Overclock or underclock

[majudhu]

im not manually overclocking, its from power saving and performance preset from bios
should i play at 3.7Ghz, 55°C, 60% load or at 1.6GHz, 43°C, 90% load

 

[Z1NONLY]

Even with the performance presets, you will run at max speed when you play a video game. (Unless it's a very weak game)

 

[majudhu]

thanks, but what i really want to know is effects on stability and cpu life. realtemp log reports 1605.26,1605.27mhz while paying RAGE,
forgot to tell
i5-2400, EVGA GTX570 SC SLI(always 60fps) on water and room is 32°C
will not be keeping it for more than 3 years

 

[jsc]

If you are not building a pure HTPC or have some application where you need to absolutely minimize heat, there is no point in underclocking.

For overclocking, if you stay under the manufacturer's recommended thermal and voltage values, the CPU will likely be obsolete before it fails because of any overclocking side effects.

Stability is a somewhat different matter. You need to test for stability by running a program such as Prime95 or Intel Burn Test that places a 100% load on the CPU.

 

[majudhu]

temperature is low means power consumption is also low. right?
if i could save 50W or so
is there no need to worry if cpu is at full load while fps is 60?
thanks jsc and Z1NONLY