Gaming and Overclocking vs C1E, Speedstep (EIST), Parked Cores

[Arthmost]

So this has been a big mystery for me ever since.

If you're big on gaming and have an overclocked machine, should you leave C1E and EIST enabled or disabled, and should you unpark all the cores?

Aren't C1E/EIST disabling and unparking basically the same procedures?

Is it safe to constantly run your CPU at the highest clocks and all cores unparked?

 

[FreshRestart]

Some games gain a more consistent frame rate by unparking the CPU cores. Most overclockers disble energy saving features to make sure that they won't interfere with the stability of the overclock. It is safe, as long as you have a good motherboard with good power design, but it may shorten its life span on the long run, but by the time that happens you would have already upgraded to a new system.

 

[Arthmost]

Some games gain a more consistent frame rate by unparking the CPU cores. Most overclockers disble energy saving features to make sure that they won't interfere with the stability of the overclock. It is safe, as long as you have a good motherboard with good power design, but it may shorten its life span on the long run, but by the time that happens you would have already upgraded to a new system.

Is unparking the CPU cores anyhow affecting the lifespan? Is it related to EIST/C1E?

Well, I have been running my overclocked system for 2 years now with EIST and C1E enabled. I was just wondering if I could get some extra performance in games if I disable those power-saving features. My OC is stable though and I have no problem keeping them on. I realize they decrease clocks and consequently heat when CPU is idle, but I also wonder if they affect performance.

 

[Vitric9]

EIST (enhanced intel speedstep) ,in the most basic sense, is Intel's proprietary technology by which the processor frequency scales up and down , ..this a good thing. C1E is just a C-state or low power mode that can be used in idle mode with the OS.
On forums it will generally say to disable the C States when overclocking, for stability.
I myself turn them off , except for C1. When using Manual Voltage i turn them on .

 

[FreshRestart]

Adding to what Vitric9 said, core parking is a Windows power saving feature introduced in Windows 7 which parks cores that are not being in use. Like I mentioned in the post before, some games gain a more consistent frame rate by disabling it, since it takes time for the OS to unpark parked cores, this time can cause a bit of lag or stutter.