Overclocking

[TheMastersSon]

It came close to predatory marketing imo. Read Titan reviews and you'll understand why. The bleeding edge bled badly in this case. :)

[Ovennamedheats]

Alright, at least they gave it a cool name. How can I find out if I can overclock my CPU and GPU?

[FMod]

One way is to try...

 

Seriously, i5-6600K + Z170 = can overclock your CPU. Anything that is not "K" and not "Z" = can't overclock (without special effort).

Most people shouldn't overclock their GPU.

 

Be warned that it may be difficult to install Windows 7 on Skylake (6600K) due to its lack of old USB mode for mouse and kb support. This can be fixed by preloading drivers.

[Ovennamedheats]

Thanks again man, when I asked about how to find if you can overclock your CPU/GPU I was thinking there was a handy resource online you could enter your specs into and they could give you helpful information.

 

I don't think I'll choose the Skylake route as Microsoft has said they will stop offering support next Summer for Windows 7 users on Skylake chips.

 

Did you check out those configurations I posted on the page before this one?

[TheMastersSon]

I don't think I'll choose the Skylake route as Microsoft has said they will stop offering support next Summer for Windows 7 users on Skylake chips.

 

Did you check out those configurations I posted on the page before this one?

It was going to be my other suggestion: make sure whatever laptop you buy can be "downgraded" to Win 7 64-bit. Microsoft continues their stated campaign to convert desktop computers into cable TV boxes, and simply tethers to endless online subscription scams, "gaming servers" and other artificial and entirely unnecessary middlemen.

 

The good news is, last I heard, Microsoft had announced the release of the dot net library to open source, thereby making much of the guts of Windows itself equally open source.

 

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/12/microsoft_to_open_source_dot_net/

 

IMO the move is defensive, as the company now control 90+% of the world's access to what's now considered a utility in our country. They and Google are in for very rude surprises (actually they're not surprises) from our government in the next few years. But in the meantime, Windows 10 offers limited support for gaming compared to Win 7, e.g. 10 drops support for copy protection schemes (Starforce etc) required to install/play some games.

Edited September 6, 2016 by TheMastersSon

[Ovennamedheats]

I'm not buying a laptop but am trying to build my first desktop. I seem to remember reading someplace that Windows 7 32 bit and 64 bit have pros and cons when it comes to this stuff. Can you possibly elaborate?

[FMod]

Use the 64-bit, that's all you need to know.

 

As for 7 vs 10 - yes, the windows 10 UI has been messed up somewhat since Windows 7, but it's still very usable, more so on high-dpi screens, less so on low-dpi ones. There's very few software compatibility problems on Win10 vs Win7, compared to what Win7 vs XP was, and everyone still left XP behind in the end.

 

The removal of support for extremely intrusive DRM schemes like Securom was an intentional decision and has been patched to all Windows versions starting with Vista and 7, not just 10. Overall, even though it will inconvenience some old disc owners, good riddance, they should've done it sooner.

 

But this is only a concern for people who already have old games which use that, and have them on DVD. Many if not most new PCs don't even have an optical drive, they're going the way of the floppies. It but anyone buying the same games today is going to get a Steam or a DRM-free version, which have nothing to do with it.

 

So, with DX12 support, Windows 10 is more gaming-friendly in general, it's just not friendly towards hostile DRM, and neither is any other Windows. Since you're building your first desktop, I doubt that you have heaps of decade-old game DVDs to begin with. This is a niche concern for retro-gaming enthusiasts with large optical media collections.

 

 

Thanks again man, when I asked about how to find if you can overclock your CPU/GPU I was thinking there was a handy resource online you could enter your specs into and they could give you helpful information.

Two ways:

1) If you just want to overclock, a K cpu on a Z board, your BIOS will sometimes just have a button that says "overclock" or something like that. If it doesn't, there will be a setting for clock rate, like 3.8 GHz, all you need to do is increase it.

2) If you want to understand what you're doing, and be able to tune the clocks better, just start reading up on the subject. There's a lot to cover and it won't fit into just one guide, but eventually you'll get an idea.

[Ovennamedheats]

"This is a niche concern for retro-gaming enthusiasts with large optical media collections."

Proud to be part of the club.

[Ovennamedheats]

 

 

IMO the move is defensive, as the company now control 90+% of the world's access to what's now considered a utility in our country. They and Google are in for very rude surprises (actually they're not surprises) from our government in the next few years. But in the meantime, Windows 10 offers limited support for gaming compared to Win 7, e.g. 10 drops support for copy protection schemes (Starforce etc) required to install/play some games.

 

What do you mean by rude surprises?

[MotoSxorpio]

Just curious but is overclocking just a more affordable option to get more power rather than just buying a faster processor? Kinda like NOS in an engine? Are there other reasons to do it where a faster processor couldn't provide a benefit? How does it affect gaming?

No.

 

Depending on the game, DX and your complete hardware...there can be extreme to minimal benefits.

mostly...minimal. Could take years to configure your given hardware, OS and operational behaviors.

 

First, Overclocking should be done in a controlled environment.

One should know as much as possible about the driver to hardware cooperation in the configuration they've chosen.

One should understand what overvolting is, how it will affect hardware and what median or moderate overclocking vs. extreme overclocking means.

 

I once toasted, and I mean making smoke come out of my case, a Barton core that I clocked at 2700 mhz (barton cores were standard clocked at 1ghz...1000mhz.) For three seconds, I had the fastest overclock at the time. Too bad pencils can't do that for you anymore, or maybe for the better.

 

I currently have my FX 8150 clocked at 5013.33 mhz from the default 4200. I've run this configuration for maybe 4 years. The only failures I have is HDD. My board is probably restricting where I can clock, voltage sucks.

 

Best advice to someone trying to OC is: always have backup hardware. Sometimes you can burn a board, just the south bridge, north bridge, the SATA controller could blitz...no telling if you overclock. Always have a backup board and cpu with all accoutrements. Good for testing and control, and backup, in case you fry that poor board or smoke that new FX Processor. wink wink.

 

Best of luck. :smile: