What do I do?

[DeamusX]

Hi first and foremost, I'm new to this forum. Wasn't sure where to post so I took a stab and tried here.

I'm wondering if someone could help me with a few things such as, overclocking my aircooled CPU, overclocking my GPU.
Some recommendations on pc maintenance (software). Just the things I've never really tried my hand at.
Many thanks are appreciated.

Here's a quick list of my components

Processor: AMD A8-6600K APU with Radeon HD Graphics

Manufacturer: AMD

Speed: 3.9 GHz

Number of Cores: 4

Video Card: AMD Radeon R9 270 

Manufacturer: ATI

Chipset: AMD Radeon R9 200 Series

Dedicated Memory: 2.1 GB

Total Memory: 3.7 GB

Memory(RAM): 4.0 GB

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Professional Edition (build 9200), 64-bit

Service Pack: 0

Size: 64 Bit

Edition: Professional

Display: Maximum Resolution 1366 x 768
 

[failblox]

Just pointing out a lot of the 'specs' that you posted aren't really necessary 

What CPU cooler do you have?

[Silver_]

Well this isn't really something very advanced, but if you haven't tried using multiple monitors, that can be cool.

[Najuno]

First of all welcome to the Linus Tech Tips forums .

 

Did you buy this hardware already or are you looking forward to buy this? ...hope you didn´t buy this yet.

 

I wouldn´t buy that CPU because it is slow and has an APU on it but since you are planning to buy a dedicated graphics card this CPU is kind of obsolete...

 

I´d rather go with something like a FX 8150 when your budget isn´t too tight. Make sure to buy a certified (at least Bronze) PSU. And the R9 270 series are nice GPUs for gaming in 1080p. Most of them OC really nicely and you will be having good FPS in higher details.... speaking about details that resulition is a bit crappy. I´d try to go for a 1920x1080 (FullHD) monitor. You can get those super cheap.

 

Just warning you up front (I have 3 computer at home and use Windows 7 and Windows 8) Win8.1 isn´t much better in performance than Win7 64 bit. Oh speaking about RAM make sure to buy something like DDR3 1600mHz with at least a CL of 9. A good choice here is Corsair or G-Skill.

 

Okay now if you are looking to overclock first things first... make sure to have the right hardware that the components are able to overclock. Then if you are looking for a CPU overclock the standard heatsink is not an option for this. Get a good aircooler such as i.e. a Noctua or an AIO watercooling such as a Corsair H100i. Read guides online and watch overclocking videos for your specific CPU on Youtube i.e. Same with the graphics card. Good overclocking takes time and much more time to read an understand the do´s and don´t.

 

As a good software I recommend MSI Afterburner, GPU-Z, CPU-Z or if you can afford it Aida64 Extreme. For testing new settings and overclocks you can grab programs like Unigine Valley, 3D Mark, Cinebench, CrystalDiskMark.

 

Hope this helps you a bit. Enjoy what ever hardware you go with .

[Enderman]

Malwarebytes and CCleaner are a must. Google chrome is good too, cause IE sucks.

[DeamusX]

These are the current specs of my pc. When first setting up to build my pc I had enough funds for all parts except for my GPU. So in my eagerness I bought the APU over my original choice of an FX-6300. I regret my choice till this day.
My cpu is on stock cooler but I suppose I could bring it up to atleast 4.2ghz safely?
How would I go about overclocking my GPU. A walkthrough/tutorial would be nice.

[Najuno]

These are the current specs of my pc. When first setting up to build my pc I had enough funds for all parts except for my GPU. So in my eagerness I bought the APU over my original choice of an FX-6300. I regret my choice till this day.

My cpu is on stock cooler but I suppose I could bring it up to atleast 4.2ghz safely?

How would I go about overclocking my GPU. A walkthrough/tutorial would be nice.

 

If I were you I´d not try to OC with the stock heatsink. These (and AMD runs always on the warmer side anyways) aren´t made for any kind of overclocks. But sure it´s your hardware .