Overclocking... worth it?

[Train27]

So I was wondering why everybody talks about overcloking almost as if it was a must or something. But actually... what's it's purpose? Is the performance boost really that noticeable? Is it worth for the lifespan of the processor that you trade off?

And also, do you really need it? I mean, what kind of applications or programs do you run that require so much processing power?

[Appleboy45]

2 minutes ago, Train27 said:

So I was wondering why everybody talks about overcloking almost as if it was a must or something. But actually... what's it's purpose? Is the performance boost really that noticeable? Is it worth for the lifespan of the processor that you trade off?

And also, do you really need it? I mean, what kind of applications or programs do you run that require so much processing power?

I did overclock my Core i5 6600K. And I do got to admit I really don't see a difference, but if you do it right, there probably won't be much of a lifespan difference. However, boot up does seem to be a little faster. I would recommend using Skylake to overclock as I think using anything else can risk loosing data.

[Hackentosher]

When dealing with productivity usages, a healthy overclock on the CPU can make a very noticeable difference. In gaming loads, a GPU overclock can also make a very noticeable difference. If you don't overclock your hardware, you are passing up an opportunity for free performance, and who doesn't want free performance?

[Moonzy]

2 minutes ago, Train27 said:

what's it's purpose? Is the performance boost really that noticeable? Is it worth for the lifespan of the processor that you trade off?

if done correctly, it does increase the performance of your PC

i normally do a healthy oc on my gpu, for example

mine can do 1530 stable, but i run it at 1450 mhz just to be stable and get a nice multiple of 50, the origical core clock is 1316

so meaning im getting about 10% boost in performance (which is about 5~9% boost in games )

 

as for lifespan, if done correctly your processor will probably last waaaay longer than the time it will be relevant for your system lol

 

as for "do you need it", no, its a want more than need

but sometimes when your system is near being a bottleneck, a bit of overclcoking goes a long way

 

here's a vid

Spoiler

 

 

[Bananasplit_00]

1 minute ago, Hackentosher said:

When dealing with productivity usages, a healthy overclock on the CPU can make a very noticeable difference. In gaming loads, a GPU overclock can also make a very noticeable difference. If you don't overclock your hardware, you are passing up an opportunity for free performance, and who doesn't want free performance?

EXACTLY, free preformance for a very small(if you do it right) lifespan decrease  

[Steel_Wind]

Modern K class CPUs are designed for it. Intended for it, in fact.

GPUs? That's a more problematic question, but modest overclocks can provide modest gains. Not on the order of the % bonus what you can get from a strong OC on a 6600K CPU, but still worthwhile to many.