Does overclock improve gaming performance?

[SteveFace]

I got a pretty old computer, and the good games my computer can run are a bit laggy. So I have heard about overclocking a while ago and I want to do that.
The question is, will overclocking improve FPS in my games? And my CPU has 45 C in idle, and that sounds pretty high to me (or is it?). And last question: Should I OC my GPU or CPU (for games)?

Here are my specs:

CPU: Intel Pentium Dual Core E2180 2.00 GHz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT 1GB (i dont know what DDR)
Memory: 3GB RAM DDR2 333 Mhz
Motherboard: Gigabyte P31-S3G

 

[cemerian]

yeas overclocking will improve performance, but the system is really old so it wont be by much but still it could make the difference between 25 fps and 30fps, and overclock both there are plenty of guides here for overcloking read up on them before you start

 

[anti-duck]

Not sure if 45C is high for that processor, but in general I would consider that high. Overclocking wil usually improve performance a little.

 

[prit87]

Yes overclock improves the gaming performence.

your GPU and CPU are very old i used to have a 9500 gt once about 5-6 years ago.

You can OC both of them but with modern you will have no luck even after oc them so its best if you upgrade your whole system.

 

[SteveFace]

Yeah, my PC is 7 years old. I just tried using MSI Afterburner, I downclocked my GPU because im still kinda scared, When I opened Modern Warfare 2, 30 FPS less, so it makes a difference. Now, how much should I raise the settings without burning stuff and crashing drivers?

 

[jitpublisher]

Not trying to be too negative, but you have several things working against you here if you want to play modern games. To overclock you need a CPU/motherboard combination that is capable of overclocking. You may be able to bump the buss speed up a little, but you are not going to get anything really worthwhile from your setup. Your CPU is simply to slow to be considered a gaming CPU, your video card is at the bottom of what is considered an entry level gaming card, when it was brand new. Now its just not going to cut it. And still running DDR2 memory, there isn't really much you can do that is going to make a difference. Sorry, but it you want to game, and you need better performance, you really need to start all over with a new build.

 

[prit87]

raise the clock speed by 100 mhz and test the card stability by furmark or by simply playing games if the GPU is stable then the you are did it correctly if you get a restart or blue screen then you overdid it so i will say 200- 300 mhz is safe OC.

 

[cemerian]

45c is very low if that's your temp under load, if i recall you can easily go up to high 60's under load

 

[SteveFace]

raise the clock speed by 100 mhz and test the card stability by furmark or by simply playing games if the GPU is stable then the you are did it correctly if you get a restart or blue screen then you overdid it so i will say 200- 300 mhz is safe OC.

Thanks, I did what you said, 20 FPS increase in Minecraft, 15 in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and 15 in Assasin's Creed 1!
Thanks a LOT!

 

[SteveFace]

And btw in idle my GPU is in 38 C, is that OK

 

[prit87]

raise the clock speed by 100 mhz and test the card stability by furmark or by simply playing games if the GPU is stable then the you are did it correctly if you get a restart or blue screen then you overdid it so i will say 200- 300 mhz is safe OC.

Thanks, I did what you said, 20 FPS increase in Minecraft, 15 in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and 15 in Assasin's Creed 1!
Thanks a LOT!

no problem glad i could help.

 

[prit87]

And btw in idle my GPU is in 38 C, is that OK

yes thats totally fine

 

[SteveFace]

raise the clock speed by 100 mhz and test the card stability by furmark or by simply playing games if the GPU is stable then the you are did it correctly if you get a restart or blue screen then you overdid it so i will say 200- 300 mhz is safe OC.

Sorry for bothering but, sometimes In Gpu-Z everything drops (dont really know how to explain it but look http://i.imgur.com/HaULmUW.png). Is that a bug, my game lags a lot when that happens but it's only for about 5 seconds

 

[prit87]

check the GPU temps when it happens.

 

[FatheredPuma81]

I got a pretty old computer, and the good games my computer can run are a bit laggy. So I have heard about overclocking a while ago and I want to do that.
The question is, will overclocking improve FPS in my games? And my CPU has 45 C in idle, and that sounds pretty high to me (or is it?). And last question: Should I OC my GPU or CPU (for games)?

Here are my specs:

CPU: Intel Pentium Dual Core E2180 2.00 GHz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT 1GB (i dont know what DDR)
Memory: 3GB RAM DDR2 333 Mhz
Motherboard: Gigabyte P31-S3G

The 9500 GT only comes with 1 GB of RAM if it's DDR2 so. Anyways I have the same GPU as you and got a 25% increase in fps when I put my core clock from 550 to 715 and my mem clock from 400 to 520. Just make sure it doesn't go into the 80 C and make sure u set ur fan to go how you would like. Example: http://prntscr.com/4u90vo (this is what I use)
As for the CPU I don't think it would be the problem yet but just in case i'd overclock it a little.

Also make sure you put new thermal paste on both of them if it's a year old (including if you got it from some friend a day ago because I doubt they would put thermal paste on it before they gave it to you) (I mean new thermal paste in the () thing).
Also you really badly need new RAM. That is most likely why games are lagging for you.

