Does overclocking reduce life span/damage cpu

[jacoba14]

I really want to overclock my 5820k and my asus pro mobo but I do want to damage or shorten life time or reduce the liability. I am using a corsair h110i gt cpu cooler. I will be using it for at least 4 years

 

[R-T-B]

It can, but generally is not an issue if you have good cooling and keep to a reasonable voltage (I hear less than 1.25v is safe).

I am not however, an expert at overclocking the 5820k. My overclock is extremely conservative and I use the low voltage of 1.2v as my limit. I'll let some more experienced people give you advice on the rest of this.

 

[GhostRyder]

I really want to overclock my 5820k and my asus pro mobo but I do want to damage or shorten life time or reduce the liability. I am using a corsair h110i gt cpu cooler. I will be using it for at least 4 years

In reality, it can but as stated by @R-T-B as long as you keep the temps below for your chip 80C your not going to do it by enough that you would notice in a reasonable timeframe. Normally on these chips (Haswell-E) keeping around 1.3 and below if the safest without causing degrading of the chip. Normally when you hear degradation of a chip its caused by extreme over-volting for extreme periods of time which cause the chip to overtime become unstable and require more voltage to handle the clock speeds it had before. Even so the time it takes normally is about the lifespan of the chips anyway (From a performance look).

A friend of mine has a 2600K i7 that has been overclocked to 4.7ghz for years on end constant under liquid and has not shown one problem yet (Circa 2011).

 

[cadaveca]

One word answer: YES.

Retail chips are fairly robust, as others have mentioned.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Why did you buy a K edition if you didnt plan to o/c it?

In answer to your question..........i would and you will be fine, watch your temps and wherever you are stable drop it back a bit, you wont notice any difference at all in 50/100mhz

 

[dorsetknob]

18 years on the p2 300 (SLOT 1 )i bought with the specific intent of overclocking is still running at 550Mhz ( now inherited by my friends daughter for her personal computer)

 

[EarthDog]

Yes... but with reasonable voltages and temperatures, it should last through the useful like of the CPU.

 

[Black Panther]

I don't think so. I had bought an E4300 nearly on release, oc'd it to 3Ghz for more than 5 years+. Today it's retired, no longer oc'd but on one of our work pc's and still going strong.

 

[uuuaaaaaa]

18 years on the p2 300 (SLOT 1 )i bought with the specific intent of overclocking is still running at 550Mhz ( now inherited by my friends daughter for her personal computer)

This is incredible!

 

[peche]

well… I have in the office a i5 2500K, overclocked to 4.5GHZ, working for 3 years, rebooted once every 45 days…. watercooled, under 65C everyday @100% of its potential, no problems so far, it came second handed for cheap… used… also 50 days ago was running stock due maintenance on that computer… no problems also running on stock settings,

the key: keep your processor under safe voltages, also properly chilled, the same for the motherboard, most people cares about properly cooling CPU but not motherboards, Power phases, memory dims and slots are hot zones, decent cooling will bring more lifetime to your hardware…!

 

[apoe]

Depends. If you have good temperatures and simply increase clocks without increasing voltage, any change in lifespan will be negligible. Unless you do extreme overclocking, you will almost certainly end up replacing/upgrading your CPU before this even becomes a consideration.

You could also extend lifespan by undervolting / underclocking. So the question is, is it worth it to you to have less (maybe significantly less) performance for a potentially longer lifespan?

Same thing with graphics card OC. Most non-reference cards are factory overclocked out of the box nowadays. I don't think anyone goes to buy a factory OC'd GPU, and then immediately underclocks them to reference clocks once installed. It's no different.

And if you bought K series CPU and H110i, it would be a waste if you didn't even plan on OCing to begin with.

 

[dorsetknob]

This is incredible!

