’s move on straight to raising the system bus frequency. We raise the FSB frequency (by about 5-10% of the nominal), then save the changes made, reboot and wait. If everything is fine, the system starts with a new FSB value and, as a result, with a higher processor clock speed (and memory, if you overclock them synchronously). Booting Windows without any incidents means that half the battle is already done. Next, run the CPU-Z program (at the time of writing, its latest version was 1.24) or Everest and make sure that the processor clock frequency has increased. Now we need to check the processor for stability - I think everyone has a 3DMark 2001/2003 distribution kit on their hard drive - although they are designed to determine the speed of the video card, you can also “drive” them for a superficial check of system stability. For a more serious test, you need to use Prime95, CPU Burn-in 1.01, S&M (more details about test programs below). If the system has passed testing and behaves stably, we reboot and start all over again: go into the BIOS again, increase the FSB frequency, save the changes and test the system again. If during testing you were “kicked out” of the program, the system froze or rebooted, you should “roll back” a step - to the processor frequency when the system behaved stably - and conduct more extensive testing to make sure that operation is completely stable. Do not forget to monitor the processor temperature and PCI/AGP bus frequencies (in the OS, PCI frequency and temperature can be viewed using the Everest program or proprietary programs of the motherboard manufacturer).

Voltage increase

It is not recommended to increase the voltage on the processor by more than 15-20%, but it is better that it varies within 5-15%. There is a point to this: stability increases and new horizons for overclocking open up. But be careful: as the voltage increases, the power consumption and heat dissipation of the processor increases and, as a result, the load on the power supply increases and the temperature rises. Most motherboards allow you to set the RAM voltage to 2.8-3.0 V, the safe limit is 2.9 V (to further increase the voltage you need to voltmod the motherboard). The main thing when increasing the voltage (not only on RAM) is to control the heat generation, and, if it has increased, organize cooling of the overclocked component. One of the best ways to determine the temperature of any computer component is to touch it with your hand. If you cannot touch a component without pain from a burn, it requires urgent cooling! If the component is hot, but you can hold your hand, then cooling it would not hurt. And only if you feel that the component is barely warm or even cold, then everything is fine and it does not need cooling.

Timings and frequency dividers

Timings are delays between individual operations performed by the controller when accessing memory. There are six of them in total: RAS-to-CAS Delay (RCD), CAS Latency (CL), RAS Precharge (RP), Precharge Delay or Active Precharge Delay (usually referred to as Tras), SDRAM Idle Timer or SDRAM Idle Cycle Limit, Burst Length . Describing the meaning of each is pointless and useless to anyone. It is better to immediately find out what is better: small timings or high frequency. There is an opinion that timings are more important for Intel processors, while frequencies are more important for AMD. But do not forget that for AMD processors, the memory frequency achieved in synchronous mode is most often important. Different processors have different memory frequencies as their “native” frequencies. For Intel processors, the following frequency combinations are considered “friends”: 100:133, 133:166, 200:200. For AMD on nForce chipsets, synchronous operation of the FSB and RAM is better, while asynchrony has little effect on the AMD + VIA combination. On systems with an AMD processor, the memory frequency is set in the following percentages with FSB: 50%, 60%, 66%, 75%, 80%, 83%, 100%, 120%, 125%, 133%, 150%, 166% , 200% are the same divisors, but presented a little differently. And on systems with an Intel processor, the dividers look more familiar: 1:1, 4:3, 5:4, etc.

Black screen

Yes, this also happens :) - for example, when overclocking: you simply set the clock speed of the processor or RAM (perhaps you specified too low memory timings) that the computer cannot start - or rather, it starts, but the screen remains black, and the system does not show any “signs of life”. What to do in this case?

• Many manufacturers build into their motherboards a system for automatically resetting parameters to nominal. And after such an “incident” with an inflated frequency or low timings, this system should do its “dirty” work, but this does not always happen, so you need to be ready to work manually.
• After turning on the computer, press and hold the Ins key, after which it should start successfully, and you should go into the BIOS and set the computer’s operating parameters.
• If the second method does not help you, you need to turn off the computer, open the case, find on the motherboard the jumper responsible for resetting the BIOS settings - the so-called CMOS (usually located near the BIOS chip) - and set it to Clear CMOS mode for 2-3 seconds, and then return to the nominal position.
• There are motherboard models without a BIOS reset jumper (the manufacturer relies on its automatic BIOS reset system) - then you need to remove the battery for a while, which depends on the manufacturer and model of the motherboard (I conducted this experiment on my Epox EP-8RDA3G: took out the battery, waited 5 minutes, and the BIOS settings were reset).

