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    Should I Overclock?

    Discussion in 'Alienware' started by azelexx, Sep 22, 2009.

  1. azelexx

    azelexx Notebook Evangelist

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    Hey everyone,

    Just over 5 days with my new M17x and I have to say I'm pretty impressed. With only a single GTX260 I was able to play the following games with no lag:

    Red Alert 3: 1900x1200, All High, 2xAA
    GTA IV: 1680x1050 (on my 22" external monitor), All High, no AA
    Resident Evil 5: 1900x1200, All High, no AA
    Need for Speed Shift: 1900x1200, Med/High, no AA
    Aion: 1680x1050, All High, no AA

    The highest GPU temp I've seen after at least 2 hours of gaming with each game was 67degC with HWMonitor. This temperature is pretty epic lol I was expecting ~80C. Anyway this leads me to think: Should I overclock?

    All the above games run smoothly at the moment with those settings, but there are sometimes spikes in the game when there's lots of things going on and I'd also like everything to be playable @ 1900x1200. So what I want to ask you guys is:
    (1) Do you overclock?
    (2) What are your new stable clocks and max temperatures (please specify if you have the 260, 280, 260sli or 280sli)?
    (3) Were there noticeable performance boost?
    (4) Should I overclock CPU as well? (Mine is @ default 2.4GHz)

    Thanks in advance!
     
    azelexx, Sep 22, 2009
    #1
  2. The_Moo™

    The_Moo™ Here we go again.....

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    (1) Do you overclock? yup but not for gaming
    (2) What are your new stable clocks and max temperatures single like you and maybe a 5 c difference when i am not extreme overclocking
    (3) Were there noticeable performance boost? no enough ..... maybe 5 fps ?
    (4) Should I overclock CPU as well? (Mine is @ default 2.4GHz) if anything you should do this to get the biggest boost
     
    The_Moo™, Sep 22, 2009
    #2
  3. Alien_M4v3r1kk

    Alien_M4v3r1kk Notebook Evangelist

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    Moo why do you overclock? Out of curiosity, do you use programs like Photoshop or Maya?
     
    Alien_M4v3r1kk, Sep 22, 2009
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  4. The_Moo™

    The_Moo™ Here we go again.....

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    nope nothing but gaming


    i only overclock for benching
     
    The_Moo™, Sep 22, 2009
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  5. Alien_M4v3r1kk

    Alien_M4v3r1kk Notebook Evangelist

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    But isn't a more realistic benchmark received without overclocking? Or are you trying to hit the highest possible speeds etc.?
     
    Alien_M4v3r1kk, Sep 22, 2009
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  6. The_Moo™

    The_Moo™ Here we go again.....

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    yes highest possible speed ....
     
    The_Moo™, Sep 22, 2009
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  7. dondadah88

    dondadah88 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Yup. Record breakers. :)
     
    dondadah88, Sep 23, 2009
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  8. Marvie100

    Marvie100 On a Mission

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    Isn't it funny how those who tell you to "Overclock away, its no problem whatsoever" don't leave their machines OC'ed when they're doing the things that you'd want to OC for? hmm.....
     
    Marvie100, Sep 23, 2009
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  9. BobXX

    BobXX Newbie

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    Well, IMO, overclocking each time you want to play a game is kind of a hassle, especially when the game you're playing runs fine w/ stock clocks.
     
    BobXX, Sep 23, 2009
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  10. dondadah88

    dondadah88 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    What do you mean? Can you explain?


    I overclock the crap out of my cards. I push it beyond what's recommended(stock) for BENCHMARKS. Then I moniter my temps, my cpu usage, the way my os is running, etc. Then when I a done I put it back to stock clocks......

    Benchmarks run a max of 10 minutes and then it cools down.There's no reason for me to kill the cards because I push my 9800m gtx from 500/1250/800 to 6?0/1715/9?0 because I wanted to play gta4 for 4 hours of constant stress.
     
    dondadah88, Sep 23, 2009
    #10
  11. jivemofo

    jivemofo Notebook Geek

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    i always oc and only to take it where it's stable for hours. i don't care how far i can push it just to get a screen shot or benchmark. if it's not stable for regular use then i take it back down.

    it's like getting the next level processor for free! but with the fsb increase.
     
    jivemofo, Sep 23, 2009
    #11