Overclocking an Intel Core i7 920

Hi guys,

I recently posted a thread questioning what new cooler I should get as I inadvertently broke my old one when applying new thermal paste. I ended up going for a Noctua NH-D14 after reading some amazing reviews. Took me a while to install it with the help of a friend and after cleaning off the old paste, putting new stuff on and doing a 1hr OCCT large data test the highest CPU temperature I got was 50c and on idle all cores sit around 24-26c (which a friend of mine is VERY jealous of).

All games work fine on high, besides two... Battlefield 4 and CoD: Advanced Warfare. On both of them I'm forced to reduce the graphics settings to low to make it playable and Battlefield 4 takes an immensely long time to load into a game online. (4-5 minutes on loading a new map)

My question is this: Would it be worth trying an overclock on my 5-6 year old CPU to see if this helps? Or do I need a new mobo, CPU and GPU altogether? If an overclock is worth it... How far do you think I could push it?

NB: it did used to be OC'ed to 3.5ghz but I ended up putting it back to stock as it would regularly overheat and cause hard lock ups. This was due to the crappy aftermarket cooler I had in it at the time.

Thanks.

I would overclock before spending money... you may end up happy for a while longer with what you already have.

An SSD will help load times.

Definitely give OC'ing a shot, you should be able to hit 4GHz or so with your CPU/mobo combination.
http://www.overclockers.com/3-step-guide-overclock-core-i3-i5-i7/

The load times will be fixed by getting an SSD (overclocking will have little or no effect), and I suspect you're GPU bottlenecked if you're playing at 1080p or higher. I think a new GPU and SSD should take priority over a new CPU/mobo.

You can always check the CPU load and GPU load whilst playing to see which one is holding you back to make sure, and you definitely have room to overclock to 3.8-4GHz (hopefully you have a D0 stepping).

Badbonji said:

The load times will be fixed by getting an SSD (overclocking will have little or no effect), and I suspect you're GPU bottlenecked if you're playing at 1080p or higher. I think a new GPU and SSD should take priority over a new CPU/mobo.

You can always check the CPU load and GPU load whilst playing to see which one is holding you back to make sure, and you definitely have room to overclock to 3.8-4GHz (hopefully you have a D0 stepping).

Click to expand...

I'm at 1080p but my card is little more than a few years old. I can understand how an SSD would help but do I really need a card with 4GB of memory? I'm still dubious about OC'ing if it won't really help performance much.

My question is this: Would it be worth trying an overclock on my 5-6 year old CPU to see if this helps? Or do I need a new mobo, CPU and GPU altogether? If an overclock is worth it... How far do you think I could push it?

Click to expand...

Always the ultimate question. To upgrade or not to upgrade.....

You have already a decent but behind times cpu capable of OCing, but 4ghz.... heck you can get that stock nowadays.

For gaming on your current rig the SSD suggestion is a gret one. You'd really get the use from that system regardless of the cpu.

And if youre looking for maximum frame rates, the Video card needs a good update. A GTX 760 (non-ti) would spank your existing card for example. And the bigger you go from there.... well gaming just gets better!!

If you have the funds for an entire new system, it's about time I think. If not, concentrate on your video graphics ability. You could try SLI 660s and see a huge performance gain over overclocking the cpu solely. No doubt OCing the 920 would only bring better experiences, 3.5ghz is a fine number and 4ghz would be perfect.

Shrimpy, there's not THAT much difference in the 660Ti and 760.
http://anandtech.com/bench/product/860?vs=854

Look at a 770, 970, or higher.

Thanks for all your input. Looks like a new GPU and SSD is the minimum of what I need to sort this out... Nowhere near enough money for a new build right now... Gah.

Sorry for the double post but if anyone would recommend a good card that will last a few years that can run BF4 and CoD:AW, what would it be? GTX 970?

PrChaos said:

what would it be? GTX 970?

Click to expand...

Yes

Or a 980, but I'd rather spend the extra $200 on a 500GB 850 EVO.

ATMINSIDE said:

Yes

Or a 980, but I'd rather spend the extra $200 on a 500GB 850 EVO.

Click to expand...

I'm going to wait until these cards come down in price. £300 for a 970 or £500+ for a 980 is ludicrous. I'm just gonna get an SSD and another 2GB RAM stick for now.

PrChaos said:

Sorry for the double post but if anyone would recommend a good card that will last a few years that can run BF4 and CoD:AW, what would it be? GTX 970?

Click to expand...

Personally, if you're looking for a decent upgrade but don't want to go overboard price-wise I'd recommend a used GTX 680 or GTX 770 on either eBay or a forum like this one (assuming you're not opposed to buying used parts). Both offer nearly identical performance (with a slight edge to the 770 performance-wise(very slight) and another pro to the 770 for having a lower power draw). Either of those is a decent upgrade from the GTX 660 Ti.

Beyond that, you don't see a big increase in performance from the GTX 680 or GTX 770 unless you go with a GTX 970, GTX 780 Ti (the GTX 780 Ti outperforms the GTX 970, by a bit), or GTX 980.

Used GTX 680: $120-370 USD (ebay)
Used GTX 770: $169-240 USD (ebay)
GTX 770 Newegg: $290-330 USD
GTX 780 Newegg: $310 USD
GTX 780 Ti Newegg: $450-590 USD
GTX 970 Newegg: $330-370 USD