Overcloking a sure deal or a necessary risk?

E

exutable

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Jan 23, 2008
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Hey I am getting a new computer and want to overclock a Q6600 but my friends keep telling me that it is a stupid idea, they say I will be at risk of ruining a $280 dollar chip for no reason. If I follow the guide and overclock in small increments watching my temperatures with the right ram, psu, motherboard, and cpu fan, is it really a risk? I need some insight. Another question: Can lapping ruin your processor in any way if done as said in the guides with sand paper and a glass surface?

Thanks in advance.
 
You run a greater risk of dropping a drink on your computer than you do ruining it by overclocking. CPU's have thermal sensors in that shut down if you exceed a certain temperature threshold.

Seriously, don't listen to the undereducated. I don't think a single CPU has ever failed from overclocking. Ever.

Lapping on the other hand poses somewhat of a risk. You can ruin your chip if you mishandle it, or you can make it conduct heat worse... But even that is hard to do. Course, you void your warranty, so it's a one way street, if you chose to go down it.
 
I've overclocked all kinds of things and I've fried a few pieces of hardware here and there. I've even fried hardware that wasn't even overclocked much past stock speeds. However these experiences are rare and don't represent the norm. I've only ever burned up one CPU from overclocking. I killed an Athlon Thunderbird 1.2GHz processor. I had taken it a bit high though when it smoked. However I've never killed any other processors that way. I've killed only one or two non-680i SLI reference boards over the years and I've only killed one or two video cards with overclocking. I go through tons of hardware and that's about the extent of the hardware I've killed. Hell my 11 year old dual processor Pentium Pro 180MHz CPU motherboard combo was overclocked to 200MHz from day one and works today. Though it now hangs on my wall and is no longer used.
 
I would say the CPU is the least of your worries. It has safeguards, and monitors you can check on easily. Greater concern I always have is for ram and the board itself. Even then if you don't go crazy and keep common sense in mind it's hard to actually do damage. What sort of CPU cooling are you looking at?
 
MaxTheLimit said:
I would say the CPU is the least of your worries. It has safeguards, and monitors you can check on easily. Greater concern I always have is for ram and the board itself. Even then if you don't go crazy and keep common sense in mind it's hard to actually do damage. What sort of CPU cooling are you looking at?
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I agree. It is really hard to kill a CPU. Its' not that easy to kill a motherboard by overclocking either. RAM is about the easiest component to fry. RAM and video cards seem to fail most often next to hard drives which are the number one thing that dies regularly in PCs. Power supplies are probably up there too, but overclocking won't kill those.
 
Well I was thinking about using a 500 watt psu with OCZ Vista Upgrade 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Timing: 5-6-6-18 Voltage: 1.8V - 2.0V, then a Artic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 with Artic Silver thermal compound, looking to get around 3.2-3.4 Ghz on a Q6600

I really have no idea if I should get a higher wattage PSU or different ram.
 
As far as electronic components are concerned, heat is your #1 enemy. It will depreciate the lifespan of your chipset by causing undue wear on its components. The manufacturer intended for it to dissipate heat in a certain way, and for it to perform on certain levels. Overclocking is great as a hobby, but honestly? Unless you're hard up for cash and simply can't afford something faster, I wouldn't recommend it. The returns are nice but the risks need to be taken into account.

Yes, chipsets have built in overheat auto-shutdown features - BUT, utilizing this feature as a primary safeguard instead of a simple backup failsafe is a piss poor idea. You're putting undue wear on something that quite simply doesn't need it.

It isn't a sure deal, that's the only fact about this situation.
 
but with proper cooling and temperature watching isn't that risk pretty much taken out?

I am a computer enthusiast but have just never gotten into overclocking. I really want to do it and following the guide seems like it will work, I just don't know if I have the right hardware.
 
exutable said:
Well I was thinking about using a 500 watt psu with OCZ Vista Upgrade 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Timing: 5-6-6-18 Voltage: 1.8V - 2.0V, then a Artic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 with Artic Silver thermal compound, looking to get around 3.2-3.4 Ghz on a Q6600

I really have no idea if I should get a higher wattage PSU or different ram.
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You shouldn't need to change your PSU just due to overclocking.
 
Oh really? I thought maybe it had something to do with the voltage going to the ram.
 
exutable said:
but with proper cooling and temperature watching isn't that risk pretty much taken out?
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Never assume that. I blew up a motherboard during overclocking testing by going from 200MHz FSB to 210MHz FSB with all stock voltages. The board was on the test bench in open air with really good ambient temperatures. So again, never assume that the risk is taken out but with the right cooling, stable power and some realistic goals for what you have, the risk can be minimized to a level that is acceptable by most standards. Now some hardware is harder to kill than others, so some common sense is needed. For example, overclocking the reference 680i SLI motherboards with quad core processors often leads to motherboard failure inside of 2 to 3 months.

