I have been researching it for a couple of hours, but it still perplexes me. I mean, I understand the basics: raise the clock speeds of various components for performance gains, as well as higher temps and greater power consumption. The trouble is that many of the guides seem to assume a fair bit of reader knowledge, which I'll be the first to admit I don't have. Moreover, many of them strike me as being rather vague. How significant are the performance gains? Would I even notice them in-game? How much does it increase the temperature? Would it require an aftermarket cooler? Would it place too much demand on the power supply?
What I would like to know is simply whether or not I should consider overclocking any of my components. What are the benefits? What are the risks/disadvantages?
System info:
Operating System: MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 250 32 °C
Regor 45nm Technology
RAM: 4.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 533MHz (7-7-7-20)
Motherboard: LENOVO Tilapia CRB (CPU 1) 27 °C
Graphics: HSG1074 (1824x1026@60Hz)
512MB GeForce GTS 250 (EVGA) 45 °C
Hard Drives: 977GB Seagate ST31000528AS ATA Device (SATA) 33 °C
Optical Drives: TSSTcorp CDDVDW TS-H653G ATA Device
Audio: Realtek High Definition Audio
PSU: Corsair 430W, delivers 28A on the 12V rail
As a side note, my CPU seems to be something of an anomaly, at least based on what I've read. I've noticed many people have said that they raised their voltage to 1.4V for the Athlon II X2 250 to accommodate higher core speeds (default is 3.00 GHz). However, my core speed is at the default and the application CPU-Z reports my voltage to be 2.160V...am I missing something? I have not overclocked any of my components, nor have I altered the voltage.
What I would like to know is simply whether or not I should consider overclocking any of my components. What are the benefits? What are the risks/disadvantages?
System info:
Operating System: MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 250 32 °C
Regor 45nm Technology
RAM: 4.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 533MHz (7-7-7-20)
Motherboard: LENOVO Tilapia CRB (CPU 1) 27 °C
Graphics: HSG1074 (1824x1026@60Hz)
512MB GeForce GTS 250 (EVGA) 45 °C
Hard Drives: 977GB Seagate ST31000528AS ATA Device (SATA) 33 °C
Optical Drives: TSSTcorp CDDVDW TS-H653G ATA Device
Audio: Realtek High Definition Audio
PSU: Corsair 430W, delivers 28A on the 12V rail
As a side note, my CPU seems to be something of an anomaly, at least based on what I've read. I've noticed many people have said that they raised their voltage to 1.4V for the Athlon II X2 250 to accommodate higher core speeds (default is 3.00 GHz). However, my core speed is at the default and the application CPU-Z reports my voltage to be 2.160V...am I missing something? I have not overclocked any of my components, nor have I altered the voltage.