Overclock smartphone processor - you should pay attention to that
In the best case, by underclocking or overclocking your smartphone's processor, you can both extend the battery life and achieve smoother performance. The so-called overclocking of the cell phone CPU also harbors risks. This practical tip tells you how to overclock and what to watch out for.
The basis: what it takes to overclock the cell phone CPU
Before you can underclock or overclock the smartphone processor at all, you have to consider the following things:
- If the hardware of the device is damaged because you have changed the clock frequency of the processor, the manufacturer does not guarantee this. The risk with overclocking is usually very low.
- You must have a custom kernel installed on your smartphone or tablet that allows the CPU to be overclocked. Such a kernel is usually already included in a custom ROM, such as the popular CyanogenMod. We show you the best custom ROMs and explain the advantages and disadvantages of such operating systems.
- To install a custom ROM, you first need root rights on the mobile phone. With the free tool "SuperOneClick" many smartphones can be rooted in no time. Depending on the device, the procedure can be more complicated.
Advantages: This brings the overclocking of the smartphone processor
There are two main reasons for overclocking or underclocking the CPU of your smartphone or tablet:
- With a higher processor clock frequency you get more power from your Android device. If, for example, your smartphone does not cope with demanding games like "Dungeon Hunter 3" or "NOVA 3", you can provide the necessary performance boost with an overclocked mobile phone CPU.
- Set the clock frequency of the smartphone CPU cleverly - for example when the screen is off and you are not using the device anyway - you can save valuable battery power. The choice of a good governor also helps here - more on this below.
Caution: The dangers of overclocking the smartphone CPU
As mentioned in the introduction, overclocking the cell phone processor poses risks. However, these are not necessarily associated with damage to the device:
- If you overclock the processor, some apps may not work properly and performance problems may occur.
- If the CPU frequency is selected too high, the device can heat up too much, which in the worst case can even lead to permanent damage. As a rule, however, you will feel a strong build-up of heat on your smartphone long before serious consequences occur. Tip: With the free "Elixir 2" app you can keep an eye on the current CPU frequency and the temperature of the battery.
Get to the bacon: How to overclock your cell phone processor
The actual overclocking of the smartphone CPU is easy compared to rooting and loading a custom ROM. For this you need an app to set the processor clock frequency, a benchmark test and a little patience:
- A good Android app for overclocking the processor is the free "CPU tuner". Here you can not only choose from preset CPU plans, but also manually determine the minimum and maximum clock frequency. Always increase the frequency in small steps and test the effects this has on your device. Here you also select the governor, a kind of "CPU controller". The best choice is probably the "Smartass". Here the CPU clock frequency is adapted to the respective situation - but more battery-friendly than regulated from the start. In our picture gallery of the CPU tuner you can see again step by step how to proceed.
- With a benchmark tool like the free Android app "Neocore" you can test the performance of your smartphone or tablet. You can use the results to compare which clock frequency range and which governor delivers the best results on your smartphone.
- Patience is required: a smartphone processor cannot be configured perfectly in one step. To do this, you need to keep an eye on the battery performance, pay attention to possible performance losses and, above all, be careful with a suspiciously hot device. Accordingly, you should readjust the settings with the overclocking app.
You can find even more tips on overclocking and underclocking the cell phone CPU on the next page.