My Overclocking Rant

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

techfuzz

Diamond Member
Feb 11, 2001
3,107
0
76
Originally posted by: Jeff7181

I honestly cannot see your point. Why in the world does it matter to you what Joe Shmo does with his computer????

Does it make your day that unpleasent to know that my XP1700 is running at 1667 Mhz when if I switched to PC2700 ram and increased the voltage a little more I could run at at least 1733, most likely 1800 Mhz?

Well actually it doesn't matter one bit to me what Joe does with his computer, but for the purpose of this discussion I feel I have to step up and become devil's advocate otherwise we wouldn't have much to debate about. You know?

techfuzz
 

techfuzz

Diamond Member
Feb 11, 2001
3,107
0
76
Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
techfuzz, do you feel better now? The bumper sticker used to claim that if you bitch a little you will feel better and I'm curious if that is indeed the case ;) BTW, the whole l337 overclocking concept at the heart of your rant is just silly :)

DAPUNISHER, you know as well as I know that these forums sometimes need a kick in seat to get some meaningful debate going. So yeah I did bitch a little and now I feel better that everyone else decided to join in and voice their opinions on my thoughts.

techfuzz
 

DAPUNISHER

Super Moderator CPU Forum Mod and Elite Member
Super Moderator
Aug 22, 2001
32,043
32,546
146
Originally posted by: techfuzz
Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
techfuzz, do you feel better now? The bumper sticker used to claim that if you bitch a little you will feel better and I'm curious if that is indeed the case ;) BTW, the whole l337 overclocking concept at the heart of your rant is just silly :)

DAPUNISHER, you know as well as I know that these forums sometimes need a kick in seat to get some meaningful debate going. So yeah I did bitch a little and now I feel better that everyone else decided to join in and voice their opinions on my thoughts.

techfuzz
"Meaningful debate" is an oxymoron around here :p J/K :) But as far as contributing to our lil' think-tank goes, I would respectfully suggest you take a moment to consider that your "rant" could also serve as peer pressure for some of our younger members and help persuade them to do something their limited budgets I.E. allowance, after school job can ill afford. A mild overclock of their systems components can stretch their already limited finances and thus help extract a greater price/performance ratio without risking premature or catastrophic failure, whereas the quest for bleeding edge overclocking performance can become an expensive endeavor ;) Perhaps you should provide a thread disclaimer that states Warning: Attempt at your own risk or Kids: Don't try this@home :D
 

AdamK47

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,783
3,606
136
The words overclocking and unsafe rarely ever cross my mind anymore. I've been overclocking since I could breath air. JK :)

Out of the dozens upon dozens of boards and CPUs I've used, I've fried only one processor and one motherboard by overclocking. That?s pretty acceptable odds.
 

techfuzz

Diamond Member
Feb 11, 2001
3,107
0
76
Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
"Meaningful debate" is an oxymoron around here :p J/K :) But as far as contributing to our lil' think-tank goes, I would respectfully suggest you take a moment to consider that your "rant" could also serve as peer pressure for some of our younger members and help persuade them to do something their limited budgets I.E. allowance, after school job can ill afford. A mild overclock of their systems components can stretch their already limited finances and thus help extract a greater price/performance ratio without risking premature or catastrophic failure, whereas the quest for bleeding edge overclocking performance can become an expensive endeavor ;) Perhaps you should provide a thread disclaimer that states Warning: Attempt at your own risk or Kids: Don't try this@home :D

I agree with your comments and have ammended my statements to include your warnings as you suggested. It's been a while since I was considered young and stupid (just old and senile these days according to my g/f). ;)

techfuzz
 

Mikki

Golden Member
Jun 13, 2002
1,488
0
0
As a way to get out oc'ing blood to boil, I applaud your thread techfuzz. I'm an overclocker and proud of it!!! hehe...hope I didn't offend you with my posts, each of us has an opinion...;)
 

techfuzz

Diamond Member
Feb 11, 2001
3,107
0
76
Originally posted by: Mikki
As a way to get out oc'ing blood to boil, I applaud your thread techfuzz. I'm an overclocker and proud of it!!! hehe...hope I didn't offend you with my posts, each of us has an opinion...;)

Of course not, as I stated originally I wanted to hear comments and criticisms. That's what makes this a good thread in my opinion when you have people who will openly dissent without putting each other down with stupid comments and have nothing to back them up with.

