Personal computing discussed

Moderators: renee, Flying Fox, morphine

 
Jamesjardin247
Gerbil In Training
Topic Author
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2018 11:43 am

Is overclocking safe

Wed Feb 14, 2018 11:44 am

Is overclocking safe???
How to do it??
 
NTMBK
Gerbil XP
Posts: 371
Joined: Sat Dec 21, 2013 11:21 am

Re: Is overclocking safe

Wed Feb 14, 2018 11:48 am

My rule of thumb is to never overclock a computer you use for anything important. If you keep photos on it, if you use it for your banking, if you use it for work/homework... never, ever, ever overclock it. The 4-5% speedup you might get is not worth the risks. Finding out that an important file has been silently corrupted by an unstable overclock is a horrible feeling.
 
Darthutos
Gerbil First Class
Posts: 173
Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2014 7:39 am

Re: Is overclocking safe

Wed Feb 14, 2018 1:54 pm

Let me put it this way.
Every computer I ever overclocked died within 6 months.
 
Redocbew
Minister of Gerbil Affairs
Posts: 2495
Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2014 11:44 am

Re: Is overclocking safe

Wed Feb 14, 2018 2:00 pm

Is skydiving safe?

No, not really.

Do I want to do it again?

Hell yes.
Do not meddle in the affairs of archers, for they are subtle and you won't hear them coming.
 
Waco
Maximum Gerbil
Posts: 4850
Joined: Tue Jan 20, 2009 4:14 pm
Location: Los Alamos, NM

Re: Is overclocking safe

Wed Feb 14, 2018 2:35 pm

Darthutos wrote:
Let me put it this way.
Every computer I ever overclocked died within 6 months.

Sounds like you didn't do it very well, then. :P I've run my desktops overclocked since...forever. No CPU failures, just two dead motherboards after years of abuse.
Victory requires no explanation. Defeat allows none.
 
just brew it!
Administrator
Posts: 54500
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2002 10:51 pm
Location: Somewhere, having a beer

Re: Is overclocking safe

Wed Feb 14, 2018 2:43 pm

Depends on your definition of "safe", how mild/extreme of an overclock you are talking about, how good your cooling is, and whether the system is being used for anything important. In other words, "it depends".
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
 
odizzido
Gerbil Team Leader
Posts: 211
Joined: Fri May 06, 2005 6:10 am

Re: Is overclocking safe

Wed Feb 14, 2018 2:46 pm

Overclocking will reduce the lifespan of your CPU. Let's say your CPU could run for 40 years with default settings. You OC just a little and reduce it to 35 years. OC a lot and it will last for five years. Is that long enough? Depends on your situation really.

Of course as someone mentioned before it could die sooner so if you get a CPU that will last for five years with default settings and you OC that one a lot it will die pretty soon.

Just like with everything else quality varies within products. A safe bet is when your CPU is getting slow and you want to upgrade then you overclock. You don't have a lot to lose at that point.

As to how, well you do it usually in the BIOS. I've done it but I am certainly not a master or anything so I should let someone else explain it.
 
RickyTick
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 746
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2007 2:29 pm
Location: South Carolina

Re: Is overclocking safe

Wed Feb 14, 2018 3:34 pm

Over-clocking is over-rated.
Corsair 450D | EVGA SuperNova G3 650W | Asus Z270 Prime-A | Intel i7-7700K | Cryorig H7 | MSI GTX1070 Gaming X 8G | 16gb GSkill TridentZ DDR4 3200 | Crucial MX300 M.2-2280 1TB | Corsair K70 Rapidfire | Logitech G502 | Asus ROG Swift PG279Q
 
Firestarter
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 773
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2004 11:12 am

Re: Is overclocking safe

Wed Feb 14, 2018 3:51 pm

Darthutos wrote:
Let me put it this way.
Every computer I ever overclocked died within 6 months.

my current overclocked system is almost exactly 6 years old and still running almost as fast as it was back then
 
bthylafh
Maximum Gerbil
Posts: 4320
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2003 11:55 pm
Location: Southwest Missouri, USA

Re: Is overclocking safe

Wed Feb 14, 2018 4:30 pm

Darthutos wrote:
Let me put it this way.
Every computer I ever overclocked died within 6 months.


