Overclocking Disadvantages/Concerns

[nickl]

Hi All,

 

My dad have been looking into getting a new, faster Intel CPU for out home computer after our outdated AMD system finally fried.

I have been looking into 4790k and other chips, and a lot of sources like many on this forum say "OVERCLOCK IT" for many processors. My dad is really against the idea of overclocking anything, and says that it leads to instability, and could damage the CPU.

 

My question is are his concerns grounded and real, and is there a reason to (and how can I) convince him that there are advantages to overclocking.

Edited November 22, 2015 by nickl

[The Official Czex]

If you OC to a certain point, it can damage hardware, but it really isn't that risky. Just look at some walkthroughs on OCing your CPU and adjust as needed.

[Nonco]

Whats he using the pc for? 4790K is a pretty high end CPU compared to an AMD CPU.

 

Essentially you can kill your CPU if you overclock it without doing enough research, if you do it safely and only increase it slowly it can be fine. However OC'ing can lead to a shorter life of the CPU overall.

[JebKerman]

so long as you stay within voltage (1.35V) and thermal limits (less than 80°, you can technically go a little higher, but it's best avoided), It's harmless.

[Nonco]

so long as you stay withing Voltage (1.35V) and Thermal limits (less than 80°), It's harmless.

 

I dont know about harmless but its definately much much safer if you keep it within those restrictions.

[nickl]

Whats he using the pc for? 4790K is a pretty high end CPU compared to an AMD CPU.

 

Essentially you can kill your CPU if you overclock it without doing enough research, if you do it safely and only increase it slowly it can be fine. However OC'ing can lead to a shorter life of the CPU overall.

We're not planning on doing much hardcore computing, so we really are probably gonna go with a 4590 or 4690k in the end..., Thanks

 

Otherwise, I am interested in some 3D rendering, so some more CPU horsepower might be useful, but its not required.

[CalebTheEternal]

4790K I assume you mean, and it's already at 4Ghz which is plenty, 4.4 at boost. It's already fast and don't really need anything faster. 

[airdeano]

non-experienced can be a disadvantage.

not understanding the voltages/temperatures can deffo make a system

unstable/unusable. overclocking is not a plug-n-play option. it is a methodical

and tedious regimen to qualify and use it properly. if you are not a patient

person, then get the locked CPU and get to doing why you're upgrading.

[nickl]

4790K I assume you mean, and it's already at 4Ghz which is plenty, 4.4 at boost. It's already fast and don't really need anything faster. 

Corrected

[GM_Peka]

You don't need to overclock, the 4790k is really fast as it is. "Overclocking" to 4.4GHz (stock boost) is generally pretty safe though, most motherboards have an option to easily do this with one option, for instance, on Asus boards they call it multi core enhance.

 

Also, bare in mind the 4790k's don't even have a massive margin, most only gain like 300mhz, and the stock 4.4GHz is more than most people got their 4770k's too.

[nickl]

4790K I assume you mean, and it's already at 4Ghz which is plenty, 4.4 at boost. It's already fast and don't really need anything faster. 

non-experienced can be a disadvantage.

not understanding the voltages/temperatures can deffo make a system

unstable/unusable. overclocking is not a plug-n-play option. it is a methodical

and tedious regimen to qualify and use it properly. if you are not a patient

person, then get the locked CPU and get to doing why you're upgrading.

Overall, would the 4590 or the 4690k be good CPU's for everyday/a bit heavier tasks?

[App4that]

If you're not going to overclock I'm not sure why you're looking at a K processor. Save money by getting a non K processor and a matching motherboard. What's your budget and will you have a graphics card, a Xeon processor might be perfect for you.

[airdeano]

Overall, would the 4590 or the 4690k be good CPU's for everyday/a bit heavier tasks?

 

they'll be fine for that. the 3D might get a bit long in the tooth to use, but money

can be saved on locked CPU and h-series mobo and move the savings to the

best GPU for your budget and possibly a SSD.

[nickl]

they'll be fine for that. the 3D might get a bit long in the tooth to use, but money

can be saved on locked CPU and h-series mobo and move the savings to the

best GPU for your budget and possibly a SSD.

If you're not going to overclock I'm not sure why you're looking at a K processor. Save money by getting a non K processor and a matching motherboard. What's your budget and will you have a graphics card, a Xeon processor might be perfect for you.

We are planning on spending <$400 on the whole thing, and we are currently thinking of getting an i5 4590 ($180), and a ASRock H97M Pro4 from Newegg for $60. We already have a 4x4GB kit of Crucial Ballistix and a 750Ti that we got for the old system before it died, and 2TB HDD, (we're probably not gonna upgrade to an SSD)...

