How to Overclock Intel CPU with Performance Maximizer

Overclocking an Intel CPU is a process you can do to boost its speed beyond its default settings. It means increasing the frequency of your CPU’s instruction cycles in which it performs every second or its clock speed. Overclocking works by adjusting the voltage which is sent to the CPU.

Overclocking basically speeds up your processor or CPU, which means faster retrieval and processing of information. An overclocked CPU will help run your gaming PC faster without upgrading any hardware components.

However, there are a few challenges in overclocking their CPU. To start with, it involves making a few changes in your system’s BIOS. You also need to manually test your PC to ensure it will remain stable even after overclocking its CPU.

Since overclocking is a bit technical, many users use software or programs to overclock the CPU. One of the best programs to easily overclock your Intel CPU is Intel Performance Maximizer.

Intel Performance Maximizer

Intel Performance Maximizer is an overclocking software that uses machine-assisted testing to overclock the latest generation of Intel Core processors. It is design to replace the manual overclocking process of testing and adjusting your processor. Instead, it does the overclocking process and finds the maximum stable frequency for an overclock based on the specifications of your CPU.

How Intel Performance Maximizer Works

Intel Performance Maximizer works by using proprietary tests to cover a variety of algorithms your CPU can encounter during operation. This includes tests on a core by core basis and takes hours to complete, depending on your CPU cores’ number.

To install the Intel Performance Maximizer, you need to set aside 16GB of storage space. This will create a partition to test your CPU without any interference from your PC’s operating system and software. The tests are done in the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) environment, an interface that boots before your operating system and which takes the place of BIOS. This means that the computer will reboot to enter this environment during testing.

Intel Performance Maximize System Requirements

To install the Intel Performance Maximizer, your gaming PC needs to have the following requirements:

Windows 10 operating system
16GB storage space
At least 8GB RAM
Latest gen Intel Core processor with a K designation. Only Intel CPUs with “K” in their model name can be overclocked.
An overclock-capable motherboard with a Z390 chipset and the latest BIOS
An excellent cooling solution is a multi-fan air cooler or an all-in-one liquid cooler. Better cooling in your gaming PC allows it to overclock and reach higher speeds safely.
Backup storage to back up essential data on the drive during its partition.

How to Use Intel Performance Maximizer

Before installing the Performance Maximizer, you need to disable any overclocking software installed on your gaming PC. And if you made any changes in your BIOS setting before, you also need to restore them to default.

Once done, follow the guide to install the Intel Performance Maximizer:

1 – Download the Intel Performance Maximizer on your gaming PC. Open the .exe file and grant access by using your administrator privileges.
2 – Accept the license agreement of the Intel Performance Maximizer, and begin the installation process.
3 – Once done, restart your PC.
4 – Click the Intel Performance Maximizer program. Carefully read the disclaimer to understand the effects of overclocking.
5 – Select the internal storage device in your gaming PC to create the UEFI partition. If there isn’t enough space in the internal drive, Intel Performance Maximizer will shrink an existing partition. Back up all the critical data before proceeding with this step.
6 – The partition process will take several minutes to be created. Once done, it can start testing.
7 – The testing process will take several hours to complete. This is because the software is designed to individually and exhaustively test each of the cores of your CPU. This means that testing will take longer for an eight-core CPU than for a four-core CPU. There will also be multiple reboots that will happen during the testing. Make sure not to interrupt the process.
8 – Click Continue once you’re ready to begin the test. If you ever want to cancel the test, you can wait for the message “Press any key within 10 seconds to abort testing” to appear.
9 – Once the testing is done, the system will reboot the new settings applied by the Intel Performance Maximizer. It will also summarize the improvements to the CPU clock speed.
10 – Click “Finish” once you’re done with the test.
11 – Make sure to verify that your system is stable by restarting your PC. Run a stress test by running the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility.