• Overclocking can improve hardware component performance.motherboard image by dinostock from Fotolia.com
  
  Overclocking refers to increasing the performance of computer hardware without replacing the actual components. The MSI K9A2 motherboard comes with an AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ processor. AMD processors are widely known for their overclocking abilities. The MSI K9A2 motherboard can be overclocked in a number of ways.
  
  

Accessing System BIOS

• The primary step in overclocking a computer system is accessing the computer's BIOS or basic input output system. The BIOS is the underlying foundation of the computer system that functions below the operating system, such as Windows. For most computers, the BIOS can be accessed by pressing"F2" or "DEL" during startup. The exact key needed depends upon the computer's manufacturer, and is usually displayed on the screen at some point during the boot-up process. Microstar (MSI) motherboards include a Cell Menu on the BIOS that allows users to tweak many aspects of the hardware.
  
  

FSB Speed

• There are several options a user can change from within the system BIOS. The front side bus or FSB is the cable connecting the CPU and memory to other internal components. The CPU (processor) speed is equal to the FSB speed times the CPU multiplier speed. FSB speed can be adjusted up or down by increments of 1 MHz. The starting FSB speed for the MSI K9A2 board is 300 MHz. The maximum FSB for this board is 600 MHz. Additional cooling equipment would be required to meet the maximum speed. According to PC Stats, the MSI K9A2 motherboard FSB can be safely increased to 360 MHz without additional hardware. Increasing the FSB speed allows the memory to perform faster.
  
  

CPU Multiplier

• The CPU multiplier or FSB to Memory Ratio can also be adjusted up or down to increase CPU speed. The multiplier for the MSI K9A2 system board can be set up to 8x. Depending upon other changes made, this maximum may not be feasible for an individual computer system. Increasing CPU speed increases the potential speed of the memory.
  
  

Memory Settings

• There are many memory timing features that can be modified to improve performance under the Advance DRAM Configuration options. These include CAS latency speeds and RAS settings.
  
  

Voltage Settings

• CPU, memory, and chipset voltages can also be altered to enhance performance. Increases in CPU multiplier and FSB speeds may require adjustments in the allowed voltage. This is due to the need for additional power by these components.
  
  

Free Software Utilities

• There are many free utilities available to manage overclocking. One such program is SetFSB. This program can be used to overclock all aspects of the computer system whilen running Windows Operating Systems. ClockGen is another free software application that allows for overclocking of processor, memory, AGP and PCI cards. SysTool is also a free software program that can manage overclocking of computer components safely.