[airdeano]

you should add it the SSD (240GB) $80 for faster loading and app use and gaming.

map loading is enhanced pretty quickly.

[App4that]

We are planning on spending <$400 on the whole thing, and we are currently thinking of getting an i5 4590 ($180), and a ASRock H97M Pro4 from Newegg for $60. We already have a 4x4GB kit of Crucial Ballistix and a 750Ti that we got for the old system before it died, and 2TB HDD, (we're probably not gonna upgrade to an SSD)...

What exactly do you need?

[Samfisher]

We're not planning on doing much hardcore computing, so we really are probably gonna go with a 4590 or 4690k in the end..., Thanks

 

Otherwise, I am interested in some 3D rendering, so some more CPU horsepower might be useful, but its not required.

It's the same thing.  You're still getting a K series CPU and don't want to OC, what's the point in getting one anyway?

[nickl]

What exactly do you need?

Well, before this, we were gonna stick with out terribly old Phenom II X4 820 (lol) and these days I have been more interested in stuff like 3D animation and video rendering, and that processor wouldn't really have enough power, but I was gonna put up with it. The point of getting the 750Ti was to get a GPU that had some performance that was better than the onboard graphics on the mobo.

 

So basically, I'm looking for a capable CPU and will work, and that would be tolerable/good to use for the stuff I mentioned above.

[App4that]

This is the best option if you can fit it in your budget. It has hyperthreading so will tear through your task like a knife through butter and won't require any overclocking, because it can't. But you really want a SSD, makes a huge difference.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117316&cm_re=1231v3-_-19-117-316-_-Product

[BrightCandle]

I have been overclocking the CPUs I bought since 1995. I have never run a machine at its stock clockspeed, ever. In all those processors (and there has been a lot of processors) I have killed one outright, blown up a couple of motherboards and degraded the i7 920 (it wouldn't maintain a high overclock any more and was rapidly reducing the speed it would run at after about 3 years).

 

Given that what I know is that its certainly possible to kill a CPU with a high voltage quickly, like instantly. But you have to go pretty high in order to make it happen, 1.4V and above are the instant pop range. More likely is that absolutely nothing bad will happen and once you find a stable clockspeed/voltage (which will take weeks by the way as some games/programs might have instability even after your 24 hour benchmark test with prime95 and linx) then it'll run until you replace it. A CPUs life is about 20-25 years by design, overclocking can reduce that down to as little as 5 years or less depending on how hard you push the clockspeed and how high the voltage is and at what temperature. Heat speeds up the degradation process.

[CalebTheEternal]

Overall, would the 4590 or the 4690k be good CPU's for everyday/a bit heavier tasks?

Yeah, gaming it would be great and just every day tasks. If you're going to be doing heavy rendering then go with the i7. 

[nickl]

This is the best option if you can fit it in your budget. It has hyperthreading so will tear through your task like a knife through butter and won't require any overclocking, because it can't. But you really want a SSD, makes a huge difference.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117316&cm_re=1231v3-_-19-117-316-_-Product

That's what we ended up buying, seems like a good balance of speed, and price and it is compatible with the mobo we were planning on. Thanks! 

[nickl]

It's the same thing.  You're still getting a K series CPU and don't want to OC, what's the point in getting one anyway?

Well, with the 4790k, it is cheaper than comparable CPU's for better performance, isn't it?

[Biggerboot]

Overclocking is generally much safer now and by design, the K-processors are meant to be enthusiast (overclock) chips because they're unlocked.  I think his concerns are that you're pushing the hardware to do what it wasn't designed to, which isn't the case here.  If you're building an enthusiast system - a Z-series board, K processor, and liquid cooling, then you almost have to overclock it or else it was completely pointless investing in the system.

[nickl]

Overclocking is generally much safer now and by design, the K-processors are meant to be enthusiast (overclock) chips because they're unlocked.  I think his concerns are that you're pushing the hardware to do what it wasn't designed to, which isn't the case here.  If you're building an enthusiast system - a Z-series board, K processor, and liquid cooling, then you almost have to overclock it or else it was completely pointless investing in the system.

 

But I don't know what your Dad plans on doing, so it may be entirely pointless in building that sort of thing for him.  You'll have to decide if that kind of system is necessary for him.

We have now settled on the fact that the 4790k would probably be overkill, and we have bought the E3 1231v3 from Newegg, as is seems like it will be enough for what we are planning on using it for, and that it has hyperthreading and it has better performance than the 4590 that we were thinking of getting and it isn't too much more. Thanks all!