Why oh why would anyone overclock?

[Nubius]

You buy an ultra so you can overclock it faster than an overclocked 6800GT would overclock.

Not really. The Ultra requires a lot of power and produces a lot of heat as it is. Sure you can overclock it, but probably not very far. The fact remains you are saving $200+ to get to Ultra speeds and beyond.

Nubius: You as in the correct word: one?

Sure if you want, not like mine was incorrect, and you understood the meaning correct?

If the part fries, and unless u are really lucky, you'll have to put up $$ for a replacement.

CPU's are really good these days about protecting themselves from dying from an OC.

I've pushed 2.225 volts through my CPU and motherboard and nothing happened.

Simple point is, unless you specifically say 'HEY I OVERCLOCKED MY CPU AND NOW IT DOESNT WORK' they would have no idea how your CPU died and for the most part they have so many orders and requests a day they don't have time to sit there and find out....how could you? If a CPU's dead, theres no way of activating it to see what was done to it, the BIOS contains all the info for settings it's CPU speed, so no one would ever know if you had it at 1GHz or 5


Also, if you just READ READ READ READ READ and watch temperatures (heat destroys components, not voltages..there is electromigration, but you need a micron telescope to see it) then theres a slim chance of actually frying something.

I believe most people have a misconception of overclocking, as if it's a forbidden taboo that only the insane attempt.

Truth be told, overclocking has become quite 'user friendly' if you will over the years.

 

[Jnewt427]

Also, would you REALLY notice the difference??

This is something that I have seen In alot of reviews done by major magazines, that when overclocking they actually see a decrease in performance. I know this is probably due to the motherboard and not the processor as overclocking the same processer and two different mother boards will yeild different results.

Research me frend!!!!, as you will need to find the best out of the box performance that you can find from both a stock processer and a motherboard that works well with it.

 

[Codeine]

Thats pretty funny Nubius. When people hear about OC, they think your somehow pushing the processor and it will randomly burn out.

But their are methods to OC. Not a do then die process. Like Nubius said, the only thing that creates damage is HEAT. Heat is what kills your processor. So you have to maintain a cool processor, while at OC settings.

Its really very simple to know when your processor is on the brinx of destruction. When this starts to occur, your temps will start to grow. Then you simply get better cooling, witch will turn that effect around. Temps will start to drop, then you increase voltage. Its not something that happens for some unexplained ambiguous reason.

 

[Demalii]

Yup, thanks nubius for setting this thread straight, you nailed it..

 

[willsko87]

I overclocked my CPU a small amount and I found a huge difference in speed. Apparently the Celerons OC well and when its not OC'd it runs at 28C

 

[4W4K3]

...i seriously don't see anything good in warranties. I'd be more than happy to void my warranty and have my RAM perform better than a $300 kit when i purchased mine for $115. My RAM has lasted over 2 years overclocked, and it's still not even close to it's limits as far as i can tell. If you can find the right hardware at the right price, then overclocking is getting more perofrmance and speed for less than just a "higher spec'd" system. it's all about saving the money and having fun, not spending all your money and just being satisfied. when you overclock you get hooked, it's like drugs, you always want that extra MHz. With a stock computer i get bored...in a VERY short period of time. I might be able to sit on my computer 2-3 weeks, then i get so fed up with it being a slow 2GHz i have to go back to its limits and try to get that extra MHz out of it. it's just an addiction...and it's fun.

 

[OIDanTheManIO]

Why would I buy a $600 6800Ultra when I can buy a $400 6800GT and OC it to Ultra speeds?

That is one VERY good point!

-Dan The Man

 

[Chankama]

You know, it's all a sales tactic. When these guys design these chips, they probably have overclockers in mind. Atleast the "better" components anyways (RAM). Forget the heat dissipation. What about the accuracy.

I remember designing a crappy chip on VHDL for a school project. Our prof was twisted enough to make all of us compete against each other with benchmarks to see who's chip did the best. The guy even wrote a crappy operating system for us to use on our crappy CPUs. In anycase, we had them so "overclocked" that any more would've given us unstable results - forget heating.

Now look at AMDs and Pentiums. As you guys say, people can overclock them to their hearts content and the only thing you have to worry about is the heat dissapation. When they designed the chips, if they didn't have overclockers in mind, this shouldn't be the case (unstable results should be a big factor). So in essense, the people who "don't" want to overclock pay a premium to these manufacturers, so that the components "can" be overclocked.. :s..

Maybe I am just a lil bit paranoid. But, I love my warrantees ..

 

[mike11973]

if you check in computer power user magazines and other sources you will see articles on overclocked machines for sale as well (usually running h20 or vapochill cooling) but non the less overclocked. As mentioned earlier it is dificult to burn up a processor unless you just dont do your homework and use some common sense. Your machine will just reboot, freeze up or not post until you get it right. The sense of pride you get from building your own machine and pushing it past its limits and having it remain stable makes most want to never buy a store bought computer again once they have experienced building one for themselves.

 

[Nubius]

This is something that I have seen In alot of reviews done by major magazines, that when overclocking they actually see a decrease in performance.

Ok...I'd like to see what reviews you're reading. The only time that can happen is if it's overclocked to a completely unstable state. Which in some instances, some CPUs just aren't meant to be overclocked. This is where knowing your stuff comes in handy because you avoid those products.

As, 4W4K3, said....OC'ing is basically like a drug. When I first started out before I had actually got my NF7-S and my XP-M I said to myself "Ill be happy if I can simply get 3200+ XP speeds (2.2GHz)"

As soon as I hit 2.2GHz........I rebooted and pushed for 2.3GHz......then 2.4GHz.....then 2.5GHz.....lol all the way up to 2.8GHz lol, which attempting 2.8GHz I pushed 2.225 vcore through the CPU, my motherboards max amount of Vcore, and everything still was fine.

I can get 2.7GHz completely stable and look at this bench:

Completely lays waste to the 3200+ XP and in some instances beats out the 3.8GHz Intel that's in the bench (notice however, it beats that intel in one form of the test, like the integer, but not the floating point)

Even dominates the 2.4GHz opteron.

Point being, overclocking, when done properly, yeilds very realistic benefits and increases in speed.

Companies DO have overclockers in mind. A couple years ago Intel had actually thought about making their processors non-overclockable, but obviously a lot of people would have been quite angry.

AMD can do the same. There are mods for locked multipliers in CPUs, but you know either company can make a CPU that's absolutely 100% non-OC'able if they wanted to....but then they'd lose too many die hard fans.

EDIT:

The sense of pride you get from building your own machine and pushing it past its limits and having it remain stable makes most want to never buy a store bought computer again once they have experienced building one for themselves.

Well put, although I've never had a company built machine...doesnt mean I personally built them, my latest computer is the first one I've truly built, maintained, OC'd, tortured, loved, lol you name it, but I've loved every minute of the experience and now I know so much more than any average person.

Most people don't even know that the circuit board RAM is printed on will make a difference in how far it can be overclocked, or that the actual black chips (IC's) also make a considerable difference in the voltages required to hit speeds, etc..etc...etc...