Question =)

[Neon]

I have a dual intel pentium 4 processor (2.8GHz). I want to overclock it, but I don't have any watercooling system, so I figured perhaps just a slight overclock wouldn't require one. However, if I did do that, would there really be much difference in the performance? Or should I just go ahead and forget about overclocking it?

 

[DiebytheSword]

Realistically, overclocking yeilds very slim performance gains for something that usually voids your warranty and puts your part in danger of electron migration. Once migration happens, the part is ruined, and it will never again function properly. You can do overclocks with active heat sinks, but I suggest against doing so with stock cooling devices. At the bare minimum, you should invest in arctic silver, and replace whatever compound you had on your heatsink before. An aftermarket cooler, like one from Zalman, might do the trick, but make sure it has a third pin so the BIOS doesn't fault on bad fan errors.

 

[|Overlord|]

Realistically, overclocking yeilds very slim performance gains for something that usually voids your warranty and puts your part in danger of electron migration. Once migration happens, the part is ruined, and it will never again function properly. You can do overclocks with active heat sinks, but I suggest against doing so with stock cooling devices. At the bare minimum, you should invest in arctic silver, and replace whatever compound you had on your heatsink before.

Intel stock hsfs actually aren't that bad, however the hsfs that shipped with competing socket a AMD processors were terrible.

If the airflow in your case is good, then there shouldn't be to much of a problem with getting acceptable temps. You're memory will also play a factor in how far you can oc your system, which at a certain point may require you to set higher timings to achieve higher clocks and possibly a voltage increase for your memory. The same goes for your CPU in that if you want to get higher clocks you may have to increase the voltage at a certain frequency. Mainboards will also play factors in how well you can oc.

If you really want to oc your system, I'd suggest doing a bit of research by reading a few guides, reviews on your specs and hang around on some tech community forums.

 

[Sandstorm]

Just a note of mention, but, some hardware distribution companies do have warranties that allow for overclocking. However, their typical policy is that the OC cannot exceed the range they set (which is a short range).

As for the performance gains through clocking... You will see a minor performance gain, but, you also risk making your system unstable. Depending on the variance, some applications that you run on a day to day basis could cause the CPU to crash, or the system can start to suddenly lock up at random intervals.

Before considering tinkering with the CPU, make sure you thoroughly clean and optimize Windows.

 

[|Overlord|]

Just a note of mention, but, some hardware distribution companies do have warranties that allow for overclocking. However, their typical policy is that the OC cannot exceed the range they set (which is a short range).

As for the performance gains through clocking... You will see a minor performance gain, but, you also risk making your system unstable. Depending on the variance, some applications that you run on a day to day basis could cause the CPU to crash, or the system can start to suddenly lock up at random intervals.

Before considering tinkering with the CPU, make sure you thoroughly clean and optimize Windows.

As for the performance gains through clocking... You will see a minor performance gain

Really? take a look here

You almost make it sound like you were saying ocing ment jack **** in performance increase no matter what your specs were ;/. Look at that, a cheaper processor oced is not far behind performance of the top end processor that is a lot more expensive. I myself noticed improvements right away when I oced my fsb from 133mhz (266mhz ddr) to 166mhz (333mhz ddr), and currently my bus runs at 200mhz (400mhz ddr).

My friend has his P4 clocked at 3.6ghz currently from stock (2.8ghz). Doing what he does, you will notice the difference if you're a end user.

 

[Smith]

Well technically, Overlord, you will see minimal performance gains as you can't tell the difference between 155 and 186 fps :P.

 

[Killface]

Intel stock hsfs actually aren't that bad, however the hsfs that shipped with competing socket a AMD processors were terrible.

lol, sorry Overlord... But i have to disagree with you, atleast in my case. You all know i have the Pentium 4, 3.0ghz Prescott proc w/Hyperthreading... The stock hsf setup that came with it is pushing my proc's temp at 62 C, IDLE! Under load, it hits around 76 C.

Theres no dust buildup, and i have a nice air circulation in my system... its just that the processor is so damn not.

 

[|Overlord|]

lol, sorry Overlord... But i have to disagree with you, atleast in my case. You all know i have the Pentium 4, 3.0ghz Prescott proc w/Hyperthreading... The stock hsf setup that came with it is pushing my proc's temp at 62 C, IDLE! Under load, it hits around 76 C.

Theres no dust buildup, and i have a nice air circulation in my system... its just that the processor is so damn not.

That's strange, brother uses intel stock hsf from a 3.06 hyperthreading chip on a 2.8ghz P4 @ 3.6ghz and usually idles around 42C and under load get to about 56C. Must be your problem ;/. I think you're to confident about you're case fans though =P.

Well technically, Overlord, you will see minimal performance gains as you can't tell the difference between 155 and 186 fps :P.

Meh, still it raises e-wangs for you .
This also proves the fact though that buying the cheaper processor for a much cheaper price then the fastest chip that you can get the same/similar performance if you oc it, much like what happened with the 805, inexpensive and when oced you could get some pretty god performance out of it.