Is there actually a limit to overclocking things?

Soldier786

Soldier786

Soldier786

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Hi,
I was wondering if there is actually a limit to overclocking things...
For example if i water cool could i overclock more than a PC that's on air cooling.

Thanks
 
Temperature is a factor that can sometimes create a wall for some people for example if I raised the voltage to stabilise my oc then found it ran to hot then I would require better cooling.
Though there is also the fact that hardware can only be pushed so far for example my ram just wont overclock by much no matter what so in this case the wall isnt the cooling its just it wont run much more than stock.
If you get good air cooling and oc your cpu etc and find that you could push your hardware further but cant keep the temps down then it's well worth looking at either better air cooling or water but just being able to cool your hardware down alone will not necessarily define how high an oc you can achieve.............. it's just one of many factors though very important. :)
So in answer to your questions yes there is a limit and water cooling wont necessarily make you achieve a higher oc unless you need better cooling ie air just isnt cutting it :)
Hope this makes some sort of sense .................
 
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There is always a limit, you can't just overclock until you get infinite performance.

Usually the chip either becomes too hot, or a barrier is reached (like the motherboard can not provide a high enough stable clock). Better cooling such as the water or air is used to raise the first barrier - the second on is pretty difficult to get past, usually requires over-volting the components or just getting better ones.

Because a decent water cooling setup beats a decent air cooling in terms of pure cooling- it is generally regarded as a better cooling system for overclocking. However, high end air coolers such as the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme (TRUE) and the Titan Fenrir can cool as well as mid end water - but it can get loud.

If you are new to overclocking, get a decent air cooler like the ones I described above and give overclocking a go. If you like it and gain some confidence (and money) then you can get a watercooling setup for better temperatures and a quieter PC.
 
It depends which wall you're hitting.

A chip running cooler will clock slightly higher for the same voltage, but there's really not much in it.

If you've hit a temperature wall but your voltage isn't maxed out, water/better air cooling will bring temps down and allow you to carry on. If you've hit your maximum voltage there's not a lot you can do. It's slightly safer to push a higher voltage through water, but it's likely not worth it for the cash.
 
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