Building a computer? Need advice/suggestions? Come here!

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Originally Posted by Freelancer

I really doubt anything is going to die faster than it should with my current setup.

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I had to write a entire 10 page report at college during my engineering studies as to risks and rewards for overclocking IC's and one of the results of my research while doing said thesis was that the higher you clock the hardware past it's standard limit the shorter the potential lifespan.
A lot of manufacturers know the limits of their hardware but clock the products lower to gain a medium between silicon life and part performance.
this is due to Electromigration,This is a quote taken from my one of my sources from the report I had to do:

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When the processor is run at a speed that is higher than it is supposed to be run at, there is a chance that the internal components in the processor may break down over time. The internal features of a CPU are sized in the range of microns. It is possible that when the processor is stressed by running at too high a frequency, along with the extra heat that overclocking incurs, that the actual metal lines inside the processor may form shorts or opens and damage the processor over a period of time. How likely this is to happen, and how long it takes is really not known. The system may work fine for a while and then suddenly stop working.

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I hope that clears thing's up for you.

Like I said, it's running cooler than stock. Not sure I see how that applies.

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Originally Posted by Freelancer

Like I said, it's running cooler than stock. Not sure I see how that applies.

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Because heat is not the only issue here.
Read the quote carefully;

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It is possible that when the processor is stressed by running at too high a frequency, that the actual metal lines inside the processor may form shorts or opens and damage the processor over a period of time.

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Heat is not the only issue here, the frequency also has a measurable effect on the circuits inside the IC.
Look up electro-migration before coming back and saying you still can't see the connection, it's a process that's been known for decades and for someone who think's of themselves as a computer enthusiast it's pretty bad that you haven't clue about it beforehand.

Sources;
here
Here
here
And here
Please, educate yourself.

I don't worry about that kind of thing, no one should unless they're doing some crazy overclocks doubling the processor speed or higher.

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Originally Posted by Freelancer

I don't worry about that kind of thing, no one should unless they're doing some crazy overclocks doubling the processor speed or higher.

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Why exactly do you think the manufacturers limit their products to a particular speed freelancer?
Do you honestly believe that the manufacturers of these products don't see electro-migration as a possible threat to the lifespan of their produce?
Honestly I'm starting to think you're simply being ignorant for the point of being ignorance.
the circuits are in the nanometre scale meaning there is less structure material to withstand the damage caused by the process, how is that not hard to comprehend?
Do you seriously need me to point you to a direct time-lapse video showing it in visual form?

I understand completely, what you're failing to understand is that you're over-examining the situation. People have been overclocking for years, with sufficient cooling the degradation on the components is negligible to the point where you don't have to worry about it. Sure the components are suffering from increased wear on their circuits due to electro-migration but I have personally never read of that being a problem in common overclocking situations.

As I said, no one should worry about it unless they're trying to break records using LN2 and overclocking from, for example, 2.4GHz to 6GHz.

What if the GPU was overclocked only while gaming and immediately after, you turn it back to default?

Holy crap, warlord, chill out.
It's not like some weird sorcery we're talking here about overclocking. Yes, overclocking to any extent can be dangerous. Yes, you are at risk when you overclock. No, you won't have much issue as long as you have the situation controlled. There are so many variables that change the particular situation like, how intensive is this particular CPU, how fast are you running it, how fast are you overclocking it, how many cores does it have, what are you using to cool it, and the list goes on and on, and its not as simple as, you clock it too high, and in 3 seconds its busted. As long as you're methodical in your ways and you KNOW what risk you're taking and what you're taking to control that risk, you should be fine.

If I overclock, it's not going to be used for benchmarks or anything like that and I'm no where near thinking about breaking records or pushing it. I was just thinking about doing a moderate overclock on my Intel Core i5 750 to 3.2 GHz 24/7 and on my possible HD 5850 only for gaming (nothing above 900 MHz Core/1300 MHz Memory for the GPU, just enough to match or beat a HD 5870).

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Originally Posted by FRain

Holy crap, warlord, chill out.I'm perfectly "chill".
It's not like some weird sorcery we're talking here about overclocking.Did I ever say it was sorcery? No? then don't put word's in my mouth.
Yes, overclocking to any extent can be dangerous. Yes, you are at risk when you overclock. No, you won't have much issue as long as you have the situation controlled.Electro-migration is not something you can "control", it's a simple bit of physics, the guy asked what the risks to overclocking were, I told him the risks as learned from my studies from college which is alot more intimate than what you might find on a random modding website.

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Believe it or not, I'm actually a qualified engineer in electronics engineering, both analogue and micro,I had to study this exact subject at college so I see no reason why I shouldn't be allowed to give a educated bit of information on a valid subject.
Honestly, It boggles the mind when someone jump's on me when I give some insight on a subject some people may not realise, so may I suggest you take your own advice Frain and "chill out".