Overclocking 101: our step-by-step guide to maximising your PC's speed

ss-rotel (User):

one thing that you should also point out is that overclocking a CPU will void the warrenty on your CPU, motherboard, and if you're really unlucky, your memory.

Running anything outside of the recomended or intended settings may, (and usually does), void warrenties.

Hell, running the CPU without the HSF that's supplied will, in most cases, void the warranty

Now, i'm not saying that overclocking's a bad idea, far from it, just that this article should point out that the end user must understand they are doing so at their own risk.

ss-rotel (User):

edit - The line that say -
"Hell, running the CPU without the HSF that's supplied will, in most cases, void the warranty"

should really read - "Hell, running the CPU with a HSF that's different to the one supplied will, in most cases, void the warranty"

Of corse, if you dont run a HSF at all, things go wrong real quick

Rea9er (New user):

What a load of dribble @ss-rotel. Yes manufactures say that it will void your warranty but I can from experience tell you they have no way of telling you have overclocked you cpu, mb, ram unless you really stuff things up by burning it.

I recently had a Rampage 3 Formula based system come into my shop that wouldn’t power up. The system had clearly been Overclocked and I know this for two reasons and two reasons only. 1, it had a custom water in it and you do not water cool your CPU unless you are getting into some serious overclocking and 2, the guy told me the settings he was running when the system failed. The fact there was solder splatter on the back of the case and a micro chip found in the bottom of case told me it got too hot so he had put too much voltage into the system and I would have thought and even told him he would be lucky to get a replacement under warranty for it yet Asus still replaced it. Why? Because they can’t prove it was overclocked and even if they could they could prove it was that that caused the failure.

Yes if you don't know what you are doing either don't do it or start with baby steps when overclocking; make sure you have adequate cooling for you cpu, mb and ram not to mention good circulation in your case to get the hot air out. Make sure you start out with small increments and be sure to stress test to make sure it is stable and the temps don't get too high.

I am a system builder and an overclocker too.

Some system I sell come Overclocked and come with a replacement warranty in fact, some of the systems others sell (Altech’s - NRG line for example) come with warranties too and they are overclocked.

Further to this if AMD, Intel, and the numerous component manufactures out there didn’t want you to overclock they would not sell unlocked CPUs or the ability to do so on the motherboards. Even Intel’s oven motherboards give you the option to overclock your system.

Rea9er (New user):

What a load of dribble @ss-rotel. Yes manufactures say that it will void your warranty but I can from experience tell you they have no way of telling you have overclocked you cpu, mb, ram unless you really stuff things up by burning it.

I recently had a Rampage 3 Formula based system come into my shop that wouldn’t power up. The system had clearly been Overclocked and I know this for two reasons and two reasons only. 1, it had a custom water in it and you do not water cool your CPU unless you are getting into some serious overclocking and 2, the guy told me the settings he was running when the system failed. The fact there was solder splatter on the back of the case and a micro chip found in the bottom of case told me it got too hot so he had put too much voltage into the system and I would have thought and even told him he would be lucky to get a replacement under warranty for it yet Asus still replaced it. Why? Because they can’t prove it was overclocked and even if they could they could prove it was that that caused the failure.

Yes if you don't know what you are doing either don't do it or start with baby steps when overclocking; make sure you have adequate cooling for you cpu, mb and ram not to mention good circulation in your case to get the hot air out. Make sure you start out with small increments and be sure to stress test to make sure it is stable and the temps don't get too high.

I am a system builder and an overclocker too.

Some system I sell come Overclocked and come with a replacement warranty in fact, some of the systems others sell (Altech’s - NRG line for example) come with warranties too and they are overclocked.

Further to this if AMD, Intel, and the numerous component manufactures out there didn’t want you to overclock they would not sell unlocked CPUs or the ability to do so on the motherboards. Even Intel’s oven motherboards give you the option to overclock your system.

Rea9er (New user):

Sorry about the double post... got all excited ;o)

Nice article by the way, for all those starting out overclocking, if this isn’t in enough detail there are forums like www.OCAU.com.au that can help you with almost any oc question/ setting you may have and they don’t care if you’re a newbie or a seasoned expert. Remember to always read the forum rules and make sure someone hasn’t already asked the same question before you as you could save yourself some time. Happy overclocking, once you start you will never look back.

