Is overclocking really worth it?

[ALL_YOUR_BASE]

I've played around with overclocking my P4HT 3.0Ghz all the way up to 4.0 Ghz and everything in between and all it seems to do is heat my house. I can't ever seem to find a noticeable improvement in anything except mabye a few frames faster in games. WHat exactly should I be looking for?

 

[smedlin]

You should be looking for a non-intel chip 8)

 

[rodney_ws]

You should be looking for a non-intel chip 8)

No, you should be looking for a Core based Intel chip or pretty much any AMD chip. A recent Core Duo review showed an easy 50% overclock that didn't result in a miniature blast furnace. Ignore the fanboy.

On a serious note... the particular chip you've got does put out a lot of heat and overclocking just makes it that much worse.

 

[bront]

Idealy, processes shouldn't lock the CPU, load times may be down slightly, things like compression and video playback should be smoother, basicly anything you might notice with a faster CPU.

As for if it's worth it, if you can get it rock stable and aren't risking burning the chip with excessive voltage, it's basicly like a free upgrade.

I run my 3800 X2 at 2.5 Ghz, a 25% overclock, and at speeds just under a 4600 X2, which runs for twice as much. Not too bad.

 

[rodney_ws]

The X2-4600 is clocked at 2.2 and if you're running your X2-3800 at 2.5 why doesn't it outperform the 4600? Unless you're comparing your CPU to an overclocked 4600, you have the faster chip. Good job saving that money!

 

[TechMaster]

In my opinion, OC your PC is not worth the time or the potential harm that can be done to your computer. In the past, when the prices for faster CPUS' cost so much, then I did OC my PC to achive better performance. You really need to ask yourself, how much speed do you REALLY need to surf the internet or use a word processor. If you are a serious gamer, then you prob already have a kick ass machine! so OC is not neccessary.

And, If you need to ask if OC is worth it? Then you do not know enough about OC or Hardware for that matter to know the difference.

Please.. Use common sense and do not mess with your PC unless you know what you are doin.

Regards,

TechMaster

 

[RichPLS]

what a lame first post... spoken from true inexperience I see. Do you have more fud?

 

[TechMaster]

What ever do you mean? Is trying to give some good solid advise wrong?

Please... Enlighten me with your knowledge.

 

[RichPLS]

I have never damaged a CPU or motherboard from overclocking and do believe it to be a legitimate and effective way to achieve better performance equal to or above the next higher clocked CPU.

I would think more along the lines, if one has an interest, and that develops into seeking answers to those questions, then that would describe someone who just may benefit from overclocking in a safe and successful method.

 

[Multiplectic]

Does it worth it? Yes
But you have to know EXACTLY what you're doing, or you could mess with something important, and pretty much flush your CPU down the toilet...
If you increase the CPU voltage too much (beyond a 10-15% safe margin), probably it's going to get fried. If you don't use an appropiate cooling solution, it's going to get fried. If you don't have enough power coming from your PSU, either it won't boot or (yes, you've guessed it) it's going to get fried!
Again, does it worth it? Yes!
My A64 3200+ is clocked 30% above stock... from 2.0 to 2.6 GHz, putting it to the same performance level of a FX-55
The A64 3200+ is about $150, and the FX-55 about $700 (according to newegg): that's more than 4 time less!

 

[Mobius]

THAT IS CORRECT!

Overclocking results will vary depending on the CPU work load. In general, you won't "notice" any improvement less than 10% - with 20% being "quite noticeable".

Also, the ablity of your CPU beforehand has a big bearing on the end results.

Plus, most of the jobs you do with your CPU happen so quickly that you don't see any improvement.

You DO however, get a great improvement in the amount of heat produced, and the amount of power consumed. Expect to pay around $100 (or more) a year extra on electricty for a machine which is overclocked, and running 24/7.

Don't Diss the house heating effect - that's a bonus!

 

[TechMaster]

I see your point of view.. Please see my point of view.. I was trying to make a statement that unless you know what you are doing, you can do more harm than good.

That is all

TechMaster

 

[RichPLS]

I have an overclocked Opteron 175 at 2.64GHz running at 1.475 volts and idles around 39C.

Benchmarking jumped faily significant according to FutureMark results ~ 4,335 to 5,048 3DMarks06 and 9,000 to 10,100 marks using 3DMark05.