Information programs and utilities

CPU-Z is one of the best programs that provides basic information about the processor, motherboard and RAM installed in your computer. The program interface is simple and intuitive: there is nothing superfluous, and all the most important things are in plain sight. The program supports the latest innovations from the world of hardware and is updated periodically. The latest version at the time of writing is 1.24. Size - 260 Kb. You can download the program at cpuid.com.

Everest Home/Professional Edition (formerly AIDA32) is an information and diagnostic utility that has more advanced functions for viewing information about installed hardware, operating system, DirectX, etc. The differences between the home and professional versions are as follows: the Pro version does not have a RAM testing module (read/write), it also lacks a rather interesting Overclock subsection, which collects basic information about the processor, motherboard, RAM, processor temperature, motherboard board and hard drive, as well as overclocking your processor as a percentage :). The Home version does not have software accounting, advanced reports, interaction with databases, remote control, or enterprise-level functions. In general, these are all the differences. I myself use the Home version of the utility, because... I don't need the additional features of the Pro version. I almost forgot to mention that Everest allows you to view the PCI bus frequency - to do this, you need to expand the Motherboard section, click on the subsection with the same name and find the Chipset Bus Properties/Real Frequency item. The latest version at the time of writing is 1.51. The Home version is free and weighs 3 Mb, the Pro version is paid and takes 3.1 Mb. You can download the utility at lavalys.com.

Stability testing

The name of the CPU Burn-in program speaks for itself: the program is designed to “warm up” the processor and check its stable operation. In the main CPU Burn-in window, you need to specify the duration, and in the options, select one of two testing modes:

• testing with error checking enabled;
• testing with error checking turned off, but with maximum “warming up” of the processor (Disable error checking, maximum heat generation).

When you enable the first option, the program will check the correctness of the processor's calculations, and the second will allow you to “warm up” the processor almost to temperatures close to the maximum. CPU Burn-in weighs about 7 Kb.

The next worthy program for testing the processor and RAM is Prime95. Its main advantage is that when an error is detected, the program does not spontaneously “hang”, but displays data about the error and the time it was detected on the working field. By opening the Options -> Torture Test… menu, you can choose from three testing modes or specify your own parameters. To more effectively detect processor and memory errors, it is best to set the third testing mode (Blend: test some of everything, lots of RAM tested). Prime95 weighs 1.01 Mb, you can download it at mersenne.org.

Relatively recently, the S&M program saw the light of day. At first it was conceived to test the stability of the processor power converter, then it was implemented to test RAM and support for Pentium 4 processors with HyperThreading technology. At the moment, the latest version of S&M 1.0.0(159) supports more than 32 (!) processors and checks the stability of the processor and RAM; in addition, S&M has a flexible system of settings. Summarizing all of the above, we can say that S&M is one of the best programs of its kind, if not the best. The program interface has been translated into Russian, so it is quite difficult to get confused in the menu. S&M 1.0.0(159) weighs 188 Kb, you can download it at testmem.nm.ru.

The above-mentioned tester programs are designed to check the processor and RAM for stability and identify errors in their operation; they are all free. Each of them loads the processor and memory almost completely, but I would like to remind you that programs used in everyday work and not intended for testing can rarely load the processor and RAM so much, so we can say that testing occurs with a certain margin.

The author does not bear any responsibility for the breakdown of any hardware of your computer, as well as for failures and glitches in the operation of any software installed on your computer.

Availability of Intel® technology features and benefits varies by system configuration and may require hardware, software, or service activation. Performance values ​​may vary depending on system configuration. Consult the system manufacturer or retailer. Detailed information is also available on the website.

The software and workloads used in benchmark tests are optimized for high performance only with Intel® microprocessors. Performance tests such as SYSmark* and MobileMark* are run on specific computing system configurations, components, software, operations and features. Any changes to these parameters may change the final results. When making a purchasing decision, you should consult other sources of information and performance testing, including information about the performance of this product in combination with other products. More information is available on the website.