Counterexample: my old Sandy Bridge i5-2500K ran OC'd every day for six years before I retired it, and that on the stock cooler.
Hakkaa päälle!
i7-8700K|Asus Z-370 Pro|32GB DDR4|Asus Radeon RX-580|Samsung 960 EVO 1TB|1988 Model M||Logitech MX 518 & F310|Samsung C24FG70|Dell 2209WA|ATH-M50x
 
TwistedKestrel
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 686
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2003 4:29 pm

Re: Is overclocking safe

Wed Feb 14, 2018 4:36 pm

Jamesjardin247 wrote:
Is overclocking safe???
How to do it??


Is it safe? No. You have to know what you are doing.

How to do it? Read up on an overclocking guide for your specific type of CPU/GPU. In addition, you will have to plan for the increased power and heat you will need to deal with.

Is it worth it? Yes. I have an i5 2500K and an AMD 7950 that have been substantially overclocked for years, and they are working just fine. (I recently had to turn down the OC on the 2500K a scootch though as it was no longer stable, it's still happy running at 4.4)
 
tsoulier
Grand Gerbil Poohbah
Posts: 3049
Joined: Mon Aug 09, 2004 6:17 am
Location: South Louisiana

Re: Is overclocking safe

Wed Feb 14, 2018 6:05 pm

My rig has been oced when the 2600K came out , no problems.
Core I7 2600K @ 4.6 | Asrock P67 Extreme 4 | 16 gig Corsair | EVGA Superclocked GTX 780 | Samsung 840 Pro SSD | Seasonic X-850 W

Phenom II 940 @ 3.6 | Gigabyte MA78G-DS3HP | 2x2 gig G-Skill dr2 800 | 500 W Seasonic | WD 640 HDD | EVGA GTX 570
 
DPete27
Grand Gerbil Poohbah
Posts: 3776
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2011 12:50 pm
Location: Wisconsin, USA

Re: Is overclocking safe

Wed Feb 14, 2018 6:15 pm

General rule of thumb: As long as you're not increasing voltage, overclocking is "safe" and relatively simple. Keep in mind that most mobos supply auto voltage, so if you OC, your mobo will likely increase the voltage automatically. You'll have to make BIOS adjustments to counteract/prevent this.

Google Search : "[Insert CPU model here] stock voltage overclock"

What processor do you have?
Main: i5-3570K, ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, MSI RX480 8G, 500GB Crucial BX100, 2 TB Samsung EcoGreen F4, 16GB 1600MHz G.Skill @1.25V, EVGA 550-G2, Silverstone PS07B
HTPC: A8-5600K, MSI FM2-A75IA-E53, 4TB Seagate SSHD, 8GB 1866MHz G.Skill, Crosley D-25 Case Mod
 
bfg-9000
Gerbil Team Leader
Posts: 242
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2016 9:17 pm

Re: Is overclocking safe

Wed Feb 14, 2018 6:23 pm

There are certain generations of CPUs that were notorious for unexpected failures from just slightly more voltage than stock. For example the 130nm Northwoods often suffered from "Sudden Northwood Death Syndrome" above 1.7v--which is only 10% higher than the stock voltage of 1.55v. The 45nm chips also tended to degrade after prolonged use at high voltage, dropping in maximum stable overclocks over time until even the stock speed required massive overvoltage to be stable (Intel even retroactively lowered the Vmax ratings). And there are many current reports of 22nm Haswells with their FIVR degrading as well. In between those were generations of chips with a reputation for near indestructability, and of course even with the suspect ones there are plenty of people who had no problems with their particular sample. So there is risk in a statistical sense but if you are reasonable it should be low.