Rea9er (New user):

oops, link should be www.overclockers.com.au not OCAU.

ss-rotel (User):

OK, point i was trying to make, and i'm pretty sure that APC have edited the Disclaimer to point this out after i siad my bit, (i read it carefully before i wrote what i did BUT it was a week ago, and if you have any idea what i've been trying ti fix in the last week, you'd understand that REALLY dont remember...), APC is writing a How-To on Overclocking, and i'm pretty sure they hadn't touched on the, "if you screw this up, you void your warrenty, and it's not our fault that you screwed this up."

you're in the game, i'm sure you've had your share of horror stories with extremely "novice" customer's breaking stuff any getting really upset when you do give them a replacement.

hell, i remember getting into an argument with a guy that thought 7day DEO meant he could break it within 7 days, and we're give him a full replacement. (he'd mounted the m/board without stand offs, and shorted out the board)

Yes, they have to prove it, but if they can, they will, and no warrenty for you. That was all i was saying.

I'm honestly supprised you took the system back of the guy that busted it. i would have told him too bad, and sold him a new one, and told him not to do it again.

ss-rotel (User):

how broken is this site... i can't edit what i posted... i'm tired, i've been up fixing stuff till mid night almost every day since the floods here in QLD...

you're in the game, i'm sure you've had your share of horror stories with extremely "novice" customer's breaking stuff any getting really upset when you do give them a replacement.

Should say

you're in the game, i'm sure you've had your share of horror stories with extremely "novice" customer's breaking stuff and getting really upset when you don't give them a replacement.

DEO should be DOA

and rah.

Rea9er (New user):

Don’t get me wrong mate, if ASUS had of said no I would have too but I figured it was worth a try. Yes I have been in the game for a while but I have found that unnecessarily great customer service goes a long way when you’re trying to build your new business up… www.pcrumba.com.au btw (free plug if you don’t mind ;o)

There really are some people out there that should not speak when they return stuff; mounting a MB without standoff’s… hmmm and the DOA thing, that’s why I only give 2 days from arrival/ pickup of the system as some people really do think that is the case.

What I tell all my new customers is simply DON’T DO IT, you will void your warranty and also have it listed in my T&C’s. Normally the only people that try to OC to the point where they will break something are the ones that know the manufacture will most likely not be able to tell what they did and send a replacement. Above this is the fact a hardcore overclocker will most likely not by a system off me, they will want the parts to DIY the system and atm I don’t sell parts just systems and accessories so I am a little sheltered from that side of things.

ss-rotel (User):

Quoting Rea9er:
I only give 2 days from arrival/ pickup of the system as some people really do think that is the case.


i thought 7 day DOA was ACCC reg.

At the end of the day, if someone's smart, (or stupid), enuf that when they do break, take you to small claims, not mater what, if judge is anti-tech, you're going to have to give a refund on the gear.

Hell, at my last job, i remember the boss coming back, were a guy bought a video card, decided he didn't want it, and when we said no, went to small claims, and judge told him he had to give a full refund, and when the boss said, fine, he needs to bring the video card back for the refund, the guy said he didn't want to, and the judge ruled he didn't have to.

Was crazy.

anyway, you're right, most ppl are going buy the parts, and build it themselves. If you can't build a computer, you can't overclock one.

I think this was a "dangerous" article. i wouldn't have posted it without LONG disclaimer, cos i could see a 14yr old read this, and OC his fathers expensive Dell machine, and when Dells says, nup, you broke it, Father's going to blaim APC.

Was all i was saying

Rea9er (New user):

Quoting ss-rotel:
I thought 7 day DOA was ACCC reg.

Noted and amended in the T&C's... although I can't find any set "law" in this regard. Not to say it isn't correct, just I couldn't find a definite ruling on my quick look on the ACCC or fair trading websites. Happy to be pointed to the right place as I would not like to be on the wrong side of any law.

Quoting ss-rotel:
I think this was a "dangerous" article.

I can see you point and agree wholeheartedly, I think it goes along the lines of some mainstream mags giving you step by step instructions on how to download via p2p... not really smart given 99% of the p2p usage is illegal but I guess they print what people want to read about and p2p downloading is rampant now much the same as overclocking in no longer for the crazy extremists with too much money.

