How important is overclocking to game performence?

Forte EXE · Jun 16, 2013

Reason i ask is OCing makes me nervous and im curious if the extra money to be able to oc and the risk of messing up the cpu is worth the extra performance.

Ill be mostly using this pc for gaming so gaming at stock speeds compared to OCED speeds what different should i expect to see? 5-10 more FPS or a larger room of improvement? If its not a large margin in terms of increased gaming performance i rather not risk the harm and waste the money

aaab · Jun 16, 2013

Depending on your what CPU you have OCing your CPU will make F all difference tbh.

Forte EXE · Jun 16, 2013

aaab :

a 3570k or a 8350 are my 2 ocing choices if not im looking at a 3470

amuffin · Jun 16, 2013

Depends on the game!

bigpinkdragon286 · Jun 16, 2013

Agree with above, depends on both the CPU and the game being run. Also, I would look at a strong graphics card to go with either of those CPUs.

Forte EXE · Jun 16, 2013

bigpinkdragon286 :

Thats kinda another reason im asking tho cuz if ocing isint super important or "NEEDED" i rather spend the money on a better gpu then worrying about ocing. If i get either of them im only looking at a 7850 with my budget

aaab · Jun 16, 2013

Forte EXE :

With a 3570k it's going to make very little difference in most cases.

Unless your going SLI/crossfire the video card will be the bottleneck in most games.

bigpinkdragon286 · Jun 16, 2013

Well, a 7850 is going to be underpowered for either of those CPUs, so we've sort of hit another issue. What's the best balance of value for your budget, which consequently, you haven't mentioned yet.

Forte EXE · Jun 16, 2013

aaab :

Forte EXE :

With a 3570k it's going to make very little difference in most cases.

Unless your going SLI/crossfire the video card will be the bottleneck in most games.

meaning with the card im getting ocing is kinda pointless

aaab · Jun 16, 2013

Forte EXE :

I would be very surprised if you notice any difference with OC'ing in any games with a 7850

Forte EXE · Jun 16, 2013

bigpinkdragon286 :

looking at 1200 but thats before i buy skyrim, internet security and a monitor so im looking around 900 for the actual computer

Stevemeister · Jun 16, 2013

Every bit of "free" performance you can get helps but if you have a graphics card that can run a given game at 150 fps then overclocking to 160 or 170 fps - your eyes simply won't notice the difference. I like at least 60-80 fps and find anything below 40 can be choppy but that generally only matters if you are playing competitive FPS games like CSGO. The GPU has the biggest effect on how a game feels to play but it is good to read reviews of graphics cards based on the resolutions you intend to play at and the types of games you like to play. I run an old QX6850 with a permanent 20% overclock and a couple fo GTX460's and that can handle everything I play with ease but that is with a single 1920 x 1200 monitor.

Forte EXE · Jun 16, 2013

Stevemeister :

im looking to play 1080p and mostly first person shooters like COD or battlefield or rpgs like skyrim or assasians creed not alot of mmos. best i could do money wise is overclocking setup with a 7850 or a non oc with a 7870. thats why i was considering ocing to make things look better but if its not gonna make a dif with the gpu im getting then its a waste

bigpinkdragon286 · Jun 16, 2013

I think a $900 budget is pretty darned good.

Forte EXE · Jun 16, 2013

bigpinkdragon286 :

deciding between these too

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/ForteEXE/saved/1LqF

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/ForteEXE/saved/1LzR

Stevemeister · Jun 16, 2013

Given a choice between paying for over-clockability versus strong graphics go with the latter. Any $250-300 graphics card these days should work well at 1920 x 1080. (read Toms "Best Graphics cards for the money). I would go with i5-3570K, ~200, ~$150 for a Motherboard (Asus/Gigabtye), $60-75 for 8 GB DRR3-1600 RAM, $100 for a good 500-600W PSU (Seasonic/Corsair) - this will be adequate for single GPU gaming these days. Case and DVD/Blu-Ray Optical drive. you will need $100 for an OS. Do you have any existing equipment you can use. You could also use a free anti-virus like Avira and save some $. Monitor - Around $150-200 for 1920 x 1080.

Forte EXE · Jun 16, 2013

Stevemeister :

i was looking at somthign like this with a 3570k http://pcpartpicker.com/user/ForteEXE/saved/1LzR

thats 921 + 60 for skyrim + 70 for internet security + 30 for mouse and keyboared + 150 for monitor that = 1231 a lil over budget but still ok.

Are there any good free internet security?? i thought any worth a dam would need to be payed for iv usualy alway bought norton but thats been for like the little labtops iv owned this is my first desktop. gameing pc

bigpinkdragon286 · Jun 16, 2013

Windows 8 comes with Windows Defender built in, which is a full featured security suite and should not be confused with the Windows Defender in Vista or Windows 7. If you're reasonably savvy and don't do anything overtly stupid on a regular basis, that's all you need.

If you're going with Windows 7, Microsoft Security Essentials is the equivalent of Windows 8's, Windows Defender, but as a stand-alone product.

You can find it here:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security-essentials-download

I would not pay for internet security. Better to educate yourself and save the money. Besides, you've found a great place to come for advice if you ever need help with a security related problem.

All of this is free, and works very well.

Forte EXE · Jun 16, 2013

bigpinkdragon286 :

yea i planned on getting windows 8 i hear its oem version is more friendly with upgradeing then windows 7.

i never knew free security was worth a dam tho and i never do bad sites like pron or anything only thing si ever download would be mods or emulators besides that i do like facebook forums and youtube and stuff netflix you think id be safe without security hmmm that would be alot more money for a gpu

bigpinkdragon286 · Jun 16, 2013

Umm, if you go with the security built into Windows 8, you'll do fine. It's fully integrated, and you won't even notice it's running until it pops up and informs you it's stopped something for you.

With the money you'll save on internet security, I would upgrade the 7850 to a 7870 XT. That'll give you 7950 like performance for close to the price of a 7870.

bigpinkdragon286 · Jun 16, 2013

On that PC part picker site, the difference in graphics cards seems to be about $56.

Forte EXE · Jun 16, 2013

bigpinkdragon286 :

looks like the saphire xt has highest rateings

bigpinkdragon286 · Jun 16, 2013

Probably. I zeroed in in price, not rating.

amuffin · Jun 17, 2013

See if you can get parts used in your area. You can find some really good deals for parts on Craigslist, but beware of scammers!

bigpinkdragon286 · Jun 17, 2013

Agreed. I've gotten some great deals on graphics cards through Craigslist. Best to see the card(s) run something like FurMark, or at least running, before you buy it.

How important is overclocking to game performence?

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