Overclocking (Main Thread)

Here is what I would suggest: take the cooler off, give everything a good cleaning, apply some fresh thermal paste, and then reassemble the cooler.

Also, why not download CoreTemp? Try using ONLY that program to monitor your temperatures.

Listen, Daniel Nguyen3, I've got this Celeron—it's ancient, really old, haha—but it might work. I don't have any thermal paste, though... =( I downloaded CoreTemp, and since I'm running a 1.7 GHz Celeron, I guess maybe if I could get it to 1.8 or 1.9, it would be just a little bit faster? I'm using the stock cooler, of course...

I guess there might be some kind of thermal limit for a GPU, where pushing the clock speeds any further starts getting a bit risky, maybe?

A 1.8 increase might be doable, but don't expect much of a performance boost; that little processor is pretty weak

edit: there's always a limit. If your GPU temperature hits 120, obviously it's going to die on you

It really depends on which specific model you're running, but generally speaking, the card should stay alive as long as it stays under 90

Look. I guess this is it. Maybe?Does anyone know of any other good programs for monitoring CPU temperatures? I read that thread over on PC Gamer, but I didn't really get what they were saying...

Please take a look at your crystal ball and tell me what my maximum overclocking potential is, haha, just kidding 😁, you don't need to do that, hehe

I would suggest using either Motherboard Monitor or Everest

Just keep tweaking those FSB settings. If you notice Windows starting to reboot on its own, just bump up the voltage—specifically the Core

It doesn't show up on Everest, so I'm going to try uninstalling this. Am I supposed to raise the FSB in Windows, or does it have to be done in the BIOS? It would make more sense in Windows since my system keeps restarting. Anyway, I've never really understood voltages and what I'm risking by messing with them. I read somewhere that you shouldn't go over a certain limit, but can you tell me how much that actually is?

I'm not sure, which ones exactly???

Dell UltraSharp Monitor...

Honestly, I’m not entirely sure at this point; it’s been quite a while since I last messed around with that specific software.

You’ll need to head straight into your BIOS settings. From there, you can bump up the Front Side Bus—you might see options listed as bus speed or CPU frequency, depending on your setup.

Try increasing those values a few steps at a time, then boot back into Windows. But here is the catch: IF—and I mean IF—your Windows starts rebooting unexpectedly, that’s your signal that you need to go back into the BIOS and increase the voltage.

I'm going to give this a shot, wish me luck! By the way, am I looking at °C there?

You should definitely find a temperature sensor within your BIOS settings; just look for 👍
. Best of luck 😁
!

So, should I go ahead and overclock it if it stays under 60°C? And when I'm doing the overclocking, if I slowly bump it up and head into Windows, will it just restart after a while, or maybe right away?

So, you bump up the FBI, exit the BIOS, and the computer automatically restarts and boots straight into Windows.

If the system keeps restarting while Windows is loading, that means something isn't quite right yet, and you'll likely need to increase the voltage.

Let's say your current FBI is 200; you could try bumping it up to 205, hit save, and then exit the BIOS.

Once you're back in Windows, run a Super PI stress test. If everything holds up perfectly, head back into the BIOS, bump that FBI up by another 5—taking it to 210—save those settings, and boot back into Windows again.

(I don't believe your FBI is actually sitting at 200, but you should be able to verify the exact number once you're in.)

So, I bumped things up from 1.70 to 1.84, and my temps only went up by maybe a degree or two. The frequency isn't quite there yet, though, so I guess I have to switch from default to one? I think I read somewhere on PCMag that if the computer won't boot, you're supposed to pull the CMOS battery, but where exactly is that located? Maybe I could push it to 1.9, but it looks like there's a limit on how high I can actually go.

Is this a great choice for a high-end build?

Are you seeing a battery on the motherboard?
If I were you, I'd leave it right at 1.84 and not push it any further; you really don't want to risk frying your components.

(Of course, I can't be held liable for any damage 😁)

When you were bumping up the FBI, did it show a specific number on the side, something like 200/33?

Was "33" displayed there? If it was, please revert back to stock settings immediately—you could end up killing your hard drive or something even worse.

Edit: Try searching Google for Super Pi; it's a great program for testing both your computer's speed and its overall stability.

It was running at 36MHz, then it said default, then maybe 33, and so on...

I don't quite follow, what on earth?! Why would that be dangerous?

If you notice a value like 33 sitting there, and IF that number starts climbing right along with the FBI when you're cranking things up, then you're actually increasing the PCI frequency. That's a risky move because it can end up damaging the PCI devices plugged into your motherboard.