Older AMD processors were easy to kill because they lacked any thermal protection. These days CPUs are virtually indestructable overclocking wise and boards are generally fine so long as you don't increase the voltage on components that don't need it. You also want to use the minimal voltage to acheive stable performance on all of your hardware that you are overclocking.
 
The guide will lead me in the right direction in the aspect of not increasing voltage too high on components right?
 
Uberbob102000 said:
As long as you watch your temps and make sure they don't get too hot you should be fine.
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Agreed. With that said there is still always a risk. Never fool yourself about that. The risk is minimal as long as you use some common sense while overclocking.
 
This is a new adventure for me but it seems really exciting I don't know why I haven't gotten into it before.
 
exutable said:
This is a new adventure for me but it seems really exciting I don't know why I haven't gotten into it before.
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It's pretty addictive. I've spent tons of money on cooling stuff and various hardware to make for a better overclocking experience.
 
exutable said:
Well I was thinking about using a 500 watt psu with OCZ Vista Upgrade 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Timing: 5-6-6-18 Voltage: 1.8V - 2.0V, then a Artic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 with Artic Silver thermal compound, looking to get around 3.2-3.4 Ghz on a Q6600

I really have no idea if I should get a higher wattage PSU or different ram.
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What brand of PSU is it? If it is a off brand it may do more harm. You want stable clean power when overclocking as it will ensure the safest, highest OC possible.

Generally OC'ing doesn't hurt anything. I have fried a motherboard, but am not certain it was actually from OCing. Hell I have even made RAM smoke before and it lived. Make sure you don't go wild with voltages. Usually you can't fry a CPU unless you are using a volt modded board or DFI board, unless the temp climbs really high before it out shut downs. RAM on the other hand is easier to fry since there is no over volt protection built in. If you put 2.5v into your RAM it may run for awhile, but eventually it will die sooner then latter. You can kill a vid card by cranking the sliders all the way over, or your volt mod screwed up big time. In the end don't worry and just do it and use that brain of yours.
 
Thanks for the advice guys I really appreciate it.

Is there anything specific I should look for in motherboards?

Is a ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard good?

BTW for whoever asked I am thinking of using a Thermaltake W0093RU ATX 12V 2.0 Version 500W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CUL, TUV, FCC, and CB
 
exutable said:
Thanks for the advice guys I really appreciate it.

Is there anything specific I should look for in motherboards?

Is a ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard good?

BTW for whoever asked I am thinking of using a Thermaltake W0093RU ATX 12V 2.0 Version 500W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CUL, TUV, FCC, and CB
Click to expand...

If you aren't looking for SLI compatibility go with an Intel chipset based motherboard. You won't regret it. P35 chipset based boards are awesome overclockers and can be had in many price points. The Intel chipsets are more reliable and more stable. Not to mention they are far better in regard to memory compatibility.
 
exutable said:
Thanks for the advice guys I really appreciate it.

Is there anything specific I should look for in motherboards?

Is a ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard good?

BTW for whoever asked I am thinking of using a Thermaltake W0093RU ATX 12V 2.0 Version 500W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CUL, TUV, FCC, and CB
Click to expand...

I think the consensus is that Thermaltake power supplies are not the best (except the toughpower series). If you want the best in that power range I'd go with a Corsair 520HX. It's $50 more, but you really don't want to skimp on the power supply.
 
Like people said earlier, overclocking can be EXTREMELY addicting and, based from my experience, you want to see how high you can go. With that in mind, I suggest you get something "stronger" for your cpu fan. I have the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro and although it cools great on stock settings and voltages, when you overclock a quad, it gets extremely hot. At 3.6 at 1.5 v, cores gets as high as 77C and that is EXTREMELY high (my fan system isnt all that great and in the process of upgrading it). Ive ordered an Thermalright ultra 120 extreme and stronger fans to improve cooling and ive lapped my cpu and tried to improve case airflow so I should see a reduction in temps but I mean it might have been better if I had just bought a TRUE 120 instead of an AF7 Pro from the start.

Lapping on the other hand... well I am an idiot and unexperienced at computers, (literally I am, only build my comp for the first time a few weeks ago and overclock a few days later and just finished lapping the cpu yesterday) and even I would say that lapping isnt all that difficult... IF YOU TAKE THE PROPER PRECAUTIONS. There are extremely good guides out there (particularly graysky's) so I cannot see how you can mess up your cpu while lapping if you just listen to other people's knowledgeable advise. Ive read atleast 10 guides on lapping and atleast 5 topics on lapping and so I do not understand how you can mess up while lapping if you just read up on the subject. I mean at worse, you void your warranty... but if your overclocking, you already have. More importantly, the 45mm processors are coming out soon and so even if you do destroy you chip, its not like you will have to pay $280 for another.

