Overclocking

[GONdorman]

I am thinking of overclocking my processor a bit (its a Core 2 Duo E7200), and I have some questions:

1. How do I do it? Is there any freeware application or sth?
2. Would it be a lot of difference in performance to overclock from 2.53 ghz (per core) to 2.8 ghz aprox?
3. Would that "slight" overlock damage the processor and/or reduce its lifetime?

I say "slight" OC because I read about a guy who OCed it to 3.0 ghz

BTW, since I´m making a thread, does Civ4 benefit from multiple core processors?

 

[kuukkeli]

1. The usual way is to do it from the motherboard BIOS. I recommend Googling some guides due to fact that you had to ask that
2. Depends on the application and the rest of your hardware but that small OC will never yield large benefits.
3. To simplify things: possibly, but as long as the voltages are kept low and you have good cooling to prevent overheating there's nothing to worry about

And about the amount you're planning to OC. Seriously, I quickly glanced the E7200 thread on my local OC forum and it seems that on average you should quite easily get 3.5GHz without raising the voltage at all. Just get a software that monitors temperatures and either run some stress tests or just use the computer the way you normally use it. If the temperatures stay low enough and computer is stable there's nothing to fear.

 

[Zelig]

1. You shouldn't have to ask this, if you want to overclock stuff, you're going to have to look stuff up yourself.

2. 11% difference, maximum.

3. Likely not, if there's no voltage change. Heat output rises linearly with clockspeed. Keep in mind that any overclocking voids the warranty.

Civ4 does not directly benefit from multiple cores, but the average computer has enough stuff going on in the background that a dual core will perform better in Civ4 than a single core, as it doesn't get slowed downby background tasks.

 

[GONdorman]

Ok, thanks guys

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Every processor has a maximal voltage it can take before it begins to be damaged. For most C2D's its around 1.3-1.4v, with the specific numbers varying based on the processor, the revision, the batch, etc. Generally, to get any overclock above something minimal like 3-5%, you're going to need to bump up voltage a bit. This bump in voltage will greatly affect the temperature your processor runs at. Mine went from 55C load to 68C load when I OC'd to 3.4ghz on my Q9550.
There is also the question of whether or not your processor can handle the higher speeds. Some chips, such as Q6600's have been OC'd to over 4ghz from their stock speed, others can barely get to 3ghz. It really just depends. The best way to figure out if your overclock is stable is Prime 95 or Linpack. Prime 95 will tell you whether or not the processor is generating errors, linpack will mainly stress it to the max to see if your temperatures are acceptable.
That brings me to another point. With a stock cooler, you cannot do much overclocking. The stock cooler just cannot keep your cpu cool enough to run stable. In this case, you want to have a more efficient cpu cooler. Stuff from Noctua or Thermalright is great, but a little expensive. Look on HardOCP or bit-tech for their reviews of CPU coolers and find what is acceptable to you in price/performance. With a C2D, you do not want your temps going over 75C since that starts to get pretty bad for the processor.

You seem like you've just heard about what it is, but not how to actually do it, so I suggest you read how a cpu speed is determined, what core voltage does, what FSB is ( since you have a C2D, you're going to be dealing with the FSB and multiplier, not BCLK like on Core i7 ) You also want to find out if your motherboard supports any sort of overclocking. Most basic ones do not, beyond possibly changing the multiplier ( and even then, you can only lower it, not increase since intel chips are multiplier-locked).

Also go read this: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1198647
Its a very helpful, step-by-step guide on how to overclock C2D's. Read it, understand it, make sure you know what you're doing. Ask questions if you have them. As long as you're careful, there will not be any damage to your processor or system.

 

[Zelig]

Generally, to get any overclock above something minimal like 3-5%, you're going to need to bump up voltage a bit.

I got a 40% overclock with a voltage decrease, prime stable for 200+ hours.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

I said *generally*
Some processors are just great OCers like that
Then again, some processors/mobo combinations have quirks. for instance, I cannot run 3.1 ghz without overvolting, but 3.2 is stable with a undervolt ( of like .05 sure, but its a decrease still)
3.4 is stable with only a single step up in voltage.

 

[kuukkeli]

Generally, to get any overclock above something minimal like 3-5%, you're going to need to bump up voltage a bit.

Generally doesn't apply to C2D's because they're such an OC beasts. As I said E7200 appears to reach at least 3.5GHz without bumping up the voltage. My E2140 runs 3.0GHz without increasing the voltage and its stock speed is 1.8GHz (about 67% increase). Also even with majority of processors that 3-5% seems a bit low IMO.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

I think I was thinking of graphics cards actually, since I was messing around with my shader clocks a bit earlier. You're right, CPU's, and especially C2D's see much higher OC gains.

Now GPU's on the other hand, those are great if you can even get 3% out of them.

 

[Zelig]

Right on the GPUs, in my experience, it's never worth the effort to try to overclock them.

FWIW, my 40% overclock with decreased voltage is on an Athlon X2.

And again, even a 1 MHz overclock voids your cpu warranty, and you shouldn't expect to even get a 1 MHz overclock. (Hope for the best, expect the worst)

 

[lndm]

Nice O/C, Zelig. Do you recall how far you got with dissipation equal to stock?

 

[Zelig]

OEM processor, never came with a stock heatsink.

I had a couple other processors with this motherboard before this one, and didn't see much difference in overclocking with stock voltage between the stock heatsink and higher end ones.

If you have a well-ventilated case, it's only when you start turning up the voltage that you'll see a huge difference in heat output.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

And as long as the tower isn't shoved off into a corner near a heater. I keep mine about 4 or 6 inches away from any walls. For ventilation.