To Overclock Or Not To Overclock?

Question

(gonna build a pc) is it worth for me to over clock my video card cpu, etc.
I am most likely not gonna keep my comp for more than 10 yrs., I have pretty nice cooling, and I could save money. So I though well I got a whole bunch of time to waste, so heck, why not?
I am heading to overclock a e6400 cpu, and an 8800gts gpu, (mobo and ram compatible with oc too)
do it or buy e6600 and a higher speed 8800gts
???

Answer 1

Well, overclocking voids warranty and can sometimes screw up your parts.
But it's fun to do! First of all, Intel's Core 2 Duo processors are amazing overclockers. You should get the e6400, and with the money saved instead of buying the e6600, get a good heatsink and fan. If you read some reviews on Toms Hardware or Anandtech you will see which HSF is the best.
The 8800 is also a pretty good overclocker, and the stock cooling should be enough to keep your card cool.
However, you can't forget about your RAM. Do NOT buy cheap RAM, because bad RAM and overclocking don't mix. Get RAM from a reputable company, such as Corsair, OCZ, Mushkin, TEAM, etc. Try for 2x1 GB of DDR2-800MHz with low timings, like 4-4-4 or something.
Have fun!

Answer 2

Generally speaking overclocking is pushing the power envelope of a processor (whether it is a CPU or GPU). The excess heat generated by increasing the amount of power is the factor that causes the damage to a processor. Gigabyte increased the cooling of the Super overclocked version of the GTX 460 to help improve the heat dissipation to save the GPU from damage. So I would say the Super Overclocked version of the Gigabyte GTX 460 will not have a shorter life span vs. the normal version.

Answer 3

If you are a newbie in overclocking, better read first some basics on overclocking so that you would understand the significance and effect of every adjustment you will make and so that you won't be surprised by sudden BSODs.

PC enthusiast find the E6600 as the "sweet spot" in terms of price vs performance. And look at what my idols did w/ their E6600:
http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc?id=166676
http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc?id=136898
http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc?id=137093

Many overclockers tweak their rigs to the limit for the sheer fun of it, for benchmarking contests or just plain bragging rights. But for everyday computing or gaming, they go back to stock settings or mild overclocks. Hard core enthusiasts usually replace their rigs almost every year, after squeezing out every bit of performance or tenths of a second in Super Pi 1M.

Answer 4

hmm, i say it would all depend on how much money you have, and what you are going to use it for.

i have an 6400, i overclocked it to 3.1GHZ (ALMOST 50% INCREASE) with the stock cooler,
(at 387 MHz FSB and 1.45 V) you can do it to 3.33 with water cooling.

but for an extra 300 bucks, you can upgrade to the 6600 which is infinitely more overclock able (not locked)
you can overclock the 6600 to 3.3 by upping it to 1.325v
I heard about 3.8GHZ but with extreme cooling, (phase change)

personally if you want more bang for the buck stick with the 6400, but if you want more speed, the 6600, or my preference 6800.
or if you want more results in gaming, just buy/upgrade another graphics card for SLI (if compadable)

Answer 5

If you overclock I suspect you will not keep your computer 6 months.

Answer 6

Time to spend or not, overclocking is dangerous and you might burn out your processor. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Answer 7

If you have to ask.............