Is it worth overclocking

[eperdos]

I have an Intel E8400 @3.00 GHz.

I do have the impression that the cpu is the bottleneck for my PC:

msi 560 ti TFII OC
4 Gb RAM
500 + 1000 GB HDDs
550 W PSU

So, as I don`t want to spend big money for an upgrade (it is planned in one year or so) I want to try for the first time an Over Clocking for the cpu. Of course, I`ll buy a better cooler that what it has now (stock cooler).

Yesterday I cleaned my case, but I have some temps so you can figure if things are ok:

before cleaning, it was 43-44 temp in idle. After cleaning, it stays at below 40. With little activity, lke web browsing and word, it only goes to 41-42. Highest temp in gaming after cleaning I get 53 in Shogun 2. All this with stock cooler.

So, my questions are:

1. Can i OC it with the help of a better cooler? What would be the best cooler, not to expensive but good enough?
2. How much would I gain from OC? I heard of E8400 OC @ 3,6 GHz, that`s 20%. Can I go higher? Will I see the difference in games?
3. Can I do it by myself? It`s an easy or a dificult task? What`s the chance of damaging the cpu?

 

[jsc]

3.6 GHz from an E8400 is usually attainable - if you have a motherboard that will overclock. Many E8400's will run past 4.0 GHz.

A lot of that will depend on the motherboard. Some motherboards overclock more easily than others. What kind of motherboard?

In fact, you may be able to run at 3.6 with the stock cooler.

Keep the CPU core voltage under 1.45 volts and load core temps under 70 C.

 

[Ikmalhidayat]

I have an Intel E8400 @3.00 GHz.

I do have the impression that the cpu is the bottleneck for my PC:

msi 560 ti TFII OC
4 Gb RAM
500 + 1000 GB HDDs
550 W PSU

So, as I don`t want to spend big money for an upgrade (it is planned in one year or so) I want to try for the first time an Over Clocking for the cpu. Of course, I`ll buy a better cooler that what it has now (stock cooler).

Yesterday I cleaned my case, but I have some temps so you can figure if things are ok:

before cleaning, it was 43-44 temp in idle. After cleaning, it stays at below 40. With little activity, lke web browsing and word, it only goes to 41-42. Highest temp in gaming after cleaning I get 53 in Shogun 2. All this with stock cooler.

So, my questions are:

1. Can i OC it with the help of a better cooler? What would be the best cooler, not to expensive but good enough?
2. How much would I gain from OC? I heard of E8400 OC @ 3,6 GHz, that`s 20%. Can I go higher? Will I see the difference in games?
3. Can I do it by myself? It`s an easy or a dificult task? What`s the chance of damaging the cpu?

Well, what could i do answer is for question 1 and 3 cuz i know nothing about Intel E8400.
For the question one,
Yes. but you can with stock cooler . i think you will need a better CPU cooler though. I dont know the good brand (cuz i never use it), but choose water cooling one. its (can say cheap, depending to the person...) quite good cuz its silent (if any), simple. but the risk is the leakage. any leakage will drop to other parts of your internal pc parts and might damaging (or even create fire or explode if those water contact with negative terminal and positive terminal).

For question three, you can overclock yourself... with extra confident though. i can say, its not hard but not too easy (unless you are familiar with the system bios). i recommend changing it in the bios itself rather than in os (im using ASRock OC Tuner only for ASRock mb, but i prefer in the bios). first of all, make sure your mobo is capable of overclock at least that change FBS (or bus speed), multiplier and voltage. if not sure, past your mobo name and model here or google it.
To overclock, download Prime95, CPU-Z and any temperature status programs such as SpeedFan. Prime95 is for 'stressing' your cpu for stability. CPU-Z is for your cpu status (like your cpu speed, bus speed, etc). temperature status program like SpeedFan is mainly for checking your temp. (Well, search your own by Google it or Yahoo! search or any web searcher)
Well, if you are overclocking your CPU TOO MUCH, yeah, you will damage your CPU rather than make it faster. just like enzymes (if you learned biology...). but overclock doesnt mean you will damage your CPU, but rather make it unstable, short its life, your mobo and power supply. just, make sure your setting are ok. i ever overclock my AMD Sempron 140 to 2.9GHz with stock voltage (i dont know about oc at first...) and what did that happen, it damage my mobo and my power supply (less than 250W). to avoid this happen, try doing it simple thing first like stepping up the multipliers. this is the easiest way and safe without changing your voltage. but if your multiplier is at max and you want some more, then NOW IT WILL BECOME HARDER AND HARDER. later, you can see how the overclocking done.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/259899-29-core-overclocking-guide

maybe your overclock step is different from mine (cuz i use AMD). so study it and dont goes too fast.

 

[eperdos]

My motherboard is Gigabyte P35-DS3

 

[das_stig]

P35 based motherboard should be able to OC.

http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/intel_core_2_duo_e8400_overclocking_guide,1.html

Best thing, I think the bios used in guide is from a Gigabyte.