techfuzz
 

Ketchup

Elite Member
Sep 1, 2002
14,559
248
106
Originally posted by: techfuzz
Originally posted by: Mikki
As a way to get out oc'ing blood to boil, I applaud your thread techfuzz. I'm an overclocker and proud of it!!! hehe...hope I didn't offend you with my posts, each of us has an opinion...;)

Of course not, as I stated originally I wanted to hear comments and criticisms. That's what makes this a good thread in my opinion when you have people who will openly dissent without putting each other down with stupid comments and have nothing to back them up with.

techfuzz

I do have to agree with that. But I am not so sure I agree with your "safe zone" theory. I had a an Intel Pentium 4 1.8A that ran at 2.4 GHz, 133 FSB, on stock cooling with stock voltage. I beleive that was a perfectly safe overclock since my voltages were all stock, and I was running 133 Mhz FSB, wich is a stock FSB for my motherboard. Will this damage the CPU? Doubt it. For all we know, that CPU could have yeilded 2.4 GHz+ from the factory. But they needed 1.8's that day, so that was they made it.

I have always held that the "safe zone" is anything you can do at default voltage and have an AGP/PCI lock. Start adding voltage, and you are pushing parts beyond their specification, and they will eventually fail. This "safe zone" does not apply if you don't have an AGP/PCI lock, like Intel boards do and more recently the NForce 2. When you overclock far enough to corrupt your hard drive, you are outside the safe zone.

There is my two cents, have a nice day! :)
 

DAPUNISHER

Super Moderator CPU Forum Mod and Elite Member
Super Moderator
Aug 22, 2001
32,043
32,546
146
Originally posted by: techfuzz
Originally posted by: Mikki
As a way to get out oc'ing blood to boil, I applaud your thread techfuzz. I'm an overclocker and proud of it!!! hehe...hope I didn't offend you with my posts, each of us has an opinion...;)

Of course not, as I stated originally I wanted to hear comments and criticisms. That's what makes this a good thread in my opinion when you have people who will openly dissent without putting each other down with stupid comments and have nothing to back them up with.

techfuzz
Thanx for adding the warning :) and I agree it's damned refreshing to have an intelligent, mature discussion instead of the usual flamefest :cool:
 

DivideBYZero

Lifer
May 18, 2001
24,117
2
0
Personally, to OC is to optimize, to gain and to learn. The goal for me is not to go about OC'ing a system as a kind of extreme electronic sport, but rather to get maximum perfomance, from as little money as possible and with the most stable system I can produce.

To me, if I can Overclock to a great degree AND get a stable system, then job done. My goal isn't to almost break my system by using LN2 cooling to get the ultimate 3DM2K1SE score.

So I would say that in the main, the safe zone is where most of us are at. Only the guys at the top of the OC charts with their 4Ghz PIV's and 3Ghz XP's are the 'hardcore' overclockers. The rest of us are the safe-zone monkies.
 

techfuzz

Diamond Member
Feb 11, 2001
3,107
0
76
Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
Thanx for adding the warning :) and I agree it's damned refreshing to have an intelligent, mature discussion instead of the usual flamefest :cool:
I was afraid that some people might mistake my rant for such a flamefest and my original intent might get thrown right out the window! I wish more people would post stimulating discussions here rather than their flamewars of AMD vs. Intel.

techfuzz
 

Mikki

Golden Member
Jun 13, 2002
1,488
0
0
Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
Originally posted by: techfuzz
Originally posted by: Mikki
As a way to get out oc'ing blood to boil, I applaud your thread techfuzz. I'm an overclocker and proud of it!!! hehe...hope I didn't offend you with my posts, each of us has an opinion...;)

Of course not, as I stated originally I wanted to hear comments and criticisms. That's what makes this a good thread in my opinion when you have people who will openly dissent without putting each other down with stupid comments and have nothing to back them up with.

techfuzz
Thanx for adding the warning :) and I agree it's damned refreshing to have an intelligent, mature discussion instead of the usual flamefest :cool:
Alright, d@mm|t!!!!!!!! Who brought intelligence into this conversation?!!! For crying out loud....
:p
rolleye.gif
 

techfuzz

Diamond Member
Feb 11, 2001
3,107
0
76
Originally posted by: Mikki
Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
Originally posted by: techfuzz
Originally posted by: Mikki
As a way to get out oc'ing blood to boil, I applaud your thread techfuzz. I'm an overclocker and proud of it!!! hehe...hope I didn't offend you with my posts, each of us has an opinion...;)

