Can I overclock my CPU?

[Lopockalypse]

My Computer as follows; tell me if I miss anything important.

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.50GHz

Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450

Motherboard: Model, Packard Bell - MCP73PVT-PM. Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce 7100 Southbridge: NVIDIA nForce 630i

RAM: 4GB


So I've been playing Assassin's Creed: Revelations and the lag I get in crowded areas or panned views of the landscape is really getting to me, graphically intense scenes will play smoothly just fine, but running through a populated street brings my FPS down to about 20 which just isn't desirable.

After doing some tests + research I've discovered that it's my CPU bottlenecking at these particular scenarios, I know because I've tested the same areas using smaller resolutions but there is no improvement in framerate. So, my question is can I overclock my CPU with this rig? And more importantly would it actually make a noticeable difference to my PCs performance? I'm planning to get Assassin's Creed 3 for the PC aswell as other graphically intense games in the future. I've never tried overclocking before.

 

[abCasPeRR]

Its weird that its lagging because your gts 450 is a ok card for it and your processor is over the minimum. But I would only recommend overclocking if you have good cooling.

 

[Lopockalypse]

I had the same suspicions, do you know if there's anything I can do that doesn't involve overclocking to sort out my CPU?

 

[Nabutso]

If you purchased you PC pre-built, most likely your motherboard won't allow you to overclock. Go into your bios and see if you can increase the FSB. If you can't, you can't overclock.

 

[abCasPeRR]

No not that I can say, you can try overclocking your GPU, GPUS can take almost triple amount the heat a cpu can. GPUS can stay stable at 80-90c temps. Try using MSI Afterburner. Thats what I use and its fine.

 

[Nabutso]

No not that I can say, you can try overclocking your GPU, GPUS can take almost triple amount the heat a cpu can. GPUS can stay stable at 80-90c temps. Try using MSI Afterburner. Thats what I use and its fine.

This isn't completely true. yes GPUs stay stable at 80-90c, but technically so do CPUs. GPUs just handle the heat better.

CPU 'safe temps' depend a lot of exactly which CPU it is but generally, 70c or so during 100% full load is safe. Definitely not 30c....