Is overclocking a wow effect?

[antares]

I mean, will you notice a big performance improvement? Otherwise I don't see the point in stressing a system and decreasing its lifetime.

 

[Solarstarshines]

I mean, will you notice a big performance improvement? Otherwise I don't see the point in stressing a system and decreasing its lifetime.

There are two ways to look at this Life Cycle for any CPU or tech is not that long anymore based on how fast tech is moving

Overclocking doesn't shorten the lifespan if done correctly most of the chips produced now days are made for that factor to Overclock and these chips have been tested numerous times


As for performance you will see gains in some area's not so much other most of the time it quickens calculations if you are looking for dramatic drop down boot time and Log on time then a SSD will be the factor there

For the most part Overclocking is a Hobby for most and tend to have money to back their hobby I don't recommend overclocking for those who can't afford to replace what they have broken and last but not least people overclock for Benchmarks and competition

 

[Britton30]

I mean, will you notice a big performance improvement? Otherwise I don't see the point in stressing a system and decreasing its lifetime.

In a word, no. At least I have not seen any big performance gain except in benchmarks. We go for the bragging rights more I think.
I mean who would run an OC of 7.8GHz if you have to set up a liquid helium cooler each time?

 

[Wishmaster]

I would agree, that for the most part its simply for the fun and challenges it can bring, or bragging rights.

There are scenarios where it makes a difference and some it doesn't:
Encoding HD video with a CPU based encoder will show nice benefits from a overclock.
Gaming .... not so much. It really depends on the game.
Everyday use, NONE.

Although there are some benefits, in the grand scheme of things you will not really see much, if any, improvement in real world use.

If you want immediate performance increase the best thing you can do is buy a SSD. This will be the one thing you can do that will show a overall system performance improvement right away.

 

[AddRAM]

Agreed, if you left your cpu at say 4.8 to 5.0 all the time, just imagine how it would put a hurtin on your cpu during gaming.

 

[Solarstarshines]

Agreed, if you left your cpu at say 4.8 to 5.0 all the time, just imagine how it would put a hurtin on your cpu during gaming.

Mine doesn't hurt @ 4.8 it's taking it with ease

Only big issues with Overclocking is heat if you can keep your CPU from hitting the max Temp you can run it all day long at high speeds

Also using extreme voltages are usually the causes of degradation if the chip normally runs at a prefixed voltage that may be higher then the one you actually fixed it too

Also most chips have a voltage wall listed by the maker you don't exceed any of these things the chip could last years decades or even more ,I don't put a time span on anything because a stock chip could burn out too

It just has too many variables on how people use them is all

 

[Layback Bear]

Over clocking is a WOW thing to a degree. It's kind of like tuning your car to be the most it can be.
You can tune your car to give you the most for 1/4 of a mile at the track and trailer it the rest of the time.
You can also tune it to be the best it can be and drive it every day that way. Two completely different tune ups.
I like my over clocks to the best they can be and use it that way all day long every day.
I really don't think it hurts anything as long as you control the temperature.
When you raise volts you raise temperature and temperature kill and or shortens the life of hardware. You must control the temperature either with less volts or more cooling.

 

[paulpicks21]

You also have to factor in modes such as Offset and speedstep, I am pretty sure most of us use them, so although my CPU is overclocked to 4.6GHz it is never running at that all the time and the same with the voltage.

 

[NoN]

I mean, will you notice a big performance improvement? Otherwise I don't see the point in stressing a system and decreasing its lifetime.

Well OC'ing is pretty handy after all.

Let's say your improve by 25% to 30% which will be around 4.2GHz to 4,4GHz a stock 3,4GHz "K" or Amd same proc. At those settings it won't hurt your components that much if you found your right settings & voltage for everyday. Having a computer capable OC'ing the Cpu, Gpu, Dram let's you plenty of joyfully days.