Not really
When released this cpu was exactly the same silicon as the genuine 450 mhz Cpu same S-Spec code just remarketed as 300 mhz P2
read this in a tech mag and so i ordered a p2 300 with this given S-Spec code
when i got it i ghetto installed extra cooling fans then installed it in m/b and set the dip switches for a 450 mhz cpu
booted pc and Viola it ran and registered as a p2 450 later i changed the dip switches so it ran at 550mhz run it at this speed for a couple of years till i upgraded to P3 sold it to a mate who run it for years till he upgraded and he gave it to his little girl

never upped the voltage on the Cpu just changed the Multiplier ( they were all unlocked in those days it was only later that Intel started to lock the multiplier)
Early Celeron P2 could be overclocked even higher ( 700Mhz+)
Ah those were the days

 

[hat]

It can, but if you play it safe (don't use excessive voltage, keep temps under control) it won't be an issue. You'll upgrade again anyway before anything happens to the chip. The more likely story is the chip may degrade, meaning in time it may become incapable of running at the same speed at the same voltage. This should only happen/be noticeable if you push the chip to its limit, though.

 

[Solaris17]

http://click.intel.com/tuningplan/purchase-a-plan

as @cadaveca Has been kind enough to mention in other posts and I agree as well spend $25 and beat the piss out of it if your that worried.

 

[cadaveca]

I really want to overclock my 5820k and my asus pro mobo but I do want to damage or shorten life time or reduce the liability. I am using a corsair h110i gt cpu cooler. I will be using it for at least 4 years

You can do what Solaris posted above, and then clock without fear, except when the CPU does die, it will take a few weeks to get the replacement, depending on where you are globally situated.


But let me clarify things for you... VOLTAGE doesn't matter. It is the CURRENT that will degrade a CPU.

See, every CPU is different. The crystalline lattice that makes up the CPU itself is not always perfectly aligned, or perhaps the process of etching the silicon did not go perfectly... all of which is normal. These differences require that certain frequencies require different voltages at the CPU... and so we have CPUs with differing voltage ratings, at "stock". The current, generally speaking, is consistent. Current is pulled by the chip, not given, so adjusting the CPU speed higher can cause it to draw more current... voltage changed or not. So a motherboard has current limits in place...

Yet since modern motherboards allow current limit levels to be changed as well, and often, this is done so automatically when you adjust voltage (depending on board and BIOS used), you need to be very careful and understand that this might be the case.


So, there is no cut-and-dry answer to your question, other than YES.

And to illustrate this idea even more, many boards on the X99 Express platform have added pins that other do not...do you know exactly what those pins do? Does your board even have them? Why is it that early in the launch, when only ASUS boards had this socket, that they were able to clock better, yet over time, many other boards do as well without the OC socket?

The only person that can say no, that OC is safe if you stay within limits... is your board maker, and their BIOS programmer.

But wait... all brands say that OC can damage parts and will void warranty... Perhaps they say this for a reason? Perhaps in a court of law, if they did not, you could prove that OC does damage parts, and this would hold them liable, so they have a default disclaimer?


Sure, some chips can survive w/ OC... but the exact details, the physical makeup of that silicon, the design etched into it, and how the motherboard supplies power are the factors that dictate this, and nearly no one has the equipment to confirm or deny such things.


~A Wise Old Goat.

 

[Mussels]

keep the voltages within reason and the temps low, and it'll last forever.

If you overclock at stock or near stock voltages, it should be fine.

 

[Steevo]

I had a P4 Prescott overclocked and running F@H for years with no degredation and 3 months of the year it would run just below thermal throttle.

I have never experienced a newer CPU degrading at reasonable temperature.

 

[ShredBird]

Back in 2009 I obtained a Core 2 QX9770 Extreme Edition and overclocked the crap out of it, ran it pretty hard throughout its lifetime. As time went on I noticed keeping that overclock stable started requiring a bit more voltage every once in a while and it got to the point where I ended up disabling the OC completely at the end. Granted, the end was in 2013 and by that time the Core 2 architecture was vastly outpaced by i7 architectures and prompted be to upgrade. So, in short, yes, overclocking can have a detrimental effect on the lifetime of your processors. However, it depends on how much you modify the voltage and how much thermal cycling or excessive temps your device experiences.

