In the real world

Hi guys.

A simple question for you all, which will probably be answered with opinion rather than fact but that's just the nature of my question.

Does overclocking make a 'REAL WORLD' difference?

Now I know this is hardware specific, IE overclocking a CPU to remove a bottleneck etc, I understand that...

 

However my question is if you have a CPU that is fast and not a bottleneck and a new generation GPU and plenty of RAM is it really worthwhile pushing for those extra few 3DMark points?

 

My situation for example is I have a 3770k, 16GB of RAM and a 7950 Boost.

 

Stock reference score in 3DMark11 is P8300

With the CPU @ 4.2Ghz and GPU overclocked it jumps to 9500-9700 points - at stable clocks.

 

Getting to the point is this worthwhile? Are we talking 2fps difference or 10-15 (doubtful)?

 

I like my overclocked systems and I love overclocking OLD hardware to get the most out of it but overclocking this somewhat new system that I have makes me feel a little ungrateful if its not for a valid reason.

well yes it does make a difference. It can make a difference in making a game play able or cut down rendering time and save you money.

Yes, yes it does. Quite a bit, actually.

It can make a difference in making a game play able or cut down rendering time and save you money.

There's not many games that start out 'unplayable' on this rig, well there's none. That's why I said if I had an old system that I was overclocking to make a new game playable I get that.

Rendering time, well I'm not a video editor unfortunately so I can't comment on that.


Can you elaborate a little further on that?

I'm happy with my overclock as long as those 1500 points are making a noticeable difference, visually I don't really see a lot of change with my naked eye.

 

Is it just e-peen inches I'm gaining?

Yes it does the 3770k gains the most performance overclocking between 3.5 and 4.5 ghz is what I heard somewhere and yes it will if you are using an application that can take advantage of all of its power.

Cool thank you.

Replies like this actually help me to make up my mind whether or not I want to keep it overlocked. Temps are good, stability is good so I will leave it the way it is and be happy knowing i'm getting some more grunt out of it and it's actually worthwhile.

Usually, overclocking the CPU helps raise your lower frame rates. I find that lower frame rates are more important than measuring your average frames, always ensuring your game is playable. In productivity tests, it will cut down time for different tasks.

Should you downclock if you're not taking advantage of that extra CPU performance? Yes.

However, the additional performance from a GPU overclock is always going to be noticeable. I always recommend GPU overclocking.

In gaming you can get a small increase in fps from overclocking, but it really depends on the game. Some games dont benefit at all from overclocking the cpu. If you really want to know if overclocking your cpu increases your frame rate in the games you play I suggest you run your games at stock clocks and have a fps monitor like fraps running, record your fps then overclock and then record your fps and then compare the results. For stuff like rendering overclocking will cut down on the time it takes.

Yes when I had my i5 3570k (before the i7 I have now) overclocking it to 4.3ghz in battlefield 3 and arma 2 upped my avg frame rate some but the minimum fps is the most telling as those can be the lag spikes that get you killed or are just annoying.  The effect on my new i7 was minimal but if I had a better GPU it would then be helping but right now my gpu cant keep up with the i7.  Giving you CPU a little OC helps you GPU stretch its legs in stressful games scences

Thanks guys.

I will man up and keep my overclock :)