If you’re a PC gamer, you know that every little bit of extra performance can help. And one way to get extra performance out of your CPU is to overclock it. But how do you know if your CPU is overclocked?
Opening By Task Manager
If you’re using Windows, the easiest way to check if your CPU is overclocked is to open the Task Manager. You can do this by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del and then selecting Task Manager from the menu. Once Task Manager is open, click on the Performance tab. If your CPU is overclocked, you should see a notice in the CPU usage section that says “Overclocked.”
It isn’t possible to check if your CPU is overclocked if you’re using a Mac, as there’s no built-in way to do that. However, there are some third-party apps that can do it for you. We recommend using either Intel Power Gadget or Macs Fan Control.
Once you’ve downloaded and installed one of these apps, open it and look for the “CPU Frequency” or “Clock Speed” section. If your CPU is overclocked, you should see a higher number than the base clock speed listed in the specs for your particular model. For example, if your CPU is an Intel Core i7-7700K with a base clock speed of 4.2 GHz, an overclocked CPU would show a higher number like 4.5 GHz or 4.8 GHz.
Why is my PC still so slow?
Don’t worry, there are still plenty of things you can do to speed up your PC. Check out our ultimate guide to speeding up your PC for more tips.
Overclocking voids your CPU warranty
Before we dive into how to overclock your CPU, it’s important to understand that doing so will void your CPU’s warranty. So if you’re going to overclock, make sure you’re comfortable with that risk. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s take a look at how to overclock your CPU.
How to overclock your CPU
There are two different ways to overclock your CPU:
- Overclocking through your BIOS is the more traditional way to do it. Every motherboard has a different BIOS, so the steps will be different for each one. In general, though, you’ll need to enter your BIOS, find the " overclocking " or " performance " section, and adjust the settings from there.
- If you’re not comfortable doing that, or if your motherboard doesn’t have an overclocking section, you can also overclock your CPU through software. The two most popular programs for doing this are Intel Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU) and AMD Ryzen Master.
Can all CPUs be overclocked?
No, not all CPUs can be overclocked. In general, only unlocked CPUs (i.e. “K” or “X” series processors) can be overclocked. And even then, not all unlocked CPUs can be overclocked to the same degree.
If you’re not sure if your CPU is unlocked, you can check the specs for your particular model. If it’s not an unlocked CPU, you won’t be able to overclock it.
Overclocking your CPU
As we mentioned before, overclocking voids your CPU warranty. So if you do overclock your CPU and something goes wrong, you won’t be able to get it replaced or repaired under warranty.
Additionally, overclocking can lead to instability and data loss. So if you do overclock your CPU, make sure you have a backup of your important files before you do.
Read : Best Motherboards For i9-10850K
Conclusion
Overclocking your CPU can give you a little extra performance when you need it. But it’s important to understand the risks before you do. We hope this post has helped you understand what overclocking is and how to do it.