I'm here to help with your system overclocking question. What specific aspect are you curious about?
I'm here to help with your system overclocking question. What specific aspect are you curious about?
That is something that is done, but in the end the CPU runs at the clock speed of base clock x multiplier, plus raising the base clock too far can have weird side effects.
Welcome to the forum! It's a great space to visit. This topic might seem more complex than it seems, but in short, the CPU's performance comes from combining a base clock and a multiplier. You can increase the base clock, but most modern CPUs aren't very fond of that—though some have managed to handle it better than others. Still, it puts extra strain on the CPU. The actual speed you see is determined by the base clock and multiplier together. Whether you use a higher base clock or a lower one, the final GHz remains the same. The CPU must supply enough voltage to run at that speed.
The real challenge comes from the rest of the system too. RAM speeds depend on the base clock, and PCIe performance also relies on it. Raising the base clock slightly affects RAM and PCIe speeds accordingly. In the past, this was manageable, but now with newer CPUs and systems, things have changed. Some newer chips like Zen or Intel's latest designs separate the CPU from the rest of the hardware more, making it trickier to optimize.
In short, you can tweak the base clock, but it doesn't simplify things much. It might even complicate other aspects. Personally, my experience with an i7-920 showed that a small boost in base clock speed did improve bus speeds, but after about 12 years it's mostly irrelevant—especially with unlocked multipliers and easier tuning options.
The reference frequency, often called FSB or bus speed, is tied to the I/O device you use—your Sata controller, previously known as a chipset. Raising it too high can damage your drive. It really depends on how much you push it. In the past, DDR SD RAM boards (like ddr1) used this setting, typically around 200 FSB. Usually these were VIA chipset boards. Gamers and overclockers favored NForce chipsets that weren’t bound to the chipset, making overclocking more exciting. They could boost clocks by up to 100%, turning 200mhz into over 400mhz. But using a CPU with twice the stock reference clock doesn’t significantly improve performance in most tests. So while it looks impressive, it just changes how you generate the clock frequency.