Is it worth the OC?

[megabuster]

Here's the problem I have a Q6600 which normally i run at 3.2Ghz on air with Bios CPU 1.29V and I get around 30C idle load 50 at 20C ambient temperature. Is worth OC to 3.6Ghz with CPU 1.42V idling around 40C load 65C for gaming, word etc.?

 

[josephmil]

If you aren't terribly bothered then no. The fact that you are asking on here probably means you'll OC further for the hell of it.

 

[Lee-m]

i'd say your safe up to 70C (it wont hurt it to go higher even). It might shorten the life of your cpu, but thats a risk we all take when overclocking.

Im sure your cpu spends most of its time idle anyway. Maybe invest in a better cpu fan, or case fans ?

 

[billiardicus]

I wouldn't go to 3.6, but i'd go to 3.3 or 3.4. Personally, I like to see what my system can do. But I run it at speeds less than that just because the last ~200mhz costs a lot in terms of voltage and heat, but I don't think it really does a lot in terms of performance.

 

[megabuster]

Realistically speaking, ever since I built a recent computer in 2006 a Athlon FX 60 2GB of DDR and Geforce 6800GT I've upgraded 2 times and sold the former PCs in form of complete systems or parts. I know cpus are designed to work on average 5-10 years depending on the use etc but if I use the processor for about 2-3 years then why would I care for the 10 years that it might work?

Another point is in the laptop core2 mobile processor T5200 is running on average 65-70C just during daily use, maybe watching some HD clips, and that's regular clock of 1.6Ghz so I don't see why 2 or 3 years that I might keep my processor I can't keep at that much higher temps.

The question I am really asking is not weather I can over clock it but what 400-600Mhz over 3.2Ghz give me in terms of gaming or other processes. Is there really a need for it? Is there a visible difference between a 3.2Ghz and a 3.8Ghz quadcore?

 

[Lee-m]

CPUs are made to last indefinently if you treat them right. I have an old 500Mhz AMD K6-II thats still going strong. I use it for some dev stuff, and its been on 24/7 for years now (it used to be over clocked way back when it was used in my gaming rig)

Just try it out and see. You can always switch back to 3.2Ghz. Run some bench marks, check the core temps. No need to panic for 70deg as long as it doesnt affect stability.

If you dont like the temps, clock it back down some, or invest in better cooling.