Changing the clock speed or voltage may damage or shorten the life of the processor and other system components, and may reduce system stability and performance. If processor specifications change, the product may not be eligible for warranty service. For additional information, contact the system and component manufacturers.

Intel's Performance Tuning Protection Plan allows for one-time replacement of the eligible boxed processor in addition to the standard three-year warranty.

• ClockGen (Temporarily unavailable)

To monitor an overclocked system, they most often use:

• - basic information about computer components
• Native Specialist - complete information about AMD64 processors
• NextSensor - temperature and voltage monitoring

Most modern video adapters support changing the clock speeds of the graphics processor (video processor) from the operating system. The latest versions of video adapter drivers from ATI and NVIDIA make it possible to overclock video cards without resorting to the help of third-party utilities. To overclock popular models of video adapters under Windows, the following utilities are used:

• - overclocking and stability testing of NVIDIA video cards
• ATI Tool - overclocking and testing the stability of ATI video cards, you can also test the stability of NVIDIA video cards
• ATI Tray Tools - overclocking and stability testing of ATI video cards
• Furmark - aka "donut" - stability testing. loads the system to the maximum; it is not recommended to use it even in standard modes with weak power supplies.

Among third-party utilities for overclocking and tuning the video subsystem, we can highlight the popular program Powerstrip, which supports many video cards from different manufacturers.

Overclocking RAM (Random Access Memory)

Direct overclocking of RAM comes down to either increasing the nominal operating clock frequency of memory module chips (MEMCLK), or changing the delays of the main control signals - clock pulses or "timings" (from English timings - time delays), such as tCAS#, tRAS#, tRCD# and others. To achieve higher memory operating frequencies while taking into account stable operation, as a rule, the rated operating voltage on memory modules (VDDIO) is increased. Changing the values ​​of the MEMCLK frequency and clock pulses is possible in the BIOS Setup of the motherboard or from under Windows OS using appropriate programs, for example Brain Identifier, AMD OverDrive (for AMD64 architecture processors) MemSet (Intel).

To permanently record the changed values ​​of time-frequency operating parameters, it is necessary to resort to partial reprogramming of the contents of the SPD (Serial Presence Detect) chip of the memory module EPROM. For these purposes, either hardware or software methods are used. The latter is the simplest and does not require any additional devices or programming devices. Rewriting and editing SPD data of the EPROM chip, as well as upgrading firmware with EPP and XMP profiles, SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, DDR2 SDRAM and DDR3 SDRAM memory modules, is carried out using the Thaiphoon Burner utility.

Stability criterion for overclocked components

The main criterion for the stability of overclocked computer components is their ability to withstand any computing load with a statistical probability of producing an error in calculations that does not exceed that for components operating in normal mode. Since in most cases the computing load on computer components is much less than the potential computing power, special tests are used to identify errors in the operation of overclocked components (instability).

Improving the stability of an overclocked system

To increase the stability of overclocked systems, an increase in supply voltages is used (and, as a result, an increase in supplied and dissipated power), as well as improved heat removal (cooling) and a decrease in temperature.

Increasing supply voltages from BIOS

The BIOS of most modern motherboards allows you to change the supply voltage of the processor (VCore, VCPU parameters), the north bridge from the motherboard chipset (Vdd parameter), as well as memory modules (Vdimm, Vmem parameters). It should be remembered that an increase in voltage, especially with insufficient cooling, can cause a computer component to fail.

Increasing supply voltages using voltmode

Sometimes the range of voltage adjustments provided by the motherboard is not enough. In this case, as well as to control the supply voltages of the graphics processor and video adapter memory, they resort to modifying the supply circuits (volt-modification, volt-mod from English. volt age mod ification - voltage change). To do this, design changes are made to the power circuit that lead to an increase in the voltages at the outputs of these circuits. Often, for a volt modification, it is enough to change the value of the resistor in the power circuit.

There are also commercially available devices for modifying the supply voltages of computer components.

Cooling systems used by overclockers

Air cooling systems

Air cooling in an overclocked system

The vast majority of overclockers use the most affordable air cooling systems. They are based on a classic radiator or cooler.

