Should I overclock?

[golgo_13_338]

Hey guys!

I've been doing research about how much extra performance I could get from OC'ing my 2500K to 4.4 ~4.5GHz, but I couldn't find any specifics.
I know it depends on a lot of factors, but mostly of how much a game is CPU intensive.
I'm playing some games with 3 monitors, so an extra boost on my rig would be nice, but I trying to find out if really worth reducing the life span of my CPU for it (I got it like 8 months ago), and I'm planning to stay with it for around 3 years.

Any examples of performance difference with/without OC are appreciated.

I5 2500K 3.7GHz + CM Hyper 212 Plus, Asus P8P67-M, Corsair Dominator 1600, EVGA GTX 570 2.5 GB, Corsair Force 3 180GB SSD, Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM. LG LCD 23" 1080p, 2 x LG LCD 17" 1280x1024.

 

[inzone]

The most important component for gaming is the video card and while some games do use the cpu more than the video card those games are few. Mostly games like Civilazation 5 , WOW and ANNO. If you want to game on three monitros then the video card needs a good amount of memory on it , also higher resolutions require more card memory.
If you want to overclock your card then you can try an overclock up to 4.5ghz and yu would still be able to use an air heatsink and the voltage would be minimal that you would have to add.
To be concerned about the shortening of the life of the cpu it would only happen if you had the cpu core voltage go over 1.38v. Also if you ran the cpu with high temps for an extended period of time , over 80c.

In looking at you spec's I see you have a video card with 2.5gb of video ram and tha is a good amount to have to have more than one monitor.
You also have the Hyper 212 plus which is a good heatsinK and should not have any issues with dissapating the heat from the overclock.

 

[raytseng]

CPU is pure numbers math,
your stock speed is 3.7ghz. If you go to 4.4 ghz, that's .7/3.7=18% faster.
For a pure calculation standpoint, say your render took 10minutes, now it will take 8.2 minutes.
Look at charts from any of the OC articles on pure CPU tasks, it's just a linear result.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-3960x-overclocking-efficiency,3133-6.html


That being said, as mentioned above, mainly it is video card that is the in games for most games. inzone wrote it up better.

If it is not the bottleneck, making the CPU faster will make little to no difference.

 

[golgo_13_338]

Thanks for the help guys!

I've spent 3 hours reorganizing my rig, taking the dust off, adding a second cooler for push&pull on the 212, and putting the cables on place to improve airflow.
I'm really tired...
But tomorrow I'll spend the day testing the OC stuff.
I'll start with 4.2 and try to get the best I can until the temp reachs 65ºC on the tests.
BTW, during how much time should I let the stress tests running?

Thanks!