[Vadigor]

Or in other words: why would I decide to overclock my CPU and what would it accomplish?

I'm in the process of building a new desktop and have to make a choice between the Intel i5 3470 and the 3570K, the difference being 30$. I currently don't have any intention of overclocking my CPU but have had the K model recommended, "just in case." And yet I've also seen repeated posts saying that overclocking modern CPUs is a waste of time.

To make a better choice, I'd like answers to the following questions:

• Will overclocking lead to a measurable performance increase:
  • per-core,
  • per-thread and
  • per-application?
• Will overclocking result in a marked performance improvement in real-world usage or videogames? I would think that more clocks per second means a faster response time yet am told that it's not that clear-cut.
• If the answer to the last question is negative, will overclocking then at least speed up purely CPU-intensive tasks such as rendering and media encoding?
• If, down the line, I reach the point where my CPU becomes a bottleneck for a new GPU, will overclocking it allow me to use the GPU to its full potential?
• What kind of hardware investment are we talking? Will a 30$ third-party cooler do or do I need to spend more than 80$ to push my cores up to 4.0 GHz?

I'd appreciate it if anyone could find the time to help me answer some of these. I'm confident that I can handle the technical aspects of overclocking but I'd like to know if it's worth investing time and money in.

 

[Tyree]

Re: Merits of CPU Overclocking in the Real World

OC'ing newer CPU's will not render any significant gain other than in benchmarks. It will void warranties.
If you feel a CPU will not render the performance you need/want, purchase a faster CPU up front.
By the time a GPU will bottleneck a 3750k the PC will be obsolete.
Any decent quality aftermarket heatsink with a 92mm fan will do the job.

 

[T_Rex]

Re: Merits of CPU Overclocking in the Real World

^Very true. I OC myself but only to test hardware limits for various brands, for various reasons, but i don't OC that much on my own systems myself anymore because the benefit is so little for the potential hardware loss.

Tyree speaks the truth about this matter. An i5 3450-3470 will not bottleneck a GTX670/HD7950.

Get a reliable motherboard, a good PSU, fast CPU and GPU, good memory. and you're good to go.

 

[Vadigor]

Re: Merits of CPU Overclocking in the Real World

OC'ing newer CPU's will not render any significant gain other than in benchmarks. It will void warranties.

Is that also true for CPUs specifically marked as "unlocked"? Seems counterintuitive at best.

^Very true. I OC myself but only to test hardware limits for various brands, for various reasons, but i don't OC that much on my own systems myself anymore because the benefit is so little for the potential hardware loss.

Yes I planned on stearing clear of overclocking myself anyway. I'm just wondering why an OC of a 3.4 GHz core to 4.0 GHz, a mathematical increase of more than 15% would not result in a performance increase of a similar magnitude. Will this only become apparent under full load or are there other components in the chip or on the motherboard that would bottleneck the higher clock rate?

Tyree speaks the truth about this matter. An i5 3450-3470 will not bottleneck a GTX670/HD7950.

I was referring to it becoming a bottleneck for a new GPU in two to three years time, but I suppose that if I'm getting a new GPU, as Tyree said, odds are that I'll be replacing the entire build anyway.

Get a reliable motherboard, a good PSU, fast CPU and GPU, good memory. and you're good to go.

Already done. :grin: