To Overclock or Not . . . That is the question

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RavenCorbie

RavenCorbie

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Feb 5, 2012
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I hope this is in the right place, but if not, feel free to move it.

First of all, I'm not asking about overclocking my current system, so I cannot give you specs on what I have (or I could, but the information would be irrelevant). I'm in the very early process of beginning research on building a new computer for gaming (~$1,000), and I'm trying to decide if I should go for overclock-able parts or not. I have an old 2006 mid-range HP Desktop that I no longer use except for rare occasions to save things to flash drives (the fan doesn't work, and I've already replaced the power supply to the Antec VP 450), and as such, I've been gaming on my 2010 MacBook (not Pro), running Windows 7 via BootCamp, with limited success. That gives you an indication of what sort of situation in gaming I can tolerate. I mainly play non-online RPGs like Skyrim, Dragon Age, Baldur's Gate, The Witcher, etc. I would like to buy Dragon Age: Inquisition, but I wouldn't be able to play it at all.

My main question, then, isn't whether I should overclock right out of the gate. I know I won't need to. However, I expect my own build to last at least as long as the HP, and it would be nice to still be able to play games somewhere near the end of that period at least at low settings without getting a whole new system. I know there's no such thing as accurate future-proofing since things in this industry change so fast, but I'm looking at a variety of options that seem like they could help extend the life of the system. One of those options might be overclocking, but I don't know if it would really make a significant difference for my particular concern: being able to play new games at all when they have higher system requirements. For example, if my MacBook was a desktop with similar stats and overclock-able parts, would overclocking allow me to be able to even start playing Dragon Age: Inquisition? Is it worth having that as an option in the future even if I don't need it right now (since I don't need to play on Max settings and will probably have a monitor on the smaller side)?

A second question: I understand something about overclocking the CPU (although I'd study it in a LOT more depth before actually doing it), but I read in another thread that you can also overclock the GPU, and that the latter is actually more important for gaming, which makes sense. Are there, like Intel CPUs, GPUs that can and cannot be overclocked?

Obviously, if I did decide to overclock, I would do a lot more research at that time.
 
Solution
Tradesman1
If seriously looking for something that will last a few years and keep you happy, I'd look to a 4790K (OC-able and has Hyper threading) as games continue to progress to utilizing more cores and will continue that trend, and other apps will benefit also), min of 16GB as 8GB is the entry level these days (something like the GSkill Tridents in 2400/10), a good mobo capable of SLI or Xfire (SLI preferable), would suggest the Asus Z97-Hero, a good higher end GPU (GTX 970 or 980), a good PSU that will be capable of running an additional GPU for upgrades in the future
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What hardware are you looking to buy?
For 1k you could get a system that will max out current games easily. You might as well get parts you can overclock, as they would easily fit in your budget and proved some added performance.
Yeah, certain GPUs can handle larger overclocks than others. GTX 970/980 overclock extremely well.
 
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I don't know for sure what hardware. As I said, I'm in the very early process of research. I started with the Picking Parts guide and started with CPU. Then I got distracted by power supplies, since getting a reliable PSU was actually my initial reason for building my own. I've spent a lot of time at JonnyGURU reading PSU reviews, so I have a few ideas there. I used the recent January Best CPU guide, and it looks like if I want to overclock, I should go with the i5 4690k, but if not, the i5 4460 is a better choice. I would like a motherboard with upgrade potential, but I haven't really started researching motherboards (which comes after CPU in the guide). I won't need (at least at first): OS, keyboard, mouse, monitor, or optical drive. I do plan to upgrade my monitor, but I want to get the tower figured out first.

Thank you for the response and for the information about the GPUs.
 
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i7Baby - Yes, I know they won't need it now. I'm wondering if it will be useful in the future. I tend to keep computers for at least 6+ years (I was still using the 2006 one this fall, but obviously not playing any games other than Clue Classic).

Triace180: Nice! Thanks for sharing. I'm still researching and won't be buying until mid-March, so I don't know how much things will change by then, but I appreciate it nonetheless. It's also a bigger HD than I was expecting.
 
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To answer your last question first, there are CPU's and GPU's which cannot be overclocked because the cores are "locked". So you'll need to do your research there.

Overclocking involves a lot more than just the CPU and GPU. PSU will need to supply more stable power at higher draws. And that power generates more heat so that affects your cooler, case fans and case airflow. You can cram all the fans that will fit into a case but if it doesn't have good airflow they won't do much good. Physically larger coolers may change your case requirements just so they fit in it and you need to be sure the larger cooler doesn't interfere with other components on the motherboard. Then there are the water cooling systems that also affect the case design. You'll obviously need max speed RAM but that will also be determined by what voltages are available from the motherboard's BIOS and you'll need a BIOS that allows overclocking with plenty of options. While most motherboards allow overclocking these days, some have more options than others.

Personally, I stay away for overclocking because the more heat you have the more you are likely to shorten the system's lifespan. That can be mitigated by massive cooling but you're getting into more and more money for less and less improvement. I may be overly cautious but I run a couple of notches upgraded cooling even on my non-overclocked systems because longevity is my main build goal.

IMO, overclocking a system after it is several years or more old is a bad idea.
 
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thx1138v2: Thank you! That was very helpful. I knew about the extra power and heat, with need for extra cooling, but it doesn't hurt to hear it again. Longevity is obviously very important to me.
 
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If seriously looking for something that will last a few years and keep you happy, I'd look to a 4790K (OC-able and has Hyper threading) as games continue to progress to utilizing more cores and will continue that trend, and other apps will benefit also), min of 16GB as 8GB is the entry level these days (something like the GSkill Tridents in 2400/10), a good mobo capable of SLI or Xfire (SLI preferable), would suggest the Asus Z97-Hero, a good higher end GPU (GTX 970 or 980), a good PSU that will be capable of running an additional GPU for upgrades in the future
 
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Solution
i7Baby - Yes, I know they won't need it now. I'm wondering if it will be useful in the future. I tend to keep computers for at least 6+ years (I was still using the 2006 one this fall, but obviously not playing any games other than Clue Classic).

To last for 6 years, get the best currently available - http://www.anandtech.com/show/8426/the-intel-haswell-e-cpu-review-core-i7-5960x-i7-5930k-i7-5820k-tested/6 - that you can afford.

You shouldn't have to overclock a current i7 in the near future to run games. People currently run games on weaker than i7 CPUs without overclocking.

People are running current games on 6 year old i7's.
 
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Long story short overclocking a Haswell CPU (aside from the G3258) won't bring much of a performance gain when gaming. Same goes for the ram (again there are some exceptions such as builds based on AMD APUs). However overclocking your GPU will have a performance gain which you can actually see.

I haven't heard of locked GPUs asides from the ones in laptops and other portable devices.
 
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Tradesman1: Thank you. That is very helpful. I had taken a lot of that into consideration without actually researching specific parts like RAM, mobo, and PSU (although I was looking at 850 PSUs to account for SLI/Crossfire).

i7Baby: I'm not sure "the best currently available" will fit into the budget, although it's true I would save money on PSU and other overclocking necessities as mentioned by thx1138v2. That's why I was looking at i5s. But I will keep it in mind. Thank you.

RazerZ: Good to know about the differences in CPU, RAM, and GPUs. Thank you.
 
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That's generally the best approach, hence the suggestions I made. It will make for a great rig now and down the road, further along you can OC the CPU for additional power (or upgrade to a Broadwell CPU after they are released, and the GPUs mentioned will be good for a decent amount of time then could SLI to boost performance (or go new depending on what is available then)
 
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