I also took measurements and made a breif analysis of the power draw consumed from this overclocked Opteron PC using Kill-a-Watt meter.
It has 4 hard drives, two Raptors in RAID 0, 2gigs (4x512) DDR, a TV Tuner, 5 fans, and a water pump! in a Lian Li mid tower case.

Based on a brief quick test, and several follow-ups, I preclude that my AMD Opteron rig when over-clocked at 2.64GHz from 2.20GHz consumes:
≤ 200 Watts at Idle
≤ 255 Watts during Boot Up
and
≤ 365 Watts at maximum load when benchmarking using 3DMark06 (at 75% efficiency, my PC is only requiring ≈ 275 watts of true power from my power supply)
Note: This is only the PC measured at outlet from the Power Supply; my LCD Monitor was not measured per these results.

 

[powerbaselx]

I've played around with overclocking my P4HT 3.0Ghz all the way up to 4.0 Ghz and everything in between and all it seems to do is heat my house. I can't ever seem to find a noticeable improvement in anything except mabye a few frames faster in games. WHat exactly should I be looking for?

Well, you've just told us where did you notice an improvement: in games. Those "few frames faster" can lead to: 1)better image flowing (with less stops during the game) and/or 2)better image (better effects, higher resolution).

I did also the same with an Intel 530 and above the 3.6GHz "barrier" it was noticeable (and visible) a faster system boot, faster games (those few FPS you referred), etc.

 

[Da_Banig]

Um... you don't see much difference from 3.0Ghz to 4.0Ghz? that's pretty strange if I OC my old comp from 3.6Ghz to 4.0Ghz I can notice a difference. Did your memory runs at lower speed?

 

[wun911]

From a 3.0 to a 4.0 is quite a lot! And no noticable differnce?

 

[bront]

The X2-4600 is clocked at 2.2 and if you're running your X2-3800 at 2.5 why doesn't it outperform the 4600? Unless you're comparing your CPU to an overclocked 4600, you have the faster chip. Good job saving that money!

Um, a 4600 is clocked at 2.4.

 

[Multiplectic]

Even then, it should outperform the X2 4600, by a small margin (due to the 100 MHz difference). Both X2's have the same core, so, a higher clock means higher performance. Pure logic.
But, if it doesn't, then other things are affecting the equation. Like the mobo, or RAM timings, or almost anything else in the computer...

 

[bront]

Even then, it should outperform the X2 4600, by a small margin (due to the 100 MHz difference). Both X2's have the same core, so, a higher clock means higher performance. Pure logic.
But, if it doesn't, then other things are affecting the equation. Like the mobo, or RAM timings, or almost anything else in the computer...

I just said performance similar too. Could be a little better (Probably is).

 

[edubai]

same problem here

i got a apentium 4 630 3.0 ... overclocked to 4.0 without noticing any difference in performance !!!!!!!!!!!


i dont realy feel a boost in performace at all !!


gigabyte 955 royal motherboard
aurora case + water cooling
1 giga ram (KINGMAX)

 

[Markoni]

same problem here

i got a apentium 4 630 3.0 ... overclocked to 4.0 without noticing any difference in performance !!!!!!!!!!!
i dont realy feel a boost in performace at all !!

gigabyte 955 royal motherboard
aurora case + water cooling
1 giga ram (KINGMAX)

You didn't say in what aplications you tested performance? Games, benchies, win load time, encoding/decoding...?
What graphics card do you have?

 

[gomerpile]

Yes its worth it if the cooling is good you say no difference than your cooling is not good enough. The system will turn down volts even shut down or reboot but will turn down volts to even out the heat.

 

[gomerpile]

good temps dude for a ocer buy the g7 mouse dude 2000 dpi and this can be set for 3 modes I must say it is the best I have use to this date.

 

[Fursecul]

OC is worth it,the performance gain is small but it will make your sistem a bit faster,and it will got you a better bang for your buck

 

[edubai]

There is no performance difference in all applications believe me

iam using water cooling added to my Aurora Case

by the way ... am upgrading my system now to pentium D 940

here is the picture of my case opened ... just waiting for the new processor to arrive

spec:
gigabyte motherboard 955 royal
gigabyte aurora case
gigabye water cooling
3dfx nvidia 6600 video card
1 Gb ram kingmax
old 630 processor being upgraded by tomorow to 940
Dvd wighter
raptor HD 74 Gb