If you are a tech enthusiast then you have probably heard the term “Overclocking” which is very commonly discussed on tech forums. Overclocking is the process of making your CPU faster. To overclock a computer has some benefits but there are some disadvantages too. In this guide, we will share everything you need to know what does it mean to overclock a computer. At the end of this guide, you will be able to decide whether to overclock your CPU or not.
What Does It Mean to Overclock A Computer?
CPU’s (Central processing units) are really powerful these days especially the latest Intel’s 8th generation CPUs are much faster than any other CPU lineup. These CPUs come with factory configurations to run at a certain speed. You can make them even faster and boost the performance by setting a higher clock rate in Computer’s BIOS. This whole process is known as Overclocking. But make sure to take extreme caution and expert advice when you overclock your CPU. Running at an extreme higher clock rate will produce a lot of heat and it may damage the other components too.
Can you Overclock your Computer?
Well, this is a tricky question and the answer depends on the CPU of your computer. If you are the owner of a Laptop then there is a strong possibility that you won’t be able to overclock your Laptop as many companies by default prevent their CPUs to overclock. Overclocking produces a lot of heat. Many laptops can’t manage that excessive heat which may result in a computer crash or in other issues. Thus, for your own safety, many companies block their CPU’s overclocking. However, there are some gaming companies that offer laptops with overclockable CPU which you can get if you want to overclock your laptop.
If you are building a Gaming PC then you have the option to pick an Overclockable CPU from the market. The thumb rule is to look for “K” in the model number of a CPU and if the CPU has “K” in its model number then it is overclockable. However, we will suggest you should do extensive research and read the reviews of your selected CPU to get the full insight.
Common Myths about Overclocking
Overclocking has been around for years and there are some common myths which we want to discuss here and tell you if they are true or not.
- Different iterations of Chips have the same capacity for overclocking: well this is a very common myth in our gaming community and many people still believe that for example if you want the Intel i5 chip and with overclocking you will be able to attain Intel i7 speed and let us tell you that it is wrong. There is a reason why companies sell multiple iterations because they are designed for different types of users.
- Overclocking your PC will need expensive liquid Cooling: this myth is also very false to some extent, you can cool down the heat produced by an overclocked CPU with a good 2-in-1 liquid cooler. However, if you are using a powerful configuration like Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti or Latest Nvidia RTX 20 series with Intel’s latest i9 CPU then most probably you will need a good liquid cooling system to cool down the system. So it depends on the configuration you use not only on the CPU.
Pros and Cons of Overclocking a Computer
The following are the pros and cons of overclocking.
Pros
- You can improve the overall performance of the CPU by overclocking.
Cons
- Your CPU will produce a lot of heat and you will need a good cooling system to cool down your Computer.
- Overclocking your CPU will void your warranty.
- Overclocking might damage the CPU chip if you don’t run it at stable clock speed.
Is Overclocking is still a good option?
As you can see there is only one single advantage of Overclocking but there are many disadvantages and in our opinion, there is no need to overclock your CPU if you are not an extreme gamer. Let us explain, Intel’s 8th generation chips are very fast and their different iteration to serve different types of users. The power users can go for Intel i7 or i9 iterations which can handle any heavy task without any problem.
I think with today’s hardware, there is no need to overclock your CPU, if you still want to overclock get some ideas about the process in Intel’s Guide to overclock. Also if you are interested in building your own Gaming computer then you can read our guide where we shared the details of every computer component you need to build your Gaming Computer.
