The question concerns whether to continue overclocking after a certain time has passed.
The question concerns whether to continue overclocking after a certain time has passed.
Hi,
I’ve been looking at different opinions on overclocking and am unsure about the best path forward. I’m planning to purchase a new desktop PC with overclocking features, but I’ll keep it mostly unused at first. I’ll stick to decent budget components—like an i7-8700 instead of higher-end models—and only upgrade my graphics cards every so often. My goal is to have my PC last longer, possibly 8 or even 10 years, especially since the gaming community is pointing out that my setup is becoming outdated. The concern is that Moore’s Law is slowing down due to heat, and major companies predict a similar situation by around 2025. So, I’m considering if extending my PC’s lifespan makes sense given these trends.
geoffp0115 :
Fair enough, thanks you two. I am surprised that ocing does not void warranty.Perhaps, if I want the PC to last longer without the hassle of constantly replacing parts here and there, I should just overclock the graphics card a lot? Switching to a new graphics card seems less of a bother.
That's always an option. My old gpu msi gtx titan x could teoretically be oc'ed to level of my current gigabyte gtx 1080 ti aorus waterforce extreme, on paper main difference between them are clocks like core old one being at 1075 mhz boost while new one at 1746 mhz.
However if you look closer to the same paper from above you will see that new one has way more cuda cores, higher frame buffer and memory speed on top of entire new memory type...
I won't agree with your previous claim about PCs lasting over four years. The reason is that software keeps changing. New programs will require operating systems or drivers that aren't available for your current hardware. Starting from the release of Windows 10, you could expect to keep your PC running on Windows XP for about ten years. There will likely be many games compatible with XP. However, if you plan to upgrade your OS, most devices should still work, except for the outdated graphics card or sound card that need specific drivers. I think 3 to 5 years is a reasonable time to consider retiring your desktop.
Well, microsoft have made it possible since windows 8 to provide several methods for compatibility with older PC games. Additionally, many older PC games are adapted to newer operating systems using tools like GoG. Moreover, according to what I learned, microsoft stated they would never completely replace windows 10 with a new OS, but instead keep updating it continuously.
I signed with kane, my old rig that was recently replaced about 4-5 years ago works perfectly for 1080p ultra quality gaming, so I handed it over to my sister. But heavily occluded, it looks like a shadow compared to my current setup and caused me a lot of trouble when switching from Win 10 to Win 7 because of driver problems (even though Win 10 installed most of it and the rest were supposed to work, I had to skip w-fi).
Looking at it more carefully, I’m not sure if buying an overclock-capable rig is wise right now. It’s always a good idea to test it to the limit while the warranty is active, which would show how well it performs. You could say doing this voids the warranty, though I had four sets of RAM sticks that contradicted that.
Overclocking does improve performance, but it’s not clear if it adds two extra years to a PC’s lifespan when considering a decade. Maybe for a huge investment in liquid nitrogen cooling, removing all the unnecessary parts, and even then... I’m still unsure... I still think about it like SLI, 2x GTX 1060 are better than one GTX 1050, but not necessarily better than a GTX 1060.
I won’t agree with your previous claim that PCs will remain functional for much longer than four years. Software changes constantly; new updates may require operating systems or drivers not compatible with older hardware. Since the Windows 10 release, you’d have about ten years to maintain a system based on Windows XP. How many games will still work on XP? But if you plan to upgrade your OS, most devices should still be supported—except for the outdated graphics card that now needs a default driver or an old sound card, among others.
I think 3 to 5 years is the right time frame to consider retiring desktops.
Thanks for the discussion. I’m curious how upgrading the OS will affect warranty coverage. Maybe if I want a longer-lasting machine without constantly replacing parts, I should heavily overclock the graphics card. Switching to a new one seems more manageable.
It's acceptable, thank you both. I was puzzled about why OC doesn't nullify the warranty. Maybe if I want the PC to last longer without the need to frequently replace components here and there, I should heavily overclock the graphics card? Switching to a new one seems more manageable.
That's always an option. My previous MSI GTX Titan X could theoretically be OC'd up to the level of my current Gigabyte GTX 1080 Ti Aorus WaterForce Extreme. In theory, the main difference lies in clock speeds—old model at 1075 MHz boost versus the new at 1746 MHz.
However, if you examine the same source more closely, you'll notice the newer model has significantly more CUDA cores, a larger frame buffer, and faster memory, along with a completely different memory type (GDDR5X vs GDDR5). Someone with experience in GPU overclocking would need to confirm whether such heavy OC is feasible and if the original model could truly match the performance of the new one after accounting for all specifications.
Another concern is potential degradation over time and increased heat. My old GPU runs extremely hot, and despite my efforts—reapplying thermal paste/pads, cleaning, rearranging fans—it just wore out over the years. Based on the base boost clock, it wasn't OC'd at all, yet gaming at 68°C with 70% fan speed, the new one rarely exceeds 65°C while running 4K at full HD (unlike my old one). It seems challenging to believe I could successfully overclock it under these conditions.
Apologies for using my own setup as an example; that's where my knowledge comes from.