What's going on YouTube, welcome to part 2 of my guide to overclocking. If you
haven't already seen part 1, click on the video in video to see the basics on
getting started
the game play in the background is Crysis 3 multiplayer
because Watching gameplay is definitely, a lot more interesting than watching static
powerpoint slides
especially since you're on YouTube and not in class
or maybe you are watching YouTube in class
then internet high five coming your way
I'll have subtitles up later to help make the commentary clearer.
anyways in this video
i'm going to cover overclocking frequently asked questions
compare overclocking to overvolting
and offer some additional software utilities outside of ones I've talked
about in my first video
let's get started
One question or combination of questions I get asked everyday is "
is it worth it to overclock
should I overclock
and do i need to overclock
I'll address those in order
in terms of overclocking being worth it
it is one hundred-percent up to you
You will get an increase in system performance relative to the amount of
overclocking you do
but you also get side-effects accompanying the performance
do you mind your computer using more power that you have to pay for in your
energy bill
the extra heat generated by the graphics card
your fans working harder to dissipate the heat
the amount of noise accompanying the fans working harder,
and a potential decrease in operational gpu lifespan?
I can't be the one to tell you how much those factors bother you
you and only you
are the final arbiter on what you want out of gaming performance
and how much you are willing to deal with the side-effects of overclocking
for gaming goals
For the question "should I overclock", I will respond in turn with
it's all up to you
overclocking in twenty thirteen is much safer than it has been in years past
and there are many free and easy to use utilities for you to meet your
overclocking goals
Again, you yourself determine gaming goals and whether overclocking can help you reach those goals
and whether overclocking can help you reach those goals
now the last question do i need to overclock
i will respond with a definitive no
it's your computer and gaming time
so like the answers to my previous questions, only you can assess whether
your current setup meets your gaming goals
another common question is
how much does overclocking actually shorten the life span of my graphics
card
unfortunately there is no validated simple scaler multiplier for x
percentage overclock
reduces gpu by x hours
Simple reasoning would deduce that overclocking by 10% reduces life
by ten percent
but that's not all there is to it
heat is a factor
but good overclockers monitor their graphics card heat and keep it low.
fans and cooling mechanisms can be replaced
so wearing those out is the biggest concern
but to achieve a desired operating frequency
you have to increase the power demand which increases the current
in capacitors
transistors, and other circuit board components at a rate higher than the
overall rate
On the other hand, it is debatable whether overclocking reduces lifespan at all,
provided you are staying within prudent voltage and temperatures
but nonetheless be sure that these graphics cards are well constructed and
rated to perform at a high level for years, possibly even a decade
it's likely that your pc power supply will fail first
the bottom line is that the functional life span of a graphics card is much
shorter than the physically operational life span
in that the technology
will be obsolete and unable to reach a performance goals
long before you have worn it out completely
This closing statement segues well into the next commonly asked question.
What causes a gpu to naturally fail over time e.g. die of old age?
this is a very expensive question that again unfortunately doesn't have a very
simple answer
An obvious answer is temperature and exposing your circuits to high heat wears them
out
but practical overclocking has us use the cooling mechanisms on our graphics
cards to keep them at lower temperatures
so that they don't throttle back
like mentioned in the previous section
transistors capacitors and resisters are all undergoing more current operating at
a higher clock speed
Video ram is also susceptible to failing.
The underlying physics of it all is too complex for me to delve into this
video
and i'm not sure if i'm the best person to explain it because for my bachelors
of science degree in social psychology
i'd only had to take introductory physics classes for degree requirements
The final causal factor to gpus dying of old age is expensive to approach
scientifically but you can sleep soundly knowing that your hardware will work for
years if you take good care of it
the following topic is overclocking verses overvolting
by this point especially if you see my overclocking part one video
you all have a good understanding of what overclocking and the mechanism
behind it
You will also know that I did not raise the voltage in MSI after
burner from my overclock
This is because I've met all my overclocking goals without needing
additional voltage
While overclocking is safe, overvolting could damage your gpu.
some cards don't even come voltage unlocked
and you then need to modify the BIOS.
voltage by definition
Voltage, by definition, is electrical potential difference, and a higher voltage creates a higher
pressure gradient which will in turn drive more current through your gpu
The relationship of voltage to power is best described with this equation,
P=IV
where v is voltage in volts, I is current,
and P is power
Power is further defined as rate of energy transfer
it is measured in joules per second
for overvolters
what this means is that if you increase voltage
you in turn can drive more current
and achieve a higher power
This can help your gpu obtain the necessary power needed for higher clock
speeds
However, you will create a lot more heat that your gpu needs to work to dispense
What could cause ultimate harm to your gpu from having too high of a voltage
is unrestricted current flow
rapidly induced by demanding games or applications
and your gpu doesn't have the time to throttle itself down before the temperatures
push your card to its breaking point
since i've personally have not experimented with overvolting i'm not
going to talk about it anymore this video
most people will be fine without adjusting their core voltage
adjusting voltage can be beneficial
but it is more for enthusiasts who want to get the best possible overclocked down
to the single-digit megahertz
it should be done so with precautions and possibly
a ccustom cooling mechanism
i'm going to finish this guide by presenting other software that you can
use to help you overclock
precision X
is a good program to use for Nvidia cards
It's interface is similar to MSi afterburner, and some prefer it
Unigine heaven is a good program to use to test your overclock stability
and run some benchmarks
you can run any preset you want or you can make your own graphics
configuration
but ultimately this will test how stable your overlock is and you can compare your benchmark
results with others i hope you found this video informative and i thank you
for watching it all the way through
Don't forget to leave a like rating let me know if you have any questions
Subscribe to my channel to learn more about PC gaming, and I'll see you next video.