Noteworthy on the warranty side of things; my wife was having issues with a baby shop located in NSW when our double pram had a warranty claim at 9 months into the 12 month warranty. They couldn't fix it and the manufacturer had discontinued the model and not made a similar one yet therefore they provided the reseller with a full credit for the faulty pram. The reseller (whose name escapes me atm unfortunately) told my wife firstly that she had had 11 months (it took 2 months for this to get to the point of refund) use out of it therefore they were only going to refund the difference as worked out: purchase cost/ 12 months x 1 month warranty remaining = total refund... It worked out to be about $33 on offer as the refund. I didn’t need to tell her not to accept that; she then got another offer saying that they would only refund the amount the manufacturer was going to give them e.g. the cost price meaning they would get to keep their profit margin. This was meat with some nasty words mostly due to the cost of we incurrered posting the thing to and from the nominated repairer and she also followed that up with a complaint to fair trading NSW for what they were trying to do as well as some bad reviews on relevant sites WOMO, Ture Local etc. She got a call yesterday from a very apologetic baby shop saying the full refund will be provided upon receipt of the damage goods.

I guess in the end what I'm getting too is that it doesn't matter if it's PC's, some components, electronic goods or as mentioned above baby merchandise. Some companies will try to get one over on you the buyer regardless of their legal requirements or who is in the wrong. Sometimes things just do break during the warranty period and in a lot of cases it has nothing to do with how you have treated it.

I try to offer the exact opposite to that by going beyond the normal call of duty for my customers as I like to treat my customers the way I would like to be treated. Sadly there are too many out there that simply don't take this approach, for them there is a thing called Karma.

ss-rotel (User):

Quoting Rea9er:
I can't find any set "law" in this regard. Not to say it isn't correct, just I couldn't find a definite ruling on my quick look on the ACCC or fair trading websites


If i remember correctly, you can get hold of a copy of the ACCC "handbook", it should be within pages 15-18. I know these pages refer to the rights of both seller and buyer in regards to refunds.

Also, if you call the office of fair trading regard your rights as a seller, their scripted responce is that they "cannot give out legal advice" But basically, after talking to them in regards to a issue i was lumped with one day, the buyer has the right to request a refund, but if it stands outside the "guidelines" not rules mind you, then you have the right to refuse the refund, and if the buyer wishes, the only corse of action is a letter of demand then to take it up with small claims.

Mind you that kinda sounds like legal advice.

like i said, and they said, these are guidelines, and if @ the end of the day, taking a small loss will gain sales, then you'd be stupid not to.

Just remember, as a seller, you have just as many rights as the buyer

What happened to your wife and the baby shop's an interesting story. Again, if i remember correctly, (i dont have a copy on me, and i haven't needed to look @ it in years), but they were within the guidelines to offer her that pro-rata refund. That said, she should have been offered full store credit to the value on her invoice as well.

technically, a refund is not available "if you simply change your mind" (as per page 17, had to use that one a bit), and requesting a refund to spend @ another store can be read as a change of mine.

Unfortunately, the ACCC only offer "Guidelines" so are very open to inturpritation, (i can't speel that... sorry), but usually if you even say you've spoken to the ACCC of office of fair traiding, you'll get you're way.

Most sales ppl dont know what it says and freak out @ the mention of either of them. (Even thou, @ the end of the day, the only corse of action is a trip to small claims, and most of the time, that's not worth the day off)

Rea9er (New user):

Thanks for the info mate, I will be requesting it shortly... something I should have done years ago

ss-rotel (User):

BTW, aquired a s/775 QX9650, Currently aircooled @ 4.2ghz stable @ 40degC idle, 60degC under load. Still got more in it. temps confirmed via CPU-Z during a 30 min unigine test

AND That's after i realized that i didn't re-apply the thermal grease, and i have no idea what was on it before i dropped my cooler on. @ a guess a smattering of Artic cooling MX2 and Artic silver.

Will sort that out maybe tomorrow. if can remember/be bothered. Going away for weekend.

i've been reading this ship will do 5.6ghz with the right cooling, (i dont have LN2, so i wont be attempting), but they managed to get it to 4.7 air cooled with little hastle.

Same guy also managed to get it to 4.5ghz @ only 1.36vcore. which is outstanding.

ss-rotel (User):

maxed @ 4.38ghz stable, but pretty sure i've reached the limit of this motherboard, (Asus Striker 2 Formula).

i think the HDD controller's running too far out of spec to handle the 4way Stripe array i'm running. Might pull that down, and try again. Whenever it blue screens, the HDD's spin up, slowly, one @ a time. They are 4x "old" 150gb Raptors

it's posted into 4.5ghz, but windows BSOD part way throu load with a 0x124 error, (heat or overclocked related error as per MS KB article)

BTW, CPU idle in Bios @ 60degC @ 4.42ghz. will load windows, but after about 3 mins into benchmark, system crashes, thou CPU temp only rises about 15degC, so well within excepable levels, (considering the fail temp of that CPU is about 95degC, still 15-20 deg short)