Radiators They are usually used to cool memory chips and motherboard chipsets, since they have fairly modest heat dissipation capabilities. There are exceptions (for example, the Ninja radiator manufactured by Scythe), when a radiator with a developed heat transfer surface can be used to cool an overclocked central processor.

Coolers, used by overclockers, most often have a developed heat transfer surface (exceeding 3000 cm2), and can also be equipped with large (more than 80 mm) fans, heat pipes, thermoelectric elements (Peltier element) or other devices that increase the power that the cooler is able to dissipate.

Homemade SVO

Well-known brands of coolers used by overclockers:

Liquid cooling systems

The second place in popularity is occupied by liquid cooling systems, in which the main coolant is liquid. Most commonly used water cooling systems(SVO), in which the working fluid is water (distilled, often with various anti-corrosion additives). A typical SVO consists of a water block (water block, from the English. waterblock), in which heat is transferred from the processor to the coolant, a pump that pumps water through a closed circuit of the system, a radiator, where heat is transferred from the coolant to the air, a reservoir (used to fill the water cooler with water and other service needs) and connecting hoses.

One option for liquid cooling of computers is to immerse the entire computer or its components in oil (suggested by Tom's Hardware Guide).

Other (extreme) cooling systems

To cool computer components overclocked to frequencies close to the technological limit, they can be used extreme cooling systems. These include systems using liquid nitrogen, dry ice, various refrigerants (for example, freon), as well as cascade cooling systems. In most cases, their creators are not able to ensure long-term operation of extreme cooling systems, so their usual use is obtaining maximum results in benchmarks and participating in various overclocking competitions.

Checking the stability of overclocked components

A number of software tests are used to check the stability of overclocked computer components. None of these on their own guarantee 100% system stability, however, if the test reveals a system failure or cannot be completed, the overclock should be considered a failure. Most tests create an intensive computational load on various blocks of the central processor, system memory, graphics processor and system logic set. Only a combination of several tests can serve as the basis for confidence in the stable operation of the computer. Here are some of the most popular stability tests:

• Prime95 - Distributed computing network client with a powerful built-in module for checking system stability. Often the program detects instability where other tests pass without problems.
• S&M - The program tests the stability of the processor and system memory; if the quality of processor cooling is insufficient or there are problems with memory, the computer may freeze.
• SuperPI - A benchmark and stability test popular among overclockers, it calculates Pi to a specified number of decimal places.
• ATI Tool
• ATI Tray Tools - The program contains a test module that detects artifacts of video adapter instability.
• FutureMark 3DMark2006 - A GPU- and CPU-intensive synthetic benchmark test used along with other FutureMark test suites to determine a computer's performance in 3D gaming graphics.

Usually the processor, video card and RAM are overclocked.

Processor (Central Processing Unit, CPU) is one of the main components of a computer that performs arithmetic and logical operations specified by the program, controls the computing process and coordinates the operation of all components.

Physically, the processor is an integrated circuit (a thin rectangular wafer of crystalline silicon) on which electronic circuits are located that implement all its functions. The chip is usually placed in a flat ceramic or plastic case and is connected by gold (copper) wires to metal pins (the pins that connect the processor to the processor socket on the computer's motherboard).

The main characteristics of the processor: clock speed, bit width and cache sizes of the first and second levels.

There are two types of clock speed: internal and external.

The internal clock speed is the clock speed at which the electrical circuits inside the processor operate.

The external clock frequency (system bus frequency) is the clock frequency at which data is exchanged between the processor and the computer's RAM.

The processor capacity is determined by the capacity of its registers.

A computer can simultaneously operate with a limited set of pieces of information. This set depends on the bit depth of the internal registers. A digit is a storage unit of information. In one working cycle, the computer is able to process as much information as can fit in the registers.

If the registers can store eight units of information, then they are 8-bit and the processor is 8-bit (if the registers are 16-bit, then the processor is 16-bit, etc.). The higher the processor capacity, the more information it can process in one clock cycle.

Currently, 32- and 64-bit central processors are used.

Since the speed of the central processor differs by an order of magnitude from the speed of RAM, for more intensive data exchange between them, a special high-speed memory is used, called a cache. It plays the role of a kind of buffer between the processor and the computer's RAM. There are two types of cache: first and second levels.

