Quote:
Originally Posted by Xerxys
It's my understanding that the people who do overclock, do it solely for the "wow" factor. To show that it can be done.
I am willing to bet that the computer you are attempting to upgrade can be replaced easily by another one from walmart that will last you just as long as you need it to. The folk that deal with this are hobbyists that do it because it's fun, not cost effective. If you want practicality I'm afraid you'll have to pay for it.
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Well, actually, no. If I bought a new pc from walmart I would be buying a bunch of stuff I simply don't need. My upgrade involves a new cpu and maybe a motherboard.
And OC'ing can be extremely cost effective at the mid to high range. The difference in price between an i7 920 and an i7 950 is about 300 dollars, so it is a lot cheaper to get the 920 and OC it to 950's speed.
I just don't get why it is done at the low to mid range, where difference in price between different gen processors is around 30-40 bucks.
---------- Post added at 09:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:42 AM ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vigilante
I've been OCing for almost a decade. Let me explain a few things.
OCing in and of itself is a hobby. It takes time, patience and lots of trial and error. Every platform has a different method and when the platform is new, sometimes things that worked on the previous fail on the new.
I don't OC for the wow factor. I OC because I can have performance that is not being offered by any CPU manufacturer. I've had 300 dollar chips (and less) that beat the very highest $1000+ CPU being offered on the market. For me it's not about who I tell, it's about how much shit can I do on my rig. I hate performance limitations, so if I can open 20 programs and still play my favorite game of the month, then I'm happy.
I typically bring my CPUs to their maximum speed and highest voltage allowable, then back it down and find a slightly lower stable max with a much lower voltage. That lowers heat output a lot and gives me a daily speed I can live with.
I buy the watercooling hardware for a given platform, and adapt it to the new one when I can. Recycle, reuse, save money. OC it to a freakishly fast beast machine, and then forget about it for the next 6 months, at which time I just check water levels and top off if necessary. I spend, say, $800, and get the performance of $2000.
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I understand this. And the last time I did a top of the line computer I OC'ed the hell out of it too. But I just don't get the reason behind doing it at the low level. AMD's Phenom II 720 BE has a huge following because you can unlock the 4th core and easily overclock it. I just don't get the reason, since that type of OC where you are messing around with voltage and so on requires top of the line cooling, and it would just be easier and cost the same to get a 945 at stock speeds...