Is overclocking overrated?

[Fewshin]

It seems like everyone makes a big deal about over clocking. What are your running that is so intense that you would even need to over clock? Mostly for me I barely need to go up to normal clock speed for light gaming or web browsing. Honestly I don't even need to over clock to code on my system. Everyone makes such a big deal about it. But my question is, why do people make it seem super important.

My System:
Intel Quad i7 Hyper Threaded.
128 gb of Non-Ecc ram
MSI X79A-GD45 Plus
Radeon 7850 Graphics
4 Fans

 

[Voxed]

People with lower end CPU's, For example : An AMD FX8320 will need to overclock in order to run applications faster, preferably games and other such CPU intensive tasks. It basically boosts performance.
It may seem quite important to people with lower end CPU's if they want to run games on good graphics and such.
It would basically depend on what king of things you do on youre PC and how powerful you're CPU is.
For a very good CPU, Overclocking is definitely not vital.
But for a lower end CPU? Perhaps. It differs from person to person basically.

 

[Rationale]

You already have a high end CPU, so of course it's not vital for you. It does help quite a lot on weaker systems that need the performance increase.

 

[4Ryan6]

I voted No!

Overclocking is definitely not vital, it is a choice!

It is the unknown to those that do not do it, and the unknown is always scary, because it is the unknown!

Those that do overclock!, Will overclock the most high end CPU they can get their hands on, and you'd probably think why would anyone overclock a cutting edge CPU, because they've learned how, and they can, it is as simple as that.

Overclocking will spoil you way past the few hundred mhz gain a new to overclocking may be satisfied with, and it seems the more you learn to manipulate your end results the further you'll end up going! (Because You Can!)

Not because it is needed to run some particular application or game, but simply you're in completely new territory than what everyone else is running, but until you sit down and run a seriously overclocked machine you don't have a clue as to what I'm even talking about!

There's a major difference from running a completely stock machine at 3.5ghz and running the same machine with all the cores cranked up to say 5ghz, and once you use a machine like that and experience the raw performance, you're spoiled, ruined 4ever, and not satisfied anymore to take the crumbs from the AMD and Intel table, if the power is there to take and use, why not take it!

But you need to learn, How to Overclock?, First!

So now we're back to the unknown, because unless you overclock, You'll never know, and Understand, What I'm even talking about!

Edit:

For the record Hyper Threading is really no big deal, there are plenty of applications that Hyper Threading being enabled actually cuts the performance in half, ConvertXtoDVD is one of them, and that's not good that's bad, extremely bad, and too many live under the cloud of thinking Hyper Threading is great, when there's only a few applications that hyper threading actually helps performance.

So there it is! (Have a great day!)

 

[Fewshin]

I voted No!

Overclocking is definitely not vital, it is a choice!

It is the unknown to those that do not do it, and the unknown is always scary, because it is the unknown!

Those that do overclock!, Will overclock the most high end CPU they can get their hands on, and you'd probably think why would anyone overclock a cutting edge CPU, because they've learned how, and they can, it is as simple as that.

Overclocking will spoil you way past the few hundred mhz gain a new to overclocking may be satisfied with, and it seems the more you learn to manipulate your end results the further you'll end up going! (Because You Can!)

Not because it is needed to run some particular application or game, but simply you're in completely new territory than what everyone else is running, but until you sit down and run a seriously overclocked machine you don't have a clue as to what I'm even talking about!

There's a major difference from running a completely stock machine at 3.5ghz and running the same machine with all the cores cranked up to say 5ghz, and once you use a machine like that and experience the raw performance, you're spoiled, ruined 4ever, and not satisfied anymore to take the crumbs from the AMD and Intel table, if the power is there to take and use, why not take it!

But you need to learn, How to Overclock?, First!

So now we're back to the unknown, because unless you overclock, You'll never know, and Understand, What I'm even talking about!

Edit:

For the record Hyper Threading is really no big deal, there are plenty of applications that Hyper Threading being enabled actually cuts the performance in half, ConvertXtoDVD is one of them, and that's not good that's bad, extremely bad, and too many live under the cloud of thinking Hyper Threading is great, when there's only a few applications that hyper threading actually helps performance.

So there it is! (Have a great day!)

Nice to hear everyone's opinions. But about the hyper threading part. I did know it was hyper threaded until I got it and started using it.

 

[rolli59]

No from me, OC is more like a hobby to me nothing that is necessary and if you have a modern good CPU and powerful GPU there is very little gains meaning I am just as happy playing the same game on 58FPS as 61FPS.

 

[CTurbo]

Nope. Overclocking is very over-rated. I laugh when people say it's "free" performance when they just paid $100-120 extra for it. Every single time I see somebody recommend the i5 4670k + Z87 I replace them with a 4570 + B85 mobo and add a MUCH better video card and it ends up being either slightly cheaper or the same price. I don't know why people think they need to overclock. Especially right out of the box. I'm thinking congratulations on doubling the heat of your system for ~10% performance gain that you won't even notice.

 

[Fewshin]

I voted No!

Overclocking is definitely not vital, it is a choice!

It is the unknown to those that do not do it, and the unknown is always scary, because it is the unknown!

Those that do overclock!, Will overclock the most high end CPU they can get their hands on, and you'd probably think why would anyone overclock a cutting edge CPU, because they've learned how, and they can, it is as simple as that.

Overclocking will spoil you way past the few hundred mhz gain a new to overclocking may be satisfied with, and it seems the more you learn to manipulate your end results the further you'll end up going! (Because You Can!)

