What does overclocking the processor affect the most?

[5CheeseLasagna]

Just out of curiosity, I reverted back to stock (3.0GHz) a few hours ago and then used my computer for a while. I also rebooted it. I didn't notice any difference between stock and 3.80GHz (or between stock and 4.0GHz for that matter). Rebooting took exactly the same amount of time: 60 seconds (give or take 1 second on average), and everything else felt just as fast as before. I thought for sure I'd notice at least a small difference.

So, where will I see the results from overclocking?

[ferrari]

If you launch FRAPS and then Crysis you will see the difference :P

You get my point don't you? This much is true, you can overclock to 100Ghz (oh wait you can't.. but bare with me) and Windows won't load any faster. Maybe if you have X64 but I doubt it.. But unless you either play games or have lots of stuff running so you have a high CPU load you aren't benefited from overclocking at all really because you have a nice speed to begin with. What I'm saying is that unless you are a gamer or do other stuff that gives you an insane CPU load you don't actually need more than 3Ghz today. Or ofcourse unless you want to be busting 3Dmark records :P

If I wasn't a gamer I'd be happy with my 1,9Ghz stock speed, no BS.

EDIT: yes.. it is Windows and software holding us back.. so bleh..

[5CheeseLasagna]

If this is true, then my Overclock is totally vain!

But what about Antivirus? Wouldn't that be noticeably faster? Or how about installing software? Or hmm... perhaps I should just revert back to stock and laugh at the extreme cooling solution. lol I have to admit, though: even though it's overkill and it's beginning to look like I don't have a single benefit from overclocking, the Tuniq Tower is far quieter than the stock HSF.

Hey, if I revert back to stock (but leave my memory at 4 5 4 11), then I could remove the chipset fan on the 680i and have a silent computer! In fact, I'll do that right now!

[ferrari]

As long you have a half decent computer you shouldn't notice your anti virus software. Which are you using?

Have you ever had task manager open? when I install stuff the CPU is relatively idle, well most of the time. I do infact play games, browse the internet, play music and whatnot while I install stuff :P

No problem.

What do you use your computer for? You don't need 4Ghz to check your email lol :P

[5CheeseLasagna]

I'm not using any antivirus yet. But, then again, I literally don't do anything which puts me at risk of getting one. I do have Comcast High Speed Internet which provides McAfee's latest and greatest for free (I'm not saying that I believe there's anything good about McAfee, especially when there's NOD32), and I will sometimes install it just to do a full scan. I never come up with an infection. I will also occasionally install Ad-Aware, Spyware Doctor and I'll always come up with nothing.

I'm probably the most unique user on here. Here's everything I do that I can think of:

• Read the Bible in a PDF format.
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• Listen to sermons in MP3 format
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• Check e-mail (of course) with Outlook XP (or "2002").
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• Look at Weather.com
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• Occasionally come here and participate.
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• Go to http://www.drummerworld.com/drummervideo.html and watch any new video clips.
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• Occasionally browse Newegg and Musician's Friend out of curiosity.
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• Rarely burn CD's, or copy DVD's.[/*:m:2wcu2g2b]

And finally, here's what probably has the highest CPU load right now:

I record myself drumming using a mixer (http://www.peavey.com/products/browse.c ... 15033/PV(R)%208.cfm) into Sony Sound Forge 7.0.


Now, I used to play games. But then I stopped and gained new priorities (not by choice, but I'm glad to have these new priorities). I also used to watch movies. But when I gamed, I remember noticing a difference between 4.0GHz and 3.0GHz.

Now, I am seriously considering buying NOD32 as I can get it for around $31 after shipping. But since I'm not at risk, I may never get it. But if I did, would overclocking shorten the scan time? And since antivirus programs generally slow a computer down, would overclocking help make up for this a little?

If overclocking isn't going to make even the slightest difference for me, then I'm gonna start seeing how low I can set the vcore at stock to help save on the electricity bill!

But for now, I have it overclocked at 4.0GHz with 1.416v and I accidentally left the memory linked so my memory is at 1066GHz (but I had to loosen the timings from 4-5-4-11 to 5-5-5-11 to even get a successful POST). It's working so far, so I left it. hehehe I'm probably destroying my processor as I type, but the idle temps are good (not that it matters as much with 45nm). But if this thing stops performing to my total satisfaction, then I'm not opposed to buying a new E8400 in the future, or even the E8600 when it drops down under $200.00 should it last that long. I already had to drop from 3.90GHz to 3.80GHz while using 1.352v. I expect further degradation as time goes on.

