OverClocking OverRated??

[swarprix0r]

I just have one question for you all, and I would like to get a lot of responses/opinions on this, so PLEASE reply....

I've heard a lot of things about overclocking, some good, some bad, some that overclocking itself doesnt do anything. I just want to know the truth in all of this. Do you have to have the best of the best (mobo/fbs, vid card, memory, processor) to have a good overclocking speed? and does it even do anything?

I have heard that a mobo w/ 400 Mhz fsb and 133/ATA wouldnt really accomplish anything by OC'in it, but I've also heard that it would do a lot to OC it w/ a nice WC setup...I really do want to put WC in my system that I'm building, but I dont want to put in (i.e. waste money on WC setup) thats going to accomplish nothing.

Please set me straight with these rumors that I've heard, so I can get all this figured out.

Thank you

[jaydee]

Overclocking these days is more about dick size than performance. If you got a 3+gig Intel or 2+gig AMD you have no need to overclock for daily apps and games.

I still overclock because I crunch Distributed Computing projects and the extra power does show up some what but not alot. Even 400-500 mhz over stock doesn't make much difference. Even in gaming it only gives a couple FPS which is unoticable. I build my own water blocks and put together my own water cooling systems but I do it mainly for quiet. I got 3 comps running 24/7 full load on these D.C. projects and standard air coolers are a noisy bitch. I like designing and making stuff and water blocks fits the bill.

If your in to dick slinging though have at it. Plenty of competition out there. Just gets expensive. If your not into dick slinging then keep it stock. Water cooling does have more benifits than just overclocking though.

A lot of people for whatever reason think water cooling is only for overclockers. It isn't. Noise is the second reason.

This is my opinion anyway.

[Blackeagle]

JD makes some good points. OCing isn't really needed, any xp over 2 gig or P4 @ 2.8 gig is fast enough that all added gain is harder to really notice. I also agree that O/Cing helps crunching for distributed computing, Seti or Folding @ home.

But O/Cing is in it's self fun to do, at least for me. You don't need to get into any "dick slinging contests" along the way, although quite a few do.

I like the satisfaction of tweaking up a rig and gaining a bit more performance for my efforts.

And noise is a big reason to water cool a computer for many people. A watercooled computer can be O/Ced a good deal without driving you nuts, noise wise, or stressing the components as much as the same O/C with air cooling would.

[Joe]

OC is good to do just so you know where the top speed of that setup is. But really for practical use drop back down to stock speed. Save the power, save the core life, save on needing hot noisy setups, until you find something that max's the power you got.

jost my .02$

[airspirit]

I always find myself needing/wanting more power. Whether it is long compilating sessions, running games faster with more eye candy, or just for general responsiveness of the system, overclocking is the shee-it. It also has a way of saving you money long term if you're like me and upgrade quite a bit, since you can go between larger jumps but keep the prices lower. For example, I started with a $100 1700+ that I raised from 1466 to 1733. That was replaced by a 1900+ ($100) when it burnt due to personal stupidity that I pushed over 1900 Mhz. After that I went to a 1700+ TBredB that clocked me as high as 2550 ... for $70. After that came the god chip for $50 (1700+) that got me to 2850, while my other chip went into a different box. I sold that for a small fortune and picked up a Barton 2500+ that runs at 2550 for $75, and that's where I'm at today. Mind you, if I was to have bought just one chip at retail prices with today's speed cap, I would have spent more on that one chip than all the chips that I've had for the last few years, mkay? (Mkay). The benefit to me is that I was constantly running at top-of-the-chart speeds during that time period (and in many cases well above the top speed range) but still kept my total hardware costs under the cost of one retail chip.

With this, however, comes other forms of insanity such as watercooling. Again, I see this as an investment. If you dump an added $200 onto the cost of the chips above (typical watercooling system from scratch) you still aren't much above the cost of that one retail chip (especially on the Intel side of the house) but you can swap it from system to system effortlessly as you upgrade.

Overclocking gets you more bang for your buck, and regardless of what the naysayers may hold as true, some of us do need the extra speed and reach for it even when we can't necessarily afford it.

As far as the risk of premature failure, you can look at it this way: if buying a package that can be replaced (such as a socket A system for the past three years), you are better off picking up and burning eight 1700+ chips running at godawful speeds over the course of a five year period than buying one 3200+ and running it stock both cost-wise and speed-wise. Of course, you won't go through that many (I've only burnt one chip and the rest were sold or bartered), but it is a good way of looking at it, isn't it? The only risk factor is your board ... though even if you fry a board (not common unless you're insane like me or just plain stupid) you still come out ahead cost-wise.

Are you starting to see the benefits yet? For those that clock a measly 5-15% speed over stock there won't be much benefit, but for those of us that cherry-pick chips and bottom-feed on the cost leaders (in an educated manner), there are only benefits to doing this (especially when you get into the 50-100% OC range like that 1700+ god chip I described above).

If you have doubts, then just don't do it. We won't laugh at you. Better to stay with the safe and normal than do something from an uneducated standpoint. If you know what you're doing, however, it is almost foolish not to push the envelope.

[swarprix0r]

I understand the quiet part, and that is probably the reason that I will be running a WC system. Leaving the POS I've got now is noisy when I'm sleeping at night, and I dont really want to turn it on and off, which I know would be the logical thing to do, but I just dont want to. When I finally do get my WC system(2-3 months) itll be mainly used for noise I believe, rather than OC.
Thank you for the good responses. I enjoy reading all of your posts about everything...very informative.

