Overclocking

[Nemix]

I can't stop laughing to this cause it's so true but I always tell myself enough is enough because I have a family and it works out all the time. I just set my initial goal and if I cannot hit in two tries, I use my two seconds tries to get it 100% stable with a lower overclock. This way I save a lot time, there's less bitching in the house and a lot less second hand smoke being inhaled.

 

[smarteyeball]

I frequently find that overclocking to many becomes an obsession and eventually you spend all of your time testing, tweaking and upgrading components...but then spend no real time actually making your computer productive.

True

I just set my initial goal and if I cannot hit in two tries, I use my two seconds tries to get it 100% stable with a lower overclock.

Yep - that's why I've stuck to 4.0ghz. I can get more, but the thought of all the time involved in tweaking and testing - meh

 

[Mellon Head]

Done properly (ie keeping within manufacturers 'max safe' VID and temp ranges) - Overclocking is not the big bad hardware killing boogey man.

Obviously Overclocking has the potential to shorten some components lifespans, depending on how far it's pushed, build quality etc - but reading, researching and double-checking goes a long way in potentially alleviating most 'expensive mistakes'.


As to whether or not you need to is entirely an individual choice.

Right hardware + research/knowledge = is worth the performance gains.

Going in balls deep without researching first = Not worth it. Same applies for simple 'bragging rights'.

I certainly can't disagree with your points, but I do believe that it isn't always worth it. There are good and bad reasons to overclock, because in some cases, the real world performance gain is small, and the potential for an expensive mistake is always there.

OCing should really only be tried if you know your hardware well, and do your research beforehand. With today's speeds on CPUs, most humans probably wouldn't notice the speed improvement. My stock speed is 3.2 GHz, and I OC to 3.8. It's a Black Edition Phenom, and I bought it for that reason, so why not? I can also afford to replace it, and I know when to stop.

The reason that I try to discourage wanna-be OC'ers isn't that I want to keep them from doing it. I just want them to read what I say, and maybe think "Okay, maybe it isn't so easy. I'd better read up on this." I want them to do it carefully.

I've been doing electronics for over 25 years, and IMHO, I pretty much know what you can and can't do with electronic equipment. There's nothing wrong with OCing, if you do it carefully. I hang out on an OC forum, and almost everyday there's a post from someone who has flamed out his CPU, or MOSFETS, or some other critical component. I hate to see that happen, because almost everyone there says "Take it slow and easy.", including me.

I don't want to discourage people, I want to encourage them to do it right.

 

[sygnus21]

Yep - that's why I've stuck to 4.0ghz. I can get more, but the thought of all the time involved in tweaking and testing - meh

I must be lazy as I think I'm the only one who hasn't gone 4+ gig with my 930

Between the CPU cooler & trying to keeping temps reasonable on load, I'll say at my paltry 3.3 (3.5 turbo mode) overclock and like it.... for now

At any rate, yeah, overclocking takes a lot of understanding, patience, and trial & error, most importantly understanding, especially when you start messing with voltages & BIOS settings.

You should view over-clocking as a hobby, just as you would in Hot Roding cars. And like all hobbies, they’re not always for everyone

 

[smarteyeball]

I certainly can't disagree with your points, but I do believe that it isn't always worth it.

Definitely.

Depending on needs, or limit achieved it isn't always worth it. At a certain level, the performance gain is not discernible. As for needs, just because you can - doesn't mean you should.

Quick example:

I Just rebuilt my old 775 socket + Q9550 that was a 24/7 OC @ 3.8ghz for over a year for my dad.

He certainly doesn't need an OC'ed machine for browsing and word processing etc, so that chip and board is now destined to live out it's existence @ stock speeds, with all the power saving features enabled.

OCing should really only be tried if you know your hardware well, and do your research beforehand.

Yep.

With today's speeds on CPUs, most humans probably wouldn't notice the speed improvement.

True. Unless you are specifically looking for the improvement, at certain levels most wouldn't notice it.