However, in my experience, from what I've seen in my own systems and friend's systems, said decrease in lifetime span often goes unnoticed as the device will outlive its usefulness and need to be replaced before noticeable degradation occurs. My Core 2 Extreme was kind of an outstanding case, and it could be that maybe something on my motherboard or power supply was degrading in the system, not the CPU, hard to tell.

Go ahead, overclock to your heart's content, just make sure you do your research, keep the temps and voltages in the safe range and be patient and do it right. It's a lot of fun and can give you lots of free performance!

 

[Mussels]

Back in 2009 I obtained a Core 2 QX9770 Extreme Edition and overclocked the crap out of it, ran it pretty hard throughout its lifetime. As time went on I noticed keeping that overclock stable started requiring a bit more voltage every once in a while and it got to the point where I ended up disabling the OC completely at the end. Granted, the end was in 2013 and by that time the Core 2 architecture was vastly outpaced by i7 architectures and prompted be to upgrade. So, in short, yes, overclocking can have a detrimental effect on the lifetime of your processors. However, it depends on how much you modify the voltage and how much thermal cycling or excessive temps your device experiences.

However, in my experience, from what I've seen in my own systems and friend's systems, said decrease in lifetime span often goes unnoticed as the device will outlive its usefulness and need to be replaced before noticeable degradation occurs. My Core 2 Extreme was kind of an outstanding case, and it could be that maybe something on my motherboard or power supply was degrading in the system, not the CPU, hard to tell.

Go ahead, overclock to your heart's content, just make sure you do your research, keep the temps and voltages in the safe range and be patient and do it right. It's a lot of fun and can give you lots of free performance!

that degradation could also have been the VRM's on the board, or the PSU.

 

[Ikaruga]

Not really if you overclock it on stock voltage and make sure the temps won't go too high, but Yes if you also increase voltage, but even then it doesn't matter because the shortened lifespan is still way to long to wait it out without upgrading. To give you an example, your CPU will last 15-20 years without overclocking and might only last for 10 with overclocking... Even if the other parts in your PC won't "break" by that time, you would probably still be able to buy a faster and more efficient computer (a stick :-] ) ten years from now for less then $100 or for even much cheaper.

 

[vega22]

from my exp not really no xD

i have had chips never been oc die for no reason and have chips that have been ran oc for nearly a decade still going fine. i sold an e4300 which has ran 3.2ghz min since i got in 06 at the end of last year. had a few in its life which just died for no reason :s

go figure.

 

[ShiBDiB]

Technically speaking, yes straining a part outside of stock specs will shorten the lifespan.

But realistically as long as you're not doing absurd voltages and temps you'll be upgrading before it dies.

 

[Sempron Guy]

I haven't had a cpu die on me cause of overclocking. And those overclocked cpus got new owners now so dunno if they are still alive or has gone to hardware heaven ( no pun intended ).

 

[micropage7]

yea, you get higher risk damaging your hardware but as long as you do light OC and not playing the voltage it would be safe
and dont forget since you push your hardware you need better cooling

 

[silentbogo]

As long as you don't do anything stupid like LN2 you'll be fine. Excessive overclocking may sooner kill your motherboard, PSU or any other component, but the CPU is usually the last to stand


In all my years being around computers I can sum up 99.9% of CPU deaths to physical damage (broken die, bent pins, water etc.).

I even have a cool topic-related story:
Few years ago I was OCing an AMD Athlon 64 X2 on my BFG motherboard. The rig was placed in my garage and I've used a bunch of dry ice to keep it cool (first experience with DICE!!!).A storm was coming and we had a lightning strike somewhere nearby, which caused a crazy spike in mains all over the neighborhood. In a matter of milliseconds some light bulbs popped, circuit breaker powered off, smoke came out of my PSU and things went south. I've tested my MoBo afterwards and it was permanently dead (so was RAM), while CPU still served for another 4 years in my other rig (also OC'ed) until I sold it!

With all my recklessness I've managed to kill only 2 CPUs in my entire life: broke a die in Duron XP and un-successfully de-lidded Athlon X2 5200+