A new motherboard might offer improved overclocking potential.
A new motherboard might offer improved overclocking potential.
When performing extreme OC with unusual cooling techniques, the results can vary based on how the board is made. A minor adjustment in airflow might not noticeably change performance unless you're starting from a very basic board, even then the effect will remain small.
When performing extreme OC with unusual cooling techniques, the results can vary based on how the board is made. A minor adjustment in airflow might not noticeably change performance unless you're starting from a very basic board, even then the effect will remain small.
MSI Tomahawk AC is just due to the absence of SLI support. It's really bothersome.
It's frustrating. I made the same error when setting up my first PC. But this time I chose a board that handled both (Xfire + SLI) and included more than two RAM slots.
Which board are you replacing? The MSI Tomahawk AC is a decent but not outstanding overclocking platform. If your previous board was notably weak, you could gain a bit more room for improvement. Should your old board have strong power delivery, you probably won't see much difference.
Today's CPUs house most components directly on the chip, which means the CPU quality is the main factor for overclocking. This concept is often called "Silicon lottery." In the past, you could choose motherboards with superior northbridge and clock controllers. Nowadays, everything is on the CPU itself.
Faux_Grey :
Modern CPUs have most of the equipment on-die so it's really down to the CPU quality that determines your overclock.
Hence. "Silicon lottery"
In the old days you'd get motherboards with better quality northbridges and clock controllers and whatnot.
But now.. All on CPU.
My i7 and i5 have hit the same clock speed no matter what Z97 board I put it in.
This is only partially true. It's true that many components have been moved onto the CPU die, but the board still has to be able to supply enough clean amperage to the CPU's FIVR. A board with a 3-phase or 4-phase VRM will limit overclocking on quad-core Intel CPUs. They will throttle or spontaneously reboot/crash if they are pushed too hard. Other things still matter too, such as the number of PCB layers, how the traces are routed, and the quality of the various electronic components.