New Overclocking Group

[The Black Reaper]

I've always been a fan of overclocking and have delved into it in the past year learning a lot through research and trial and error. Slow and steady wins the race is what drives the art of overclocking. So for those who love to overclock and those who want advice from current overclockers here at TWC I have created a new overclocking group where you can post your current set up and its limits as well as benchmark runs.

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/group.php?groupid=1526

Feel free to join as it is a public group.

[Veliky Kaiser Theos]

Is the group for observers as well? I find it interesting, but I would never do it myself.

[Devilmaypoop]

Well, I joined. Posting my overclock(s).

[irishron]

I may never get there but I do believe it's a good idea. Good luck with it.

[PoleCatsAlt]

It's an excellent idea but there should be some way to verify the integrity of the info being put out there. There is nothing like a bad overclock to fry a system for good and some of the younger members on this board may not be so anxious to get their facts straight. Make sure you have a good core of been-there seen-that types before you really get up and running. Good luck!

[Devilmaypoop]

It's an excellent idea but there should be some way to verify the integrity of the info being put out there. There is nothing like a bad overclock to fry a system for good and some of the younger members on this board may not be so anxious to get their facts straight. Make sure you have a good core of been-there seen-that types before you really get up and running. Good luck!

You're afraid of someone spreading misinformation? You can be sure if any of that is going around, I'll be quick to jump in and correct them

[Top-Tier-Tech]

Although I have many-a-computer overclocking has never generated more than mild interest in me. The gain to FPS in gaming is so incredibly negligent/non-existent with newer CPU's such as the i7-2600k, I mean.... if I have v-sync enabled and am hitting the 60FPS cap why would I?

The shorter lifespan of the CPU coupled with the higher power consumption just make it pointless IMO, unless I were doing so on an older CPU that's outdated and slow just for the heck of it...

Ah well, best of luck to your new group! Even general "computer" groups tend to die off as far as in-group posting rather quickly so it ends up being more of an "I'm a part of this here group, see my badge in my profile" thing

[Darkpriest667]

Although I have many-a-computer overclocking has never generated more than mild interest in me. The gain to FPS in gaming is so incredibly negligent/non-existent with newer CPU's such as the i7-2600k, I mean.... if I have v-sync enabled and am hitting the 60FPS cap why would I?

The shorter lifespan of the CPU coupled with the higher power consumption just make it pointless IMO, unless I were doing so on an older CPU that's outdated and slow just for the heck of it...

Ah well, best of luck to your new group! Even general "computer" groups tend to die off as far as in-group posting rather quickly so it ends up being more of an "I'm a part of this here group, see my badge in my profile" thing

this

[Devilmaypoop]

The shorter lifespan of the CPU coupled with the higher power consumption just make it pointless IMO, unless I were doing so on an older CPU that's outdated and slow just for the heck of it...P

Yeaaah, expect that even if you push the CPU voltage to the maximum safe limit on air, your chip will still last good 5+ years. And most OCs don't even require you to go that far, like an OC on my 1055T from 2.8ghz to 4ghz requires voltage to be increased to around 1.387v-1.4v. 1.55v is the max. That's a 1.2ghz OC whilst being completely on the safe side and probably not decreasing lifespan by a mere month or so.

The gain to FPS in gaming is so incredibly negligent/non-existent with newer CPU's such as the i7-2600k

If you have a Phenom II though, you will be seeing massive gains in games from OCing.

[Top-Tier-Tech]

Yeaaah, expect that even if you push the CPU voltage to the maximum safe limit on air, your chip will still last good 5+ years. And most OCs don't even require you to go that far, like an OC on my 1055T from 2.8ghz to 4ghz requires voltage to be increased to around 1.387v-1.4v. 1.55v is the max. That's a 1.2ghz OC whilst being completely on the safe side and probably not decreasing lifespan by a mere month or so.

Someone has been using the latest CPU's for over 5 years already to confirm the approximate decrease in stable longevity at various overclocks

If you have a Phenom II though, you will be seeing massive gains in games from OCing.

Obviously....

