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Why so little overclocking?

Loa

Loa

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 5, 2003
1,732
79
Québec
Hello,

It seems that everytime I visit a tech site like anandtech and stumble on CPU articles or discussions, they talk about overclocking. On the latest i3 CPU, the author overclocked the 2.93GHz to a stable 4GHz wihtout even needing additional cooling.

Why is overclocking such a big deal on the PC side, but not on the Mac side even though we're using the same family of chips?

Thanks

Loa
 
For what? Well of course more performance.


but as Eidorian said, we don't have BIOS, so no easy overclocking.

Overclocking the octo 2.26 GHz to 2.93 GHz would save you $ 2,600, and I'm pretty sure the Xeons would handle it well.
 
Stability is also more important than sheer performance; at least that's how we're suppose to see it; Macs are for serious folks. :p
 
I think they should allow macs to be over clocked. They should do it in a way that if someone does then the warrantee is null and void.
 
I can't ever see Apple sanctioning overclocking their machines and potentially allowing the user to damage or at least make them less stable.....They'd be too worried about the harm to their reputation.

Overclocking is one of those things that highlights the cultural difference between PC and Mac ownership.
 
Spend $4,000 on a machine and then tell us about how fast you got the CPU's and how much they cost to replace with a void warranty.
 
Cindori said:
For what? Well of course more performance.


but as Eidorian said, we don't have BIOS, so no easy overclocking.

Overclocking the octo 2.26 GHz to 2.93 GHz would save you $ 2,600, and I'm pretty sure the Xeons would handle it well.
Click to expand...

Are you serious?How much you can got form 2.26 to 2.93?Don't forget you can't change a bigger fan or liquid cooling in a mac pro,at least not on a easy way.
If you using a E5200 OC will help, because it worth a try and E5200 really just a eco choice.On a powerful dual xeon system...maybe not so much.
 
aliot said:
Are you serious?How much you can got form 2.26 to 2.93?Don't forget you can't change a bigger fan or liquid cooling in a mac pro,at least not on a easy way.
If you using a E5200 OC will help, because it worth a try and E5200 really just a eco choice.On a powerful dual xeon system...maybe not so much.
Click to expand...

I have oc'd a q6600 from 2.4 to 3ghz with no issues and not changing any voltages or components
 
Hahaha,

Thanks for the EFI-BIOS replies!

For the rest... funny replies! Sounds like GM employees defending their company's bad decisions.

Judging from *most* of the replies, we don't have OC on Macs because most ppl are:

-afraid
-prejudiced
-using knowledge that is decades old

Read up on what's possible on simple i3 chips today. Going from 2.93 to 4. Without using extra cooling. With stability.

If i3 chips can do that, what can the workstation grade CPUs in our MPs do?

I'm aghast at the tone of most replies!

Loa
 
Loa said:
Read up on what's possible on simple i3 chips today. Going from 2.93 to 4. Without using extra cooling. With stability.
Click to expand...

Yes, but for how long?
Please read up on electromigration!

A MacPro is a workstation (or at least tries to be one :D). That requires stability in all points for a long time.
In fact overclocking with that high rates WITHOUT proper cooling can destroy your CPU in just a couple of month.
I once pushed it to high myself. 3.2 to 4.4GHz. Even with a decent watercooling (core temps never higher than about 50° C), the CPU died after only three month. It started with not reaching the clock speed of 4.4, and finished with not even reaching 2GHz.
That's definitely not what you want in a 3000$ machine that, in case of the most companies, has to last at least 3 years.

Moderate overclocking is no big deal but I don't think Apple will ever make this possible.
 
No Intel partner offers Nehalem based Intel Xeon workstations with overclocking capability. No dual socket board supports processor clock speed overclocking. It isn't Apple's decision. You can overclock Xeons and get similar gains to the Core i7s using an X58 board so we could have 4GHz Mac Pros, Intel just choose to not allow it at a commercial level.
 
Overclocking gives marginal gains compared to potential failure. It really is not req'd on a mac. There other methods of improvement that will give real world benifits and won't compromise longevity (raid0, ssd, memory). If you make a living on the machine and it's too slow, buy a faster machine. If you bought a mac to OC, you made a mistake.
 
lemonade-maker said:
Overclocking gives marginal gains compared to potential failure. It really is not req'd on a mac. There other methods of improvement that will give real world benifits and won't compromise longevity (raid0, ssd, memory). If you make a living on the machine and it's too slow, buy a faster machine. If you bought a mac to OC, you made a mistake.
Click to expand...

Man you have no idea what you're talking about. You can EASILY overclock i7 920's with no worry about "potential failure" or "marginal gains." You can take the 2.66ghz cpu up to 4 ghz on air! Come on now, please don't make things up just to try and assuage the Apple fans. I'm not saying the Mac Pros need overclocking per se, but that is just not cool.
 
TennisandMusic said:
Man you have no idea what you're talking about. You can EASILY overclock i7 920's with no worry about "potential failure" or "marginal gains." You can take the 2.66ghz cpu up to 4 ghz on air! Come on now, please don't make things up just to try and assuage the Apple fans. I'm not saying the Mac Pros need overclocking per se, but that is just not cool.
Click to expand...
3.2 GHz on stock voltages is pretty tame stuff.
 
TennisandMusic said:
Man you have no idea what you're talking about. You can EASILY overclock i7 920's with no worry about "potential failure" or "marginal gains." You can take the 2.66ghz cpu up to 4 ghz on air!
Click to expand...

Seems as if we've got another candidate that hasn't done his homework...

Again, read up on electromigration! If you haven't heard about it in the context of overclocking, well, sorry to say but 'you have no idea what you're talking about'.
2.66 to 4 is just pathetic with air.
 
Why would I threaten my warranty within the first three years? It's just not worth it. I need my computer to work correctly a lot more than I need it to work a little bit faster. After the AppleCare period I might consider it, if it wasn't better to sell it and buy a newer one.

I don't care about getting 3 or 4 more FPS in whatever the newest game is on a computer that'll break or get replaced within the year, so I don't bother overclocking.

And don't reply that I don't know anything about overclocking. I'm aware of the excess speeds that can be attained on air these days, and I'm aware that my low-binned Xeons are probably capable of faster than they're certified at. I don't actually care.
 
TennisandMusic said:
Man you have no idea what you're talking about. You can EASILY overclock i7 920's with no worry about "potential failure" or "marginal gains." You can take the 2.66ghz cpu up to 4 ghz on air! Come on now, please don't make things up just to try and assuage the Apple fans. I'm not saying the Mac Pros need overclocking per se, but that is just not cool.
Click to expand...

You may be right but you are not. If you bought a mac to overclock it, you are the person who is missing out on knowledge. Buy pc and burn it up, have fun with that. Put mac os on it, if you are capable.
 
Part of the reason I bought a mac is to get AWAY from all the nonsense with overclocking.

Personally I find it tiring to hear everyone droning on and on about cooling techniques and tweaks to keep their machines from crashing.

I value stability above all. that's a big reason I switched to mac. I have 0% interest in overclocking and could care less.
 
Eidorian said:
3.2 GHz on stock voltages is pretty tame stuff.
Click to expand...

:D That it is. If I wasn't a student, I swear... :eek:

Transporteur said:
Seems as if we've got another candidate that hasn't done his homework... Again, read up on electromigration!
Click to expand...

Read about it on Wikipedia and have a good idea of what it does and how it works; do you have any more information specific to the matter? Something you've read, pertaining to overclocking?
 
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