Overclock on stock cooler/voltage...is it really needed

d_yor8

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Jul 9, 2010
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hi :hello:


just asking how much overclocking would a, let's say a medium or high end CPU, Intel or AMD, get on a stock cooler and stock voltage (or a little voltage boost) I've read that some people got their CPU's OC'd to a nice "speed" on the stock cooler, which is usually not that good :p other say that it is not possible at all and obviously not recomended with the stock cooler


to add on this question another :p


for a user that uses the PC only for gaming (1080p maxed out), (including CPU intensive emulators DOLPHIN, PCSX2, plus PC games StarCraft II, Bad Company 2...CPU intensive is what I mean), browsing the web, watching HD movies, listening music, using MS Word, NOT doing any picture/video editing, no 3D design, no programming etc...would overclocking of the CPU be needed (let's say it's a decent CPU), what improvement would I expect, I know it's a must have for dual/3 way GPU's for not bottlenecking........I think you got the point of the question :)


thnx :bounce:

P.S. i know very little 'bout OverClocking (obvious) :) :D
 

ekoostik

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Sep 9, 2009
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Most CPUs can be overclocked at least a bit - to a "nice speed" as you say - on stock cooler. But any stress or serious OC attempt typically warrants an aftermarket heatsink.

To your second question - it depends on the program and your system. More specifically, where the bottle neck is in your system for the given program. For example, if you're running a GPU intensive game on a high end CPU but a mid tier card that can't keep up, you could potentially Underclock your CPU and not notice a difference. Therfore OCing your CPU in such a case would also bring very little benefit. Money or time spent OCing is better invested in such a case in teh GPU.