Overclocking for gaming, what does it do / is it worth it?

[sarym13]

So I got a "okay" PC I made a few months ago, I5 4670k at stock settings with a 212 EVO for cooling (mainly got it cause the Stock Intel fan was loud).

Seeing peoples builds and what not almost everyone I see has an OverClocked CPU. I never really went into this as for everything runs fine for my needs. I wonder tho, exactly what of an impact will an Overclocked CPU have for gaming, if any? If I am to Overclock I was thinking of starting off small at say 4.0, but am curious if for just gaming what exactly will it do to my performance?

[procne]

Depends on game. Some need CPU more (most MMOs) and some others need GPU more.
Overclocked CPU may slightly increase your FPS in raids in WoW.

But, if your games already run with max FPS then there is not much use for now.

[vesseblah]

20% overclock will increase the minimum framerates of MMORPGs when they lag the most by 20%.

So for example if WoW in 25man raids runs normally at 50fps with ultra settings and drops to 20fps during adds phases, at 20% overclock it will drop to 24fps instead of 20. That's about the kind of results you'll be looking for with overclocking in a gaming computer, nothing more, nothing less.

[chazus]

So for example if WoW in 25man raids runs normally at 50fps with ultra settings and drops to 20fps during adds phases, at 20% overclock it will drop to 24fps instead of 20. That's about the kind of results you'll be looking for with overclocking in a gaming computer, nothing more, nothing less.

To be clear, this explanation is entirely accurate, but don't mistake it for as dire as it sounds.

I have a 3570K currently at 4.5ghz. 85% of WoW runs at 60fps. That last 15% is split three ways. I'd say 16% is in Raids where I drop to 45-50, 3% in the really heavy stuff (tortos, lei shen, etc) where it drops to 40, and 1% the really burly stuff (Oondasta, stuff with 100+ people), where it'll drop as low as 30. So yes, it'll only increase the truly ugly stuff a marginal amount, however I think the place overclocking really shines, is bringing the average of most raid stuff from 'playable' to 'enjoyable'. I really don't mind that my FPS tanks for 2 minutes, once a week, especially since it's not critical combat anyway.

But for the rest of raiding, that 40fps mark is something a lot of people will notice, and simply bumping that up 10-15 fps might make a world of difference.

[Yizu]

So I got a "okay" PC I made a few months ago, I5 4670k at stock settings with a 212 EVO for cooling (mainly got it cause the Stock Intel fan was loud).

Seeing peoples builds and what not almost everyone I see has an OverClocked CPU. I never really went into this as for everything runs fine for my needs. I wonder tho, exactly what of an impact will an Overclocked CPU have for gaming, if any? If I am to Overclock I was thinking of starting off small at say 4.0, but am curious if for just gaming what exactly will it do to my performance?

Just do it, wont hurt, i overclocked my 2500k the day i got it with a 212 evo aswell. Its more than 2 years @4.5 ghz 1.3 volts and it never gave me problem. There was a time didn't even notice that my evo fans were dead for i don't know how long, and i live on a 3rd world tropical country.

Just make sure you only overclock the turbo, use offset overclocking, don't disable speedstep (C1E and EIST) power saving states, so it still throttles down when you're not gaming and doing only windows stuff, it will only overclock itself when gaming or video encoding etc. I think C3 and C6 states is fine to disable if your having problems on overclock.

[vesseblah]

however I think the place overclocking really shines, is bringing the average of most raid stuff from 'playable' to 'enjoyable'.

That is really the key in overclocking for WoW. 20 vs 25fps could be what makes all the difference between playable and enjoyable when the framerates tank to it's lowest point. It will smooth over the valleys so that you notice the catastrophic fps dips less often, and change is what people notice easiest, not if something is even low or even high.

[Majesticii]

I think overclocking his 4670K is a bit out of the question with a 212evo. It being a haswell and all..
Maaybe 4 or 4.2. Oh well that still 20%.

[Shimazaki]

Hi Sarym13!

Since you are only gaming and if you play at video settings u are happy with and if u are getting more than 30fps than u dont need to overclock. I personally have 4670k now and i didnt overclock it yet since im not in need to do so. Im running all games i play at max settings above 30fps.

[Killora]

I think overclocking his 4670K is a bit out of the question with a 212evo. It being a haswell and all..
Maaybe 4 or 4.2. Oh well that still 20%.

Not out of the question. Simply at a reduced return rate.

[procne]

I think overclocking his 4670K is a bit out of the question with a 212evo. It being a haswell and all..
Maaybe 4 or 4.2. Oh well that still 20%.

20%? Why is everyone comapring with base clock only? If he's gaming then, most likely, he's using 2 cores, and with turbo boost clock jumps to 3.7 GHz.
3.4 stays when CPU isn't loaded, so the 20% increase is when comparing to the situation when it isn't needed. Overclock to 4.0 GHz gives you 10-12% bonus performance in situations intensive on 2 CPU cores. Overclock to 4.2 would be 14% increase

[chazus]

20%? Why is everyone comapring with base clock only?

Because you're splitting hairs.

20% is about the average overclock. 25% roughly on the Ivy's.

Gaming, the base turbo is usually 3.6, sometimes even 3.5, depending on what you're also doing.

THAT said... 4.2 is about 17% of 3.6. Which is pretty close to 20. It's certain closer to 20 than it is to 10. I don't know why it's important to nitpick over literally a few percents. But... who cares? It's free performance. 10%, 12, 14, 20, potato, London, who cares? It's free performance.

[procne]

who cares? It's free performance.

The people who are deciding if they should overclock and what should they buy. It's not "free" for them. They read posts like this and expect that after overclocking to 4.0 GHz they will get 20% more performance.

[Deleted]

I also got a h20 cooler with my 4670k. enabled XMP and multiplier on the first day. Just to 4400mhz and left it there.
I dont really need the performance. Just oc'd for the numbers. It's been stable and my load temps while PLAYING are just 50. No need for benchmarking or stability tests.
Rendering in after effects is just fine also. Maybe i'll do a proper OC when i actually NEED the extra life support in a few years.