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Why Overclock?

S

ShallowHal

Senior member
I understand that you can get a few hundred more mhz by overclocking but is that really a big difference in the overall performance of a PC? Or is it just a macho thing to do? Just curious.😀
 
In my case, I got an athlon 850 for well less than the newer athlon 1000, and I managed to get it from 850/100 to 1000/143, which increased my performance noticeably. I don't kid myself; I did it in large part because two friends had p3 866s and I couldn't let that stand 🙂

So. It's a combination of the two.
 
The real question here is.. "Why not?" 🙂 I've had a Celeron 800@950mhz and (2) K6-3+ 450's @ 550mhz for about a year. Sure it's not *that* much, but if it means I can get faster FPS in games, have more windows open, compile linux kernels / programs faster, or be able to do multimedia-related stuff quicker, then there's really no reason not to. I've only had one bad experience with overclocking.. and I'm sad to say that was on my main machine -- I bought a MSI KT7-Pro2a off of someone here on Anandtech and it worked fine for several months, then started flaking out.. the Thunderbird 900@1050mhz I also purchased off the For Sale forum here never really ran at that speed -- so I only had it overclocked for a little bit. The motherboard is currently RIP, I'm not quite sure why, but I don't even think it was relating to any of the overclocking. I'm happy to say the Thunderbird is currently living in a new machine =)

Anyway.. it just depends on the type of person you are and whether you care if it might shorten the lifespan of your CPU from 5yrs to 3yrs or something like that. There's no guarantee that non-overclocked cpu you're currently running is going to live out it's life expectancy.. and neither is there a guarantee that overclocking WILL shorten the lifespan. As long as you're careful doing it and make sure you're using proper cooling (heat is the #1 killer, as I'm sure you've read many other places), you should be fine.

Servers, on the other hand.. well, I think I'll hold myself back and not overclock them =)
 
Same reason car people try to get that extra 20HP.
Does it make much of a difference... Not a whole lot, but some...
 
I agree, Why not?

However, as CPU speeds become faster, it is becoming lessimportant for me.

It DID make a big difference to O/C from 600 to 800Mhz. Now, that I am at 1.24 Ghz, it doesn't matter much since all my applications and games run fine. Perhaps, when that special CPU intensive game or application comes out, I will attempt it again seriously to wring every last bit of performance out of my CPU (just before upgrading again).
 
For me if I get a 20% overclock or more it's worth the effort. Twenty percent is definitely noticeable (my old P2-333 @ 415 was a nice boost). Current machine gives a 25% oc and that was a very pleasant jump. Both times I saved a bundle, too.

Today the savings isn't as dramatic and pesky noise associated with extra cooling it is a big issue with me now. So my next platform, .13u AMD or Intel, may not be oc'ed at all.
 
Because we can
Seems to be the only reasonable explanation. Hypothetically speaking, would an extra 150mhz make a significant difference in performance on a 1.2ghz processor? No need to discuss 333 to 450. I'm posing this question with respect to the more recent technology.😎
 
because you can get free speed... it's a true hobbyist thing.. many people don't understand.. THAT'S FINE.

I can run my 1333 Athlon at the price of a 1400 or higher (1500) with EASE. and it runs 100% rock when not pushed too far.

Think of the price difference between a 1600+ Athlon and a 1800+... you can get the 1600+ to run at 1800+ with the click of a few keys in the BIOS.

also, with the CPU's being unlocked and FSB's in 1 MHz increments in the BIOS.. it's INVITING you go overclock...

😀 😀 😀
 
Iv done it since my Pentium 90...ran it at 110mhz. Then my P200, ran that one at 225mhz. Then the big one, my original Celeron 266...ran that one at 400Mhz for 2.5 years. Now Im running a Celeron 2 800 at 1070Mhz. It's just what ya do, and it's pretty darn easy.
Cheers
 
i do it cuz it feels good to cheat out the companies a few bucks ^^.. get a 1ghz instead of a 1.4 and overclock! jkjk .. i just do it so i can beat out my firend's computers... but my friends dont have great computers so i dont overclock anymore (was running 1.4@1.6 150fsb, 1.85V... couldn't chang emultiplier cuz gay motherboard.. and also, the next fsb was 166)
 
I wouldn't be a computer enthusiast if I didn't. I would simply be a computer user. But I am an enthusiast (hobby) and I can't imagine not overclocking and trying to see exactly how much extra I can get out of whatever I buy, whether its high end or lower. I can only guess if you have to ask, then you really don't get it......🙂
 
900 @ 1070
it's a difference. When I got my chip a 1 gig chip was still new technology and was a lot more money.. I wanted to break that magic 1 gig barrier and I did, for less money.
Hobby thing too, it's just fun. There really isn't that much rationale for it, except that it makes some people happy.
 
i overclocked just coz i had nothing else to customize on my computer. 1400athlon at 1491 using 142bus. i've gotten a higher bus before but that means i would need to increase voltage. i'm too lazy to open the case now.
 
Well, the otherside of the coin is that I have a 1.2Ghz Tbird A that has been at 1.2Ghz from day one... never overclocked for more than 5 mins (even though it is factory unlocked). 1.2Ghz is still plenty fast for me. 🙂
 
oc'ing is just like any other hobby. i overclock because i like to tinker. it's just a fun thing. it was also nice to a get a cheap 1 gHz t-bird and a 99$ geforce3 ti-200 and end up with a system that is very very fast 🙂.

--jacob
 


<< Same reason car people try to get that extra 20HP.
Does it make much of a difference... Not a whole lot, but some... >>

Neglible, in fact. The real difference in auto tweaking comes with handling modifications, only then should one concentrate on more power. But I digress. Overclocking provides significant benefits if done properly. Just remember that overclocking the FSB and RAM is typically more beneficial than overclocking the CPU itself.
 
Once AMD or Intel start ramping up certain processors, they start rebadging higher speed CPUs as lower models. I see overclocking as unlocking the true performance of your product. Think of it this way: If you got a gift card for X-mas that was labeled $50 but actually had $75 on it, would you only spend $50 out of principle? I doubt it. With motherboards today coming with modest voltage settings and FSB / multiplier control, it's really easy to overclock with stability. Who knows, maybe that extra 150 MHz may not matter now, but once the software catches up, it could get you through an extra product cycle or two.
 
edit... because we can overclock our 1000mhz athlon AXIA to 1420mhz. all this almost a year and counting.

i'd say a 42% increase is very noticable. it's not the 50% + overclock poeple used to get with the celeron 300's, but.


in the end if your gonna diss on overclocking you should just stick with your p2 400 and 64mb cus thats all you "need" to do any word/web/non gaming sheet.
 
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