does overclocking really pay off

[Ataros]

i7-860
@2.8 stock = occasional micro-stutters both in ArmA2 and BoB in the vicinity of large numbers of AI especially
@3.8 - almost no noticeable stutters after recent patches

[maclean525]

For "games" that don't use much CPU no it doesn't make much of a difference. For sims though, that are very CPU intensive, it makes a HUGE difference. On one of my sims I see a 50% frame rate increase going from stock on my i7 (3.06) to 4.0GHz.

[sg1221]

I think it can help some , but not nearly as much as it did in the " old days ".
I remember overclocking an $89.00 Celeron processor to run as fast as a $900.00 Pentium II back in the 90's. It ran flawlessly for a couple years and allowed me to play games I would not have been able to run otherwise.

Todays multicore processors are all pretty powerful IF the game you are playing USES them properly. You need to approach overclocking with the knowlege that damage is possible so if you can't afford to replace your motherboard and or
processor you might not want to risk it. CPU's are kinda like fingerprints , no two
are exactly alike , some will overclock easily others won't.

[Buchon]

Watch out guys.

No one wants a wave of newbies burning theirs PCs.

[l3uLLDoZeR]

Flyby your current CPU is known to be a good overclocker and the performance might be worth it. I learned tons from HardForum and those guys really know what they are talking about. The I920 will require a little more work to overclock than say the new I5/7 2500k and 2600k. Those new ones with ONE CLICK in the bios you're at 4-4.2ghz..and a p67 or z68 motherboard. They made it simple for noobs..pros can still get them up to 5ghz manually with air cooling.
You will have to go into the bios and manually change clock speeds and maybe voltage on your setup. You could probably get 3.5-3.8ghz outta that 920 with little effort. If you use the stock intel cpu cooler you need to upgrade so you dont over heat the chip. This is basic but its probably worth the little effort involved!

[Flyby]

Thanks for the added replies, all. I've been out of the PC-building game for a while, but I know the i920 will reach at least 3.6 with air cooling and a good quality CPU cooler. It's a bit more work, as DoZeR says, but seems fairly do-able. I've though to sell it and buy an i2500K, just to more comfortably hit higher clocks. Plus, even when overclocking the 2500K, the power draw is substantially lower than the 920, not to mention that you can singularly focus on just overclocking the CPU. Apparently CLoD doesn't support or need hyperthreading either, and the 2500K doesn't have that feature. Too bad no crystal ball for what the future holds for gaming requirements, but if HT were to be a requirement, there's always the 2600K lurking. As I mentioned, the 920 has never been used, so maybe I'll find a buyer on the tech forums elsewhere.
thanks again!
Flyby out

[l3uLLDoZeR]

You know whats up flyby...the 2500k is the best choice, low power and higher overclock. It's kinda something you have to choose which route to go.

Be warned microcenter sells the I7 960 for $199, thats gonna push the value of your "new" 920 down. Unless you plan on running more than 2 graphics cards the 2500k is the way to go!

[RE77ACTION]

Originally Posted by Buchon

Watch out guys.

No one wants a wave of newbies burning theirs PCs.

I think that Intel and AMD wouldn't mind...