Have you ever thought about thrusting your PC’s performance? If not then I’m feeling sorry for you because you’re missing out on a lot. Overclocking your laptop’s RAM can enhance your laptop’s performance to unbelievable levels. Don’t know anything about overclocking? No worries! I’ll cover the whole process in this article.
Overclocking isn’t as complicated as it sounds, it’s no rocket science! It simply means increasing your RAM’s clock speed to drain every last drop of performance juice from your PC. The speed of the RAM means the rate at which it transfers data. The better the RAM’s performance, the faster the data transfer rate. Hence you’ll enjoy a better experience in gaming, video editing, data transferring, and much more.
To overclock your RAM, all you need to do is meddle with some BIOS settings to get the optimum performance. But is it safe to overclock your laptop RAM? Should you do it? Well, overclocking has its share of risks but with my guide and safety tips, I highly doubt that you’ll ever mess it up! So get aboard as I venture you through the safe alleys of the overclocking world.
Is it possible to overclock your laptop’s RAM?
To be honest, it’s a little tricky question! Most people would say “No” but that’s not entirely true. Some laptops support XMP or have a manual overclocking option in their BIOS settings.
If your laptop doesn’t have this feature then sadly you can’t enjoy the boosted speeds. But if it does then you can dig around in your BIOS to amplify the clock speed. Now how can we enter BIOS? Well, it’s different for every company but with the aid of Windows Advanced Startup, you just need to restart your laptop to boot into the BIOS.
How to boost up the RAM on your laptop?
I’m not going to lie but overclocking laptop RAM is a bit more complicated than a desktop. So I would need you to carefully follow through all these steps to ensure a secure and effective Overclock. Let’s get started!
- First, you need to install “CPU-Z” on your laptop. Once it’s downloaded, enter the “SPD tab” and note down the “DRAM frequency” and “timings” along with “timing tables”.
- Then restart your PC and enter the “BIOS” settings by hitting the specific key (mostly F2, F10, or delete). Look for tabs like; AI Tweaker, D.O.C.P, or Extreme Tweaker. This will vary depending upon the type of your motherboard.
- If you’re a complete rookie at this then I’d suggest using the “intel extreme memory profile” to overclock your laptop without any extra effort. Opt for any of the given profiles you see fit (you can always switch it if you have a change of mind).
- Save the settings and reboot your PC. and that’s it! Your laptop is overclocked!
Manual overclocking
Was this too basic for you? Want some serious manual overclocking? Well then, let’s raise the difficulty level for more swift speeds.
Manual overclocking is an intricate process that has very little to no room for error. In laptops, you face cooling and space constraints so you need to be extra careful to avoid any mishaps. I’ll walk you through the complete process and if you do just as I say, there’s no need to worry. So let’s begin!
- Check for compatibility:
Before we start, you need to check if your laptop’s RAM is compatible with overclocking or not. In some laptops, the BIOS settings are locked and don’t allow any manual adjustments. So there’d be no point in continuing if your laptop isn’t compatible, right? To check if it’s compatible, you can explore online forums or communities to see if others have performed the overclocking in your laptop model.
- Back-up any important data
Do you have any important files on your laptop? If yes, then now would be the best time to back them up. I don’t want to sound pessimist but if there’s any instability or crash during overclocking, you might lose your data. So better safe than sorry! Right?
- Enter the BIOS/UEFI settings
Backed up the files? Now, restart your PC and head to the BIOS/UEFI settings by pressing the magical key (mostly F2, F10, or delete). Can’t reach the BIOS settings? Well then sadly your laptop doesn’t support overclocking. You’ll have to live with the same old speeds.
- Look for the RAM settings
Once you’re in the BIOS settings, you need to find the settings related to RAM frequency and timings. Usually, it goes by the name “Memory clock” or “Dram frequency”. Delve into these settings!
- Increase the memory clock speed or frequency while checking for stability
Time for the overclock! Now gently start increasing the frequency or clock speed. Make sure you do it in small increments while keeping a check on stability to avoid any crashes or system failures. To check stability, I’d recommend using stress tests like Mem Test86 or AIDA64. After each adjustment restart your PC and run these tests.
If you experience any glitches or instability in performance after cranking up the clock speed, then you’ll need to bring it down. You may also have to meddle with the memory timings. You can easily find the recommended memory timings for your laptop’s RAM on the manufacturer’s website.
- Monitor the temperatures
As you already know, laptops don’t have as strong cooling systems as desktops. So, you’ll always have to keep an eye out for high temperatures. And for that, you have softwares like HWMonitor or SpeedFan. If the temperatures exceed the limits, you need to go easy on the clock speeds.
- Exit the BIOS
Once you’ve found the perfect frequency, save the settings and hit the exit button. Now, restart your PC and enjoy the faster speeds.
Some safety tips to avoid any accidents
As thrilling as it may sound, overclocking can be quite risky. If you don’t do it the right way, it may reduce your Laptop’s life, corrupt your data, or permanently damage your laptop. So I want you to strictly follow all of these safety guidelines to be on the safer side.
- Before you start overclocking, back up all of your important data right away. Because if something goes wrong and you need to restore your laptop, there’ll be no recovery if your files are not backed up. And I don’t want that for you!
- Always start with a slight increment in the clock speed and gradually make your way up to the optimal speed.
- After each adjustment, check the stability to avoid any crashes or accidents
- In overclocking ‘being patient’ is the key. It may take up to hours to find the perfect clock speed for your RAM and if you rush it, you might mess it up. Remember! In the overclocking universe ‘haste will make waste’
- If you’re having a hard time overclocking your laptop RAM, don’t be shy in looking for help. You’ll find tons of resources on the internet.
Parting words
So that’s all you need to know about overclocking your laptop’s RAM. It’d be fair to say that now you know as much as any overclocking expert. But still, never forget to back up all your files and follow all other safety protocols before cranking up the clock speed.
I’d suggest overclocking your RAM, only if you can’t live without it. That means if you’re a gamer, a programmer, or a video editor and your work involves a lot of RAM power.
The overclocking process can vary depending on the manufacturer. So I’d ask you to do a lot of research before hopping on to your overclocking journey. What? Don’t feel like doing it on your own? Not a problem! You can always order overclocked RAM online.
Muhammad Allayhan, a gaming and PC hardware virtuoso, breathes life into pixelated worlds. A legendary overclocker, he unlocks hidden power in gaming rigs. Navigating from 8-bit realms to today’s masterpieces, Muhammad’s words immerse readers in an ever-evolving digital odyssey. Join him as he reveals the secrets of gaming’s cutting edge.
