Overclocking and Edius

[beachside]

I have never overclocked any of my machines figuring 'how reliable will it be outside it's design specs'. But it seems to be commonplace these days.

So what comments does anyone have about overclocking and the performance advantages/disasvantages in Edius? Is it just for over excited gamers?

[GrassValley_KH]

I really wouldn't advise it, just on a common sense level. Knowingly running your system, which you rely on for earning a living, to a specification it isn't designed for and could damage is not very sensible.

[STORMDAVE]

Agreed with Kenneally...but processors such as the low priced Q6600 have alot of room to OC...most important factors is to not use the stock fan and buy a good Zalman CPU cooler as well as have good ventilation in the computer case so air came move in from the front and exit from the rear.

[beachside]

Agreed with Kenneally...but processors such as the low priced Q6600 have alot of room to OC.

Thanks guys. I actually have a Q6600 and have heard that. I've heard that some have claim to have them running at 3Ghz with a stock fan.

Is encoding etc that much faster after OCing? Worth the risk vs benefit?

[PopEye]

Hi there,
I partially disagree with the previous posts, although I understand where they are coming from. Personally I have used O'cd machines for years. I never killed a PC or a processor. Currently My Q6600 will overclock to 3.2Ghz although I run it at 3Ghz. That's a 25% increase !!!! That's with air cooling, on default voltage and I rarely see my temps above 45 degrees C.


HOWEVER there are some ESSENTIAL prerequsits if you are going to overclock. These are in no particular order and they are ALL equally important. Actually No. 4 is the most important.

0) A Processor that has a proven track record of OC ability. The Q6600 is a perfect example.
1) A very good motherboard with a BIOS that will allow you to change Everything - FSB speeds, multipliers, RAM timings.
2) A good PSU.
3) A very good CPU Cooler (depends on your setup- read reviews etc.
4) ****** Overspec good quality (eg Corsair) RAM (In other words get RAM that will run at it's rated speed when the FSB is overclocked) Or altenatively use your motherboard to UNDERCLOCK the memory first, so that when you overclock the FSB the memory is running at about the right speed!!! EG. If your RAM Speed is 800 MHz Undeclock it to 667mhz and THEN overclock the FSB by 20%. This will give you a CPU that is 20% Faster but you memory is not being stressed, because 667mhz +20% = 800.4 Mhz. Therefore it isn't O'cd.

this last point is very important because memory doesn't OC near as well as your processor and this is where most people fall into trouble.

5) Know what you're doing. If you have no idea what I have been talking about you probably shouldn't do it.

In otherwords it's a good idea to factor in the OC BEFORE you build your machine. Don't expect to buy a pre assembled PC and OC it !!!!

If you want further more specific information you can ask me, but I take no liability for your actions :) :) :)

[GrassValley_BH]

I suggest an additional point:
6) Ensure that you can keep peripheral bus speeds to-spec.
As most cards rely on the peripheral bus (AGP, PCIe, PCI) clock to be stable, changes that change the bus clock can cause odd issues, especially with FireWire and video.

[PopEye]

Well said Brandon. This is an important point. However any decent MB/BIOS should be able to regulate the PCI/AGp bus seperately. If it doesn't I wouldn't OC.

[PopEye]

I forgot to add that the rewards of overclocking are easily quantifiable. If you get a 25% OC your machine ill be 25% faster. Simple as that (Actually that's not exactly 100% true but close enough)