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Why don't processors come overclocked

T

tubedogg

n00b
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
40
Hey guys,

Very new to this overclocking thing.. here is a question that I hope doesn't come across the wrong way:
If overclocking is essentially "free" performance, why don't all computers come overclocked "from the factory".
 
I think (this is just my opinion) that when a CPU manufacture builds a CPU line they start out with one core design with many option's on core speed and functionality then they split it up and ti different models (fast and slower) to accommodate the market but they are all built with the same basic core design and also they only set the core at a certain clock so the power consumption is lower, heat is lower and so on.
 
because chip makers want you to buy the high end or extreme processors without overclocking. if i recall over clocking voids the warranty on the cpu but not 100% on that. not all motherboard makers even give you proper bio settings to over clock.
 
Uh, if they are sold "overclocked" then that is just binning the chips higher.

It isn't "overclocked" if its sold by Intel that way... if you buy it that way its stock bro.

For example, lets say I was able to buy a i7 at 4.5ghz... its not an OC'd chip as far as i'm concerned. It's stock to me.
 
Processors are sold overclocked. Every higher-speed CPU is merely an "overclocked" version of the slower CPUs in that same line.

Also, the reason CPUs are sold the way they are instead of Intel offering a 4.5GHz CPU or something like that is because they need the CPUs to fit into a specific power envelope, so they can't set the clock speed or voltage too high because that will make the chips consume too much power and produce too much heat.
 
Zero82z said:
Processors are sold overclocked. Every higher-speed CPU is merely an "overclocked" version of the slower CPUs in that same line.

Also, the reason CPUs are sold the way they are instead of Intel offering a 4.5GHz CPU or something like that is because they need the CPUs to fit into a specific power envelope, so they can't set the clock speed or voltage too high because that will make the chips consume too much power and produce too much heat.
Click to expand...

also depends on what the original processor was in the line.. a good example is the i7.. they are all technicaly i7 965's just binned at different speeds then downlocked to the 2 rated speeds of the 920 and 940.. also another good example is the phenom II line.. all x3's are x4 945 am3 chips.. the x2 550BE is a x4 955BE while the athlon II's are their own chips even though they are designed off the x4 810 with no L3 cache..

now anything after that single main chip.. so anything after the 955 is can be considered an overclocked processor.. and same goes with the i7 965..


also to the one that said overclocking voids the warranty on the chips.. it actually doesnt.. what voids the warranty is when you exceed the manufacture rated voltage. for the phenom II is 1.55v for the i7 is 1.5v for the C2D/C2Q 45nm its 1.4v for the C2D/C2Q 65nm its 1.5v.. for the phenom I 65nm its 1.6v..

also AMD/Intel want their customers to overclock the processors.. for the exact reason zero explained.. companies create a power envolope.. for the phenom II its 125w and the i7 is 130w.. they do not want to exceed that rating.. so the voltages and clocks meet that standard.. what the customer does after that with the processor by overclocking it and exceeding the 125w/130w rating is no longer their problem..
 
sirmonkey1985 said:
also depends on what the original processor was in the line.. a good example is the i7.. they are all technicaly i7 965's just binned at different speeds then downlocked to the 2 rated speeds of the 920 and 940.. also another good example is the phenom II line.. all x3's are x4 945 am3 chips.. the x2 550BE is a x4 955BE while the athlon II's are their own chips even though they are designed off the x4 810 with no L3 cache..

now anything after that single main chip.. so anything after the 955 is can be considered an overclocked processor.. and same goes with the i7 965..
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There is no "main chip" or base model, really. Every Core 2 chip and every Phenom II chip is just based off generic silicon. An i7 920 isn't a 965 underclocked to 2.66GHz, it's just an i7 chip that happens to be set to run at that speed.
sirmonkey1985 said:
also to the one that said overclocking voids the warranty on the chips.. it actually doesnt.. what voids the warranty is when you exceed the manufacture rated voltage.
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No, overclocking does void the warranty. Running a CPU outside of its factory-set stock settings, whether that be the stock voltage or the stock frequency, invalidates the warranty.
sirmonkey1985 said:
for the phenom II is 1.55v for the i7 is 1.5v for the C2D/C2Q 45nm its 1.4v for the C2D/C2Q 65nm its 1.5v.. for the phenom I 65nm its 1.6v..
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Those aren't the rated voltages (at least not for the Intel chips). Those numbers are the absolute maximum functional voltage specifications. However, Intel also specifies an operational Vcc for each CPU, which, when exceeded, means that the CPU is no longer guaranteed to operate normally any more. Basically, the 1.4V is the limit before you fry your chip, but there's another limit below that above which the CPU might not work properly.
 
To make things simple. Their really is no such thing as overclocking. Every CPU has a max stable clock speed and they are just underclocked for longer life and stability. Like car engines they can make more power than what they are set at from the factory by adjusting a few things but that's going to decrease the life of the parts and use more juice. Parts do degrade so instead of setting everything for max performance they back it off so theres less stress which means a smaller percentage of problems.


My opinion.
 
S0m30n3 said:
To make things simple. Their really is no such thing as overclocking. Every CPU has a max stable clock speed and they are just underclocked for longer life and stability. Like car engines they can make more power than what they are set at from the factory by adjusting a few things but that's going to decrease the life of the parts and use more juice. Parts do degrade so instead of setting everything for max performance they back it off so theres less stress which means a smaller percentage of problems.


My opinion.
Click to expand...


damn i wish i thought of that answer instead of typing my long useless tid bit of information..
 
it comes down to yeild, which essentually means money. the manufacturers gurantee the performance is stable that they release the chips on. Becuase every cpu will overclock differently you would end up buying cpu's at all kinds of speeds. It would confuse the majority of people and just be a bad overall pr move. there are already so many cpu options it wouldn't make sense to clutter the market.

there is also the hardware side of things. To get said performance out of a cpu eqach cpu would have to come with a list of the hardware it was tested on. This would limit the number of vendors out there. Each vendor would have to partner with the cpu makers to get their hardware in the test cycle, a tech would have to test on every piece of hardware and then the different hardware would yeild different results.

Every bios would have to be tailored to each cpu to reflect the voltage, fsb, and other features needed to acheive these overclocks. also the cooling would have to be upgraded to reflect the amount of voltage used in the oc.

to make it simple, every cpu produced is made to run %100 stable under set variables of RAM speed, voltage, motherboard specs, chipsets and cooling. To release every cpu as overclocked would be a disaster.
 
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