I was talking about the latest gen i5/i7's, which is what I have, which is why I see no value in overclocking. The negatives (negligible FPS gains, increased power requirements and consumption, increased heat) outweigh the positives at least for me personally, I was never talking about the value of overclocking to someone else. There are many people who just find it to be fun regardless of the gains and losses.

[atraps]

Although I have many-a-computer overclocking has never generated more than mild interest in me. The gain to FPS in gaming is so incredibly negligent/non-existent with newer CPU's such as the i7-2600k, I mean.... if I have v-sync enabled and am hitting the 60FPS cap why would I?

Why did you get a K version processor?

[The Black Reaper]

Why did you get a K version processor?

unlocked multiplier making overclocking of the sandy bridge processor much easier.. All you have to do is up the multiplier and raise voltage if need. There are other steps that must be taken but this covers the gist of overclocking the k series of intel processors.

Responding to an earlier statement in this thread, people overclock 2600k processors to eliminate the potential of bottlenecking your GPUs... I havent met anyone yet who spent the money to get a 2600k and not do a multi gpu set up. People go all out on their systems almost spending $3000 on a comp and taking it down and selling the parts away just a couple months later. I'm not that insane but my next set up will almost cost me a total of $2000 if i plan to SLI GTX 580s 3gbs after the keplers are released with a triple monitor set up. Right now i'll just upgrade my components to a 2500k set up and wait to purchase Zotac Gtx 580 3gb cards until January or even later. If the keplers do outmatch the 580s by as much as it is rumored then the prices of the 580s will be dropping pretty early allowing companies to empty their stock and purchase the next gen. To be honest though... GTX 580 3GB SLI will last you 2-3 years in a triple monitor set up and almost 4-5 years on a single monitor set up.

My next build is all about longevity because I need to save up money now to pay my college debts when i graduate in 2 years.

[Top-Tier-Tech]

Responding to an earlier statement in this thread, people overclock 2600k processors to eliminate the potential of bottlenecking your GPUs... I havent met anyone yet who spent the money to get a 2600k and not do a multi gpu set up. People go all out on their systems almost spending $3000 on a comp and taking it down and selling the parts away just a couple months later. I'm not that insane but my next set up will almost cost me a total of $2000 if i plan to SLI GTX 580s 3gbs after the keplers are released with a triple monitor set up. Right now i'll just upgrade my components to a 2500k set up and wait to purchase Zotac Gtx 580 3gb cards until January or even later. If the keplers do outmatch the 580s by as much as it is rumored then the prices of the 580s will be dropping pretty early allowing companies to empty their stock and purchase the next gen. To be honest though... GTX 580 3GB SLI will last you 2-3 years in a triple monitor set up and almost 4-5 years on a single monitor set up.

Your FPS gain with GTX580's in SLI over GTX570's in SLI isn't worth the extra $300 no matter how you look at it even when prices drop the 570's will drop a higher percentage than will the 580's.

Second... GTX580's are unlikely to come down any more than 20% at any major retailers as the highest end cards never lose much value even when they are outdated ESPECIALLY FANCY VERSIONS LIKE 3GB CARDS (regular GTX295's and GTX480's never dropped below $400 even when they were made obsolete by the next series) You can snag outdated GPU's on ebay for s good discount but they're gonna be used.

Third... two GTX580's in SLI will not even come close to maxing even current games out at 5760x1080, minimum FPS would get choppy on games like B3 at that res, no way could they last you 2-3 years unless you plan on playing new games 2-3 years from now with low graphics quality just so you can play on 3 screens which just doesn't add that much to the gaming experience IMO... I have a couple 3 monitor setups but that's because I wanted 3 screen for desktop use, not gaming, most games are poorly optimized for 3 screens to boot as few people have such setups.

Forth... What size monitors are you planning on getting for your triple monitor setup?

[The Black Reaper]

Your FPS gain with GTX580's in SLI over GTX570's in SLI isn't worth the extra $300 no matter how you look at it even when prices drop the 570's will drop a higher percentage than will the 580's.

