Overclocking

... some very knowledgeable responses are incoming...

Too bad mine isn't one of them. I'm only here to say "hello" and "welcome to the forums, I hope you enjoy your stay"....



(These guys below me are smart!)

Originally posted by bprat22 Good morning, Snaike. Overclocking is increasing the stock operating speed of your cpu or gpu chip by increasing its clock speed and the voltage to it to handle the extra load.   Lots of ways to do it, like adjusting the Multplier and then vcore, voltage on core.    The faster the clock speed the faster it can do it's calculations, etc. Because of the added voltage, more heat is generated so a better cooler than the stock one is needed. Perfectly safe if not pushed too far. Hope this helps

Teach me how to overclock, please.

Originally posted by rebeka10001 Hi every one, Can any one tell me about overclocking..

Here's the deal, Rebeka10001. While I joke with bprat there, the fact is I'm an avid overclocker. I feel it's important for you to know that I overclock everything I can, I believe in it, etc. I say that so that when I give you the pro's and con's, you'll believe me a little more, as I'll tell you why not to do it along with why it's a good idea.

Overclocking overview:

Bprat got this part pretty much right. By a loose definition, overclocking is taking any bit of hardware and increasing it more than it's stock speeds and settings. To make that slightly more clear some common examples are:

Processor/CPU - increasing it's stock speed
Video Card/GPU - Increasing the gpu core clock speeds and memory frequencies
Memory - All cpu's have a "max" support speed. For most, it's any where between 1333mhz and 1600mhz (depending on which cpu). So technically any speed over those is considered an overclock. But I'll get into memory "overclocking" later.

Why would you want to overclock:

There are several different reasons someone would choose to overclock any of the above hardware. But for most users, the answer is pretty simple. We want something faster. If you game, you want more FPS. If you encode video's and/or music, you want it to compress quicker. Plain and simple.

How do you overclock:

Bprat nailed this one on a very general sense, and I'll leave it at that teaching someone how to fully OC any piece of hardware is simple at first, but can get difficult and it'd take me way too long to go down that path. CPU's - increase voltage + increase multiple = higher speed. GPU's - increase voltage + gpu core + memory frequencies = more fps. Memory - higher the frequency faster it transmits data... but once again we'll touch memory/ram next.

Memory Overclocking:

As I stated, really any speed over 1333mhz or 1600mhz (normally) is considered overclocking. Now I realize you're probably sitting there thinking to yourself "Hey, if anything over 1600mhz is an overclock, why can I buy memory at like 2400mhz? Isn't that a stock speed, so not an OC?" Nope... if it was, you could plug it into your motherboard and it'd automatically register at 2400mhz. But it doesn't, but to help counter this, a lot of manufacturer's are using XMP profiles stored on the memory. So you simply select the profile, and it'll auto adjust the voltage, timing and speeds for you. Your memory controller is now built into your CPU. while 99% of the time, it'll take these rated speeds that you paid a premium for, sometimes it can't... and we'll touch those later.

Why I think you should overclock:

You paid a premium for a K series CPU... overclock it. If you didn't want it, shouldn't have bought the K series. Plain and simple. Get that 2400mhz ram, and enjoy the speeds and bump that GPU up. More FPS = smoother game play... we love big numbers. You spent the money do it.

Why you shouldn't over clock (an avid overclocker telling you, you shouldn't do it):

It requires more money to keep things cool. You'll need to keep your PC in a cool room, need nice ventilation in your case, requires more cleaning. It will also cause your equipment to run hotter, which in turn can make your fans run louder.

Real world gaming results from overclocking... minimal. Take a 4770k and over clock it to 4.4ghz, with a GTX 780 ti with a 20% OC and 2400mhz ram. You'll see (rough numbers) like 10-20fps more in game play. You'll shave off like 5-10 minutes on video/music compressing, all the while increase temps by 10+ degree's on load. The gain really doesn't offset the negatives.

Memory Overclocking Up and Downsides:

Remember how I said your CPU has the memory controller? Well, higher your OC your cpu, more strain you put on it. Makes sense, right. Well that can effect the max speeds of things such as RAM. So say you speed $500 on a 32GB 2400mhz ram kit. You overclock your CPU to 4.2ghz, and install your ram, load the XMP profile and you're good to go. Well let's say you decide "I want my cpu at 4.4ghz." Oh no... it's not stable. You later find out when you lower your memory to 1866mhz, you can support 4.4ghz. Hell, sometimes even at stock speeds on your CPU, if it's not a great CPU (each cpu is different.. some OC better than others), it might have trouble running it at 2400mhz. Nothing is promised over the 1600mhz. And truthfully, if you're a gamer... you have no real gain is 1600mhz vs 2400mhz (UNLESS YOU'RE CREATING A RAM DISK AND PLAYING YOUR GAME OFF THE RAM DISK).

At the end of the day, realize that an OC isn't going to double your frame rates. It's not going to increase your system by 1000%. We're talking small results. But in my world, I pay the money so I want to get the best I can out of my equipment. Just be wise, don't be greedy, read your reviews, do your research (asking this question is a great example of going in the right direction), and don't be afraid to ask questions. There are tons of people out there with years and years of experience and they're always willing to help out someone new.



Edited by Meller - 05 Jun 2014 at 10:35am

Originally posted by Meller Also... I just made this thread my b*tch...

To which is say ...

Pffffffft!   

Thanks for the OC overview. I learned something. Now if I can also accomplish something then today will turn out to be a great day. Yay!


Edited by Theokritos - 04 Jun 2014 at 9:53am

Originally posted by Theokritos Originally posted by Meller Also... I just made this thread my b*tch... To which I say ... Pffffffft!    Thanks for the OC overview. I learned something. Now if I can also accomplish something then today will turn out to be a great day. Yay!

Originally posted by Snaike (These guys below me are smart!)

Told ya.   

lol I wasn't too sure why you were quoting yourself with no follow up comment

;) Glad you found it both entertaining and informative.