Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Overclocking
Earlier in the topic, we touched on the idea of overclocking. Overclocking
essentially pushes the running speed of the computer beyond the standard
operating limits. While overclocking is most often applied to making the CPU
run faster by increasing its clock frequency (from, say, 3.5 GHz to 4.2 GHz),
other components, including the GPU on the graphics card, can be overclocked
as well. The faster these chips run, the more data they can process in less
time. The result is often manifested in faster boot times as well as faster and
smoother video animations and transitions.
Plan ahead and research the optimal settings to use when config-
uring overclocking values. Extreme overclocking can severely
damage your hardware!
The stock settings for the motherboard are set for the greatest level of hardware
compatibility and system stability. However, because we purchased a moth-
erboard and graphics card specifically designed to be overclocked, we can
take advantage of these parameters and tweak the settings accordingly.
ASUS makes overclocking a breeze with its Maximus VI Formula UEFI BIOS
settings. When the PC turns on, press the
F2
or
DELETE
key to enter the UEFI
settings screen. From there you can tweak a number of options—way too
many to list here. The board allows access to so many options to tweak and
overclock the frequencies of your hardware that you really need to know what
you're doing before you start changing the default values. Otherwise your
system may become unstable to the point of the operating system not even
booting up. Fortunately, you can always reset these values to their recom-
mended defaults should your computer start behaving erratically (stuttering
mouse movements or sound, blocky messes appearing onscreen, random
lock-ups, and so on).
The fastest way to take advantage of the optimal speed of the DDR3 2400
RAM we installed is to instruct the Ai Overclock Tuner in the BIOS to use
XMP (Intel's Extreme Memory Profile) Profile #1, as shown in
Figure 76,
Setting
on page 88
. Doing so will boost the RAM frequencies to their optimal speeds.
You can also tweak CPU settings such as cache ratios, PLL overvoltage,
power phase, and current capability within the UEFI BIOS configuration.
As you become more familiar with your system's capabilities and limitations,
you can manually modify a broad range of settings to home in on the perfect
overclocked configuration for your system. Visit the hardware forums on the
