Overclock settings for Intel E2160 @ 1.80 GHz with 2 GB of RAM

I recently brought a new PC at my home. It is a pre-built model with dual core E2160 1.80 GHz processor and a 2 GB RAM. I want to overclock the processor of this PC for faster performance. I am new to overclocking and that too my first attempt will be on a pre-built computer. I need some help regarding the overclocking. Can someone help me with it?

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Originally Posted by cech

I am new to overclocking and that too my first attempt will be on a pre-built computer. I need some help regarding the overclocking. Can someone help me with it?

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Since you are new to overclocking, the first thing that you must know is that every PC is different from other. The variation comes in almost everything ranging from processor, RAM, storage device and also their quality. If you compare the values of the attributes of other PC while overclocking your PC, it might be different. Though close, but you shouldn’t try to achieve the same result as the other PC’s result. You can use those values as the reference point for your overclocking.

You also need to know basic of overclocking processor. The safest way to overclock a processor is by using software. Since softwares are designed with a constraint that will restrict if certain value is going above designated limits. If you do the overclocking manually, then it might happen that you might exceed the limits till which the values have to be set. This will lead to freezing of the system and you will need to start the whole overclocking process from the start. But again if it is safe, it will have some disadvantages or limitations. You cannot change the timings of RAM or processor when doing the overclocking using software. You must know the PLL IC that is used in your computer very well. You must know every of its details properly as it is responsible for FSB frequency.

Decide on which software you will be using for overclocking your system. You should find out which one will suit your system very well and which will be better for your use. There are many overclocking softwares available, but since you are a beginner, you can start with use of clockgen, SoftFSB, CPUFSB and Nvidia's nTune.

Being a beginner as you have described in your question, it is better to know dangers that are usually seen while overclocking. If ignored you might cause some permanent damage to your computer which will be beyond repairs. The first thing that you must take care of while overclocking is that of heat. Overheating can cause lot of damage than anticipated. It is not that overheating will instantly cause some damage to the peripherals in the computer. But if it is not taken care of when it is noticed, it might surely create problems. To avoid overheating, you need to provide good cooling in your CPU. The airflow must be good. If you live in region where the environment is hot by default, then you might need to provide extra cooling fans, radiators, heatsinks and other such cooling devices to control the heat. The most common and basic symptom to know if your system is overheating is random crashes while processing. Try to maintain temperature at approximately 60 degree Celsius.

The second drawback of overclocking is that it will reduce the lifespan of the peripherals used in your computer. When overclocked, the peripherals start consuming a large amount of voltage. This is the main reason of decrease in lifespan of peripherals. It won’t be seen if you are doing small overclocks, but after doing a large overclock on any system, you can expect the lifespan of the peripherals to be cut down by half. Since you are trying to overclock the processor, let me tell you that average lifespan of a processor is around nine to ten years. After you overclock it, it might get reduced to four to five years.

If you are overclocking for the first time, I suggest that you seek professional help if possible. For overclocking you need to enter the BIOS menu of your system. Once in the BIOS menu, you will have to adjust the RAM speed, RAM Timings, RAM ratio, multiplier and FSB. For the start you can go on increasing FSB and Multiplier. First note down their values and find the ratio between them. When increasing their values, you need to maintain the ratio, not accurately but closely. You can achieve the basic level of overclocking by this method. If you want to achieve the high level of overclocking, you need to increase the FSB only while increasing the multiplier very less. This will break the ratio but will give a good overclocking.

Increasing the FSB to higher values will result in processor communicating with the other peripherals faster. But the problem is that the peripherals won’t be able to communicate as fast as processor and might lead to bottleneck condition. Thus you will need to overclock other peripherals too. But don’t try overclocking all the peripherals all at one time. It might get complex too you and you might end up screwing up the system more.