Is there any point in overclocking if i have Cool N Quiet enabled?

[JEDI]

i bought a new mobo (asus m2r32-mvp).
it comes with a program called AI-Boost that overclocks for you.
but when i turned on AMD;s cool n quiet feature, ai-boost said it wont run while that feature is on.

so cool n quiet makes overclocking pointless?

 

[Gillbot]

Yes, somewhat. I used to leave CnQ enabled on my old AMD rig for when it was idle but it can limit your overclock.

If you are out for max performance though, you should disable it.

 

[EvilBob]

CnQ doesn't make OC pointless. CnQ simply slows down your processor when you don't need it (when it's idling).

would you keep your car rev'd to the red line while sitting at a red light?

as Gillbot said, if you're going for a bleeding edge OC, then ya, turn it off. If you're just a moderate overclocker, leave it on.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

In my own tests with an overclocked X2 4000+ and also a Phenom 9850, CnQ reduced measured performance by 0-5%. I leave CnQ enabled.

In my own experience, CnQ never actually limited my overclock per se, but did reduce it's efficacy by a smidge.

IIRC, somewhere there were benchmarks demonstrating Photoshop performance taking a large hit with CnQ enabled, but I've never been able to duplicate that result.

 

[Gillbot]

My top OC was limited by CnQ on my old AMD x2 4400+. I could get ~400 more MHz with CnQ disabled since the PC would crash when CnQ lowered the multi/voltage during idle.

 

[WildW]

On my board (Gigabyte GA-M52S-S3P), CnC turns itself off as soon as I overclock. Is that normal or do I just have a rubbish motherboard?

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: WildW
On my board (Gigabyte GA-M52S-S3P), CnC turns itself off as soon as I overclock. Is that normal or do I just have a rubbish motherboard?

I've found that when I OC by changing the multiplier, CnQ gets disabled. When I OC by changing FSB, CnQ remains active.

 

[WildW]

I did an experiment earlier, just tweaked the FSB, left voltages and everything else alone, and off it went. Must vary a fair bit between board designs.