Should I overclock?
- Thread starter compboyo
- Start date
Its safe to overclock yes aslong as you understand what the risks are.
RAM and CPU are the most common overclockable components, GPU overclocking is more of an aquired taste so to speak.
No overclocking is not a necessity but its essentially "free" performance.
You may need extra cooling once voltages are pushed higher.
Go and read some guides and check around some "Overclocking for dummies" type posts. They are very informative and often will give you example settings to try out.
RAM and CPU are the most common overclockable components, GPU overclocking is more of an aquired taste so to speak.
No overclocking is not a necessity but its essentially "free" performance.
You may need extra cooling once voltages are pushed higher.
Go and read some guides and check around some "Overclocking for dummies" type posts. They are very informative and often will give you example settings to try out.
Associate
- Joined
- 21 Apr 2011
- Posts
- 143
you probably cant/shouldn't overclock much on an stock cooler, look at the temps and the max of your CPU (probably around 75degs c if intel) to see if you have headroom for higher temps.
it is not how much power your PSU can give (while the power draw will increase it will only be <30W so unless your really on the edge of what your PSU can handle you should be fine) its how "clean" the power it provides is, note that you can also overclock with a "dirty" PSU it will just not yield as good an overclock and there is more chance of damaging your system
im sure there are serious gamers tha't dont overclock and some that do, its not a requirement, however if you are having trouble playing some of the latest games or have an outdated system, overclocking can be a free way to improve this.
it is probably worth noting that all the latest games will run fine on a up to date system that is not overclocked.
i would say its not normal to overclock, but who wants normal... its an easy to learn, free improvement to your PC and if you observe the correct precautions then there is very little risk.
i would very much advise you purchased some after market cooling overclocking or not...
and yes CPU, GPU and RAM (along with anything else with a clock) can be overclocked!
have fun
it is not how much power your PSU can give (while the power draw will increase it will only be <30W so unless your really on the edge of what your PSU can handle you should be fine) its how "clean" the power it provides is, note that you can also overclock with a "dirty" PSU it will just not yield as good an overclock and there is more chance of damaging your system
im sure there are serious gamers tha't dont overclock and some that do, its not a requirement, however if you are having trouble playing some of the latest games or have an outdated system, overclocking can be a free way to improve this.
it is probably worth noting that all the latest games will run fine on a up to date system that is not overclocked.
i would say its not normal to overclock, but who wants normal... its an easy to learn, free improvement to your PC and if you observe the correct precautions then there is very little risk.
i would very much advise you purchased some after market cooling overclocking or not...
and yes CPU, GPU and RAM (along with anything else with a clock) can be overclocked!
have fun
Last edited:
Man of Honour
- Joined
- 12 Jul 2005
- Posts
- 21,506
- Location
- Aberlour, NE Scotland
What is your full spec including the make and model of psu?
Coming to "overclockers" and asking if you should overclock?! lol
If you have the equipment for it i.e. decent cooler and psu is powerful enough then you might as well try overclocking. Extra performance is always welcome!
If you have the equipment for it i.e. decent cooler and psu is powerful enough then you might as well try overclocking. Extra performance is always welcome!
When you consider most i7's are around the 3.4Ghz stock speed, and most can overclock them comfortably to 4.2Ghz+ you are getting a notable performance increase for nothing.
The only thing you need to OC to that level is a after market cooler for the CPU, again, these aren't too hard to fit and there is a lot of information around explaining it.
There are many options for coolers, "air" coolers are large and some cases wont fit them e.g - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-011-NC&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395
(note that is a high end cooler)
There are also pre-made water cooling options such as http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-003-CS&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395
These use water to cool the system and offer roughly the same cooling as high end air coolers but are much smaller and slightly more expensive.
Lastly, there are full water cooling system which you set up yourself - considering you are asking if overclocking is worth it, this probably isn't for you as they are a lot harder to set up.
Once you have a good cooling system set up, you can then overclock your CPU - again, there are many guides on how to do this and as long as you are careful you won't come across any problems!
The thing to note is not all hardware can be overclocked, many suppliers such as dell "lock" the bios preventing you from overclocking.
Hope that helps
The only thing you need to OC to that level is a after market cooler for the CPU, again, these aren't too hard to fit and there is a lot of information around explaining it.
There are many options for coolers, "air" coolers are large and some cases wont fit them e.g - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-011-NC&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395
(note that is a high end cooler)
There are also pre-made water cooling options such as http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-003-CS&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395
These use water to cool the system and offer roughly the same cooling as high end air coolers but are much smaller and slightly more expensive.
Lastly, there are full water cooling system which you set up yourself - considering you are asking if overclocking is worth it, this probably isn't for you as they are a lot harder to set up.
Once you have a good cooling system set up, you can then overclock your CPU - again, there are many guides on how to do this and as long as you are careful you won't come across any problems!
The thing to note is not all hardware can be overclocked, many suppliers such as dell "lock" the bios preventing you from overclocking.
Hope that helps
