High-End 24/7 Overclock worth it?

[JATownes]

I propose an experiment: I would categorize most of us TPU members to be overclockers and gamers. I got hooked on overclocking years ago when my old t-bird wouldn't let me push my Voodoo card hard enough. (Anyone remember those?). So I understand overclocking older equipment for better performance. As soon as I got my PII940 and HD4850 Xfire, I couldn't wait to clock the hell out of them.

I have been running 24/7 with my CPU at 3.8Ghz (240*15.5 ) and my 4850s at 690/1100 for a little over a month gaming at GTA4, Dead Space, L4D, Red Alert 3, etc. Last week, I decided to do something a little crazy, and herein lies the experiment. I jumped into my BIOS and reset everything to stock.

CPU @ 3000Mhz (200*15) @ 1.32v
FSB @ 200Mhz
HTT @ 1800Mhz
Memory @ 1066 5/5/5/15 @ 2.0v
Cool & Quiet: On
Video Cards @ 625/993

I have gamed out the same amount as usual all week long, playing my usual array of games, and haven't noticed a difference at all.

So basically, I am feeling like I have been running 1.47v through my 940 for nothing. Granted, benching rocks I had a blast hitting 4.0Ghz and hitting 20,000 3DMarks. But is it worth it for 24/7?? I am starting to think not. I propose all of us running high-end overclocked hardware turn it down for a week and see if you notice.

I might get heckled for this post, but I just wondered if anyone noticed a "real world" difference using an overclocked i7 or PHII, and if not, what is the point of 24/7 clocks that high?

 

[phanbuey]

well... I have an e8500 and there is a massive difference in games between 4Ghz and 3.16, l4d runs much smoother for example, less stuttering during massive hordes.

 

[a_ump]

i'm not i7 or PII, but with my q6600, i notice a huge difference from 2.4ghz to 3ghz just in system responsiveness, boot time, FPS in like far cry 2 and UT3; granted you said extreme oc's, but i guess i could also say i notice a big diff from 2.4ghz and 3.6ghz, though from 3-3.6 i notice none cept in benchies. as for my GPU overclock, well my gpu sucks so course i notice a diff.

 

[Kursah]

I might get heckled for this post, but I just wondered if anyone noticed a "real world" difference using an overclocked i7 or PHII, and if not, what is the point of 24/7 clocks that high?

Yep I've noticed very similar man, and I've posted about it for a long time. By and far the biggest difference in GAMING performance, at least with modern games is the GPU. Overclocking that tends to help more than the CPU/BUS/RAM. I link the CPU/BUS/RAM together for obvious reasons, I maybe lose 1-3FPS in any given game going to stock from my current OC's on my Q6600. I also noticed very similar but maybe up to 5FPS with my e8500/8600 setups. Generally it's not noticable, the best thing is getting a quad core for smp supporting games now and into the future and not worry too much.

I used to run my e8600 at 4.5GHz with 4GB of ram and an OC'd GTX260, when I couldn't feel the difference between 450-500FSB/4.5Ghz and 333FSB/3.33GHz, that tells me that late-model Core2's were more than enough for modern games. I went back to a Q6600 for extra cores while saving money compared to the higher clocking dual, hell my Q @ 3.6Ghz is way more than enough for any modern game, and then some...which is great, so many could save money and build an amazing budget gaming rig by not going with the newest of the new since the last-gen stuff is still very capable and solid performing.



Also to contradict A-ump (no offense) I notice no difference by "seat of the pants" or from "seeing" the gameplay between 266/2.4Ghz and 400/3.6Ghz, really I keep the OC for cruncing/folding and because I'm used to it. At most I see a 3FPS difference, and really that is pretty sparse. Having a more powerful GPU makes a big difference.

 

[a_ump]

i agree with the last gen being perfectly fine for gaming, CPU wise that is. When you play at 1680x1050 or higher with high details/aa/af, the load is all on the GPU not CPU, so performance in games from c2d/c2q to i7 isn't that great at all. that's why i plan to keep my q6600 for another year or so. As for the gaming performance, i definitely need all the juice i can get with my 7800GTX as my GPU, though i'll try at stock and see if i notice an FPS diff in UT3 or Far Cry 2.

