Overclocking your GPU

Last, but certainly not least, the final hurrah of overclocking

With DirectX 11, at least, OCing the GPU is the area of most benefit to gamers. But it’s also where overclocking has most dramatically changed. That’s because, with Nvidia’s GPU Boost and AMD’s Power Tune, it’s no longer possible to simply up the voltage and in turn increase cards’ core clockspeeds.

It’s now often better to ignore the voltage and let the proprietary software do its own thing. This way you can avoid reaching the artificial power limits set by our GPU overlords – cores won’t throttle themselves in an attempt to control imaginary temperatures, that may or may not be present, even if they’re running on an aftermarket cooler, or water. Sounds ridiculous, right? You’re not wrong. Still, we’ll show you how far you can go with these cards.

Overclocking your RAM

Wait! There’s more! Overclocking isn’t limited to just your processor

Yes. It’s true. Overclocking doesn’t just mean tinkering with your CPU. Other avenues exist if you’re keen to shove the boat out a little bit more.

RAM speeds over the course of the last few years have almost tripled in frequency, meaning performance can be improved quite dramatically in certain computational programs. It’s important to bear in mind, however, that the higher you push your RAM frequency, the more your CPU will suffer. In other words, it might mean an overall lower final overclock for your little powerhouse.

Overclocking your CPU

Learn to fulfil your processor’s potential in 10 simple steps

Before crossing the start line, there’s a few basic principles to get your head around. The first one is heat. Inevitably, the more voltage you add to your components, the more heat that component is going to output. Second, the higher the clockspeed you’re trying to achieve, the more voltage you will need to power that attempt. And thirdly, there’s only so much voltage your PC part can take before you start to see detrimental effects. These could be a drop in frame rates for GPUs, corrupting processes on the CPU, or even a failure to boot at all. These, essentially, are the basic limits of overclocking.

Too Much Hacking

David Hayward grows a beard and goes to live in a cave

I was reading an article the other day regarding some extreme hacks, and it got me thinking about how much we, as a society, rely on technology and how easy it is for that technology to be manipulated by others.

The more I thought about it, and the more I looked into various hacking methods and what kinds of devices and connected technologies can be hacked, the more I became paranoid about the world around me.

How To Use A Tablet As A Second Screen For Your PC

We look at some options for extending your desktop to your mobile device

A dual monitor setup is quite a common sight these days, both at work or at home. We’ve used a dual monitor for some years and found the extra screen ‘real-estate’, as they call it, a great advantage when researching, transferring files and coping with multiple versions of a program open at the same time.

There is, however, a slight problem with having a dual monitor setup, and that’s the amount of space taken up. While you can get away with a smaller computer desk when using a single monitor, once you include another one, your desk space decreases significantly.