Would overclocking be worth it for me?

[LCstuntman]

First off, I know very little about overclocking, so if you can, try to explain it in English rather than computer-hacker

 

My PC's main specs can be found in my signature, and my power supply is 635 watts. In terms of circulation, My case is the CoolerMaster Elite 310, and there are 5 fans: one in the back, one on the side, one on top of the processor, and two in the power supply.

 

Back to the point, would overclocking my CPU or GPU (if that's even possible ) give me any big performance increases in games (GTA IV especially), and still not overheat my PC? What CPU speed would best combination the most fast and stable overclock?

 

Also, if the answer to the first question is yes, this topic will probably transform into another "how do I overclock" topic

[Pico]

I'm not sure how good your CPU OC's or how good the OCing features are on your mobo, just to get that out of the way. You'll have to find those specifics out for yourself.

 

Generally you should find out:

The sweet spot for your processor to be OC'd to.

A decent operating temperature on idle and load

 

Those two things will help. Then you can get down to work. First, check your processor temperatures. Download CPUID Hardware Monitor, it will tell you the temperature of your individual cores of you processor. It shows the current temperature, as well as the minimum and maximum since when you opened the program.

 

If you've got a good idle and load temperature (load means 100% CPU use for an extended period of time so it hits it's max temp), then you can work on OCing.

However, OCing can be confusing. There's math involved, working in small increments and lots and LOTS of testing. I got my processor from 2.4Ghz up to 3.0Ghz (maxed out due to RAM) in a few hours. The performance increase isn't that noticeable for the most part, but it is at times.

 

Keep in mind, I have an aftermarket cooler (heatsink and fan, aka HSF). It's dropped my temps significantly from a stock cooler and I hit high 30's (Celsius) under load, low 30's at idle.

So you may not be able to OC your processor very much at all if the temps get to high.

 

Lots of sites have tutorials on how to OC, search around google for "how to overclock AMD X4" or something along those lines. You should be able to get enough info if you read a few tutorials and take notes along the way.

[LCstuntman]

 

<snip>

Thanks for all the info!

 

I'll definitely look at the temperatures tonight/tomorrow, and try to find some tutorials.

 

 

I won't be able to do anything major until f*cking finals are over though. God I hate studying

 

EDIT: If you only hit high 30's on load... I take it this isn't great ?:

 

That's GTA IV. I'm gonna do it again with Modern Warfare 2 to see the difference.

 

If I'm right and that is hot as hell, what can I do to lower the temperatures pretty drastically for a decent price (besides watercooling)?

 

DOUBLE EDIT: MW2 was only 2 degrees lower, click here if you care to see.

 

Also, the back of my PC is usually right against the wall (but I did pull it out to about 6 inches for these tests, but it's still surrounded by other objects). However, in the coming weeks I plan on moving around the furniture in the room it's in, so I'm going to put it on the desk with the side against the wall (the window/fan side facing out), so it will have atleast 2 feet of air behind the back of the PC, so that should help with the circulation. I hope...

Edited March 16, 2010 by LCstuntman

[Fozzy Fozborne]

They're fully within range if that's under full load. GTA4 and MW2 are extremely processor-intensive. Also, aftermarket cooling is considerably better than stock cooling which explains his lower temps.

 

Consider this Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro.

That's what I use with my 5000 x2 and it's extremely easy to install (don't need to remove the motherboard, just clip it on). It's also quiet and dropped my temps like crazy from the stock cooling.

 

One thing to consider, though: overclocking voids your warranty. If you would have built your own computer, AMD themselves would void the warranty but CyperPower definitely doesn't want people overclocking computers then claiming them defective. Also I'm not sure if you can change the heatsink on yours because of the warranty issue.

 

Anyway, remember to overclock in small steps. This is important so you can monitor how the temps are climbing.

[LCstuntman]

 

They're fully within range if that's under full load. GTA4 and MW2 are extremely processor-intensive. Also, aftermarket cooling is considerably better than stock cooling which explains his lower temps.

 

Consider this Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro.

That's what I use with my 5000 x2 and it's extremely easy to install (don't need to remove the motherboard, just clip it on). It's also quiet and dropped my temps like crazy from the stock cooling.

 

One thing to consider, though: overclocking voids your warranty. If you would have built your own computer, AMD themselves would void the warranty but CyperPower definitely doesn't want people overclocking computers then claiming them defective. Also I'm not sure if you can change the heatsink on yours because of the warranty issue.

 

Anyway, remember to overclock in small steps. This is important so you can monitor how the temps are climbing.

