Complete overclocking novice questions

[t-ray]

I've never overclocked anything, but I understand the concept. I'm interested in possibly OC'ing my next build, but I have some questions.

Purpose of the build: I don't play games. The next build is purely for java development, and will run linux. The only reason I'm interested in OC'ing is to reduce java compile times (maven builds) and jboss startup times as much as possible. Much of that stuff is I/O bound, so I'll be running something like a sammy 840 pro.

Anyway, my questions are less technical. First, what is it like actually living with a moderately OC'd machine? I don't want to go crazy with a water cooled setup. I figure I'd be good running something like a 3770k somewhere in the mid 4ghz range on air. With a popular cooler like the cooler master 212, what kind of volumes will be produced? I imagine the fan would only ramp up under load, which frankly wouldn't be very often.

What kind of temperatures would be evacuated from the case? Would I be adding a lot of ambient heat to the room? My home office already gets pretty warm in the afternoons.

What can I expect to pay for a decent case and power supply to run an i7 at those speeds? Like I said before, I don't game, so purely onboard graphics. Do I need to go extravagant for a case, or am I overestimating the cooling requirements?

I don't know. I don't know if I can justify OC'ing just for potential gains measured only in fractions of a second when doing stuff like compiling. My current setup (i5-2300) is already plenty quick.

 

[sm625]

A 3770k at 4.5GHz doesnt even dissipate that much power under load. There are many Q6600 and Pentium D systems running at stock right now that pull nearly as many watts. A stock phenom II X6 1090T uses more power than a 3770k at 4.5GHz. Hell, even a slightly overclocked AMD phenom II 9xx quad uses more power.

 

[t-ray]

Thanks for the response. My current machine is a prebuilt gateway with a 300w power supply. Should I even bother with a new case and power supply then?

 

[djsb]

Depends on whether or not the case/power supply are some sort of proprietary form factor that only accept OEM-designed parts (had this issue while dissecting a friend's Sony VAIO desktop). But assuming that the power supply is still in good shape, and that you're using the integrated GPU and not a discrete card, then yeah it's probably fine.

Also, my favorite site for system building, if you want to be sure:
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Thanks for the response. My current machine is a prebuilt gateway with a 300w power supply. Should I even bother with a new case and power supply then?

You imply that you want to use the existing Gateway case and power-supply? This would mean you are going to purchase all the other components and use those remaining items. Let's separate those issues.

I can't tell what your Gateway case "looks like," but it's possible that all your other components will fit. For more than a decade, most of the machines we have in this house (there are five) had used recycled ATX full-tower cases recycled from the 1990s. All but one of those cases has been replaced. For some, I had to do a little sheet-metal work and modding; for others in "special projects," I did extensive 'case-modding."

The OEMs use minimal PSUs for the equipment installed in their systems. For over-clocking, I would definitely (posi-lutely abso-tively) replace the PSU. If you know the specs on the components you will buy, there are "PSU calculators" available to use on the web which will suggest a PSU wattage for you.

Personally, if OC'ing, it is not wise (not at all) to get a PSU on the cheap. Some here will recommend various brands. I use Seasonic, and I usually spend around $100 on an "80-plus" gold-rated PSU.

For the case, you can "do what you want whatevah" but you can get a decent case for maybe $90. It doesn't need to be "all aluminum" and can be SECC sheet-steel with plastic parts. My current choice these days is a CoolerMaster HAF midtower (9XX model number). Here's a couple choices off the Egg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119233

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119197

 

[dma0991]

Purpose of the build: I don't play games. The next build is purely for java development, and will run linux. The only reason I'm interested in OC'ing is to reduce java compile times (maven builds) and jboss startup times as much as possible. Much of that stuff is I/O bound, so I'll be running something like a sammy 840 pro.

Nope. Wouldn't sacrifice stability of a stock CPU for a split second improvement, this being the case where it involves important work. It gets pretty frustrating if it crashes while half done, for some unknown arbitrary reason.

Your compiler would've probably been faster with IB having slightly higher per core performance over SB and higher stock clockspeed(Core i5 2300 vs Core i7 3770K).

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Nope. Wouldn't sacrifice stability of a stock CPU for a split second improvement, this being the case where it involves important work. It gets pretty frustrating if it crashes while half done, for some unknown arbitrary reason.

Your compiler would've probably been faster with IB having slightly higher per core performance over SB and higher stock clockspeed(Core i5 2300 vs Core i7 3770K).

Actually -- I tend to agree on this point. I'm not really sure if another 700 Mhz in clock speed would mean all that much to you. "On the wild side," you might be able to OC a perfectly stable system that works for your usage, but the risk is yours.

 

[t-ray]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I guess it's all signature-envy - seeing all of the high clocks in signatures.

To be honest, this i5-2300 screams for what I ask it to do. Running Mint x64 right now, with a 120gb Kingston hyperx 3k ssd, I hardly ever have to actually "wait" on anything, at least in the majority of my tasks.

But opening eclipse still takes a while, and our codebases are quite large. I typically work on 4 or 5 different branches of the same large codebase (thousands of java classes) at the same time, in multiple instances of eclipse. Sometimes it just takes a while to track down object references and such.

Maven builds can take a while too. By a "while" I mean 5 to 10 seconds for individual projects. But I can do a hundred such builds in a day (not typical). so I'm hoping a faster processor would help there.