When playing games, does your Android device lag? Or are you merely looking to improve your device’s performance for a particular task? You may easily overclock your processor if your phone or tablet does not run games or resource-intensive programmes quickly by default.
What is overclocking?
Simply said, overclocking involves raising the highest frequency at which your processor can operate, which improves the performance of your Android device. So, for instance, if your CPU is now running at 1.5 GHz, you can encourage it to reach 1.8 GHz if you so desire. To conserve battery life, you can also underclock your device (lower the maximum clock speed).
Risks and Benefits
The main advantage of overclocking your smartphone is that it seems incredibly quick and responsive even when numerous background activities are active. Your device will perform better if you overclock it, but there are risks involved.
First, there’s a chance you could harm your hardware. A lack of caution could cause your CPU to overheat and compromise long-term performance. Additionally, you will undoubtedly notice an increase in battery consumption when your smartphone is overclocked, but you may avoid that by overclocking just when your device is plugged in.
Pre-requisites before overclocking
The following conditions must be met before you attempt to overclock your Android smartphone or tablet:
- Your Android device must be rooted.
- Make sure your device is fully charged or at least 80% charged.
- Make a complete nandroid backup of your device so that you can have a fallback if things go wrong.
- To overclock, you will need to get an overclocking app such as SetCPU from the Google Play Store
How to use SetCPU to Overclock your Android device
SetCPU is a fairly straightforward programme that makes it easy to overclock or underclock your processor. You can set the maximum and frequency of your CPU’s operation using the sliders, and you can also build user profiles to automate this process.
Download the SetCPU app from Google Play if you haven’t already. Please be aware that the app is a paid one and will set you back $1.99. The following instructions can be followed after installation:
- Launch the application, use the recommended settings and grant it root access.
- Now you need to select the maximum and minimum clock speed for your processor. Remember this should not not be too high or too low or else your device may behave strangely.
- You can also tick the Set on Boot checkbox if you want SetCPU to apply your selected speed limits automatically on booting your device.
- Once you are satisfied with the clock speed, you can create profiles so that you can set the times or conditions when SetCPU should overclock or underclock your processor.
- For example, when your device is charging, you can overclock your device to increase performance. You will need to name and set different priorities for each profile.
That’s it, then. SetCPU is my top suggestion if you want to overclock or underclock your device because it’s really simple to use and generally works quite well for most users, as seen by its high 4.6 average rating on the Play store.
There are other apps you may try that accomplish the same thing if this one doesn’t work for you or you simply don’t want to pay $1.99 for the app.
Other apps to Overclock your device
CPU Tuner
CPU Tuner is a very small programme that has received many positive reviews on the market. It acts as a battery saver to offer you control over your device’s power consumption, but it can also be used to overclock your device simultaneously if your kernel permits it. You can change the CPU’s thresholds and clock rates using this app.
To be found: CPU Tuner (Free) Shop on Google Play
Tegra Overclock
Tegra Overclock enables you to choose between a battery-saving mode (by underclocking) and performance enhancements for your device (by overclocking). The appropriate number of active CPUs can be chosen, and internal and core voltage configuration is as easy as clicking a button. Consistent frame rates are beneficial for gamers since they conserve battery power.
Tegra Overclock is offered and costs $4.99. Shop on Google Play
SEE ALSO: Android Device Battery Calibration
Conclusion
The process of overclocking your Android handset is as simple as that. The methods mentioned above make it simple to increase device performance, but before trying them, be sure to create a full nandroid backup. Please share your experiences with overclocking (or underclocking), as well as any additional apps you think will work well for this.