Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
💻 Making faster 🏃 Pushing too hard
overclocking

overclocking

1 7.4
A way of making a computer part run faster than its official speed
  • noun
  • /ˈoʊvərˌklɑːkɪŋ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : overclocking
  • The overclocking of the graphics card improved the frame rates significantly in the latest games.
  • overclocking CPU
  • overclocking settings
  • overclocking feature

But read our overclocking guide though for monitors specifically.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • You follow all the standard recommendations that you can find on overclocking forums: you run Prime95 for 12-24 hours, do a few hours of FurMark, and a few hours of IntelBurnTest for good measure.

    Blog text (11)

  • Two individuals actually became rather heated in a debate over two processors and argued the finer points of overclocking (the process of making a computer run faster than it was originally specified).

    Blog text (28)

  • Like the name might suggest, it allows you to improve the speed of your device mostly through overclocking.

    Blog text (19)

  • However, even a single phase is plenty for RAM overclocking in most scenarios.

  • This was a novel hypothesis; I hadn't seen it discussed in any of the overclocking resources that I had read.

    Blog text (11)

  • From my experience, overclocking is just temporarily useful; I think in the long run it will decrease the lifetime of your system where there is no need.

    Blog text (11)

  • If you don't know already, overclocking is the practice of running your processor (CPU, GPU, or both) faster than it was designed to.

    Blog text (15)

  • That leaves the extreme, warranty-voiding modders that hard mod their GPUs with the ability to increase voltage for the Kepler cards and have a stress-free overclocking experience.

    Blog text (15)

  • Many gamers attempt overclocking their CPUs to boost performance during intense gaming sessions.

  • He carefully monitored the temperatures to ensure safe overclocking of his computer's processor.

Surface Forms

overclocking singular
overclockings plural

Morphology

overclocking = overclock (semi-transparent) = over + clock + ing

The step from 'overclock' to 'overclocking' is a regular -ing nominalization/gerund; however 'overclock' itself is a technical coinage from over- + clock, so the term is specialized.

Etymology

Overclocking comes from over ('above' or 'too much') and clock ('a steady beat that sets speed', like a watch or the small clock inside a computer). It is like making the computer's 'watch' run faster than it should, so a part such as the processor runs above its official speed to go faster.