Thoughts on the overclocking world

[cakecake]

I've noticed something strange. Perhaps you have noticed this too when you visit overclocker enthusiast sites, such as the popular hardocp. There seems to be a duality that exists.

Have you ever thought about how "cool" overclocking is? How it could make you feel like you're getting extra speed out of your computer and saving money? After all, money is one of the main reasons most people in this community buy Athlons. At the same time, have you noticed people advertising overclocking products, saying that they are both "easy to use" and at the same time "only for experienced overclockers"?

It seems, we want to wow our friends, but still be the only ones on the block with an overclocked processor. The main problem is that I think people get mixed messages. Is overclocking really that easy? Is it really that hard? I think this is why not as many people have gotten into overclocking. And despite the number of kits out there, everyone still claims that it's done at your own risk and that it's extremely dangerous... yet you should do it anyway.

Do you think that more people would be involved in overclocking if there was documentation and better instructions? Or do you think that Intel and AMD have, though excessive conditioning, lead the public to believe that overclocking is impossible, maybe illegal, and even morally wrong?

 

[papasmurf]

that is a good question, it is, obviously, against Intel and Amd's interest for us to be overclocking their processors, after all who is going to buy an amd xp 2100 when my 1800 can do the same speed for half the price? we need to convince AMD that they are the only ones we look to for overclocking processors and that a good portion of their bussiness comes from us, otherwise they are going to go the way of Intel and make overclocking impossible. The 1800 is an inconvieniance to unlock but I didnt see any L1 bridges on the pictures of the Opteron or hammer series. maybe they will even phaze out FSB increases like Intel did. The future is, as always uncertain.

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[HonestJhon]

weird, many people have overclocked their p4 1.6A's to 2.4 GHZ....sounds like quite an overclock.
as for the whole overclocking as a "mixed message", to some extent i agree...
but a lot of people who have friends who have done it, will at least try it. and then they will have friends.
and so on.
i did a lot of reading before i overclocked my athlon...just to make sure that i would do it right, and not fry my chip...
the way i figure it, is it IS risky. and is NOT encouraged by AMD or INTEL.
why do you think that they made it "harder" to overclock the athlon XP by making laser channels...
but i think it is up to the individual to decide on whether overclocking is for them. and once they are serious about it, they will learn about it, and become confident enough to try it out.

-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-

 

[HonestJhon]

and all the warnings are for liability. so that some person who uses their product (in this case an athlon xp unlocking kit or something of the sort), and frys their chip, or ruins their expensive rig, they cant blame it on the company that sold the product, or the company that made it, or AMD. when you modify the chip, you void the warranty. by overclocking you void the warranty. i dont know how they would tell if you didnt modify the chip...but they might have their ways.
they put the warnings there to save their own a$$, and it is smart of them. because if they didnt do that, then they would get sued by someone, and then they wouldnt be there to provide the overclocking products to the people who dont care that they are voiding the warranty, and overclock at their own risk.


-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-

 

[CALV]

overclocing can be easy, or hard.
if you simply alter the bios to run your athlon 1 gig to 133 from 100 then you have overclocked, if you put the jumers on the board to 5 x 100 and actually have a k2-2 450 in there, you have overlcocked, if you watercool your 1400 athy, increase the fsb to 150, modify the board to give you 2.05V, you have overlclocked. It is easy, and it is more tricky (I wouldnt use the word "difficult")


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[papasmurf]

Unfortunatly I have come upon news that may make overclockers cry everywhere, I have a friend who works for a certain online publication who has heard rumors that amd will now make it impossible to overclock their next generation chips in the hammer series by locking both the multiplier and the FSB. If these rumors are true it is a sad day for this company. doubtless AMD xp's will be able to achieve faster speeds than a claw hammer via increasing the clock speed and the FSB, if the FSB of the hammers are locked at 266mhz than my XP FSb at 400mhz will doubtless have the edge. Mind you that this rumor has not been confirmed yet.

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[HonestJhon]

there is always a way
sony thought that they came out with the "uncopyable" or "un-rippable" cd, but people figured out that if you draw around the outer edge with a black magic marker, you will be able to rip, copy, and do whatever the hell you want...
so there is always a way...
hardware mods, and whatnot.
i am sure that even if they come out with the hammer, and it is "un-overclockable", people will figure out a way.
might be difficult...but who knows!
i hope it isnt like that tho...

-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-

 

[baldurga]

I am not so sure there is always a way. Just look Intel. They fix the multiplier and now you can only overclock the fsb. I they do the same with the fsb, overclockers life will be boring (yeah, still we will be able to do it with graphic cards, but it is not the same)

DIY: read, buy, test, learn, reward yourself!