is overclocking my cpu worth it?

[KenKraken]

how much fps am i gaining for over-clocking my cpu? (btw its i7 4790k)
and do i have to buy aftermarket cooler? or the stock cooler enough for normal use without overclocking?

 

[emdea22]

Overclocking the 4790 is a must and it will yield a good fps increase.
You do need a cooler for overclocking and i'd get one even for stock speeds

 

[EV_Creeper]

It won't really give you much performance. The 4790K Is the strongest i7 out there, leaving aside the 5960X. It is almost overkill for any game, and overclocking it will only give you 2-3 fps, unless it's crysis 3, which will give you about 10 fps. If you pair it with a good video card (780 or above) the only thing you will notice is the CPU lifespan shortening.

 

[KenKraken]

what cpu cooler do you guys recommend?

 

[EV_Creeper]

what cpu cooler do you guys recommend?

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO for air cooling, and Corsair H80i for water cooling. They both perform very well, but I think water cooling is noisier, and the 212 EVO needs a case with good airflow. If you won't overclock past 5 GHz and you have a case with good airflow, then go for the 212 EVO,

 

[Rocking Durgesh]

No stock cooler will fail to remove the heat. Get cm hyper 212 Evo. It is cheap but best aftermarket cooler. ...

 

[Karadjgne]

OC depends on the cooler, and the cooler depends on the OC. Basically if you plan on a very mild OC, a hyper212 or cryorig h1, Corsair h60/h75 will be fine, if you are looking at a good or better OC then especially on an i7 running with HT active, you'll want to upgrade to a stronger cooler such as the nh-d14, Phanteks PH-TC14PE, cryorig r1, Corsair h80i or bigger. And yes, a good aftermarket cooler is absolutely necessary for any OC on an i7. Stock coolers are designed to keep the cpu in operating temps (under 100°C) during any normal usage. What they are not designed for is abnormal usage like you see with stress tests like prime95, occt, Intel Burn Test etc.

OC can help, can't hurt, in any game situation, but with the native strength of an i7k cpu, its honestly not necessary, OC is much more a hobby, especially on that particular cpu. AMD, different story, Intel, no worries.

 

[TechGuruGames]

I have the CoolerMaster Nepton 240M Liquid Cooler for my i5 6500 which can't be overclocked! CAN'T be overclocked! If you want to overclock you need a K model. The i7 4970K is overclockable! If you want to overclock it and get low temperatures, you need a very good liquid cooler. Attention...Overclocking your CPU will reduce 50% of its lifetime! Only with an excellent liquid or water cooling solution you can prevent that happening! overclocking just for 10 frames more, i wouldnt do that! It aint even noticable! 10 fps more... But i want really low temperatures so i am not overclocking and i am using a high end liquid colling solution!

 

[TechGuruGames]

It won't really give you much performance. The 4790K Is the strongest i7 out there, leaving aside the 5960X. It is almost overkill for any game, and overclocking it will only give you 2-3 fps, unless it's crysis 3, which will give you about 10 fps. If you pair it with a good video card (780 or above) the only thing you will notice is the CPU lifespan shortening.

So true... Overclocking a CPU will reduce 50% of its lifetime only for 5 fps more! it doesnt even deserve the time it will take me to increase the clock in the app!

 

[KenKraken]

It won't really give you much performance. The 4790K Is the strongest i7 out there, leaving aside the 5960X. It is almost overkill for any game, and overclocking it will only give you 2-3 fps, unless it's crysis 3, which will give you about 10 fps. If you pair it with a good video card (780 or above) the only thing you will notice is the CPU lifespan shortening.

So true... Overclocking a CPU will reduce 50% of its lifetime only for 5 fps more! it doesnt even deserve the time it will take me to increase the clock in the app!

gee
thanks for replying a year later
you should've made research before clicking buy

 

[TechGuruGames]

The i7 4790K will become toast if you overclock it with the stock cooler. The i7 6700K is better and doesnt overheat! So do not overclock

 

[Karadjgne]

I have a pentium II 350 with a slight OC. It's somewhere around a little over 18 yrs old, and still works just fine. While it's true that OC can shorten a cpus lifespan, considering how long a cpu lasts physically compared to its useful life and then throw in that it'll probably be tossed due to upgrade in 5-6 years at most, any OC really isn't going to be an issue when lifespan is a determining factor.