The number one enemy with computers is heat, more so then overclocking and lapping. If you can lower your heat, you can pretty much do anything.
 
your friends - THUMBS DOWN
OVERCLOCK Q6600 - THUMBS UP


but dont getme wrong overclocking does shorten the life of the proc but seriously who gives a shit when we all buy new comupters or do upgrades every few year(s)
 
killingfield1975 said:
but dont getme wrong overclocking does shorten the life of the proc but seriously who gives a shit when we all buy new comupters or do upgrades every few year(s)
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It only shortens the life of the processor if you are pushing it harder than it really can handle. As long as you aren't experiencing any stability issues or wierd issues with the machine you should be ok.

Too much increased voltage will certainly shorten the life of the CPU. That is why it is so important to keep the voltages down.
 
exutable said:
So this would be considered a solid overclocker with a Q6600?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121314

and then how does this power supply do with overclocking?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194003
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Neither are good choices. Intel made motherboards have limited overclocking options. Also, there are much better power supplies for the same price as that Enermax Liberty.

I recommend this mobo if you're have a small budget:
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Intel P35 Motherboard - $90

And any of the PSUs should suffice for your needs:
Enhance ENP-5150GH 500W PSU - $69
Corsair 550VX 550W PSU - $94
Corsair 520HX 520W PSU - $109
 
your friends think it is a stupid idea because they know nothing about it, so it is easier for them to put you down and call you stupid, then admit they know jack shit about overclocking

tell them to come join [H] and tell all of us how stupid we all are, then we can call them stupid for likely buying an overpriced CPU to get X speed when we can do it for free :D
 
Thanks I will tell them MrGuvernment!

I have one more question, when I am overclocking apparently the ram is really susceptible. So would it be smart to only put one stick in just in case I fry the ram?
 
Ive never really heard of frying your ram while overclocking? If you keep the voltage of your ram below the voltage specification of your ram, then I do not think you will fry it.
 
My OCZ ram runs at 1.8v and is warrantied up to 2.1v to overclock, if that is what you end up getting, I wouldn't worry about it lol.
 
known12345 said:
Ive never really heard of frying your ram while overclocking? If you keep the voltage of your ram below the voltage specification of your ram, then I do not think you will fry it.
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I've burned up 10 680i SLI reference boards and so far I had one board burn up two modules. That's it in the last 14 months or so.

It is harder to fry RAM than you think. Just keep it under 2.1v and you should be ok.
 
isnt the 680 nd 780 known for that because of being such a bad chipset?

you can run multiple sticks, it wont matter, if your fry your ram it will fry you ram as Dan said keep voltages low / auto
 
MrGuvernment said:
isnt the 680 nd 780 known for that because of being such a bad chipset?
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No, just the early 680i mobos were known for that. But there are some occasions where newer 680i mobos do that. Haven't heard of the 780i killing RAM at all.
 
MrGuvernment said:
isnt the 680 nd 780 known for that because of being such a bad chipset?

I'm not an electrical engineer, but I believe the reason why the 680i SLI motherboards fried so much had more to do with the poor voltage design of the reference boards. I'm still on my original Striker Extreme. The Striker despite having a passive cooled chipset runs cooler and is generally more stable at the expensive of overclockability that the reference boards have.

you can run multiple sticks, it wont matter, if your fry your ram it will fry you ram as Dan said keep voltages low / auto
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There is very little reason behind this and there is no way I know of to consistently prevent it. However if you use one of these boards you need to monitor the north bridge temperature. If it starts to get out of hand you might be looking at the board dying prematurely as well as the potential to fry memory modules.
 
Dan_D said:
If you aren't looking for SLI compatibility go with an Intel chipset based motherboard. You won't regret it. P35 chipset based boards are awesome overclockers and can be had in many price points. The Intel chipsets are more reliable and more stable. Not to mention they are far better in regard to memory compatibility.
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Agree 100% with Dan. My P35-DS3R has been superb, totally stable and reliable. Running my E8400@4005MHz 24/7.
I recently bought a PC Power & Cooling 750 Silencer, it was actually quite reasonable in price, and it's a great power supply:cool:
 
Abit IP35-E if you dont need all the bells and whistles, has my 6600 @ 3.1 on stock bios setting being cooled with a zalman s9700 and IC7, i hit 53 full load on orthos mid day in Costa Rica and at night i run around 43C full load.
 
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