Is Overclocking Worth it?

[FRN]

I'm planning to buy a 6600k and a Asus ROG Maximus Ranger and to be cooled by a Cryorig H7. Is it going to be worth it?

[Tazberry]

Free performance!

[Godlygamer23]

Just now, Tazberry said:

Free performance!

It's not really free. You are paying for it through higher power consumption, and higher heat output, and a better cooler.

[Orangeator]

Yes, it is... However personally I am a strong believer in not overclocking your CPU until you feel it is lagging behind, or "not keeping up". Then once you overclock you feel like you got another CPU without spending a dime. Basically just wait awhile unless you need the performance atm.

[Godlygamer23]

To answer your question, it depends on what games you're playing, and what you're generally doing with the computer. In most cases, it's not necessary and you can hold off on it for a while.

[Yali]

1 minute ago, Godlygamer23 said:

It's not really free. You are paying for it through higher power consumption, and higher heat output, and a better cooler.

>.> but you get his point, right?

[DunePilot]

If you're a gamer and your GPU is limited by your CPU then... yeah.

[Godlygamer23]

1 minute ago, Yali said:

>.> but you get his point, right?

It's not free performance. Free implies that you are not taking a hit for it, but you are. Hell, with Intel CPUs, I would even define overclocking as a privilege. One that you have to shell out money for.

Edited September 19, 2016 by Godlygamer23

[FRN]

1 minute ago, DunePilot said:

If you're a gamer and your GPU is limited by your CPU then... yeah.

Programmer by day, gamer at night. Oh and my GPU will be the Asus RX 480.

[Godlygamer23]

Just now, FRN said:

Programmer by day, gamer at night. Oh and my GPU will be the Asus RX 480.

I assume you will be compiling your own code? And what games do you think you'll be playing?

[FRN]

1 minute ago, Godlygamer23 said:

It's not free performance. Free implies that you are not taking a hit for it, but you are. Hell, with Intel CPUs, I would even define overclocking as a privilege. One that you have to shell out money for.

I've seen the 6600k overclocked to 4.6GHz by Paul on PaulsHardware using Cryorig H7. Had me sold because I dont want a possible water leak.

[Godlygamer23]

1 minute ago, FRN said:

I've seen the 6600k overclocked to 4.6GHz by Paul on PaulsHardware using Cryorig H7. Had me sold because I dont want a possible water leak.

It depends on your chip on what frequency you can hit, whether it's a voltage limit or a heat limit.

[FRN]

1 minute ago, Godlygamer23 said:

I assume you will be compiling your own code? And what games do you think you'll be playing?

Yes compiling my own codes in Java.

 

Right now I'm playing first person shooter games like CSGO, Call of Duty, and the occasional Dota 2, games that are not too GPU intensive.

[Tazberry]

10 minutes ago, Godlygamer23 said:

It's not really free. You are paying for it through higher power consumption, and higher heat output, and a better cooler.

I have my cpu overclocked and undervolted. I get extra performance while saving on heat and power.

[Godlygamer23]

Just now, FRN said:

Yes compiling my own codes in Java.

 

Right now I'm playing first person shooter games like CSGO, Call of Duty, and the occasional Dota 2, games that are not too GPU intensive.

The compiling will likely see a performance increase from overclocking, though I'm not sure if it's a 1:1 ratio. Additionally, I have no idea if compiling through Java is multi-threaded or not, and if it isn't, you will be limited to the performance of a single core in that situation, and therefore overclocking will be something you would want to pursue so you can try winning back the performance lost by the compiler being single-threaded. 

 

As far as the games are concerned, CS:GO is fairly CPU intensive, and you might see a performance increase there. Which CoD will you be playing? And what refresh rate is your monitor going to be?

[FRN]

Just now, Tazberry said:

I have my cpu overclocked and undervolted. I get extra performance while saving on heat and power.

Is that even possible? The more juice you require your CPU to pour, the more power it needs or am I wrong?

[Godlygamer23]

Just now, Tazberry said:

I have my cpu overclocked and undervolted. I get extra performance while saving on heat and power.

That is an ideal scenario that most people will not be experiencing. And regardless, the CPU is consuming more power than it was before, and therefore producing more heat than before. The voltage may have decreased, but the amperage has not. 

[Godlygamer23]

Just now, FRN said:

Is that even possible? The more juice you require your CPU to pour, the more power it needs or am I wrong?

Silicon lottery.

[FRN]

1 minute ago, Godlygamer23 said:

As far as the games are concerned, CS:GO is fairly CPU intensive, and you might see a performance increase there. Which CoD will you be playing? And what refresh rate is your monitor going to be?

Bought the whole Modern Warfare on sale last year, played it on my current PC which sucks because it cant handle the graphics very well.

 

I'll be buying a AOC 23 I2381FH, that would be 1080p on 60hz refresh.

[Yali]

11 minutes ago, Godlygamer23 said:

It's not free performance. Free implies that you are not taking a hit for it, but you are. Hell, with Intel CPUs, I would even define overclocking as a privilege. One that you have to shell out money for.

Well then there's nothing for free. You always have to do or pay something for anything. Its called being a smartass.

[Godlygamer23]

1 minute ago, FRN said:

Bought the whole Modern Warfare on sale last year, played it on my current PC which sucks because it cant handle the graphics very well.

 

I'll be buying a AOC 23 I2381FH, that would be 1080p on 60hz refresh.

In the games you mentioned, overclocking can be avoided. 60FPS is not difficult to achieve in those titles at 1080p.

Edited September 19, 2016 by Godlygamer23

[Godlygamer23]

1 minute ago, Yali said:

Well then there's nothing for free. You always have to do or pay something for anything. Its called being a smartass.

Indeed, almost nothing is free. But strictly referring to overclocking, free performance is just not real.

[FRN]

3 minutes ago, Godlygamer23 said:

In the games you mentioned, overclocking can be avoided. 60FPS is not difficult to achieve in those titles at 1080p.

So I can get away with a 6500 then pour the other cash on a 1070? Or a better monitor?

[WereCat]

I will go and say no. At least in most cases. The thing is that you dont really need this expensive flashy motherboard with features you will most likely never use and this really nice water cooler/huge air cooler.

All those money could be thrown at better GPU for a way better performance.

 

However if you already got best of the best you could then OCing makes sense. But throwing extra $100 on hardware just so that I can squeeze 200-300MHz more of my CPU compared to what I could achieve with $25 cooler and basic Z motherboard seems not really worth it.

 

If you are doing OC for sake of OC to learn something or have fun.. sure, go ahead.

[FRN]

1 minute ago, WereCat said:

I will go and say no. At least in most cases. The thing is that you dont really need this expensive flashy motherboard with features you will most likely never use and this really nice water cooler/huge air cooler.

All those money could be thrown at better GPU for a way better performance.

 

However if you already got best of the best you could then OCing makes sense. But throwing extra $100 on hardware just so that I can squeeze 200-300MHz more of my CPU compared to what I could achieve with $25 cooler and basic Z motherboard seems not really worth it.

It Christmas time and usually, that is when the Christmas bonus comes so I have a little head room for a flashy motherboard since I already have the other stuff figured out.

 

Although I'm still considering to grab a 6500+GTX 1070 instead of a 6600k+RX 480.