[ferrari]

Alright, first off: anti virus. As long you have a computer connected to the internet you will always be at risk! However if you make a Windows account that is not admin and use that whenever you can you reduce the risk greatly if you don't have anti virus. I always recommend people to get a good anti virus, I for one wouldn't even like to have my computer connected to the internet without it. Yes it is true, normal browsing is usually safe and sound but always remember, websites can get hacked and even redirect you to another website that looks exactly like it.
This happened to me, I was on my way to dl flash player from Adobe. The site I got to looked just like it, if I didn't look at the url closely by chance there is no telling what I could have had. So even normal browsing isn't 100% safe.
You have a nice rig, you also probably have lots of stuff you want to keep, the extra bucks is worth that safety isn't it?

Now then, Nod32 is the best, you can get it cheap that's great. If you want free I recommend Avast! which has realtime scan and internet protection, which is what you need. You need to stop the threats before they come in to put your system in jeopardy. I consider anti virus to be useless without it. I also recommend you to use a firewall which has also saved me in the past.

Next, in my essential download thread there is a program called Hitman Pro. I don't go about just recommending stuff but if stuff is great I will. Hitman downloads and installs CW Shredder, Ad-aware, Spyware Doctor, Spybot S&D and many more. I have made some of my friends try it out and they say it's brilliant.

It seems you don't need overclocking at all. unless you like to brag about your megahertz to your friends :P
None of the things you mentioned requires much processing power. Furthermore I don't think you'll save much money by dropping Vcore. How much do you think you can drop it? If I knew how much electrical resistance it was on the CPU current I could calculate how much power it actually uses and how much you'd save by dropping the volt. I think maybe all you'd gain could be instability, am I right?

[5CheeseLasagna]

Please bear with me. I kinda got carried away.

Originally Posted by ferrari

Alright, first off: anti virus. As long you have a computer connected to the internet you will always be at risk! However if you make a Windows account that is not admin and use that whenever you can you reduce the risk greatly if you don't have anti virus. I always recommend people to get a good anti virus, I for one wouldn't even like to have my computer connected to the internet without it. Yes it is true, normal browsing is usually safe and sound but always remember, websites can get hacked and even redirect you to another website that looks exactly like it.
This happened to me, I was on my way to dl flash player from Adobe. The site I got to looked just like it, if I didn't look at the url closely by chance there is no telling what I could have had. So even normal browsing isn't 100% safe.

That's a good point. I mean, my pride wants me to believe that I always automatically carefully inspect the URL upon visiting a site, but I doubt this is true. But I do use Firefox (2, not 3), which I recently found adds quite a bit of protection. Check this out: I recently received an e-mail which basically said that I had unpaid merchandise at eBay, and that the seller opened up a formal dispute with me. Now, please read all of this very carefully: the e-mail looked nearly 100% legitimate, but only at first. The subject line looked a little suspicious (but at the same time, it looked legitimate because it looked like it was computer-generated, as I would expect with an e-mail like this). But the dead giveaway was the first word in the e-mail. It was a typo: "Tthis". The rest of the e-mail was perfectly typed as far as I could tell (I didn't care to check in fine detail, but I did read the rest of it as though it were real JUST IN CASE it was still a legitimate e-mail containing an honest typo by an eBay employee). It even had the divider at the bottom for the small print with things like "Click here to avoid spoof e-mails", which was a real eBay page explaining how to prevent spoof e-mails. The bottom portion in fine print was clearly copy/pasted from a legitimate eBay e-mail. The top-half was copy/pasted as well, but it was also modified. It looked like the seller opened up a dispute with another account that they have so that they could have an authentic-looking e-mail to work with. There was a big clickable graphic on the far right to contact the seller to settle the dispute. I was brought to an eBay page which looked exactly the same as eBay's (thanks to copy/paste), but the URL was quite different. Immediately upon arriving to this page, Firefox darkened the page, popped up a huge balloon warning me that this was a dirty page which tricks people into giving the owner your personal financial information and provided me two links: "Get me out of here!", and "Ignore and continue" or something like that. So, I did the obvious and after that, I deleted the e-mail like a moron. I should've reported it as spam. Oh well. If it weren't for Firefox, then I could have easily been tricked by that site.

Originally Posted by ferrari

You have a nice rig, you also probably have lots of stuff you want to keep, the extra bucks is worth that safety isn't it?

Good point. And since the writing of this thread, I actually went and ordered NOD32 3.0 from TragicLittlePC through Amazon. It was $27.92, and I paid $6.99 for Expedited shipping vs. $3.99 for standard. They use the United States Postal Service exclusively, so I figured $7 for Expedited was better than $4 for standard. lol I don't like to take my chances with the USPS. To get it at this price, go here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/ ... 325&sr=8-1 then scroll down until you see it for $27.92 from TragicLittlePC. As of the typing of this, it's the first one in the New section beneath the Featured Merchants section.

