Overclocking CPU benefits GPU?

my friend at Overclockers.net told me that if u overclocked your CPU it would somewhat benefit your GPu.

I dont know if this is true as he is still a newbie himself at the overclocking business but i just want to make sure

Can anyone confirm this?

 

Normally yes, on my desktop my overclock gained me 5-12 fps. But this was because my video card is so much faster than my cpu. Your case your cpu is plenty fast I believe the gains would be minimal as it is more than likely waiting on your video. But correct me if i'm wrong?

 

i think you may be right. However i overclocked my GPU, so it may be a bit closer to the performance of the CPU.


so if i overclocked my CPU say to 2.8Ghz it would increase some FPS right?

 

I would say you will get more fps in games but benchmarking the card oc and non oc cpu should be the same.

 

I dont think there is a connection between CPU and GPU, i mean you will gain gaming performance if your CPU is the bottleneck. but OC the CPU does not increase the performance of the GPU

 

Okay thanks for settling the question.

Im a moderate gamer but i enjoy high FPS, so could i expect a decent boost in fps (say an average of 4fps or more) if i overclocked my CPU from 2.4Ghz to 2.8Ghz?

 

Doubtful. Your CPU is way ahead of your 8400 already. You might as well try it though.

 

In RTS games: yes.
Fps increases will depend on what fps you are already getting. +4 fps when you are already getting 60 is a small increase in performance while +4 at 20 is alot more significant.
In any game where you are getting a low framerate(20's) you will most likely be 99% bottlenecked by your gpu and as such oc'ing you cpu would be a waste.

Ati's desktop gpu's are supposedly more cpu dependant than nvidia's so that might be where the confusion is coming from.

 

Ok thanks for the replies. I guess a try couldnt hurt though right?

Im guessing overclocking the CPU functions the same as the GPU meaning keeping it cool and at a reasonable clock.

 

Whats your laptop? not all can overclock the cpu.

 

My laptop is

2.24Ghz T7700 Core 2 Duo

Merom (i think it was this) is the name of my CPU in CPU-Z

 

He means what brand and model is your laptop.

 

Yes, it can and will hurt.

It will make the CPU run hotter and louder, and will alsoo shorten the life-span.

I suggest not OC'ing.

 

i have the Sony Vaio VGN FZ290

 

When I overclocked my CPU a from 2.0 GHz to 2.38 GHz it really helped a little with game performance, in conjunction with overclocking the GPU as well. But this AMD card heats up a little too fast so I don't really want to do it for long periods of time. Although I ran the overclocked cores for a couple of hours of playing HL2, and HL2:E1 for a while and it was fine.

 

did you notice an FPS boost in HL2? because i mostly play Counter Strike source anyways and will moveon to RTS' soon

 

Almost always the GPU is bottlenecked before the CPU.

 

Notebooks are GPU limited, not CPU limited.

With exceptions of course, but overclocking your CPU isn't going to help hardly at all. Not to mention it's probably not even possible on your laptop.

 

Okay guys please explain what bottleneck means.
Is my cpu bottleneck. I have the t5800 core 2 duo 2.0ghz and 256 mb ati mobility radeon hd 3450.
Will I notice any fps boost if I overclock my cpu?

Thanks guys!

 

in your case, it's the gpu, unless you are talking about cs1.6 @ 640*480.

 

In a nutshell, a bottleneck is the limiting factor. It is the part which will limit overall performance first.

Ex: I have 50mL of milk and I want to make a cake which needs 100mL. I have enough of the rest, but I lack 50mL of milk. Therefore, milk is the limiting factor in this scenario. No matter how much I boost the rest of the ingredients, if I lack the proper amount of milk, I won't have a proper cake of the size I initially wanted(a 100mL milk cake).

The same applies to computers. If the rig is not properly balanced, the weakness of one part may eventually bring down another at a certain point. If you keep trying harder and harder stuff on the computer, eventually you'll hit a point where a part isn't providing enough for what you're doing(same as the milk wasn't providing enough for the cake) and that part is your bottleneck for that thing.

In the CPU's case, this is rare. In general terms a 2.0GHz dual core is enough for most gaming and won't be bottlenecked aside from the rare exception of games.

Your GPU(the HD3450) is a far weaker GPU in terms of "gaming" than your CPU(which is considered fine/acceptable). Therefore, your GPU is likely to be the bottleneck before your CPU and OCing your CPU will not really increase FPS except on select games(mostly RTS and flight simulators though)

 

nope, wont mean a thing since your video card is the bottleneck, the computer only performs as fast as the slowest components

 

That is a really good analogy.


To the OP: Overclocking your CPU won't make much of a difference, because it's your GPU that is the limiting factor.

 

Generally the GPU is the bottleneck not the CPU. Overclocking the CPU will not make much of a difference.

fattail95

 

your bottleneck is your gpu, not your cpu so overclocking your cpu will not benefit much at all.

fattail95

 

okay thanks!!

 

+1 Rep, that is an excellent explanation/analogy!

 

is there a guide explaining CPU overclocking laptops here at NBR?

 

Yeah you probably will get more FPS, but watch out on the heat, not everyone can overclock CPU. Make it reasonable nothing crazy, dont want nothing to get fried.

 

Maybe a couple of FPS more, but there was less stuttering.