Prime, Cpu-Z, what software does what?

[jomofro39]

Hey,
I have never OC'd a computer before, asides from selecting ASUS "5% auto over clock" on my 5 yr old (damn, its been that long since I built.

And I was wondering what programs Prime95 and Cpu-Z are, what do they help accomplish, and is that is? or are there many free 3rd party apps that aid in troubleshooting during OCing, and general computer health (temps and such).

I am building a new rig at the end of the month, and I am excited to OC my AMD X3 720, maybe try unlocking the extra core, etc. and I want to be software-savvy by then.
Thanks guys.

 

[overshocked]

Prime 95 will test to see if an OC is stable.

Cpu-z will tell you how fast its running (for screen shots,etc)

And use real temp for temperatures.

Hope that helped

 

[jomofro39]

that should do it, thank you kindly.

 

[spinny]

You'll want a program to monitor temperatures such as CoreTemp, I don't think Realtemp works for AMD.

SpeedFan is also helpful multipurpose tool.

Memtest86+ is used to check your memory for any problems.

 

[jomofro39]

ah, very nice. thank you.