Thanks for the reply Fozzy

 

I'm guessing that it's under full load, I ran IV for about 15 minutes and MW2 for about 10. What do you think the safe range of temperature is? Like (just guessing) 25-75 C? And I'll definitely think about getting the cooler, not a bad price How much did it drop your temperatures by?

 

I already knew about the warranty voiding, but can you hide the fact that you've ever overclocked (once returning to default speed, of course), so CyberPower would never know the warranty was technically voided if in the very slight chance I had to have them fix/replace something?

 

Meanwhile, I still can't find a how-to on overclocking the Athlon II 620 or 630 X4 The closest I've gotten is seeing some crazy bastard go for "extreme overclocking" to 6GHz using liquid nitrogen as the cooler

[Fozzy Fozborne]

Well I upgraded from a 4200 x2 (2.2GHz 90nm processor) to the 5000 x2 (2.6 GHz 65nm processor) and the stock 4200 cooling wouldn't even run the 5000 at stock settings. The 5000 doesn't come with any cooling standard. The 5000 would shut down randomly at load because it was getting too hot. After an upgrade to the AC 64 it runs just fine at 3 GHz.

 

In my experience, anything over 55 degrees on an AMD processor at load is bad news. Try to keep it below 48 degrees for optimal lifespan. Your program gives you the value of 51 degrees as the "max" temperature so opinions can vary.

 

As far as finding a guide, try looking up an older Athlon x2 guide. Not much has changed with the overclocking of AMD procesors over the years. They've just gotten cooler and faster with time.

 

Oh and one more thing, if you shop around for that cooler there is a definite difference between the 64 Pro and the Alpine 64 Pro. The Alpine is a budget cooler that's not very good for overclocking.

 

 

[LCstuntman]

Well... that was easier then I thought (notice "core speed")

 

 

In case you're wondering, I used this to find out the easiest way to overclock and this to find out what I should change the bus speed to.

 

I'm going to return it back to the original 2.8 until I get a fan/cooler/whatever, though. Once I have a cooler I'll try going higher, maybe to the "rock-solid" 3.5GHz like in the second article above.

 

Anyways, is this cooler better than the one you linked too? Some guy said he got a 22 C decrease All I want is 10, so the chances are that will work perfect... if I can fit it in my case

[ikt]

For GPU overclocking, you can do that with Catalyst Control Center -> ATi Overdrive. Just try out some values posted on the internet for your specific graphics card model AND make. Some providers use other coolers, so an exact match is important if you don't know much about OC'ing yet.

 

But you should stake small steps and test it. If your machine locks up, lower the clocks. I'd start with only the core clock, and after finding the max of that, lower it so your card stays cool, and then OC your GPU memory.

[Democrab]

For your GPU, mostly up the memory frequency, that's where the HD5770 is limited most.

[Fozzy Fozborne]

@LC the cooler you linked to (Freezer 7 Pro) is designed for Intel systems and will not fit your CPU. If you're shopping around look for an AM3 compatible cooler.

 

Congrats on the overclocking, how is the speed increase? I saw a few people hit 4 GHz easy on that chip, but I wouldn't recommend pushing it nearly that far on stock cooling.

[LCstuntman]

@ikt & Joe: Thanks, I'll definitely try that

 

@Fozzy: Oh, alright. I was worried about that I'll stick with the 64 Pro then. And where do you install the 64 too? Is it right over the processor, or is it in the open so it cools everything down?

 

And I didn't try any games with the overclock, I was worried about over heating it. Now that I think about it, I guess a 10 minute session couldn't hurt... I'll try it after this post.

 

Thanks for all the replies everyone

 

 

EDIT: I just OC'd to 3.5GHz, and Hwmonitor is only reporting the GPU temp, and CPU-Z is only reporting the core speed, not the bus speed, multiplier, etc. Weird

 

I'm gonna look for hwmonitor replacements

 

DOUBLE EDIT: Windows crashed, so I dropped the CPU speed to 3.35 GHz 3.2GHz now. Any reason It could have crashed? The only programs open were Google Chrome and PowerPoint.

Edited March 18, 2010 by LCstuntman

[james227uk]

Sorry if i'm thread jacking here (no point of opening another OC topic when there is this one relating to it), but is overclocking safe? I know it voids warranty, but say if windows crashes, how would I declock it?

[LCstuntman]

 

Sorry if i'm thread jacking here (no point of opening another OC topic when there is this one relating to it), but is overclocking safe? I know it voids warranty, but say if windows crashes, how would I declock it?

