Overclocking - Have I got this right?

[Crazy BigGaz]

Hi,

I decided to look in the Bios to have a go at overclocking.

At the moment I have the following

Bios
2.60Ghz (217x12)
System Memory Multiplier (SPD): 3.33
Memory Frequency (Mhz): 800 723

CPUZ says
CPU Core Speed: 2604.0Mhz
Memory DRAM Frequancy: 361.7Mhz

So does that mean ?
CPU is running at 2.6Ghz
Ram is running at: 723Mhz

[Finners]

yep, now you need to test it for stability

think theres a sticky in the overclocking section with software to use

[Crazy BigGaz]

I did run prime95 for about 1 hour and it was ok.
Do you think I need to run it for longer?

Will be pushing it more once I got a new CPU Cooler as it currently on Stock.

[Desertmonk]

I did run prime95 for about 1 hour and it was ok.
Do you think I need to run it for longer?

Will be pushing it more once I got a new CPU Cooler as it currently on Stock.

"real" overclocking enthusiasts etc will tell you to run prime95 for 10 hours min if you intend this to be a life-long and final/highest you'll ever go overclock. A more powerful software like Intel Burn Test or OCCT will do the same amount of stress testing in half the time.

Length really depends on how far you've OC'd and whether you will go further, taking OCCT as an example and assuming you want the max OC and use it at OC'd speed until you upgrade:


people tend to do 30mins ~ every substantial change (e.g. +200Mhz on the CPU for intel, +100MHz on the CPU for AMD)
30 mins every time you tweak memory (memory is much more volatile so maybe 30 mins every 40~ MHz)
As you approach the limit of your hardware you should test for longer & more frequently, so if you know 3.7GHz was fine but 3.75GHz wasn't you may stress test for a few hours at 3.725GHz.
Likewise once you "decide" on an OC to use for life give it 3 or 4 hours.
Obviously if it is well documented proccessor A (say 2.0GHz stock) can hit 4.0GHz relatively easily I am not suggesting you test every 200MHz, just skip to within 500MHz of max realistic OC and go from there.


Obviously you can get away with far less and lots of people are ignorant enough to say "if it runs 20mins of 3dmark" it's stable," but if you are OC'ing at the limit of your hardware then it is best to be safe.