Question Regarding Overclocking

[Legion Kreinak]

When a person overclocks any piece of hardware, is there any harm at all if the temperature is kept below the recommended mark, and if no "artifacts" show up with benchmark tests?

I can't think of what other problem there would be, but it seems too good to be true that a piece of hardware can be pushed beyond limits with no drawbacks. Granted, you can only push something so far, but still...

 

[01001010]

There are drawbacks. For one, the CPU may have a shorter life.

 

[mammikoura]

There are drawbacks. For one, the CPU may have a shorter life.

or any other piece of hardware. And well depending on how much u oc. If u oc like a p4 to 6Ghz it will not last very long. But just with normal oc'ing it won't reduce the life time of the part that much.

and that is the only drawback I can think of right now.

 

[wolfinstinct]

increased power usage

 

[Jamxx]

Which means more heat. They're really the same thing.

And, if you overclock only a modest amount (keeping the temperatures low and not pushing it too hard), then you won't notice the life of your CPU get worse. Usually, the general lifespan of an overclocked CPU is longer than the normal usage period of it (what I mean is that the CPU won't die before you get a new one or something).

Just to add here, don't overclock laptops, it's stupid. I just thought I'd add that tidbit of information.

 

[jac006]

You also have to oc your ram, too, you know that right? You have to eqalize your speed throughout your pc. So yes, your ram would too be harmed. Then, to compensate with that, you would then oc your gpu, and then, yes, your gpu would get scrwed up (or have the chance).

 

[HRHunteRHR]

When a person overclocks any piece of hardware, is there any harm at all if the temperature is kept below the recommended mark, and if no "artifacts" show up with benchmark tests?

I can't think of what other problem there would be, but it seems too good to be true that a piece of hardware can be pushed beyond limits with no drawbacks. Granted, you can only push something so far, but still...

Well if the motherboard that has the CPU in it comes with an overclocking feature, take full advantage of it because it won't overclock the CPU so much that the CPU life is affected, so I don't reccomend anything over a 400MHz overclock unless you want to add some fans and more voltage and get used to making your computer a dutch oven. But then again, you may not want to do this is you said you didn't want to overclock in that last thread. I'd wait until you have some more knowledge about the rest of the computer before you attempt it. It's a very hard thing to master, it's addicting though....

 

[mighty_chick]

yes its hard to master and addicting but since your clearly only asking for the knowledge and not to do it since overclocking is not for you (refer to im a heathen) i'll tell you it takes about 3 years off any components life unless you screw up in which case more time.

 

[GreySteelFox]

what exactly do you mean the "life" of a card or CPU? is it just going to stop working or burst into flames or have a heartattack?

 

[Legion Kreinak]

How long would normal parts last, on average? If a modestly overclocked CPU would still outlive it's usage (although this would vary), how much is really being lost?