Can I overclock a Raspberry Pi 4?

MicroUSB power Raspberry Pi
MicroUSB power Raspberry Pi (Image credit: Android Central)

Best answer: Yes! The default setup program included with the NOOBS software suite includes an easy way to overclock your Raspberry Pi 4.

Easy as Pie

Overclocking your Raspberry Pi 4, which involves purposely running your computer's clock speeds at a rate beyond where it was designed to run, is simple, and all the software you need to do it is included with the default setup utilities.

When you're done with the details like setting a password and getting on a network, you'll run across the overclock item in the setup tools. All you need to do is click the entry, read everything that's presented to you, and choose what level of overclocking you want to try.

It's important to remember two things here. First, your Pi may not be stable at the setting you choose, and if things go poorly, you might have to start all over again from scratch. Make sure you have a backup of anything important if you try it.

The second thing is that overclocking makes heat, and you'll probably want to use a set of heatsinks. The good news is that they are super easy to use and inexpensive. Plus, there's a set you can buy just for your Raspberry Pi 4. Better safe than sorry.

If you decide to overclock and see a bit of random "wonkiness" here and there, you'll probably want to dial things down a notch or remove the overclock completely. Do that the same way you initiated it, through the setup utilities.

Jerry Hildenbrand
Senior Editor — Google Ecosystem

Jerry is an amateur woodworker and struggling shade tree mechanic. There's nothing he can't take apart, but many things he can't reassemble. You'll find him writing and speaking his loud opinion on Android Central and occasionally on Twitter.