Is Overclocking worth it??

[kujoe2002]

I originally had a new machine I was going to build but a landslide of bills came so I now need to see if I can keep this comp running well. Looking at the specs in my sig, is it even worth overclocking anything?

[RealBeast]

IMO it's silly not to do a reasonable overclock if you can take the time and aren't just buying a retail box.

Intel's current CPUs are so solid that it seems they are being sold under clocked, all of them easily handle a big increase without any temperature issues or exotic cooling.

It's just so easy and safe that it makes no sense not to unless all you do is email and Internet browsing.

[anubis44]

I originally had a new machine I was going to build but a landslide of bills came so I now need to see if I can keep this comp running well. Looking at the specs in my sig, is it even worth overclocking anything?

If you're looking to play games (you never mentioned what you're doing with your computer) the most obvious bottleneck in your system is that awful NVidia GeForce 8600GT graphics card. If you have $180+tax and shipping, go get yourself an ATI 5770 1GB card like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-447-_-Product

if you want the latest mid-level enthusiast DX11 card, or if you're strapped for money, but you can afford ~$120+tax, and want to game, get this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-351-_-Product

For $119, you'll get a 1GB 4850 card. I wouldn't buy any card that doesn't have at least 1GB at this point, and you can either crossfire it when you have another ~$100 in a few months, or upgrade to the 5000-series cards if you come into some extra $$$.

Yes, overclock that 7200 chip. You should be able to get over 3GHz if your motherboard has any kind of overclocking capability, and then see how she flies. Nice thing about upgrading your graphics card is that you can keep it and put it in your next system build.

[Nater]

Overclocking will improve your performance in CPU heavy workloads. It's usefulness in gaming is more debatable.

Considering the CPU you have can very overclocked quite easily I'd go ahead and bump it up a few bins. Just far enough that you don't have to worry about buying a new cooler.

You definitely need to upgrade your GPU though. Troll the various FS/FT forums at other sites and you should be able to pick up something like an 8800GT for $30. Further up the scale, a use GTX260 or 4870 wouldn't be bad either, but they'll cost you more like $100-$120 depending on shader counts, core clocks, and frame buffer size.

[Timman_24]

Good god yes. I recently bumped my CPU from 3.2ghz to 4.0ghz and had a massive improvement in EQ2 (which is CPU dependent.) I am on air and it only took a few minutes of tinkering to get it there. By all means do it. It is a free 100-200 dollar upgrade all through software.