Stupid question of the day;why overclock?

[LeftCoast]

What are the advantages? Is it just a gaming thing, or just-cause-it-can-be-done thing? Save money on a cheaper chip?

Forgive my ignorance!
-LC

[angelcat]

The only dumb question, is an unasked one! Welcome to TechIMO!

[squeech]

All of the reasons you listed above are viable. Many of us do it just because we can, and we want to see the limits of just how far this little chip can go. The "official" reason that overclocking is done (according to some big websites I've read) is to save money in the long run by getting more perfomance out of a chip as it may be nearing the end of its age. I would say those are probably the two reasons most people would tell you they OC'd their chips.

There are probably a hundred secondary reasons, but they all basically break down to one of these two in the end!

Hope this helps ya!

[LeftCoast]

Makes sense,Squeech. OC a chip you need to replace anyway...limit the risk.

-LC

[GroundZero3]

http://www4.tomshardware.com/guides/overclocking/

some answers

[RamonGTP]

Back in the day when the original Pentiums first came out, there was more of a reason for overclocking. Upgrading to the next step up processor was EXPENSIVE, and overclocking was a very cost effective solution. These days however, you can get a XP 2000+ for just a few $ more than lets say a 1900+, or even a 1700+. Same with intel chips, a 1.8 isn't much more expensive then a 1.6Ghz... So its done as more of a hobby then anything today, getting some extra performace is the side-effect.

-Ramon

[jman01pa]

Usually overclocking requires better cooling in your PC and the cost of buying the higher end fans and mini refrigerators at todays prices, you could have bought a faster processor

[Detritus]

First, I don't overclock, I can't afford to have parts go on my 'puter and have it be my fault. But, asking ppl why they overclock is kinda like asking a fisherman why he fishes. It is cheaper to go out to the store and buy your fish then buy all the equipment necessary to catch fish. I would bet that after you buy all the equipment to get a good overclock it is more expensive then just buying a better chip and that doesn't even figure your time in. I can fully understand why someone would overclock, I would do it too if I could afford to. In fact I think the you pretty much hit it on the head. Oh, yeah that and bragging rights

[nailzie]

well I over clock because I don't have the money to spend on an MP chip. and knowing that the MP chip and the XP chip are the same chip with minor differences in the L1 bridge, I can grab myself a cheap old 1600+ for 60 dollars, unlock it, and overclock it, and I can push about 1.9 GHZ out of my 1600+. Its basically done so that people like me can laugh at people for spending 230 dollars on ATHLON MP 2000+ that runs at the same speed as my XP 1600+ does.

[Tomteriffic]

Back at the dawn of Slot 1 Pentiums and the K6-2 series, a Celeron 300A could be had for $100 or less. Meanwile, the mighty Pentium 2-450 (top of the heap at the time), cost well over $500. But, if one spent an extra 30 bucks or so on a decent motherboard, one could, effectively, turn one's lowly Celeron in to that P2-450 or even higher. That was the incentive for me.

Later, as CPU prices came down, and I was in the habit of buying quality parts anyway, it became a simple matter of getting all the performance that was designed into a chip/performance I'd paid for. These days it's only a matter of a few bucks difference, so it's really the hobby aspect of it. The "go fishing or buy a fish" thing.

But those original Arctic Circle Coolers and the big, honkin' twin-fan Alphas are still works of art