My stock speed is 3.2 GHz, and I OC to 3.8. It's a Black Edition Phenom, and I bought it for that reason, so why not? I can also afford to replace it, and I know when to stop.

Ditto. I can afford to - and am prepared to replace something in the event something does give way, even though I'm still under the 'safe' on air threshold.

The reason that I try to discourage wanna-be OC'ers isn't that I want to keep them from doing it. I just want them to read what I say, and maybe think "Okay, maybe it isn't so easy. I'd better read up on this." I want them to do it carefully.

That's a good point. I didn't intend to come across as snarky in my post, but since I was tired I didn't consider that angle and I apologise if that's how it came across

I don't want to discourage people, I want to encourage them to do it right.

Again, I couldn't agree more.

I must be lazy as I think I'm the only one who hasn't gone 4+ gig with my 930

Between the CPU cooler & trying to keeping temps reasonable on load, I'll say at my paltry 3.3 (3.5 turbo mode) overclock and like it.... for now

Mate, if you are happy with it - that's all that counts

You should view over-clocking as a hobby, just as you would in Hot Roding cars. And like all hobbies, they’re not always for everyone

It certainly can become a hobby - even an obsession. But on the plus side, at least it's cheaper than cars

 

[Solarstarshines]

you can do a soft oc with the tools given with the motherboard or aplication for oc but anything beyond that would be on you i soft oc'ed my 2.8 to 3.22 but in the future i was planing on uping my cpu which right now is running fine a little boost is fine but

boosting all the way to the max is a good way to be out of a rig in a few months most cpu and units have automatic shut off before you destroy it but when you go past the company limits and you damage it your pretty much stuck with what ever you did

dont do anything unless you have done this type of thing before or plain and simple experiment with a old system you dont particulary care for if you fry that you will have a better understanding of what your doing instead of messing up your main rig

someone correct me if im wrong

 

[spyknee]

Thanks for all of your advice. I was never really sure what over clocking was and I read some where and heard from a friend that it can improve your pc. After reading all of your posts I can see it's not really worth it and it sounds like you don't get much more for the risk you're takeing if you don't know what you are doing. It also sounds like you need to want to learn about overclocking instead of just wanting a quick way to improve your pc because it's a hard and lengthy process. Thanks for all of your help and I think I will keep clear of overclocking for now XD
I will be sure to rep you all tomorrow as I am on my iPhone now =)

I disagree, OC done judiciously is well worth it. Why pay $1000 for an i7 965 when you can buy a i7 920 for $260 and OC it up to the 965 and higher. With stock air cooling only.
With the X 58's there is no more FSB, components are meant to be pushed now.
No different than working on a high end V8, you want the most out of it.

 

[sygnus21]

Just to put things in perspective….Overclocking DOES give performance boosts. The real question is is it worth the risk of damaging/destroying your components.

Overclocking done right can gain you a performance boost, overclocking done wrong can destroy/damage your system.

Those who say there’s no performance gains from overclocking are missing the data that shows quite the opposite. Sorry

And again, the only question is whether it’s worth the risk of damaging your components, or voiding your warranty.

My two cents.

You should view over-clocking as a hobby, just as you would in Hot Roding cars. And like all hobbies, they’re not always for everyone

It certainly can become a hobby - even an obsession. But on the plus side, at least it's cheaper than cars

Tell me about it, I gave up on the car hobby years ago due to.... expenses.

Ironically it was the money from a restoration project that I chose to forgo and instead used it to buy my first computer. And the funny thing about that is the guy that built my computer gave me some basic overclocking tips; in fact the MB was chosen for that reason

The rest as they say is history

 

[pparks1]

Those who say there’s no performance gains from overclocking are missing the data that shows quite the opposite. Sorry

Those of us who maintain this line of thinking....realize that with Benchmark test results there is certainly an increase. However, quite often in the real world just using the computer tests....these overclocks are often not terribly evident. Sure, if you do raw video editing continuously..you will see it...but I'm talking about the average computer user who might actually not see any difference at all.