The overall computer will have more responsiveness to Applications softwares and some games.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

I really want to think my overclock makes my rig faster.......I do, I do, I do ! Mine is but a modest overclock in the big picture and I'm just not into running crazy temps for anything but a quick trial then back down to a more modest. Everyone that overclocks is just playing with fire as it's fun to stare at but we hate it when we get burned. The race engine analogy is a good one, you have a engine tuned for the pole position but it's not durable for the whole race but the race engine isn't powerful enough for the pole position run. In the end it's your choice but never overclock what you can't afford to lose, rebuild or replace.

 

[M1GU31]

It can be sometimes if you go with big clocks but sometimes is not but will get rid of that small bottleneck you had running a app or do nothing. It varies from chip to chip and how big a over clock is.

 

[NoN]

Yeah, that's right for apps slow launching that little OC'ing giving a boost at start-up.

Now OC'Ing is a challenge for those liking evaluate & benchmarking their computer components and taking the risk to wreck some pieces or the all lot! Some say it's an art and is fun, but most of its discovery, involve science & math!

 

[antares]

Thanks guys for your feedback. I have a 3770K which I read is good for OC and easy too, but I spent a lot of money (and time) in building my system, and most importantly I'm satisfied with its performance, so I don't see a reason to OC (by default the 3.5GHz base clock is OC'd to 3.9Ghz). I'd rather wait for the next CPU/mobo upgrade rather than play with fire as you say.
My previous system was a Pentium4 with IDE drives, so I have more than a wow effect without the need for OCing

 

[Solarstarshines]

Thanks guys for your feedback. I have a 3770K which I read is good for OC and easy too, but I spent a lot of money (and time) in building my system, and most importantly I'm satisfied with its performance, so I don't see a reason to OC (by default the 3.5GHz base clock is OC'd to 3.9Ghz). I'd rather wait for the next CPU/mobo upgrade rather than play with fire as you say.
My previous system was a Pentium4 with IDE drives, so I have more than a wow effect without the need for OCing

it will hit 3.9 regardless that is your turbo working for you

 

[kbrady1979]

With Ivy Bridge came the ability to really OC your chip and undervolt it at the same time. At 4.5GHz it pulls about 77 watts, which is the natural TDP of the chip at factory speeds. Like some said above me, with Intel SpeedStep, it has a frequency range from 1600MHz to your Overclocked frequency so it's not like it's taxing it that much. If you run programs that are single/dual threaded and depend on clock frequency, then a healthy overclock will definitely help......the issue is most of the chips today run things SO fast it's hard to notice.

 

[NoN]

@Antares you've got a pretty good chip and your motherboard specs are more than enough, you'll have plenty of space for OC'ing whenever you want without harm your system.
Some good threads are around if you ever feel the time enjoying a smooth overclocking! Those chips and boards loves that!

 

[Britton30]

@Antares you've got a pretty good chip and your motherboard specs are more than enough, you'll have plenty of space for OC'ing whenever you want without harm your system.
Some good threads are around if you ever feel the time enjoying a smooth overclocking! Those chips and boards loves that!

There is always a risk associated with overclocking. As we say, don't over clock it if you can't afford to replace it.

 

[Wrend]

My CPU is pretty much made to be overclocked (to an extent), provided there is sufficient cooling. I currently just use a halfway decent air cooler for it, but I'm thinking about picking up the H80i, which should fit nicely in my case.

To not OC this CPU at least a little, say to 4.2GHz, is really just a waste of its potential. Again, if given sufficient cooling, and otherwise staying within safe limits, such as keeping the VCore low enough. My CPU can reach 4.2GHz (from a stock turbo speed of 3.8GHz) without even needing to raise the Vcore over stock settings, but for added confidence in reliability at that clock rate, I raise it 0.025V to 1.250V. Up to 1.4V for this CPU is generally considered safe for a 24/7 OC.

I crunch for scientific and humanitarian research on it and my GPUs dynamically in the background pretty much 24/7 and have been for over a year now, so every little bit extra helps in that effort.

But like I was saying though, in my case at least, there is no reason to not overclock the CPU. The way I have it set up, it even automatically clocks itself down to 1.2GHz with a Vcore of 0.8V, when not being loaded much.

However, I would agree that "excessive" overclocking that can put your CPU or system at risk is pretty much just for bragging rights.