 

[FatheredPuma81]

And btw in idle my GPU is in 38 C, is that OK

Idle temps do NOT matter. Run Unigine Heaven benchmark and make sure you don't go over 80C.
I idle around 50 C on my GPU and under load I get 70C so (I'm going to try and get new thermal paste so I can put it on since my graphics card has been in a computer for about 2 years doing nothing)

 

[FatheredPuma81]

raise the clock speed by 100 mhz and test the card stability by furmark or by simply playing games if the GPU is stable then the you are did it correctly if you get a restart or blue screen then you overdid it so i will say 200- 300 mhz is safe OC.

The graphics card I dont think is the problem. I think it might be his 333 MHz RAM. If he's lagging in Minecraft etc it's the RAM because I have the exact same card and get without overclock around 70 fps max (with around 120 I tihnk idk i never really payed attention without hte overclock)

 

[prit87]

raise the clock speed by 100 mhz and test the card stability by furmark or by simply playing games if the GPU is stable then the you are did it correctly if you get a restart or blue screen then you overdid it so i will say 200- 300 mhz is safe OC.

The graphics card I dont think is the problem. I think it might be his 333 MHz RAM. If he's lagging in Minecraft etc it's the RAM because I have the exact same card and get without overclock around 70 fps max (with around 120 I tihnk idk i never really payed attention without hte overclock)

He has a really old system so lags can be occurred because of numerous reasons a backdated drives bad sectors in hdd over heating system memory error etc.

 

[FatheredPuma81]

raise the clock speed by 100 mhz and test the card stability by furmark or by simply playing games if the GPU is stable then the you are did it correctly if you get a restart or blue screen then you overdid it so i will say 200- 300 mhz is safe OC.

The graphics card I dont think is the problem. I think it might be his 333 MHz RAM. If he's lagging in Minecraft etc it's the RAM because I have the exact same card and get without overclock around 70 fps max (with around 120 I tihnk idk i never really payed attention without hte overclock)

He has a really old system so lags can be occurred because of numerous reasons a backdated drives bad sectors in hdd over heating system memory error etc.

Yea but I wouldn't say it was the graphics card if anything.

 

[mosti]

That pc needs to be thrown in the bin, it is ancient lol. My mobile phone is more powerful.
This is not a gaming computer. It's good to overclock and see what you can do with it to gain experience and knowledge but other then that, you need a complete new system....nothing from this is salvageable.

 

[prit87]

raise the clock speed by 100 mhz and test the card stability by furmark or by simply playing games if the GPU is stable then the you are did it correctly if you get a restart or blue screen then you overdid it so i will say 200- 300 mhz is safe OC.

The graphics card I dont think is the problem. I think it might be his 333 MHz RAM. If he's lagging in Minecraft etc it's the RAM because I have the exact same card and get without overclock around 70 fps max (with around 120 I tihnk idk i never really payed attention without hte overclock)

He has a really old system so lags can be occurred because of numerous reasons a backdated drives bad sectors in hdd over heating system memory error etc.

Yea but I wouldn't say it was the graphics card if anything.

That pc needs to be thrown in the bin, it is ancient lol. My mobile phone is more powerful.
This is not a gaming computer. It's good to overclock and see what you can do with it to gain experience and knowledge but other then that, you need a complete new system....nothing from this is salvageable.

The only thing he could salvage is the HDD and optical drive and may be PSu if its a good one.

 

[SteveFace]

Ik, my computer is a piece of junk, I like this : http://shop.imtec.ba/imtec-game-racunari/18257-imtec-game-intel-core-i5-4670-3-4ghz.html, mabye ill buy it (page is on bosnian)

 

[SteveFace]

And about the temp, it never gets higher than 47 C (Core Clock 650 Mhz, Memory clock 450 MHz, if I go higher everything drops to 200 Mhz

 

[mosti]

raise the clock speed by 100 mhz and test the card stability by furmark or by simply playing games if the GPU is stable then the you are did it correctly if you get a restart or blue screen then you overdid it so i will say 200- 300 mhz is safe OC.

The graphics card I dont think is the problem. I think it might be his 333 MHz RAM. If he's lagging in Minecraft etc it's the RAM because I have the exact same card and get without overclock around 70 fps max (with around 120 I tihnk idk i never really payed attention without hte overclock)

He has a really old system so lags can be occurred because of numerous reasons a backdated drives bad sectors in hdd over heating system memory error etc.

Yea but I wouldn't say it was the graphics card if anything.

Ik, my computer is a piece of junk, I like this : http://shop.imtec.ba/imtec-game-racunari/18257-imtec-game-intel-core-i5-4670-3-4ghz.html, mabye ill buy it (page is on bosnian)

Please don't buy a pre-built system! Seriously, build your own! You will get a far better bang for buck and it's relatively easy! Even for first timers (assuming they aren't completely not all there).

 

[FatheredPuma81]

Ik, my computer is a piece of junk, I like this : http://shop.imtec.ba/imtec-game-racunari/18257-imtec-game-intel-core-i5-4670-3-4ghz.html, mabye ill buy it (page is on bosnian)

LOL at LEAST shop for a computer WITH a graphics card...