 

[sygnus21]

Though you have a point, I must say that being tthis is a tech site... we're talking to tech users who want that extra sometin' somethin'

Overclocking is a hobby. We all have them, and not everyone is for everyone

I could argue that the avarage user doesn't need a 64-bit OS with 6+ gig of RAM.

 

[Mellon Head]

I could argue that the avarage user doesn't need a 64-bit OS with 6+ gig of RAM.

Well put, sir. Well put.

 

[Solarstarshines]

average computer user basicly surfs the net and chat maybe do someohomework once in a while

 

[chev65]

If you need to ask such a question than don't even think about trying to overclock. It's way beyond your understanding at this point. After a few weeks of reading about how to overclock and with some practice it might be worth while for you but it can be a very frustration process for the less informed.

The gains are worth it to me and are definately very noticable doing day to day tasks, no doubt about that in my mind. Although you would need a fairly substantial "stable" overclock and faster memory to make a noticable and worth while difference. For me going from my Q9650's default 3.0Ghz with slower 800Mhz memory up too 4.05GHz CPU with much faster 1200Mhz memory is a night and day difference, no comparison at all IMO.

 

[freaky88]

Could any 1 explain to me what it is exactly is or link me to another thread. Also is it worth doing and is it easy to do?

OC'ing is pushing a piece of computer hardware beyond its manfacturers spec'ed settings.

ex: injecting nitrous into a V8.

Will basically shorten the life span of OC'd hardware. Done correctly, most people will have bought a new system before OC'd system dies. You OC, the cpu, the ram, and the video card.

v8 tomato juice

 

[Scotteq]

Hi Guys!

I'm Scott, and I'm an Overclocker.

< Hi Scott! >


As pointed out, it's the act/art of telling your components that they're faster than they're actually supposed to go. Just that (only being electronics) they can't reason with us that they're not really 3.6 GHz, but in fact are supposed to be 2.4GHz. Instead, we tell them "You Are 3.6 Now. Go Forth and RUN!"

Since PCs are pretty literal about stuff like that, it goes "OK", and then tries to run however fast as we told it to. If the operator gives it parameters which are sustainable, then the processor will do what the operator says with little trouble. If Not.... then

Done Judiciously and Well, you can increase system performance for free and perhaps get a little more/better use out of aging components. Depending on the degree (not to mention the ability of the operator), it's also certainly possible to put a premature end to expensive components.


As pointed out a number of times: I/we strongly encourage to learn first, and screw with it later.

 

[Wishmaster]

Some really good advice here.

As your 1st learning the in & outs, and which setting does what, why you need and the potential risks involved...

Take it really easy.

Dont go in with a 3.0GHZ CPU with a goal of 4.1Ghz.

try something like 3.0 --> 3.2 or 3.3 (small increments). larger Ocs will come with time as you learn.

make sure you also know your hardware. Specifically, youll want to know voltage and temprature ranges for your CPU. Where the Default Zone is, Whats the max it can handle before entering the danger zone etc.

Same holds true for RAM, Chipset, & GPU.
These for example, are key things you MUST know before doing anything.

 

[paulpicks21]

Just to throw in something slightly different on the overclocking....

When I 1st bought my new HD5850 card I had my Q8300 running stock at 2.5ghz.

I ran a few benchmarks on Passmark performance test and my gpu was coming in at 2100 points. According to Passmarks website gpu list it should have been more like 2400.

I got a new motherboard so I could overclock my Q8300 and got it to a 100% stable 3.1ghz.

I then re-ran the Passmark test and the gpu came in at 2400 every time.

I know these are only scores , but these will no doubt convert into extra frames per second in games.

Before anyone asks , yes the pci-e frequency is locked at 100 lol.

So what I am saying is , overclocking can be positive in other ways as well , as quite clearly my cpu at stock speeds was bottlenecking the graphics.

The trouble with overclocking is knowing where to stop as its quite addictive! But thankfully my cpu and motherboard are poor and I can go no further

Cheers

Paul.