I recently bought it for a friend, and he said that it seems like NOD32 doesn't slow down his system at all, so that's when I decided to buy it (even though I have never been infected since my priorities were changed).

Originally Posted by ferrari

Now then, Nod32 is the best, you can get it cheap that's great. If you want free I recommend Avast! which has realtime scan and internet protection, which is what you need. You need to stop the threats before they come in to put your system in jeopardy. I consider anti virus to be useless without it. I also recommend you to use a firewall which has also saved me in the past.

I always use the built-in Windows Firewall in XP even though I know that it's not the best.

Originally Posted by ferrari

Next, in my essential download thread there is a program called Hitman Pro. I don't go about just recommending stuff but if stuff is great I will. Hitman downloads and installs CW Shredder, Ad-aware, Spyware Doctor, Spybot S&D and many more. I have made some of my friends try it out and they say it's brilliant.

I'll think about it. I just don't want to slow my system down at all. I've been spoiled so far. I built this system in late April, and I haven't used any security software other than what's built into Windows XP, so I've always experienced it running as fast as possible. So I'm not sure if I want to do this yet. You see, my friend's build is a Q6600 on an abit IP35 Pro with the same 2GB dual-channel that I have, and the last time I used it, he had Trend Antivirus, Spyware Doctor, Ad-Aware, and a couple other security softwares on his computer, and it was much slower than mine (although, he upgraded from a very old computer, so he's exceedingly happy with it - nor has he used my computer yet so he doesn't know the difference). Now, he recently replaced Trend with NOD32 thanks to me (I want the best for my friend). I haven't used his computer yet, so I don't know if Trend was slowing it down or not. I just assumed it was the combination of all those security softwares! The "Windows is shutting down..." message stayed there for a little more than 30 seconds. Mine stays there for almost exactly 1.5 seconds. The XP boot screen on his lasts an excruciatingly long time, but mine lasts almost exactly 5 seconds.

Originally Posted by ferrari

It seems you don't need overclocking at all. unless you like to brag about your megahertz to your friends :P

lol yeah, did you notice my current overclock? lol I'm so vain.

Originally Posted by ferrari

None of the things you mentioned requires much processing power.

Quite true. Makes my system quite superflous, doesn't it? lol But I'm future-proofed for quite a long time with the way I use a computer now!

Originally Posted by ferrari

Furthermore I don't think you'll save much money by dropping Vcore. How much do you think you can drop it? If I knew how much electrical resistance it was on the CPU current I could calculate how much power it actually uses and how much you'd save by dropping the volt. I think maybe all you'd gain could be instability, am I right?

I'm not sure. But when I can let go of my vanity and pride and go back to stock, I'll see how low I can go just for fun. Common sense dictates that you're right in that it won't make much of a difference on the electricity bill. lol


Thank you, ferrari. You are very helpful.

[ferrari]

Not a problem man, glad I'm somekind of use :P

I never even noticed Nod32 on my system, except for that little pop-up saying the database has been updated and virus alerts. With Kaspersky it is another matter... I gave Kasp a full chance, and it failed.

Originally Posted by Mr. Lasagna

I always use the built-in Windows Firewall in XP even though I know that it's not the best.

Lol, it's not just that it's not the best, it is in fact one of the most useless parts in the XP operating system. Perhaps like Windows Defender on Vista? Hmm?

When it comes to Hitman Pro, it shouldn't slow you down unless you are scanning. Because it doesn't give you real-time protection, use Nod32 for that. When you are scanning just leave the computer be and check on it once in a while and note; a scan with Hitman is faster than most anti virus software, like AVG.. when AVG is finished scanning your computer is out-dated lol

Anyway there can be hundreds of reasons to why your mates rig is slower than yours. System errors, if he had that.. Hard shutdowns.. Unlucky with installations of Win updates.. Programs may have installed incorrectly.. I have noticed degeneration of my systems with this and the list just goes on and on.

Originally Posted by Mr. Lasagna

Quite true. Makes my system quite superflous, doesn't it? lol But I'm future-proofed for quite a long time with the way I use a computer now!

Yes you are quite futureproof. Also gaming proof if you want to try and play games, it's quite fun hehe

Originally Posted by Mr. Lasagna

lol yeah, did you notice my current overclock? lol I'm so vain.

Lol, well if you are an enthusiast and you like to bring the most out of your computer like some people likes to tune their cars then it's not in vain, it's fun