Hi, I am looking at overclcking my computer BUT don't know how to do it

System Specs:
-WINDOWS VISTA ULTIMATE SP1(32Bit)
-AMD ATHLON 64 3200+ (2.00 GHz)
-512MB OF DDR2 RAM
-ATI RADEON 9550SE

I would like to overclock with what i have (quite short budget). I am aware of the risks in it. any help with processor, RAM, GC overclocking would be VERY helpfull.

Instead of overclocking, you should upgrade your ram first. Vista needs at least 1GB of ram. I believe you're also running 1 piece of 512MB ram. I would recommend you to replace that 512MB with 2 stick of 1GB DDR2. That way, your vista will run much much faster, since it doesn't need to swap out the ram to your hard disk. Then at the same time utilizing dual channel for your ram. You need 2 piece of almost identical ram to properly achieve the benefit of dual channel. That should give you a bit more of the speed boost.

If you overclock before upgrading your ram, you won't achieve anything, cause the bottleneck is not at your cpu at the moment

You can overclock your CPU by going into the BIOS of your computer. The BIOS can be accessed by either hitting "delete" or "f2" upon boot. It depends on your motherboard as to which button you press.

Once you are in the BIOS there should be a section for your CPU and you might be able to increase the power in there. If not, I think there is software available for overclocking your CPU, but I am not too familiar with them.

To be honest, if you don't know what your doing then don't do it. Overclocking is a lot more complex then just changing a few settings, a computer is complex machine and a lot of devices and busses are connected to eachother and they all depend on eachother. If yoo change one thing, than you also change a lot of other things. If things get unstable it's not always easy to find out what the problem is if you don't know what you are doing ...

I agree with what wutske said, over clocking your cpu is a very complex thing. If you do over clock it, you then have to keep an eye on the temperatures and voltages of the cpu to make sure your not burning it to pieces from the inside out! Plus your computer could have a complete fit, not like what you've done and you could end up ruining your entire computer.

If, after all that (including like faulty said, upgrading your ram) you are still interested and want to continue with over clocking your cpu, i recommend reading up on the art of over clocking. There are many books that explain it to you in detail and will help you understand what you are really doing! Then you will be able to understand what your doing and do it safely!

Good Luck!

If you have a Gigabyte motherboard, there is a program available on the official Gigabyte website called EasyTune 5 that will make overclocking your computer easier.

Link:
http://www.giga-byte.com/FileList/NewTech/...1125_PX_ET5.htm

However, if you don't know what you are doing, I suggest you not to overclock your computer, as if not done properly, it can burn out your CPU, rendering it useless.

At the risk of echoing what has already been stated do not over clock if you do not know what you are doing. Your biggest system slow down from the specifications listed is the memory by far. That and the use of Vista which is another matter entirely.

Basically when you over clock a CPU you are making more electricity run through the processor than it normally does. The result can be that the CPU runs at a higher frequency (speed). However, the CPU may or may not be able to handle the higher operating frequency and could be damaged as a result. Additionally the the CPU will also generate more heat than it does under normal circumstances. If the heat sink and fan are not up to the task of dispersing the heat and the case does not vent the heat out properly the CPU will be damaged.

If you decide to give it a try be certain to read up on what you need todo and make sure your cooling is sufficient. At least over clocking is easier than it used to be. Older PC's had jumpers that had to be set on the motherboard to determine voltage and the like.

I would rather you go out and buy new parts to reassemble this machine because it's very dated and is not designed to run Vista at all. A new basic desktop can cost you as little as $400 with all new parts.

xboxrulz

That's not exactly true. You don't have to raise the core voltage to overclock the processor, it's your own decision. Raising the Vcore allows you to go even higher than what you've already acomplished.
Back in the old days it was very likely that you'd damage your cpu if it wasn't cooled decently, but nowaydays processor have overheating protection that power off the computer when it's overheating (but because these temperature level are high, it's most likely that the cpu's life time is reduced). There are a lot of other components (especialy voltage regulators) that can be easily damaged if you overclock and raise the Vcore.

Btw, overclocking was easy when we had to use jumpers . Change FSB, multiplier and cpu voltage and that was it . Nowadays you change the bus speed and have to fiddle around with dozens of voltages and dividers not to over-overclock some part in the chain...

Darasen is also right. Simply raising the core clock without raising the vcore can already increase the current consumption, thus "more electricity run through the processor". That's why Intel has SpeedStep while AMD has Cool'n Quiet, they simply reduce the cpu multiplier when the cpu utilization is low. These help to cool down the cpu when idle. You need to set your power profile to anything other than "Always On". Under "Always On", the multiplier is locked to the highest value, even when idling, it will not cool down as much as when it lower the multiplier. This also help to prove that clock speed alone can increase current consumption.