Overclocking processors increases their performance, but also causes them to produce more heat.
For most of its history, the practice of increasing a processor's speed beyond its factory settings---also known as overclocking---has been a somewhat challenging topic. Different processors had to be overclocked in different ways, and the amount by which their speed could be increased was determined largely through trial and error. Thanks to AMD's OverDrive utility, however, this is no longer the case. Add to this the abundance of online hardware reviewers working to discover the optimal overclock settings for each new processor model, and it's clear that overclocking is now within even the most inexperienced user's grasp.
Instructions
1. Open AMD OverDrive (see Resources) and select "Advanced Mode" under the "Preference" tab. Also make sure that the "Apply my last settings when system boots" checkbox is checked. When you're finished, click "Apply."
2. Click on "Performance Control" to open the tab that controls the processor's clock and voltage settings. This is where you'll change the reference clock frequency to increase the processor's speed.
3. Increase the "HT ref. Clock (MHz)" slider from 200 MHz to 210 MHz, which will add a total of 140 MHz to your processor's frequency. This is the maximum safe overclock as determined by TechwareLabs' review of the Athlon X2 5600+.
4. Click "Apply" to accept the new setting, then "OK" to exit OverDrive.
5. Open your most processor-intensive program and use it to make sure the new overclock is stable. If the program crashes or you experience any unusual errors, return to OverDrive and lower the "HT ref. Clock (MHz)" slider by 1 MHz, then test again until everything works correctly.
6. Return to the "Performance Control" section of OverDrive and increase the "HT ref. Clock (MHz)" slider by 1 MHz to experiment with higher overclocks than TechwareLabs was able to achieve in their review. However, only do this if the 210 MHz setting was stable. Repeat step 5 each time you increase the slider. Once you're satisfied with the overclock or the setting becomes unstable, reduce it by 1 MHz and don't attempt to increase it any further.
Tags: Clock slider, make sure, Performance Control, processor speed