One of the few positive things Microsoft's telemetry for Windows 8 and 10 (and backported to Win 7 to preclude it being a reason for avoiding the free* upgrade) has provided for consumers is the realization that even when running at the stock speeds, PCs are not entirely stable and have a quantifiable error rate. I always wondered why I always ended up with lower overclocks requiring more voltage and heat than other people. Turns out I just have less tolerance for instability than they did, and still cringe every time I hear about someone undervolting their stuff to reduce heat, or overclocking without raising voltages. It's not as stable as you think.

*must forfeit soul
 
Fonbu
Gerbil First Class
Posts: 102
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2015 9:23 pm

Re: Is overclocking safe

Wed Feb 14, 2018 8:55 pm

If you have money to burn put together some tweaking purpose system to experiment with cpu/gpu overclocking ideally, and compete in a few of the major benchmarks. Not a production system. Overclocking has some thrill and Adrenalin into it for sure. Sure it has potential hazard's but I generally feel its an acceptable risk in moderation. Like keeping the cpu/gpu overclock to the highest boost frequency.
-Ryzen 2700X w Noctua NH-U14S-16GB RAM-Asus Crosshair VI Hero-1080Ti-Sam960EVO 240GB-CrucialM5 480GB-WD2x4TB-CORSAIR RM1000i-Fractal Design Define R5 Black
-Intel i7-7700k w H60-16GB RAM-Crucial MX200&M5'sRAID0 2x240GB-WD1TB-RX590 8GB-Oculus Rift
 
Geonerd
Gerbil First Class
Posts: 163
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2011 2:29 pm
Location: Sunny Aridzona

Re: Is overclocking safe

Wed Feb 14, 2018 11:00 pm

IMO, it's quite safe, provided you don't go nuts with the voltage. Providing good cooling is also a good idea.
My longest running OC is my current browser computer. It's an AMD 1045T six core phenom running at 3.3GHz base and ~3.6 turbo. It's been running this way for about 6 years w/o any stability issues whatsoever. The 3.3 is achievable with bone stock voltage, and the turbo speed needs only another 0.05v over this level. After that, the frequency vs voltage curve get a bit crazy. The chip will do 4 gig, but only with scary voltage.
 
just brew it!
Administrator
Posts: 54500
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2002 10:51 pm
Location: Somewhere, having a beer

Re: Is overclocking safe

Wed Feb 14, 2018 11:28 pm

Geonerd wrote:
IMO, it's quite safe, provided you don't go nuts with the voltage. Providing good cooling is also a good idea.
My longest running OC is my current browser computer. It's an AMD 1045T six core phenom running at 3.3GHz base and ~3.6 turbo. It's been running this way for about 6 years w/o any stability issues whatsoever. The 3.3 is achievable with bone stock voltage, and the turbo speed needs only another 0.05v over this level. After that, the frequency vs voltage curve get a bit crazy. The chip will do 4 gig, but only with scary voltage.

In this case, you're still within the stock/turbo frequencies of the highest clocked official version of the Thuban core (the 1100T, at 3.3/3.7). So as long as it's stable and temps are reasonable, I'd expect it to live long and prosper. :lol:

The Phenom and Phenom II cores were tough mofos. Back in the day I accidentally ran a Phenom 9550 fanless for a while (fan died and I didn't notice). It got really toasty, but never skipped a beat.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
 
hkuspc40
Gerbil
Posts: 41
Joined: Thu Jul 09, 2015 7:47 pm

Re: Is overclocking safe

Wed Feb 14, 2018 11:45 pm

Been a running an overclocked 4790K and GTX 970 for three years with no issues... I'll build a new system within the next two years...
9600K @ 4.9 + 16GB Trident RGB 3200 CL14 + Asus Z390-I + 970 Evo 500GB + EVGA RTX 2080 Turbo + EVGA CLC 240 + NZXT H200i + Noctua iPPC Fans + 1440p @ 75Hz

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 1 guest
GZIP: On