Overclocking a CPU means increasing the processor’s clock rate — the speed at which the CPU

works to perform calculations — above the manufacturer's specifications. Overclocking works by

running a CPU’s clock speed at a higher frequency to execute more operations per second and
increase performance.
An overclocked device may be unreliable or fail completely if the additional heat load is not
removed or power delivery components cannot meet increased power demands.
Many device warranties state that overclocking or over-specification[clarification needed] voids any
warranty, but some manufacturers allow overclocking as long as it is done (relatively) safely.
The speed of your processor is determined by two factors: clock speed and the CPU core ratio. In
technical terms, overclocking boosts the clock speed, increasing the number of cycles your CPU
executes per second, measured in GHz (gigahertz). Each cycle generates an electrical pulse, or
“clock signal,” that triggers the CPU’s integrated circuits to process data.

Underclocking
The primary goal of underclocking is to reduce power consumption and the resultant heat
generation of a device, with the trade-offs being lower clock speeds and reductions in performance.
The usefulness of underclocking (again like overclocking) is determined by what processor
offerings, prices, and availability are at the specific time of the build. Underclocking is also
sometimes used when troubleshooting.

What happens if I get a black screen when I overclock?

In some cases, your PC won’t boot up after an overclock. Don’t worry — resetting the BIOS reverts
all settings to their default values, so you can try the last setting that worked for you. Usually the
motherboard has a button that says “Clear CMOS” or “Reset CMOS.”
In the worst case, you can pull out the little battery on your motherboard, wait 10 seconds, and put
it back in.

Is overclocking safe?
Overclocking is totally safe, because today’s computers have built-in safeguards to power down or
turn off components if they get too hot. While overclocking means pushing your hardware beyond
its official limits, with modern materials, your hardware will likely have no problems.
The biggest risk in overclocking your PC is that the temperature of your CPU or other hardware will
increase. But even that is rare.
It’s almost impossible to “fry” your CPU by overclocking it or to crash your computer entirely. If the
clock is set too high, your PC will simply reboot or bluescreen. As mentioned above, it’s easy to
revert to the original settings using the CMOS reset.
But remember that giving the CPU more voltage and higher clock speeds does put additional stress
on it. That means that you'll reduce the CPU’s lifespan a bit. For example, you might reduce the
CPU lifespan from 15-20 years to maybe 12-15 years, but it’s hard to say. Regardless, you’ll almost
certainly replace your computer before then anyway.
To find out if your processor supports overclocking, examine the name of your CPU. Intel adds the
letter “K” to processors that can be overclocked, such as the Intel Core i7 9700K. And all
processors from the Intel “X” series (used primarily for professional multimedia) can be
overclocked.
As for AMD processors, there’s nothing to worry about. All modern AMD Ryzen CPUs are
“unlocked” and can be overclocked

Can you overclock a laptop?

Overclocking the CPU of a laptop is theoretically possible, but it’s usually not advisable. The
internal components of a laptop are packed tightly together, and with much more limited cooling
systems compared with desktop computers, overclocked laptops can overheat and cause serious
and permanent damage to your machine.
That’s why most laptop CPUs are locked so they cannot be overclocked by raising the clock speed.
But if you’re confident you know what you’re doing, unlocked laptop CPUs can be overclocked just
like the CPUs of desktop PCs, by raising the base clock rate.

Why should I overclock my CPU?

If you want more performance for gaming, rendering, coding, or simply for your day-to-day tasks, a
higher core clock can help. Overclocking is often a quick, easy, and cost-efficient way to unlock
better performance, especially when compared to the cost of upgrading to a new CPU or even a
new computer.

Is overclocking your PC worth it?

Overclocking a PC is usually worth it if your computer is older or if the components are outdated.
You’ll see greater results from overclocking older PCs, because performance will increase closer to
the level of today’s more powerful components. You can overclock newer machines, too, but
performance gains may be more limited.

Should I overclock my CPU for gaming?

Overclocking is a good way to boost gaming performance, because it can help increase FPS. While
many games are “GPU bound,” meaning that most calculations happen on the graphics card, a
significant part of gaming performance also depends on processor performance.
But remember that while an overclock can give you more frames per second in many scenarios, it
won’t help much if your OS and its programs aren’t properly optimized. Use a dedicated PC
optimization tool to make sure no software or setting is slowing you down.

How to Safely Overclock Your CPU for PCs & Laptops

When overclocking your CPU, you’re trying to unlock maximum performance while preventing
damage to your hardware. So, you’ll need to keep a close eye on your system and make sure your
computer doesn’t begin to malfunction

Step 1: Determine your CPU’s core temperature

Before getting started, you need to check your CPU’s temperature, because overclocking will
increase it — and you’ll want to measure the temperature change. You can check CPU temps in
BIOS or with a third-party too.
If your machine’s already running hot, fix the overheating problem before proceeding.

Step 2: Perform a system stress test

If you want to perform a serious CPU overclock, you should look at stress testing the CPU for a few
hours. You want to know that your current system is stable under the current default clock speed.
And if you encounter problems later, you’ll want to know why.
A useful tool for this use is Prime95, which puts a constant 100% load on all CPU cores. Let it run
for one or two hours and see what happens, while keeping a close eye on temperatures throughout
(see the step above).

Step 3: Check your CPU’s performance

To measure improvements, you need to know where you’re starting from. Begin by benchmarking
your current CPU performance, using a tool like Cinebench, which simulates a rendering workload.
Extract the archive and fire up Cinebench Windows 64 Bit.
After launching Cinebench, click the Run button next to the CPU listing in the left panel. After the
rendering is complete, you’ll see the current score. Write that number down so you can refer to it
later if you want to compare scores.
Another benchmarking tool I like is 3DMark Basic, which focuses on gaming performance. If you
use this benchmarking tool, remember to monitor your CPU’s temperature to learn how hot it gets
under this load.

Step 4: Access your BIOS

The only reliable way to overclock your system is to change the settings in your computer’s BIOS.
The BIOS (sometimes referred to as UEFI) contains your PC’s key settings.
Ready to get started? To access the BIOS, you need to turn your computer off and turn it back on.
As the computer restarts, press the DELETE, F2, or F10 key repeatedly. Doing so lets you enter your
PC’s BIOS controls. The exact key combination varies by manufacturer brand and model. Usually, a
message is displayed — for example, “Press F2 to enter Setup.”
In BIOS, you should see some text like, Advanced CPU Core Settings or OC/Overclocking. This
is where you’ll find the settings to overclock the CPU.

Step 5: Choose between automatic and manual overclocking

Depending on the motherboard manufacturer, the BIOS may provide an Automatic
Overclocking or OC Level function. These options give you a bit of an overclocking boost at safe
levels, but the results are usually nothing special. That’s why we recommend going with the
manual approach outlined in the next step.

Step 6: Adjust the CPU multiplier

The first step to increase the clock speed should be to increase the multiplier. This uses the base
clock built into the motherboard (usually 100 MHz) — multiplying that number yields your clock
speed. For example, a multiplier of 36 (x100 MHz) gets you 3.6 GHz.
Gradually raise the multiplier one step at a time. You can usually do this by typing in the number or
using the + key on the keyboard. Proceed slowly and treat this as an iterative process. Speed up
your computer a little bit. If all goes well, go back and dial it up some more.
Start by increasing the multiplier for one core and go slowly for the others. The more cores you
overclock, the hotter (and more unstable) your system will become.
Save your settings and reboot the system. Then, stress test and benchmark to measure your CPU’s
stability and performance.