Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - What is the point of OC'ing a lower end cpu?

dippin · 08-24-2009, 09:03 AM

I am about to upgrade my computer. Nothing major, as I really couldn't justify spending major bucks for that. So I was looking at some of the middle to low range AMDs.

In trying to decide between the phenom II 9xx and the phenom II 7xx series, it was brought to my attention that you can unlock a 4th core on the 7xx series, and that it is easily oc'ed so that the performance of the 7xx is closer to that of the 9xx series. Great, I thought. But then I saw the cooling requirements to pull that off. So my question, going beyond the specifics of this case, is what is the point? What is the point of getting a lower end cpu and overclocking it to reach the performance of a superior chip if you are going to have to spend pretty much the difference in price in a better cooling system? Especially given how no OC is guaranteed?

I was about to pull the trigger and buy the 720, but then I started looking at aftermarket heatsink and fans and decent ones cost around 30 bucks at least (plus shipping and whatever compound I use), which in essence bumps the price of the 720 BE ($119) closer to the price of a 945 ($169).

08-24-2009, 09:03 AM	#1 (permalink)
dippin Crazy, indeed Location: the ether	What is the point of OC'ing a lower end cpu? I am about to upgrade my computer. Nothing major, as I really couldn't justify spending major bucks for that. So I was looking at some of the middle to low range AMDs. In trying to decide between the phenom II 9xx and the phenom II 7xx series, it was brought to my attention that you can unlock a 4th core on the 7xx series, and that it is easily oc'ed so that the performance of the 7xx is closer to that of the 9xx series. Great, I thought. But then I saw the cooling requirements to pull that off. So my question, going beyond the specifics of this case, is what is the point? What is the point of getting a lower end cpu and overclocking it to reach the performance of a superior chip if you are going to have to spend pretty much the difference in price in a better cooling system? Especially given how no OC is guaranteed? I was about to pull the trigger and buy the 720, but then I started looking at aftermarket heatsink and fans and decent ones cost around 30 bucks at least (plus shipping and whatever compound I use), which in essence bumps the price of the 720 BE ($119) closer to the price of a 945 ($169).