Of course not, as I stated originally I wanted to hear comments and criticisms. That's what makes this a good thread in my opinion when you have people who will openly dissent without putting each other down with stupid comments and have nothing to back them up with.

techfuzz
Thanx for adding the warning :) and I agree it's damned refreshing to have an intelligent, mature discussion instead of the usual flamefest :cool:
Alright, d@mm|t!!!!!!!! Who brought intelligence into this conversation?!!! For crying out loud....
:p
rolleye.gif
Ah hell!!!! What ever were we thinking!?!?
:) ;) :p
 

Lizardman

Golden Member
Jul 23, 2001
1,990
0
0
Originally posted by: mechBgon
Someone got into the "special" eggnog, methinks... ;)



and then they go and buy the CHEAPEST "400W" PSU ON THE PLANET TO POWER IT ALL! :| And you ask them what brand and model of PSU is in their (malfunctioning, non-POSTing, and/or unstable) system and they can't see why it matters...
rolleye.gif
You get what you pay for, I thought everyone knew there was at least some truth to that... :p


Hahah

Thats me execpt for the (malfunctioning, non-POSTing, and/or unstable) part. I just use two cheap power supplies and together they make one decent one. Not good but decent.
 

Stunt

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2002
9,717
2
0
i totally disagree with techfuzz on this one.
overclocking by definition is "over" clocking, clocking a cpu over the stated clockspeed.
therefore anyone who clocks their cpu higher than that stated number is an overclocker.
Whether it be 2ghz or 1mhz, you are still an overclocker overclocking.
now the whole purpose of ocing is to get more speed for basically free or in some cases achieve speeds faster than what is available on the market.
People have the freedom to clock their stuff at whatever speed they want, why do you care what other ppl do with their stuff?
overclocking is an art, but that doesnt mean you have to be as hardcore as the enthusiasts.
Not everything in life is all or nothing (black/white)
for example when you drive your car do you feel the need to drive it full out all the time?
do you invest money into making your car faster?
there is a happy medium in everything we do, a sweet spot balancing risk and convienience
if you dont like ppl critcizing your opinion WHY POST IT IN A MESSAGE BOARD!?!?!
some ppl i tell ya, so thick...
ah well, have fun frying your cpus, since you like to push them to the bitter ends of their ability.
btw, i think there are many overclockers out there (especially with expensive cpus) that would not risk their cpus.
Does that make them any less of overclockers....dont thinkso, they are what i call smart.

just my 2 cents
 

Stunt

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2002
9,717
2
0
btw, what is the difference between a comment and a criticism.
if i disagree with you it is considered a criticism?
but if i agree it is a comment?
so only ppl that agree with you can post?
makes sense...:p
 

techfuzz

Diamond Member
Feb 11, 2001
3,107
0
76
Originally posted by: Stunt
btw, what is the difference between a comment and a criticism.
if i disagree with you it is considered a criticism?
but if i agree it is a comment?
so only ppl that agree with you can post?
makes sense...:p

I guess technically a criticism is a type of comment but my intention was to establish a civilized discussion not a flamewar with my statement. No I wanted to hear dissenting opinions on the matter, that's why I posted what I did and asked for comments. Anyone who objected obviously was going to post a criticism of my post. Like I said, I wanted to keep the discussion civilized.

techfuzz
 

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
7
81
Warning: Attempt at your own risk or Kids: Don't try this@home
Maybe that was part of the point of the original rant... people don't get the "at your own risk" part.
I've been overclocking since I could breath air.
My 386DX25 was OC'd to 27MHz, way back in 1990. Those were the days, required a different crystal to be soldered onto the motherboard.
 

techfuzz

Diamond Member
Feb 11, 2001
3,107
0
76
Originally posted by: Zap

My 386DX25 was OC'd to 27MHz, way back in 1990. Those were the days, required a different crystal to be soldered onto the motherboard.
Hey that was almost a 10% overclock. About average even by todays standards! hahah ;)

techfuzz