Overclocking: Maximize Your Performance
Unlocked Intel® Core™ processors let you overclock the CPU for even more gaming power and performance.1
What Is Overclocking?1
Overclocking your unlocked Intel® Core™ processor, RAM, and motherboard is a way to custom tune your PC. You can adjust the power, voltage, core, memory settings, and other key system values for more performance. It helps speed up your components—and your gameplay. It can also help with processor-intensive tasks such as image rendering and transcoding.
Additional Overclocking Guides and Tools
How to Overclock with Intel® Extreme Tuning Utility
Fine-tune and test your overclock from within Windows using Intel® Extreme Tuning Utility (Intel® XTU).
How to Overclock Your CPU from BIOS
This guide will walk you through benchmarking and modifying settings to monitoring your system.
How to Overclock RAM
Overclocking is often thought of in the context of a CPU or GPU, but you can also overclock RAM to boost memory speeds and performance of your PC.
Overclock with Intel® Performance Maximizer
Learn how to automate your overclock with Intel® Performance Maximizer, the machine-assisted overclocking tool.
Intel® Performance Maximizer
Automate your overclock with Intel® Performance Maximizer, the machine-assisted overclocking tool that dynamically and reliably tunes to your processor’s individual attributes.2
Check Intel® Extreme Memory Profile Compatibility
Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (Intel® XMP) helps you overclock RAM, including select Intel® technology-based DDR4 memory, unlocking performance that exceeds standard specifications.
Compare Unlocked Desktop Processors
Processor Number |
Processor Cores (P+E)3 |
Processor Threads4 | Intel® Smart Cache (L3) |
Processor Base Power |
Maximum Turbo Power |
Max Turbo Frequency5 | Max Memory Speed |
Processor Graphics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
16 (8P + 8E) |
24 |
30MB |
125W |
241W |
Up to 5.2 GHz |
Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s |
Intel® UHD Graphics 770 |
|
16 (8P + 8E) |
24 |
30MB |
125W |
241W |
Up to 5.2 GHz |
Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s |
n/a |
|
12 (8P + 4E) |
20 |
25MB |
125W |
190W |
Up to 5.0 GHz |
Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s |
Intel® UHD Graphics 770 |
|
12 (8P + 4E) |
20 |
25MB |
125W |
190W |
Up to 5.0 GHz |
Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s |
n/a |
|
10 (6P + 4E) |
16 |
20MB |
125W |
150W |
Up to 4.9 GHz |
Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s |
Intel® UHD Graphics 770 |
|
10 (6P + 4E) |
16 |
20MB |
125W |
150W |
Up to 4.9 GHz |
Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s |
n/a |
Compare Unlocked Laptop Processors
| Processor Number | Processor Base Frequency | Cache | # of Cores/ # of Threads | TDP | Memory Types | Graphics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel® Core™ i9-11980HK Processor | 2.6 GHz | 24 MB | 8/16 | 45W | Two channels DDR4-3200 | Intel® UHD Graphics |
Compare Unlocked High End Desktop Processors
| Processor Number | Processor Base Frequency | Cache | # of Cores/ # of Threads | TDP | Memory Types | Graphics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel® Core™ i9-10980XE Processor | 3.0 GHz |
24.75 MB |
18/36 |
165 W |
Four channels DDR4-2933 |
NA |
| Intel® Core™ i9-10940X Processor | 3.3 GHz |
19.25 MB |
14/28 |
165 W |
Four channels DDR4-2933 |
NA |
| Intel® Core™ i9-10920X Processor | 3.5 GHz | 19.25 MB |
12/24 |
165 W |
Four channels DDR4-2933 |
NA |
| Intel® Core™ i9-10900X Processor | 3.7 GHz | 19.25 MB |
10/20 |
165 W |
Four channels DDR4-2933 |
NA |
Product and Performance Information
No product or component can be absolutely secure.
Altering clock frequency or voltage may damage or reduce the useful life of the processor and other system components, and may reduce system stability and performance. Product warranties may not apply if the processor is operated beyond its specifications. Check with the manufacturers of system and components for additional details.
Some features may only be available with the latest version of Intel® Performance Maximizer. Visit downloadcenter.intel.com to download the latest version. Eligible processors include 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9900K, i9-9900KF, i9-9900KS, i7-9700K, i7-9700KF, i5-9600K, i5-9600KF processors, and Intel® Core™ i9-10980XE Extreme Edition, i9-10940X, i9-10920X, and i9-10900X processors.