Overclocking

[DaHotFuzz]

Hello everyone,

I was wondering. I have a really old processor right now and was wondering if overclocking it would be give me noticable or even significant improvements when gaming. I've been told I could OC mine to 4.0 ghz but I'm unsure whether or not it would actually make a difference. I'm curious because as new games are being released I am noticing processor recommendations skyrocket. (Dying Light is a fine example)

Specs:
i7 860 @ 2.8 ghz
Gtx 760 SC ACX 2G
8G RAM

Thank you in advance :)

[Hatman]

It's possible. I'm no OC expert but looking at the i7 860 specs i saw it already supports intel Turbo Boost technology.

That means it already overclocks itself when needed. You should run CPU-Z and figure out by how much, to make a reasonable guess how much room there is for more.

[_I_]

look here

http://www.overclock.net/t/605848/i5-i7-lga-1156-overclocking-guide-to-4ghz

to overclock those you raise the fsb/bclk

what you need, fast ram (1600+) and a good cpu cooler

drop ram multi to lower value (1333-1066)
then bring up the fsb/bclk, 133 is stock on those iirc
i7 860 has a stock cpu multi of 21 (1366 perfer odd multi, 1156 may also)

if you can get fsb/bclk to around 150, it will be 3.1ghz
160 x21 = 3.36ghz
170 x21 = 3.57ghz
180 x21 = 3.78ghz
190 x21 = 3.99ghz

basic guide
put everything to stock
core voltage, cpu multi, ram settings
lower ram multi by 1 (ex. from 1600 to 1333)
disable c1 states and turbo

bring up the cpu multi by 5 at a time
verify oc with cpuz
(watch for throttling, cpu multi dropping and cpu freq going lower than stock while testing)
watch temps with hwmonitor (max cpu is around 80c befor it will throttle)
test with prime95 or ibt for around 10 minutes

(good signs you can oc farther)
if temps are low (around 60-70c) and its stable = raise fsb/bclk by 5
if temps are low and unstable = raise core voltage by 1 (.05v)

(bad signs stop)
temps are high or notice cpu throttling 80c = lower multi by 5 and stop (go back to last good settings)

[evo]

4 ghz sounds a bit unrealistic to reach on the fly (impossible without changing voltages). Every CPU (even same model) will behave differently and have different caps. If you overclock, don't trust the numbers in any guide. You should always increase clocks by increments and test if it's stable. If it crashes, lower it, if it doesn't crash, raise it (until it crashes). Then test if it's stable.

If your CPU and/or motherboard support overclocking, it's worth a shot. Changing clocks is mostly harmless, the real danger is changing voltages, which essentially could fry your CPU if you aren't careful.

Ofcourse, higher clocks = more volts required, more volts = more heat. OC is only recommended if you have sufficient cooling.

I'd say get a new CPU and you'll be set, but I know that's quite a problem because you'll need a new motherboard as well, and possibly even a new PSU.

TL;DR To answer your question, yes, it will make a difference if it's stable. Otherwise throttling may occur, as well as BSODs or other crashes.

[DaHotFuzz]

Thank you for all of this information dude. Appreciate it.

How exactly can I check the speed of my RAM? All I remember is that it's DDR3 I believe.

Nevermind! I figured it out. Installed CPU-Z.

Originally posted by _I_:

look here

http://www.overclock.net/t/605848/i5-i7-lga-1156-overclocking-guide-to-4ghz

to overclock those you raise the fsb/bclk

what you need, fast ram (1600+) and a good cpu cooler

drop ram multi to lower value (1333-1066)
then bring up the fsb/bclk, 133 is stock on those iirc
i7 860 has a stock cpu multi of 21 (1366 perfer odd multi, 1156 may also)

if you can get fsb/bclk to around 150, it will be 3.1ghz
160 x21 = 3.36ghz
170 x21 = 3.57ghz
180 x21 = 3.78ghz
190 x21 = 3.99ghz

basic guide
put everything to stock
core voltage, cpu multi, ram settings
lower ram multi by 1 (ex. from 1600 to 1333)
disable c1 states and turbo

bring up the cpu multi by 5 at a time
verify oc with cpuz
(watch for throttling, cpu multi dropping and cpu freq going lower than stock while testing)
watch temps with hwmonitor (max cpu is around 80c befor it will throttle)
test with prime95 or ibt for around 10 minutes

(good signs you can oc farther)
if temps are low (around 60-70c) and its stable = raise fsb/bclk by 5
if temps are low and unstable = raise core voltage by 1 (.05v)

(bad signs stop)
temps are high or notice cpu throttling 80c = lower multi by 5 and stop (go back to last good settings)

[DaHotFuzz]

Great point. I'm going to take this into consideration as well when/if I decide to OC. Thank you for the response.

Originally posted by EvoSteven↻ | ≪ϟᵢₒ–₀₁₁≫:

4 ghz sounds a bit unrealistic to reach on the fly (impossible without changing voltages). Every CPU (even same model) will behave differently and have different caps. If you overclock, don't trust the numbers in any guide. You should always increase clocks by increments and test if it's stable. If it crashes, lower it, if it doesn't crash, raise it (until it crashes). Then test if it's stable.

If your CPU and/or motherboard support overclocking, it's worth a shot. Changing clocks is mostly harmless, the real danger is changing voltages, which essentially could fry your CPU if you aren't careful.

Ofcourse, higher clocks = more volts required, more volts = more heat. OC is only recommended if you have sufficient cooling.

I'd say get a new CPU and you'll be set, but I know that's quite a problem because you'll need a new motherboard as well, and possibly even a new PSU.

TL;DR To answer your question, yes, it will make a difference if it's stable. Otherwise throttling may occur, as well as BSODs or other crashes.