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Help a novice on his first overclock!

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Last response: in Overclocking
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Hello guys.

I'm fairly noob with hardware and whatnot. I play a lot of games and I think it's about time to take the next step.
I was thinking about how Guild Wars 2 is CPU-heavy and how I would like it to run a little bit better (specially when moving the camera around so much causes the FPS to drop alot).

First: I have an Alienware desktop, don't hate. The reason why I have it (and didn't build one myself) is because I'm a new immigrant from Brazil to Canada. I came here with nothing (no laptop or desktop and no money too) and I really wanted a computer that would run my games and Alienware was the only way to get it with monthly payments.

Second: I'm not exactly sure the info I need for this but Ill post what I know or even if Alienware comes already OC'd? But I doubt. If you tell me what I need to know and maybe how to get it would be awesome too :) .

I'll Post the CPUID CPU-Z here:

CPU
Caches
Mainboard
Memory
GPU

A few pointers/questions:
- I dont really know my power supply but I would guess 750W? Or cooling fan brand.
- And I think I might have that water cooling system but I'm not sure, but since I don't know I might not have haha. Is that important? Anyway I can know that for sure?
- My cpu was the i7-2600k before but It kept getting errors (god knows why). I've replaced motherboard, gpu, untill Alienware just sent me an entire new computer but they were short on i7-2600k and gave me the i7-3820 instead.
- I've looked around and it seems my computer is locked? I'm not sure what it means.
- This is an image of how my bios looks like. Bios

Anyhow.

I want to try to OC it, but by now you should know that I will need help hehe.
If there is anything missing if you could kindly point the way I would get the info quickly! I appreciate it.

Thanks!

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Zilong said:
Hello guys.

I'm fairly noob with hardware and whatnot. I play a lot of games and I think it's about time to take the next step.
I was thinking about how Guild Wars 2 is CPU-heavy and how I would like it to run a little bit better (specially when moving the camera around so much causes the FPS to drop alot).

First: I have an Alienware desktop, don't hate. The reason why I have it (and didn't build one myself) is because I'm a new immigrant from Brazil to Canada. I came here with nothing (no laptop or desktop and no money too) and I really wanted a computer that would run my games and Alienware was the only way to get it with monthly payments.

Second: I'm not exactly sure the info I need for this but Ill post what I know or even if Alienware comes already OC'd? But I doubt. If you tell me what I need to know and maybe how to get it would be awesome too :) .

I'll Post the CPUID CPU-Z here:

CPU
Caches
Mainboard
Memory
GPU

A few pointers/questions:
- I dont really know my power supply but I would guess 750W? Or cooling fan brand.
- And I think I might have that water cooling system but I'm not sure, but since I don't know I might not have haha. Is that important? Anyway I can know that for sure?
- My cpu was the i7-2600k before but It kept getting errors (god knows why). I've replaced motherboard, gpu, untill Alienware just sent me an entire new computer but they were short on i7-2600k and gave me the i7-3820 instead.
- I've looked around and it seems my computer is locked? I'm not sure what it means.
- This is an image of how my bios looks like. Bios

Anyhow.

I want to try to OC it, but by now you should know that I will need help hehe.
If there is anything missing if you could kindly point the way I would get the info quickly! I appreciate it.

Thanks!


It's a shame the 2600k didn't work out. That thing can fly with a good cooler. I'm 99% sure Alienware doesn't include watercooling systems in their pre-made desktops so you can rule that out. You most likely have the stock Intel cooler. First, you'll want to find a cpu cooler that fits. There are plenty of cpu cooler reviews on the net. Just search around. Although the 3820 isn't technically "unlocked" it still can be overclocked fairly well. I suggest you check out this link. It's many pages long but provides a lot of good info on how to get the most out of your 3820. http://www.overclock.net/t/1221208/i7-3820-overclock

Hope this helps. Cheers, Jeff
Overclocking Expert

Overclocking involves a good understanding of the relationships and interactions of your PC components. Voltages, temps, can be factors. Please read up a lot on overclocking before you decide to tweak settings.

The link that Jeff provided is a good start.

For a first overclock don't mess with voltages. (Period). And use baby steps.

If overclocking the bus you're also overclocking everything connected to it (viideo card, and anything pci) so take it easy. Most chips will overclock at least a little with stock cooling.. but I doubt your out for only 5%.

The more cores, typically the worse the potential (more variables which could go wrong)

To see if its watercooled just open up the case and look silly!
If you have a fan on the processor, no water.

r, if two tubes and no fan, its some type of non air cooling.
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