Tdp, voltage and overclocking

[CasualPC]

How do tdp and voltage influence overclocking on a cpu, and which one is more important?

 

[TJ Hooker]

TDP doesn't really effect overclocking. Although a higher TDP means you'll need a beefier cooler. Increasing the voltage can help stabilize higher frequencies.

 

[MrKrako]

TDP (Total Dissipated Power) indicates the maximun amount of heat power that the CPU cooling is able to manage without damaging the internal structure of the transistors.

So TDP actually has and does not have an effect on overclocking. A higher TDP in a CPU would mean that you need a better cooler that is able to mantain a certain temperature. If you overclock it, so the power consumption of the CPU increases, you will need a cooler better to deal with it. So it does not influence the OC directly, but it is something to have in account.

Overclocking consists in increasing the clock frequency of the CPU, GPU or any clock-based electronics. You can possibly increase the frequency a little without having to modify the voltage, but as the frequency is getting higher the voltage has to increase too. Increasing the voltage would lead in a decrease of inestability of the frequency, but will also increase the amount of heat generated (Ohm's Law). Also increasing the voltage would not always translate in a direct increase of the possible stable frequency. Due to physical limitation of the cores, you will reach a point where you need to make a big increase in voltage to a little increase in frequency. High voltages will destroy the CPU.

 

[chenuki]

TDP actually stands for Thermal Design Power. Straight from the horse's mouth: "TDP represents the average power, in watts, the processor dissipates when operating at Base Frequency with all cores active under an Intel-defined, high-complexity workload. Refer to Datasheet for thermal solution requirements."

So for OC (including voltage increases) you would need a cooling solution in excess of the rated TDP.