Over Clocking CPU -- Worth the effort?

[Vociferate]

Right-o, so I had a massive post to ask a simple question but closed Firefox and lost it. So I'll make a tl;dr post, since it should achieve the same thing.

I am running an AMD 965 BE @ stock which is 3.4GHz and the temperatures float at around 31°-35°C. Under load they reached at most 54°.

I am using a Noctua UD14 or w/e the model was, so I am using an after-market cooler.


Ideally I would like to get it too 3.8GHz, but is it really worth the effort? Would a 3.6-3.8 OC be noticeable?

I am not fussed about the lifespan of the CPU, since I replace them every 12 months at most, anyway.

[Sajuuk]

Yes.

That is all.

[ZorbaTheGeek]

With all overclocking, your mileage may vary.

It is always worth trying but I've had the occasional CPU I've just been unable to stabilize overclocked. My current Quad box rig is 3 years old, at Core 2 Dual 2.53Ghz currently running at 4Ghz on a decent air cooler with only the tiniest increase in core voltage.

Any overclock is a bonus, effectively free performance, but find a decent stable speed. An "Almost Stable" CPU will drive you mad.

[Ughmahedhurtz]

The real question is, why are you wanting to OC it? Are you noticing performance issues? If so, what kind of performance issues? What's the rest of your setup?

If you're happy with the current performance, then what's the point of OC'ing it and thus introducing the possibility of hardware failures or compatibility problems?

[edit] And if your answer is, "Because I just want to do it lol" then why are you asking us? Just go do it.

[Sajuuk]

introducing the possibility of hardware failures or compatibility problems?.

What kind of 'compatibility' problems could arise from overclocking? Regarding hardware failures, three things are involved: Power supply, motherboard, and the chip itself. If the motherboard can't stand the increased power load, it'll fail. If the power supply can't supply the proper amount of power, you'll have instability. And the chip itself will only be fried if one of the other two fail or if you put too much voltage into it.

[Ughmahedhurtz]

Don't forget memory issues. I fought that for a few weeks a while ago when overclocking my Q6600 from 2.4GHz to 3.2GHz. It was definitely worth it but the RAM problem was a huge PITA that never showed up under stock clocking tests.

[Sajuuk]

Don't forget memory issues. I fought that for a few weeks a while ago when overclocking my Q6600 from 2.4GHz to 3.2GHz. It was definitely worth it but the RAM problem was a huge PITA that never showed up under stock clocking tests.

Oh, yes. I forgot memory, but failed/faulty memory will cause other problems that might come to light during overclocking. A faulty memory stick itself I don't see destroying hardware other than itself.

[Vociferate]

Well through the BIOS I am now floating at 3.75GHz.

Aside from the 'because I can & want too' how can I test the improvements?
Maybe it is a bit strange, but I like to view results aside from seeing "3.70GHz" or passing a Prime 95 Test.



But anyway, thanks for the replies.

[Ughmahedhurtz]

Overnight stress tests with Prime95/98 or Octo<something>. Just make sure it stresses all of your physical CPU cores at once and uses a dataset larger than your CPU's cache size.

[Sajuuk]

Personally I use Intel Burn Test.