[Boli]

I don't Overclock as much as play around with the ratios. You DO notice a higher FSB in performance wise more than pure speed alone. a FSB of 133 which is what many systems run on is fine - but playing around with the ratios can give you a FSB of 220 - 230.

OK it does come with an inherrent stability problems which you have to tinker around with to fiond the right balance. But the upshot of it all is the longer you run on the overclocked speed the more stable it will become at that speed allowing you to push the bounderies further.

It is a dangerous game to overclock but it is STILL a game. Most people who don't care about benchmarking they just want to get the best performance out of their hardware they can get without sacrificing stability.

My first overclocked system was a 2000+ chip running at 1820mhz slightly raised speed from 1667mhz. Now that ran stable (and still will the system is just up on blocks till I can get a second PSU) at that speed.

Overclocking is just playing the numbers with the chips as the big manufacturers themselves do. They design a core and see how fast it will run stable on the same voltage - and they release the core under different speeds 1700+ - 2600+ lets say. You buy the lowest spec chip and tell the motherboard to run it at 2600+ speeds.

Now not all chips run the same but 9/10 you will run at the speed on AIR no problems. (My current 1800+ chip never made it to 2600+ stable but I could run it at 2600+ stable if I increased the voltage to it slightly - this shows me I have a low quaility chip not a downgraded 2600+ core and can never hope to pass 2600mhz stable).

All that crap aside overclocking is a balance between stability and speed. I could have run my 2000+ chip at 2gig or a lower 1820mhz but STABLE. I chose the latter. there is not much harm in overclocking the chp for your home computer sure it may only last 3 years instead of 6 but ask yourself will you still be using the system as a high end games machine in 3 years? - or rather a file server / print server pulled back to normal specs for the sake of making it last.

Watercooling DOESN'T add that much to the max STABLE overclock maybe another 200mhz but it DOES add silence which is why most people buy it in the first place.

Anyway what was I talking about?.. oh yeah ratios.

If you have a 2000+ chip (1667mhz) it is better to run it at 166x10 rather than 133x12.5 -same speed but a better ratio and providig your RAM can handle it - it is a stable alternative to get more "ummph" out of your system whilst not sacrifing the hardware.

~ Boli

[Since87]

I overclock because I'm cheap in a somewhat insane way. I've spent a a fair bit on water cooling gear etc, but I bought nearly the cheapest P4 I could, and as I run it, it's generally faster than the fastest stock speed P4 I could buy right now. (Because it has an 1100 MHz FSB rather than 800)

I don't have any reason to expect that the CPU will die before it is seriously obsolete. (I have good cooling.) Unless you run CPU's at stupidly high voltage or temperature, they last fine overclocked. Before, this summer, I had a Celeron 300A overclocked to 450 MHz that ran 24/7 for five years. (Actually I still have it, I just don't use it.)

Anyway, overclocking staves off obsolence to an extent.

[drummingpariah]

overclocking is more for fun than anything, imho. i'm very very new to it, but i've had good experiences, and i'm definitely the type who wants to get the very most i can out of a little cash input. i've spent plenty of time oc'ing my setup to the very edge of its air-cooled goodiness, and i came out on top. nothing fried, nothing burnt. you get a slight increase in power, but really, it's not all that big of a deal. raw power only goes so far. what's going to make your computer run better is a decent OS which is well-configured. as far as i'm concerned, that's the bottom line. a 500mhz running on a very customized stable release of debian linux will run better than a p4 3.2 on windoze me, with no service packs, and lots of junk bogging it down any day. i've seen this happen with my own eyes. just my .02, but it's still a good time to overclock, and watercooling IS expensive, but has it's positive sides. i'm sure you've heard people rant and rave about how great watercooling is, but sometimes it doesn't work out positively. some people actually lose performance and end up with higher temps, for many many reasons. maybe the block isn't sitting right. maybe the radiator is blocked. maybe the pump doesn't have enough head. maybe there are air bubbles ANYWHERE in the system. know what you're getting into before you try it, but above all else, have fun with it. that's what this sort of thing is all about. it's not some dick-slinging contest ;-)

[KnightElite]

It's a great hobby, I highly recommend it. For a long time, since my watercooling leaked about 7 months ago now, I was running on an old CAK-38, which was uber loud, and doesn't cool as well as the newer heatsinks. I recently bought an Aeroflow, started overclocking again. I must say that the extra 600MHz I have right now is nice, I'm sure it can go much higher, but the mobo is not ideal for it :shrug:.

Then, once you get into TECs, it gets really fun .

[g.l.amour]

tell me about that cak-cooler, i couldn't have visitors in my room without having to turn off my pc; that was my motivator to go WC.

[#Rotor]

I would not say overclocking is an ego-trip. buying the fastest thing on the rack, and then showing it so all can see you have the fasted... that's an ego trip.... which then makes overclocking very much similar to yanking the rug from underneath that Ego....

Overclocking can do it all....

it can be very cheap, as in[axda1800+k7s5a] + a little bit of bios action and you have yourself a pretty proper clocker.....

It can also be very expensive, obviously.....

it's mostly up to the individual, what they make of it...
as for overclocking not really worth it..... I dono, I'd say saving about $250 each time I buy new CPU is pretty much worth something...