 

[farlex85]

I propose an experiment: I would categorize most of us TPU members to be overclockers and gamers. I got hooked on overclocking years ago when my old t-bird wouldn't let me push my Voodoo card hard enough. (Anyone remember those?). So I understand overclocking older equipment for better performance. As soon as I got my PII940 and HD4850 Xfire, I couldn't wait to clock the hell out of them.

I have been running 24/7 with my CPU at 3.8Ghz (240*15.5 ) and my 4850s at 690/1100 for a little over a month gaming at GTA4, Dead Space, L4D, Red Alert 3, etc. Last week, I decided to do something a little crazy, and herein lies the experiment. I jumped into my BIOS and reset everything to stock.

CPU @ 3000Mhz (200*15) @ 1.32v
FSB @ 200Mhz
HTT @ 1800Mhz
Memory @ 1066 5/5/5/15 @ 2.0v
Cool & Quiet: On
Video Cards @ 625/993

I have gamed out the same amount as usual all week long, playing my usual array of games, and haven't noticed a difference at all.

So basically, I am feeling like I have been running 1.47v through my 940 for nothing. Granted, benching rocks I had a blast hitting 4.0Ghz and hitting 20,000 3DMarks. But is it worth it for 24/7?? I am starting to think not. I propose all of us running high-end overclocked hardware turn it down for a week and see if you notice.

I might get heckled for this post, but I just wondered if anyone noticed a "real world" difference using an overclocked i7 or PHII, and if not, what is the point of 24/7 clocks that high?

For the most part yes I have experienced the same thing. Subjective difference b/t oc'd and not oc'd isn't great at all in most situations. That being said, in some situations where I am on the cusp of being able to play a game the way I want to and not that bit of video card oc'ing pushes me over. Crysis is one of those games of course. GTA IV is another. There is a noticeable difference b/t oc'd and not. And even in most other games, oc's do help me out gpu wise.

Cpu wise though I experimented with many different clocks and no, I don't really notice a difference. However, being that I'm now an enthusiast, I just can't leave untapped potential at the table, even if I don't notice it. So w/ my cpu I simply take it as high as it can go at stock voltage and leave it there. For my 6750 that 3.6ghz, a nice even number that requires almost no extra voltage. GPU I never edit the bios, I simply leave it at it's stock clocks and when needed bump it up a bit in games. That way I don't stress my hardware unneededly but I don't feel like a chump that doesn't take advantage.

Clock speed just isn't that important. Architecture is.

 

[SK-1]

Its always the balance. I could drop my OC and not notice any difference when I got my 2nd GTX280.

A new "Crysis" like game will be out in a few months that will necessitate a good OC for decent frames,....just watch.

 

[JATownes]

As for the gaming performance, i definitely need all the juice i can get with my 7800GTX as my GPU, though i'll try at stock and see if i notice an FPS diff in UT3 or Far Cry 2.

7800GTX What do you have it clocked at?

Clock speed just isn't that important. Architecture is.

This should have been an AMD slogan back in the day.

I play most of my games at 1920x1080 on an Asus VH226H and GTA4 benchmarks average ~50fps at stock. I must admit though, most weekends are spent tryng to find the "sweet spot" in 3DMark. I just love to OC!

 

[a_ump]

well i had it oc'd to 504/1354 and just hopped into far cry 2 and started playing some at that, then some css afterwards, and i didn't get any artifacts or anything of that sort, but then i used atitool like a week after that just to double check and it started artfacting after 8min or so. Now it's stable at 496/1340.

 

[JATownes]

well i had it oc'd to 504/1354 and just hopped into far cry 2 and started playing some at that, then some css afterwards, and i didn't get any artifacts or anything of that sort, but then i used atitool like a week after that just to double check and it started artfacting after 8min or so. Now it's stable at 496/1340.

Nice!!

 

[a_ump]

yep, my bro has another one....tempted to take it and see if it can overclock any higher than mine , he doesn't oc

 

[JATownes]

He has a 7800GTX and doesn't overclock it?? Poor neglected card.

