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Hedy

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How to Overclock a Raspberry Pi?

#raspberrypi #overclock #raspberrypi4modelb #raspberrypi5

Overclocking a Raspberry Pi means running the CPU, GPU, and memory at higher frequencies than default to gain extra performance. It’s popular for media centers, light servers, emulation, and development work—but it must be done carefully.

Below is a step-by-step, engineering-oriented guide, including limits, cooling, and recovery.

1. Before You Overclock (Very Important)
Supported Models

Overclocking works best on:

What You Need

  • Proper cooling (heatsink + fan strongly recommended)
  • Stable power supply
    • Pi 4: ≥ 5V / 3A
    • Pi 5: ≥ 5V / 5A
  • Updated OS 
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
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2. Check Current Frequencies & Temperature
CPU Frequency

vcgencmd measure_clock arm
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Temperature

vcgencmd measure_temp
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Throttling starts at 80°C.

3. Overclocking Method (config.txt)

Raspberry Pi overclocking is done via:

/boot/config.txt
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Open the file

sudo nano /boot/config.txt
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4. Safe Overclock Settings (By Model)
Raspberry Pi 4 (Recommended Starting Point)

arm_freq=1800
gpu_freq=600
over_voltage=4
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More Aggressive (Requires Good Cooling)

arm_freq=2000
gpu_freq=750
over_voltage=6
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Typical defaults:

  • CPU: 1500 MHz
  • GPU: 500 MHz

Raspberry Pi 3B+

arm_freq=1400
gpu_freq=400
over_voltage=2
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Raspberry Pi 5 (Advanced)

arm_freq=2600
over_voltage=4
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Pi 5 must have an active cooler.

5. Save & Reboot

sudo reboot
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After reboot, verify:

vcgencmd measure_clock arm
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6. Stress Test (Do NOT Skip)

Install stress tool:

sudo apt install stress -y
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Run CPU stress test:

stress --cpu 4 --timeout 300
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Monitor temperature:

watch -n 1 vcgencmd measure_temp
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If you see:

  • sudden reboots
  • throttling messages
  • temperature > 80°C

→ Reduce frequency or improve cooling.

7. Throttling & Stability Check

Check throttling flags:

vcgencmd get_throttled
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  • 0x0 → No throttling
  • Other values → Power or thermal issues

8. Cooling Strategies (Critical for Engineers)

Cooling Method Suitable For
Passive heatsink Mild overclock
Heatsink + fan Most setups
Active cooler (Pi 5) Heavy overclock
Metal case (heat spreader) Silent builds

Cooling matters more than voltage.

9. Power Stability Tips

  • Use short, thick USB-C cables
  • Avoid cheap power adapters
  • Check undervoltage warning: 
vcgencmd get_throttled
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10. How to Recover from a Failed Overclock

If your Pi won’t boot:

Method A: Edit SD Card on Another PC

  1. Insert SD card into another computer
  2. Open config.txt
  3. Remove overclock lines
  4. Save and reinsert

Method B: Safe Mode (Pi 4/5)

Hold SHIFT during boot (HDMI connected).

11. Does Overclocking Void Warranty?

  • Old models: yes (historically)
  • Newer models: Raspberry Pi firmware no longer permanently flags overclocking Still:
  • Physical damage from heat not covered

12. When Overclocking Makes Sense

✅ Emulation
✅ Media encoding
✅ Compiling code
✅ Light servers

❌ 24/7 mission-critical systems
❌ High-temperature environments

Recommended Safe Rule of Thumb

Moderate frequency + excellent cooling + stable power
beats extreme overclocking every time.

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