The size of the first and second level cache affects the performance of the processor (usually the larger the size, the better the performance).

Today, there are several types of processors, the main ones being Intel and AMD processors. It is also worth mentioning that the creation of processors goes in two directions: processors for personal computers and processors for portable devices (laptops, PDAs, PDAs, etc.).

Processors of the second direction are characterized by reduced energy consumption, which is especially important for this type of device.

So, what is overclocking, or more precisely, overclocking? Overclocking is a user action aimed at changing the operating mode of a device by increasing its performance. Most often, overclocking is carried out by increasing the voltage, increasing the frequency of the device and cooling.

Oddly enough, overclocking is provided by the manufacturer himself. And it turns out as follows. After a batch of processors is manufactured, they all undergo a test to identify defects or errors, the results of which must be no worse than those of the theoretical (reference) sample.

Thus, as a result of the test, those processors that were unable to show the required results are eliminated. To prevent excess production, the manufacturer does not destroy such processors, but simply lowers the requirements for them by several positions (the result is functional processors, but with a lower clock frequency or voltage). Thus, there are two groups of processors.

Processors with a stated high clock frequency. Overclocking of such processors is also possible, but to lower rates.

Processors that have a lower stated clock speed. They are of the greatest interest, since the frequency range at which the processor remains operational can be 200-500 MHz. Therefore, if you have, for example, a Pentium 4 2.4 GHz processor, you can overclock it to a Pentium 4 2.8 GHz and higher.

CMOS memory contains parameters that initialize devices and components connected to the computer, as well as settings used by these devices in further operation. In particular, in BIOS Setup you can configure the speed of RAM, processor bus frequency, speed of local computer ports, and much more. This means that it is the first factor that is directly related to computer performance.

Very often, BIOS Setup is used to overclock computer components (for example, processor and RAM). However, you need to be very careful with this. Do not forget that non-standard operating conditions of devices can negatively affect them (reduction in service life by several times as a result of a sharp increase in the temperature of the device). Frequent crashes and freezes almost certainly indicate that you have overused the overclocking capabilities.

On the other hand, using the settings in BIOS Setup, you can slow down the operation of devices (quite often this is necessary to do with RAM). When using different types of memory, “moderate” parameters allow you to stabilize their operation.

It so happened that in almost twenty years of IT practice I have never had to deal with overclocking - somehow everyone had other interests. However, when choosing a configuration for another new (although now far from new) computer, for some reason I settled on an Intel processor with an open multiplier - i5-2500K. Why I did this, I don’t remember now, perhaps I intended to figure out in my old age what this overclocking is. And then one evening, when there was nothing to do, I realized that the moment had come, and I delved into studying the issue, and the next evening I applied what I had learned in practice. That's what I'm going to report on.

Overclocking theory

Overclocking issues have been of interest to humanity all the time from the moment computer technology came to the masses. The main driver of overclocking is the spirit of competition, passion, and the desire to achieve better results than others. Well, its main object is innocent processors, which are subjected to inhuman loads in order to obtain these same results. There are two main ways to overclock a processor. The first is to increase the frequency of the BCLK clock generator, which, through multipliers, determines the operating frequency of the processor, memory, buses and bridges. This option is, in principle, universal, but it has many nuances and limitations associated with a specific processor and motherboard, so so that your experiments do not lead to the death of the computer, you need to carefully understand everything. The second method is to change the processor multiplier, the same one by which BCLK is multiplied to obtain the operating frequency. This path is much safer (only the operating mode of the processor is changed, and not the entire system) and simpler (essentially one parameter is responsible for overclocking), but there is one thing: the multiplier must be unlocked (allowed for change) by the processor manufacturer.
Initially, Intel processors had an open multiplier, but in the 90s of the last century, after a series of scandals related to the relabeling of processors by unscrupulous suppliers, when slow processors were overclocked and sold at the price of faster ones, the company blocked the multiplier. Since then, the unlocked multiplier has only been found in top “enthusiast” models, which, naturally, were not cheap. The situation changed fundamentally with the advent of second-generation Intel Core (Sandy Bridge) processors - their line included models with an unlocked multiplier for the mass consumer, which received the K index. Initially, the cost of the K and non-K variants of one processor differed quite significantly, but now it has practically disappeared to no (for example, the difference between Core i5 3570 and Core i5 3570K today is 150 rubles).