Be like saying ppl shouldn't drive fast, or should try to maintain rpm under 1500 or risk shortening a motors lifespan due to excessive wear on the piston rings.

 

[EV_Creeper]

I have a pentium II 350 with a slight OC. It's somewhere around a little over 18 yrs old, and still works just fine. While it's true that OC can shorten a cpus lifespan, considering how long a cpu lasts physically compared to its useful life and then throw in that it'll probably be tossed due to upgrade in 5-6 years at most, any OC really isn't going to be an issue when lifespan is a determining factor.

Be like saying ppl shouldn't drive fast, or should try to maintain rpm under 1500 or risk shortening a motors lifespan due to excessive wear on the piston rings.

That analogy doesn't work. cars are designed to be able to reach a certain speed or RPMs, and can't go past that point unless you hack into the car's computer and remove that limiter. So cars are locked CPUs, which will work just fine at any stress. Hacking the car's computer however will make you reach faster speeds (unlocked and overclocked CPU) but it will heat up a lot, and yes it will decrease the engine's lifespan before it needs to be overhauled (changed CPU).

Same thing happens on the CPUs. It will decrease the lifespan for sure, but it depends on how hard you use the CPU. Like, if you OC an 17-4790k up to 5 GHz and use it for heavy processing (100% CPU usage) 8 hours a day, it won't last long. However if you overclock it to 4.4GHz and use it for occasional gaming (variable CPU loads) it will last almost the same as if you used it on stock speeds.

In the end the lifespan decrease comes down to how fast is the overclocked speed and how much you use the CPU at that speed.

That's why your Pentium II has lasted that long. The OC has been slight enough to not make a difference on the lifespan, and you don't max it out every day.

 

[Karadjgne]

It's sitting at 400 MHz, and saw server type 24/7 usage for the better part of 4 years, although admittedly it wasn't running heavy cpu usage like rendering etc, mainly Irc chat rooms with included bots. Plus the occasional bout of gaming with balders gate and starwars XvT.

Be that as it may, in almost 30 years of messing around with pc's, amateur and professional, I've not once come across a cpu that has died of old age before the supporting mobo, any dead cpus being the result of mobo or psu failure or one really confusing hdd failure.

Some of what you say is true about OC, but it's not related to speed as such, but voltage. Cpus are set at their lifespan expectancy at stock voltage. If this voltage is 1.25v for normal turbo operation, and like my i5 3570k you bump speeds from 3.4GHz to 4.3GHz but lower voltage from 1.25 to 1.114v you'll actually increase life expectancy by lowering the voltage bleed. Even setting a 4790k's 4 cores at 4.4GHz (single core turbo speed) may not do a thing as voltages will most likely be lowered from factory default. 5.0GHz (good luck with that happening) yes, voltages will be higher than default, so the voltage bleed will deteriorate the Silicon at a faster pace.

 

[EV_Creeper]

It's sitting at 400 MHz, and saw server type 24/7 usage for the better part of 4 years, although admittedly it wasn't running heavy cpu usage like rendering etc, mainly Irc chat rooms with included bots. Plus the occasional bout of gaming with balders gate and starwars XvT.

Be that as it may, in almost 30 years of messing around with pc's, amateur and professional, I've not once come across a cpu that has died of old age before the supporting mobo, any dead cpus being the result of mobo or psu failure or one really confusing hdd failure.

Some of what you say is true about OC, but it's not related to speed as such, but voltage. Cpus are set at their lifespan expectancy at stock voltage. If this voltage is 1.25v for normal turbo operation, and like my i5 3570k you bump speeds from 3.4GHz to 4.3GHz but lower voltage from 1.25 to 1.114v you'll actually increase life expectancy by lowering the voltage bleed. Even setting a 4790k's 4 cores at 4.4GHz (single core turbo speed) may not do a thing as voltages will most likely be lowered from factory default. 5.0GHz (good luck with that happening) yes, voltages will be higher than default, so the voltage bleed will deteriorate the Silicon at a faster pace.

As somebody who has just started on the world of overclocking (Been overclocking for a couple of years now) I'm not going to argue with you, instead I'm going to say you're right. Speed however can become a factor indirectly, by raising temps. I don't usually mess around with voltages, my 2500k was able to go to up to 4 GHz without changing it at all, so I don't really know anything about changing it. It has always scared me a little bit.