Not because it is needed to run some particular application or game, but simply you're in completely new territory than what everyone else is running, but until you sit down and run a seriously overclocked machine you don't have a clue as to what I'm even talking about!

There's a major difference from running a completely stock machine at 3.5ghz and running the same machine with all the cores cranked up to say 5ghz, and once you use a machine like that and experience the raw performance, you're spoiled, ruined 4ever, and not satisfied anymore to take the crumbs from the AMD and Intel table, if the power is there to take and use, why not take it!

But you need to learn, How to Overclock?, First!

So now we're back to the unknown, because unless you overclock, You'll never know, and Understand, What I'm even talking about!

Edit:

For the record Hyper Threading is really no big deal, there are plenty of applications that Hyper Threading being enabled actually cuts the performance in half, ConvertXtoDVD is one of them, and that's not good that's bad, extremely bad, and too many live under the cloud of thinking Hyper Threading is great, when there's only a few applications that hyper threading actually helps performance.

So there it is! (Have a great day!)

Also I know how to over clock, I do it all the time on my mac for stuff like .dmg coding and starcraft 2. I usually barely over clock it because I never need anymore than the +.1 ghz. Unfortunately my mac is too old to not need to run at less than 2.6 ghz. It maxes at 3.0 ghz and bases at 2.6 ghz. I am well familiar with overclocking. Some times I need to when bitcoin mining on my bitcoin system.

 

[Fewshin]

Wow my post duped itself.

 

[Rationale]

Nope. Overclocking is very over-rated. I laugh when people say it's "free" performance when they just paid $100-120 extra for it. Every single time I see somebody recommend the i5 4670k + Z87 I replace them with a 4570 + B85 mobo and add a MUCH better video card and it ends up being either slightly cheaper or the same price. I don't know why people think they need to overclock. Especially right out of the box. I'm thinking congratulations on doubling the heat of your system for ~10% performance gain that you won't even notice.

People don't actually have to pay much extra for it. All AMD CPUs are unlocked, and an unlocked Intel CPU is usually only $20 more than the locked version.

 

[CTurbo]

People don't actually have to pay much extra for it. All AMD CPUs are unlocked, and an unlocked Intel CPU is usually only $20 more than the locked version.

Agreed it doesn't cost quite as mush extra on the AMD side, but you still have to buy a better motherboard and aftermarket cooler.
Intels are much worse. A Z87 motherboard is usually twice as much as a B85 motherboard. The 4670k may be only $20 more than the 4670, but the 4570 is almost $40 cheaper and it offers 95% of the performance.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2RMjp
CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock B85 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($309.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $569.96

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1jy9P
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($227.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($30.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Micro Center)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $583.95

You see the 4570, B85, and GTX770 are $15 cheaper than the 4670k, Z87, and GTX760 and we all know which one is superior.
For the record, I chose the cheapest ATX boards on there from major manufacturers. I could have picked a H81 microATX board and saved another $25 on the 4570 + 770 build.

 

[kreeshak]

Nope. Overclocking is very over-rated. I laugh when people say it's "free" performance when they just paid $100-120 extra for it. Every single time I see somebody recommend the i5 4670k + Z87 I replace them with a 4570 + B85 mobo and add a MUCH better video card and it ends up being either slightly cheaper or the same price. I don't know why people think they need to overclock. Especially right out of the box. I'm thinking congratulations on doubling the heat of your system for ~10% performance gain that you won't even notice.

I just thought I would answer that with my perception. I will be buying a i5 4670k and a Z87 knowing that I pay more, and use my old GPU for starters. However the GPU is going to be replaced soon with a high end one.

In your example I would have had better performance, than what will happen to me, but once I get the new GPU (once I can afford it) my system will be at least 10-20% better.

What would you add worth the price of my future new GPU on the 4570 to make up?

Overclocking can give you flexibility is how I grasp it

EDIT: Before you mention a second GPU, what if you don't need a second GPU but that 10-20% cpu performance does make a difference?

 

[Rationale]

People don't actually have to pay much extra for it. All AMD CPUs are unlocked, and an unlocked Intel CPU is usually only $20 more than the locked version.

Agreed it doesn't cost quite as mush extra on the AMD side, but you still have to buy a better motherboard and aftermarket cooler.
Intels are much worse. A Z87 motherboard is usually twice as much as a B85 motherboard. The 4670k may be only $20 more than the 4670, but the 4570 is almost $40 cheaper and it offers 95% of the performance.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2RMjp
CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock B85 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($309.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $569.96

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1jy9P
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($227.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($30.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Micro Center)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $583.95

You see the 4570, B85, and GTX770 are $15 cheaper than the 4670k, Z87, and GTX760 and we all know which one is superior.
For the record, I chose the cheapest ATX boards on there from major manufacturers. I could have picked a H81 microATX board and saved another $25 on the 4570 + 770 build.

Generally if someone's choosing an Intel board, overclocking is pretty pointless since the CPUs are so strong already, so just go with a cheap board, mid-range i5, and get a strong GPU from the money saved not buying Intel OC-ready parts.

If you're going AMD, then it's so easy to OC that you can just pick up a capable board and cooler for maybe an extra $40 combined, OC it, and use the money you saved not buying Intel on a stronger GPU as well.

Either way is viable, though Intel still offers better performance at a high price point and AMD still offers better performance at a low price point.
You won't find a $200+ AMD CPU that can match an i5-4570, and you won't find a $100- Intel CPU than can match an FX-6300.