So, Intel itself has opened the way for “at-home”, fast and highly skilled overclocking. It would be a sin not to take advantage of such an opportunity, and I began my experiments. As I already said, my long-suffering home computer was used as a test bench once again; by the way, it was completely unprepared for overclocking; rather, on the contrary, it was chosen for reasons of efficiency and noiselessness.

Experiment

According to the specifications, the i5-2500K operates at multipliers from 16 to 56. With standard parameters and using SpeedStep, we have 16x at idle and 34x under load. Now let's start the process. “Home” overclocking has become so homely that it can now be done directly from Windows, without going into the BIOS. But we will still be oldfags to begin with - only BIOS, only hardcore! However, we won’t get much hardcore – we only need one parameter there; in the BIOS of my ASUS P8Z68-V LX motherboard it is called CPU Ratio and is located in the CPU Power Management menu. To overclock the processor above standard values, you will also need to enable the Turbo Mode option (it has nothing to do with Intel Turbo Boost, which, on the contrary, is recommended to be turned off).
The first overclock was tiny, up to 36x, in order to mark my entry into the ranks of overclockers. However, there was no fanfare, and nothing at all happened except the frequency in the CPU monitor. The temperature also remained unchanged. The next level is 40x, a significant figure; until recently such a result (when overclocked on the bus) was considered a grandmaster. The height was taken without the slightest effort and without changing the voltage on the processor. But the temperature, unfortunately, crept up and reached 68 degrees at 100% load. There is nothing to be done; the cooling system installed on the computer has shown itself to be completely unsuitable for overclocking.

Step three. 44x, that is, 1 GHz increase. Having made my face like a brick, I started the computer. “Well, no, that’s enough,” he replied and flew into the blue screen. It is necessary to increase the processor supply voltage. I immediately raised it to 1.4 V so that it would be enough. Now I decided to operate through the GUI on Windows. In the AI ​​Suite software supplied with the ASUS motherboard, the Turbo V EVO component is responsible for overclocking. To operate, this program uses the TPU (TurboV Processing Unit) controller on the motherboard. The TPU module is so intelligent that it can itself, without human intervention, overclock the system to the highest possible parameters. Thus, overclocking technology, from the point of view of the “dummies”, has reached its highest point, when to get the result it is enough to press one button “make sure everything goes well”.
I was not able to really test the 4.4 GHz mode, because just a few seconds after starting a full load, the temperature rose to the maximum permissible, and I was forced to interrupt the experiment. However, I have no doubt that with normal cooling the operation of the processor would be stable - numerous experiments of other users convince me of this. If we talk specifically about the i5-2500K, absolutely everyone’s processors work up to 4.5 GHz, the result of 5 GHz is quite common, and the most stubborn ones reached 5.2 GHz. Let me emphasize that we are talking about stable operation under heavy (test or real) load. Thus, we are dealing with more than 50% increase in frequency with minimal material and mental costs.

Results and conclusions

As expected, the results of the computational tests climbed linearly as the frequency increased. For example, I chose the CPU Queen integer “chess” test. As you can see, with maximum overclocking, our processor “pushed” not only the extreme first-generation i7, but also the server Xeon (although it was initially inferior to both).

Someone might be wondering what happened to the Windows Experience Index? Almost nothing, it increased by only one tenth, from 7.5 to 7.6. However, do not forget that for Windows 7 the maximum index value is 7.9, so a big jump could not have happened.

Now let's try to answer the question, who needs this overclocking - except for overclockers themselves? However, it was answered before us: first of all, to fans of computer games. Experiments have shown that processor power at standard frequencies is not enough to power top-end video cards, especially if there are several of them, and as the frequency increases to a certain limit, gaming performance also increases. Saturation occurs, by the way, at our “home” 4-4.5 GHz; it is at this frequency that the processor ceases to be the “bottleneck” of the entire system. In addition, people dealing with heavy media content, and, of course, respected fans of distributed computing will definitely be happy with the extra gigahertz. I note that all categories of citizens will have to vigilantly monitor the temperature of the processors and their cooling system - otherwise a slight “zilch” and smoke is guaranteed.