 

[a_ump]

lol well it's in his secondary rig, and nah he doesn't oc at all, he has an 8800Ultra in his main with an athlong x2 6400 and hasn't oc'd either, even though he has an aftermarket cooler for his cpu lol. But still lol i just enjoy pushing hardware as much as i can, kills time too(grounded )

 

[Naekuh]

didnt you know if your overclock is 4ghz, you get an automatic power level of 9000?



in seriousness it depends on your videocards and configs. You'll notice if your multi gpu'd the higher overclocks allow your cards to scale better.

 

[phanbuey]

didnt you know if your overclock is 4ghz, you get an automatic power level of 9000?



in seriousness it depends on your videocards and configs. You'll notice if your multi gpu'd the higher overclocks allow your cards to scale better.

yeppp... my scaling jumped drastically when i went from a q6600 at 3.6 (it could baaarreellly make that OC) to my e8500 at 4.1GHz - GPU score in vantage went from mid 17K to 20K same drivers.

 

[Kursah]

Definately for benching OC's make a difference, I noticed a huge jump between a Q6600 @ 3.6Ghz and an e8600 @ 4.5ghz...too bad I'm a gamer and not a bencher! But then I'd probably have a more serious system if I did bench!

 

[phanbuey]

Definately for benching OC's make a difference, I noticed a huge jump between a Q6600 @ 3.6Ghz and an e8600 @ 4.5ghz...too bad I'm a gamer and not a bencher! But then I'd probably have a more serious system if I did bench!

id like to think of myself as a gamer, but the stupid amounts of money ive spent on my rig say otherwise.

 

[Asylum]

For gaming its all about finding the balance of your system!!
Over high clocks isnt the answer!!

 

[Kursah]

id like to think of myself as a gamer, but the stupid amounts of money ive spent on my rig say otherwise.

Well if one GTX260 does fine for me on 1920x1080, 2x GTX260's at 1680x1050 should last you quite a while!

I don't bench much at all, I'll run a few times on a new build stock, and then at final OC, beyond that it's game benches and gaming, folding, crunching. There's nothing wrong with gaming and benching, I just get sick of running an app over and over and over and over to see how my "score" changes in a program that has no real use or entertainment to me.

 

[hat]

Well, if I didn't oc my processor I would probably be in trouble
When I get my 7900GT I will oc it. Sure it will do just fine but I will oc the graphics card to get a higher minimum FPS value. For example when I looked at the Psi Emitter in Stalker with this 8100... it just failed hard. I got about 10fps. I overclock to give things more power when they need it most, resulting in smoother gameplay.

 

[a_ump]

yep, hat i hope your payiing close to nothing for that 7900GT....esp with how cheap a good card is like an HD 4650 that would outperform it.

 

[Binge]

If you know anything about hat it's that he's cheap. I'm sure it was at a fantastic price.

 

[slyfox2151]

Well if one GTX260 does fine for me on 1920x1080, 2x GTX260's at 1680x1050 should last you quite a while!

lol, my gtx260 @ 1920x1200 does just fine. 2x @1650 seems excessive lol, but then again i wouldnt mind 2 if i could buy one cheaper then $250 Aud

 

[Error 404]

I play Garry's Mod a lot, and having 3.8 GHz for it to use makes the game a lot faster than 2.5 GHz. I need that to have a good gaming experiance.
However, for high end games like Crysis I'm fine with having 20 - 30 FPS on high settings, because when I have my card overclocked it never drops below 20. I probably sound a bit like u2konline there, but for me its about eye candy and playing at (consistently) playable FPS, which for me is 20+ FPS.
Overclocking isn't really required on high end hardware unless you are benchmarking, which I don't. I game, on a fairly tight budget!

 

[hat]

If you know anything about hat it's that he's cheap. I'm sure it was at a fantastic price.

heh... you got me. the card itself is $15 plus whatever shipping it's going to cost to get to me. just waiting for him to reply with a quote on the shipping and as soon as I see that I'll send him paypal monies