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IT Support & Hardware · Intermediate

Overclocking

Running a CPU, GPU, or memory faster than its rated specification to gain performance.

Definition

Overclocking raises multipliers, base clock, or memory speed, often with added voltage, and increases heat and power draw. It requires an unlocked processor and supporting chipset, and can cause instability, crashes, or reduced component life. Memory profiles such as XMP and EXPO are a vendor-supported form of memory overclocking.

Example

Raising an unlocked Intel 'K' CPU multiplier from 50 to 53 in BIOS is a manual overclock.

Exam tip

Random crashes or BSODs after a tuning change suggest reverting overclocks to defaults first.

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