Overclocking Questions

[mhonor]

I'm building a gaming PC and trying to decide between an i5-6600K or the cheaper option of a locked chip such as the Xeon E3-1231 v3.  I'm new to overclocking but I would like to get the most value from my CPU into the future, and it would be fun besides. 

 

I've done the research and know how to overclock responsibly, stress-testing for stability, etc, but I have heard that overclocking can reduce the life span of a CPU. My question - does this mean:

1. the obvious: if you do a stupid overclock with high voltages and inadequate heating, you will fry your CPU (duh)
2. or, any overclocking can potentially degrade your CPU over time. 

I realize that a K series only beats out a CPU like the Xeon if it is overclocked, and I want to build a PC that will last far into the future. With a sensible overclock are my concerns unnecessary? Or would I be better off just getting a locked CPU?

 

[Starelementpoke]

2 minutes ago, mhonor said:

I'm building a gaming PC and trying to decide between an i5-6600K or the cheaper option of a locked chip such as the Xeon E3-1231 v3.  I'm new to overclocking but I would like to get the most value from my CPU into the future, and it would be fun besides. 

 

I've done the research and know how to overclock responsibly, stress-testing for stability, etc, but I have heard that overclocking can reduce the life span of a CPU. My question - does this mean:

1. the obvious: if you do a stupid overclock with high voltages and inadequate heating, you will fry your CPU (duh)
2. or, any overclocking can potentially degrade your CPU over time. 

I realize that a K series only beats out a CPU like the Xeon if it is overclocked, and I want to build a PC that will last far into the future. With a sensible overclock are my concerns unnecessary? Or would I be better off just getting a locked CPU?

 

It means 1. OCing with proper cooling shouldn´t reduce cpu life span, and if so by very little.

[Mattyp92]

Slight overclocks won't do significant damage to the longevity of the chip.  As long as they are stable and temps are low enough, the CPU should still out live the normal hardware life cycle.  Also, the skylake chips, even the locked ones, can overclock the base clock speed much easier than previous generations.  I have had pretty good luck overclocking my 6600 (no k) so far but haven't pushed its limits yet.  Right now sitting at about a 5% overclock.