Just open up BIOS (what you use to overclock) and declock it. It's not a program in the sense that you need to have windows running to open it:

 

To get to BIOS, when your computer starts up, there will be a screen showing either the logo of manufacturer of you computer if it's a prebuilt, or the logo your motherboard (or something along those lines), if it's custom-built. Underneath that, there will be something that says "Press DEL to start BIOS" (It will probably say something different than "DEL", the F keys are more common). When it's opened, just retrace the steps you made to overclock it in the first place (if you want to know what they are, feel free to "thread-jack" a little more ). So, it's pretty safe, as long as you're not a dumbass like me and skip a whole .3GHz from the last test Take baby steps.

[Fozzy Fozborne]

Ok, you remove the old cooler (not difficult, it's one black plastic lever then gently and slowly rotate the cooler until it breaks free of the processor. Do NOT pull up on the heatsink without first rotating it because you can [i have] rip it out of the socket without releasing the process lever.), clean the processor with some denatured alcohol or similar product and the new cooler basically clips onto where the previous one went. The 64 comes with paste pre-installed so you don't need any arctic silver compound or anything.

 

Here's a pic of it installed

and this should answer your question on how it's opposed.

 

One thing to remember is that it takes a few hours for the thermal paste to set into the processor so for the first day avoid overclocking but after that you're safe. Also don't freak out if your temps are higher with the new cooler than the old one at first for the aforementioned reason.

 

3.2 on your 630 makes your $99 chip as fast as one that costs $165.

 

Oh and @James, if for whatever reason your overclocking fails to boot most motherboards have a failsafe that will set it back to stock settings so you can boot again.

[Democrab]

One thing to remember is that it takes a few hours for the thermal paste to set into the processor so for the first day avoid overclocking but after that you're safe. Also don't freak out if your temps are higher with the new cooler than the old one at first for the aforementioned reason.

 

3.2 on your 630 makes your $99 chip as fast as one that costs $165.

 

Oh and @James, if for whatever reason your overclocking fails to boot most motherboards have a failsafe that will set it back to stock settings so you can boot again.

This is only true if you buy Arctic Silver 5, which is currently pretty average in the TIM market, the stuff I use (OCZ FreeZe) works as well as it will ever work from day one to the time you take off the heatsink.

 

For a cooler, I'd get a Xigmatek S1283 Black Knight, cheap and very good, if you spent a week or so fine tuning it under one of those, I'm sure you'd get 4Ghz.

[Ebernanut]

EDIT: I just OC'd to 3.5GHz, and Hwmonitor is only reporting the GPU temp, and CPU-Z is only reporting the core speed, not the bus speed, multiplier, etc. Weird

 

I'm gonna look for hwmonitor replacements

I've found Coretemp to be a good program for monitoring the temp on AMD CPUs(I use Realtemp for Intel chips). HWMonitor is a great little program for checking voltages and I've also used it to check motherboard temps(northbridge etc.) but I've found it best to use a specialized program to monitor CPU temps.

[LCstuntman]

@Fozzy: Thanks, that helps a lot I also finally tested a 3.4GHz overclock in GTA IV, and got an around of around a 7 FPS increase (up to 12 in one area), and less stuttering as well! The temps were at 56C though, but that was expected Nothing a good cooler can't fix though.

 

@Joe: Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it out

 

@Ebernanut: Thanks for the link, I just downloaded it and it does seem really nice

 

Thanks for all the replies

 

EDIT: @Fozzy: According to Newegg, the Freezer 7 Pro is compatible with:

 

 

Intel CPU LGA 1366 / LGA 1156 / LGA 775

 

AMD CPU Socket AM3 / AM2+ / AM2 / 939 / 754

Clicky! - Click on the "specifications" tab on the top left corner (above the description) then scroll down to the "Compatiblity" row.

 

So won't it work?

Edited March 20, 2010 by LCstuntman

[Fozzy Fozborne]

Yep, I stand corrected. The original Arctic Cooling 7 was called the seven because it was designed for only the LGA 775 and I assumed revision 2 was just a revised fan or something. It will work fine for you.

 

@Joe, I was specifically talking about the Arctic Cooling 64's pre-applied with a rather thick layer of thermal paste. If you look at some of the older reviews they mention waiting for the excess to come out before overclocking it. Plus it's not like he's going to harm the processor by not overclocking it even if there is indeed no set-in time.

[LCstuntman]

Alright, sweet. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get that one then.