Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Overclock for Extra Performance

Overclocking is one of the best routes of giving your system a great performance boost for free. But the question is, what exactly is overclocking, and how to overclock your system. Basically your processor runs at a designated frequency, also known as clock rates. Increasing this frequency also increases the number of calculations your processor can perform. Overclocking your CPU therefore speeds up the processes. Therefore, instead of purchasing a 3GHz processor, you can actually have your 2 GHz processor work at the speed of a 3 GHz processor, which helps to save your time and money.

You can overlock the RAM and overlock the GPU in your computer by using a variety of overclocking software available. Many computer users who play a lot of heavy games on their PCs, overclock their CPU to enhance the performance. Overclocking is not recommended if you are just planning to use a simple word processor or use your computer to browse the Internet.

But there are several risks involved with overclocking the CPU. Starting with the fact that your warranty will become null and void. This is because you are making the overclocked chip work at a much higher speed then it has been made to perform, and there is a small risk the chip will break. Also be careful, if the chip gets destroyed due to overclocking, you will end up putting your entire system at risk.

Overclocking is mainly used with the GPU and the Processor. Overclocking for them will only work effectively if power is supplied properly, since a higher power surge can permanently damage the hard ware being overclocked. You need to understand carefully how to overclock your CPU before attempting it. Basically overclocking allows more power to be supplied to the component to ensure higher speed. Also, a heat surge may effect the working capacity of other components present on your motherboard. To resolve this problem, you can utilize cooling agents, or install a powerful fan on your processor to ensure sufficient cooling remains. When you start overclocking the CPU, make sure that you increase the speed slowly. This is to ensure the overclocking process runs effectively.

Graphics card overlocking is a better option if you are a gaming fan. This is because overclocking GPU is better then overclocking the processor since you will achieve better results through this method. The performance enhanced gives much better results as compared to overclocking the processor. This also helps you avoid heat surges which could damage your CPU components.

A great overclock software is PowerStrip which you can download from the Internet. This software will help you enhance the speed of your GPU by overclocking it, and you can do use its  applications to effectively overclock the CPU too. By overclocking CPU, you can perform many more tasks on your PC without replacing or upgrading your processor.

Check out more tips for optimizing your computer at http://www.healthycomputer.info/

General PC Housekeeping/Clearing Free Space

Most computer users complain of their computer performance slowing down, and one of the major reasons behind this problem is that they do not have sufficient hard drive space for Windows to run efficiently. While most people are aware of how to free up disk space, but there are various disk cleanup utilities available with Windows, and you can also try compressing old unused files as a start point. Also, you can utilize Windows disk cleanup to remove all unwanted files from your hard drive which are choking it. Also you can go for Wipe Free Space option, which is popularly known as the Disk Defragmentor with Windows users. You can also remove start up programs which are installed during the installation process of Windows, as they slow down Windows itself. Also you can manually remove programs if you have been downloading a lot of videos and music files from the Internet. These files also occupy a lot of space.

Here are a few tips which might help you recover more space on your hard drive and organize it to ensure the smooth functioning of your Windows and will guide you on how to free up disk space.

Start by deleting all files which you are no longer using. Go through your hard drive and select programs, the presence of which will not really have any effect on the performance of your  Windows or your work. Secondly go to the C:\WindowsTemp folder on your hard drive, and delete all files saved their. Windows usually stores files on this folder temporarily. After this, use Windows Disk Cleanup to remove and delete all temporary Internet files. Most of these files contain copies of internet content that you have browsed through and were automatically saved by Windows to help you view this content quickly the next time you go online. If you want to delete this content, all you have to do is go to the Control Panel, and click on the Internet Options icon, and click on the General Tab where you will find the Browsing History section, click on the delete button present in this section. Your Internet browsing history will be deleted. You can also use Windows Disk Cleanup for this purpose

If there is any program that you do not use any longer, you can remove it very easily. If you are a Windows XP user, go to the Control Panel and click on the Add or Remove Programs icon. You will see a list of programs that have been installed on your computer. Select the programs you rarely or do not use at all, click on the remove buttons, and they will be uninstalled. You can also delete all trial programs through this method too. Also, any files that you manually delete, are shifted to the Recycle Bin. Empty it by clicking on the icon. You can also do this through Windows Disk Cleanup.

Finally, you can wipe free space by using the Defragmentation option on your Windows. The Defragmentor defragments your hard drive, where all non deleted files get fragmented after you have deleted unwanted files. This option also helps to organize your your hard drive and smoothing your computer’s performance.

These are certain routes through which you can cleanup your hard drive for space. The above list also includes several Disk Cleanup Utilities available with Windows. So if you are still worrying on how to cleanup your disk, just go through this process. Its easy and effective!

Check out more tips for optimizing your computer at http://www.healthycomputer.info/

Upgrading and Optimizing Computer Hardware

If you have recently purchased a new PC, you would realize how quickly your version would get outdated, even before you have even really started using it.But if you have purchased a full sized desktop (not an all in one PC or laptop), you really are very lucky. This is because you wouldn’t really need to purchase a new PC every time when you start feeling that your computer is unable to run the latest games and software efficiently, or its performance has slowed down as you put more work pressure on it. The solution here, that is if you purchased a full sized desktop, is upgrading your computer. PC upgrading means that you upgrade the hardware components, rather then purchasing an entirely new computer with new hardware components. Also, you can scrap certain parts, like the tower, which can continued to be used by other users for a long time.

But where can you initiate upgrading your PC from? Firstly, you will need to figure out how you would want to upgrade your CPU, and many slots are available with your existing motherboard. You can start of with a RAM upgrade, which means that you only need to replace the existing sticks on your motherboard with larger ones. This can just be the first step towards full fledged upgrading your PC.

The next problem that many PC users face is the shortage of memory space. Most people in these circumstances prefer to purchase an entirely new external hard drive to upgrade memory space. But there is another much more feasible option and that is to purchase an internal hard drive, which comes at the fraction of a price of what an external hard drive would come for, and all you have to do is connect the two plugs and, there you go, your memory is upgraded.

If you are an avid gamer, and keep yourself up to date with the latest games, then you would also need a graphics card upgrade in order to run the new available games more efficiently. An older graphic cards installed in your CPU may not be able to run the latest games available, and therefore the need arises to install a new one to continue enjoying your gaming experience on your upgraded PC. Replacing graphic cards is very easy, and the only you need to do is push the new card onto the designated socket on your motherboard and you will have your graphic card installed and ready to use.

Most people think upgrading a processor would mean that you would need to change your entire motherboard, and the components connected to it. This is not entirely true. While the processor installed on your motherboard is closely matched with its working capacity, and you would also need to change your motherboard when you upgrade the processor, this does not mean that you will have to replace all the components connected with the motherboard altogether. Your old components, unless out of date, need not to be changed and will fix easily onto your new motherboard.

Get more tips at http://www.healthycomputer.info/