Second... GTX580's are unlikely to come down any more than 20% at any major retailers as the highest end cards never lose much value even when they are outdated ESPECIALLY FANCY VERSIONS LIKE 3GB CARDS (regular GTX295's and GTX480's never dropped below $400 even when they were made obsolete by the next series) You can snag outdated GPU's on ebay for s good discount but they're gonna be used.

Third... two GTX580's in SLI will not even come close to maxing even current games out at 5760x1080, minimum FPS would get choppy on games like B3 at that res, no way could they last you 2-3 years unless you plan on playing new games 2-3 years from now with low graphics quality just so you can play on 3 screens which just doesn't add that much to the gaming experience IMO... I have a couple 3 monitor setups but that's because I wanted 3 screen for desktop use, not gaming, most games are poorly optimized for 3 screens to boot as few people have such setups.

Forth... What size monitors are you planning on getting for your triple monitor setup?

1.) 480s are $300 at most retailers... From $499 at release to $300..... more then 20%..
2.) Did i say 60 FPS constant at max settings?? Didnt even mention it. So please don't put words into my mouth. What i meant was playable at max.. Higher then 30 FPS at 5760x1080 is good enough to play at. Games like Crysis 2 and its new DX11 patch were meant to bog down your computer. They purposely went in and made the entire game resource heavy. 3x GTX 580 can't max out FPS on it either. Lower res like 1920x1200 runs it great. 80 FPS on average.
3.)The res i want for my monitor is 1600x900.. Similar to a 2560x1600. 2 GTX 580 3gbs can max games at that res
4.)While i enjoy the extra 1.5GB in my GTX 580 you can sit there and get bottle necked by your VRAM. Sorry but at triple monitor set ups its all about the VRAM.

[Crazyeyesreaper]

well it depends overclocking cpus of any kinda has huge gains in 3d Rendering which i do alot of, and in multi gpus systems it helps with there scaling by a large degree, my 6970s on a Phenom II get 70fps avg maxed out In BC2 s stock 2600k put them around 110 overclocked 2600k can push them as high as 130-140+ which is nice but other then First person shooters yea its kind of moot. the only other games ive seen scale well with overclocks and cpus

are

Shogun 2
GTA IV
Bad Company 2

those 3 titles tend to gain a good deal of performance from a CPU overclock. otherwise i do agree kind of pointless, but with Turbo, overclocking is easy the new 2500k P67 setup ill be running stock most times with a customized Turbo setting that when using intense tasks will auto clock me up to 4.6ghz so i still get low power consumption at idle which the machine is at most of the time but overall it really depends on the programs / games / apps you use. most wont benefit but video encoding, 3d rendering, etc do benefit greatly.

[Taiji]

Some people make up all manner of **** to cover up for the fact they're scared or lazy

Overclock it.

[Top-Tier-Tech]

Some people make up all manner of **** to cover up for the fact they're scared or lazy

Overclock it.

Not true at all.

Why did you get a K version processor?

I buy and sell computer components and electronics frequently on both ebay and Amazon (name same as here now) and a K series processor not only holds a higher resale value but is in higher demand which makes resale easier. When the LGA 2011 platform is officially announced but not yet released I will sell off my P67 board and 2600K while they still have their maximum resale value.

[Taiji]

Not true at all.

Oh so you think I am talking about you.

[Top-Tier-Tech]

Oh so you think I am talking about you.

Either me or the invisible man who posts invisible posts.

Overclock it.

Dunno who else in this thread you would be referring to....

[Taiji]

Either me or the invisible man who posts invisible posts.

You might be keen for it but that doesn't make the attention yours

Dunno who else in this thread you would be referring to....

Of course you don't; I was commanding everyone on the interwebs, of course.

The point being that they'll get better performance, and it probably won't cost anything as long as they don't do something really really stupid.

I've overclocked every CPU since my 486 dx2 66 hit 80hz and gave me around +5 fps in Doom. Never had a chip die. Once had a chip suddenly require more voltage to maintain stability at stock but that's about it (And that was due to leaving the HSF unplugged when testing limits - Really really stupid, like I said). The benefits are programs loading faster, slightly less bottle-necked graphics, generally higher fps in cpu heavy games, warmer room, ... The normal benefits of more powerful hardware. What's not to like?