Should I overclock my new built computer?

My specs are:

i5-4690K Unlocked CPU

MSI Z97 G5 board

one stick of 8GB of RAM

Radeon Sapphire Dual-X R9 270 OC edition

Depends on the CPU cooler, it goes turbo up to 3.9Ghz alone which is very good, if you'll see a CPU hog game in the future and your FPS don't cut it then OC it to 4.6Ghz but then again it depend on the cooler.

I forgot to add that I have 5 noctua in the case and two of those are mounted to the 140 radiator along with a 200mm fan in the front

4.6 for the 4690K... Being optimistic, are we?

I say why not. A 4.2 Ghz mark is a good conservative everyday use overclock.

Not sure from your answer if you have a water or air cooler. Maybe by radiator you ment heatsink ;). Anyway with R9 270 you really don't need to overclock that CPU. Whenever you decide to upgrade your GPU then you can consider CPU overclock.

It's a 140mm cpu radiator and alright I won't overclock the card

Why not? you can do that as well with 4670K so for 90K it wouldn't be much of a hassle.

As I said, it depends on the CPU cooler, if you own a 30$ cooler (EVO for example) you can OC it to 4.2, on the other hand if you own a 60$+ CPU cooler (D14 or 100i) you can OC it to 4.5-6 easy.

@renegadesteve can you be more specific on the CPU cooler that you have? brand and module?

@PredatorRules: Not many here seems to even have it stable at 4.4. Well the 3-5 users who have the 4670K at least.

Personally, I waited until I needed the extra juice before overclocking.

If it was true, I wouldn't suggest anyone getting K version of those CPUs.

It all depends on the cooling.

Is there something you're trying to run that you can't?

I wouldn't.

Mine runs fine at 4.4 with my EVO. I'm lucky to pass 64c.

I live in a hot country so whenever reviews say temps, I need to make it 5-15 degrees higher :D

Mine's running with Noctua C14 at 65c while gaming at 3.8.

Yeah clock it to 4.5ghz if you can.

@topgunmv said:

I was thinking about that at first but then im like if its unlocked why not do it now instead of later know what i mean.

@PredatorRules im using a Corsair H90

No not really, its just me being undecided on whether to do it now since I have time

Bet you wished it was cooler there. You could probably get a better OC and keep the temps down to.
But as long as she is giving you the performance you want, I don't see any reason to up it any higher.

If you asked me this years ago I would say go for it! But it's totally worthless doing it today especially if you own an Intel CPU I5/7, they're 2 far ahead of their time. There are so few games that actually take advantage of the oc cpu. Also with DX12/Mantle we're pushing further and further from CPU bottle necking. Meaning by 2015-16 it isn't going to matter what your cpu is clocked at. It's going to be more like how low can you volt it and how quite and small can you get it..

http://www.techspot.com/review/827-watch-dogs-benchmarks/page5.html

Watchdogs is a good example, no performance difference even when downclocked to 2.50ghz on Intel, AMD is a different story..

Why overclock a new pc that can run everything at stock? Just like to put wear and tear on a new product?

IMO overclock when you need to...

Well what's the point in spending the extra on an unlocked CPU if you're not going to overclock?

So you can overclock it when it's no longer running to your satisfaction?

My 4670K was only able to go to 4.4GHz. I tried it w/ Z87 GD-65 & Z87 Sabertooth. Also, air and water cooling, it just wouldn't get past 4.4GHz. But it was sitting nice and stable at 4.4GHz.

I'd overclock it if you can, I'd also overclock that GPU.

I think that what wrong with most people who don't no. I am same. I don't no if I have done it right on mine as I have Overclocked mine to 4ghz from 3.5Gz and keep changing back and forward. I have a 3770k ivy at 3.5 and just used gigabyte 3d bios menu and slid the slider to 4gz and don't no if I should slide anything else like voltage etc.

I don't know man, I thinks its a hassle If i have to do it later down the road

More like by the time you have to actually do it you've already got a new setup....

eh pretty much

I worked for a CPU company for 2 years (heading up the software team). The speed of the chip is determined by the manufacturer after it is fabricated. They run the samples at each possible speed and watch for errors. The manufacturer wants it to be rated at the fastest possible speed because those sell for more. It is in their interest to give it the fastest possible ranking.

So the ranking it has, that is the fastest speed at which the manufacturer is confident that it won't have any problems. When you speed it up you're moving it to a speed where it may have problems. Not will as the manufacturers are conservative, but well may.

For the small gain in performance - that's generally not worth it.

note: My experience with this is 20 years ago so how the determine chip speed may be different now.

It's done the same way today. They keep testing until it fails, then they mark and sell it as one step below whatever it failed at (or a few steps below depending on the company and what the CPU's intended use is). The same goes for RAM. Bear in mind, though, that this is at a specific voltage and thermal profile. By using aftermarket cooling and tweaking voltage, the amount of gain that you can get by basically running the CPU outside of the factor recommended specifications can be significant and deliver the equivilent performance of a much more expensive CPU. My 3770k runs at 3.4 out of the box, but with a Corsair H60 closed loop water cooler (average price $60) I've been able to overclock it to 4.5ghz.

-Byshop