What three variables are involved in overclocking a CPU?

The three variables involved in overclocking a CPU are clock frequency, core multipliers, and core voltage.

Clock frequency refers to how fast the CPU can process instructions, typically measured in gigahertz (GHz). When overclocking, increasing the clock frequency allows the CPU to run more operations per second, thereby improving performance.

Core multipliers play a crucial role in determining the effective clock speed of the CPU. By adjusting the multiplier, users can increase the frequency at which the CPU cores operate without changing the base clock speed, allowing for a more fine-tuned approach to performance enhancement.

Core voltage, on the other hand, is the amount of voltage supplied to the CPU. Increasing the voltage can enable the CPU to operate at higher frequencies without instability; however, it also increases the risk of overheating and can lead to shorter component lifespan. Thus, careful management of core voltage is essential when overclocking.

The other options include variables that do not directly pertain to the core aspects of CPU overclocking. For example, cache size affects data storage but not the operational speed directly. Similarly, thermal paste, while important for heat dissipation, is not a variable that influences the performance enhancement process of overclocking itself.