CPU Overclocking Questions

[Kurausukun]

I'm kind of new to being able to overclock my CPU. My previous laptops all had chips that couldn't be overclocked, but the one I have now, an i7-7820HK, can be overclocked to 3.9GHz. However, I very rarely need that extra power, so I keep it at its base clock most of the time. In fact, the only application that really requires overclocking is Dolphin when OCing the emulated GC/Wii CPU or using certain 60FPS codes. But it's kind of a pain to go into the BIOS every time I want to do this. So here's the question:

If I overclock my CPU, is it always running at that overclocked rate? I'd like to have it overclocked at all times just so it's not a pain when I want to use it, but I'm worried that I'll reduce the lifespan of my CPU that way. Are CPUs somehow able to know how intense the current workload is and dynamically adjust the clock rate, or are they always running at the same speed and just doing nops when there's nothing to do? My basic knowledge of CPU hardware suggests the second, but I don't know for sure since I haven't studied modern CPUs. So is it safe or should I avoid it?

[Ivybridge11]

(04-22-2018, 05:31 PM)Kurausukun Wrote: I'm kind of new to being able to overclock my CPU. My previous laptops all had chips that couldn't be overclocked, but the one I have now, an i7-7820HK, can be overclocked to 3.9GHz. However, I very rarely need that extra power, so I keep it at its base clock most of the time. In fact, the only application that really requires overclocking is Dolphin when OCing the emulated GC/Wii CPU or using certain 60FPS codes. But it's kind of a pain to go into the BIOS every time I want to do this. So here's the question:

If I overclock my CPU, is it always running at that overclocked rate? I'd like to have it overclocked at all times just so it's not a pain when I want to use it, but I'm worried that I'll reduce the lifespan of my CPU that way. Are CPUs somehow able to know how intense the current workload is and dynamically adjust the clock rate, or are they always running at the same speed and just doing nops when there's nothing to do? My basic knowledge of CPU hardware suggests the second, but I don't know for sure since I haven't studied modern CPUs. So is it safe or should I avoid it?

It's kind of hard to explain, but in my experience the cpu will drop down when it's not doing much - I've seen my 4.4Ghz Athlon drop itself down to below 3.7, which was its stock speed. Exactly how often and for how long it drops itself down to this level would need some further testing that I'll look into doing now.
Also, it's more the increased voltage than the clock rate that makes cpu's eventually fail if I recall correctly, so doing the overclock using the minimum stable voltage can help with longevity, if you can control that manually.

[DrHouse64]

Yes, modern CPUs don't run at their maximum clock all the time, they're able adapt their speed to the load.
You can see its current speed in Windows 10 Task Manager -> Performance tab.

What you can do is open the tab and keep an eye on it while testing some workload scenarios, with and without OC.
I would say OC is safe if elementary rules are respected : no excessive heat (nowadays, throttle will prevent the CPU from overheating anyway) no power consumption behind the limits of the power supply/battery (reducing voltage can help). While it does reduces its lifespan in theory, I never heard of a CPU dying from a good OC.

[ExtremeDude2]

That's what Turbo Boost is for (or the opposite I guess):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Turbo_Boost

[DJBarry004]

(04-23-2018, 06:43 AM)ExtremeDude2 Wrote: That's what Turbo Boost is for (or the opposite I guess):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Turbo_Boost

The opposite is SpeedStep.

[Kurausukun]

Thanks for the advice, all. I guess I might as well keep it OC'd for now then.

[Der Siebte Schatten]

[color=#000080]Well, I don't know how your laptop manufacturer managed that, but on my MSI, there's the Dragon Gaming Center that grants you the possibility to overclock your CPU with only a keyboard shortcut.

Also, the Windows Power Management also has an effect on the CPU speed. For example, on mine, it is 2.7 GHz at normal time. It goes up to 3.5 GHz in High performance mode and down to 0.8 GHz on economy mode...

(Sorry if anyone already said this, I was at sea for a while again...)[/color]

[DrHouse64]

This kind of OC options usually comes with gaming laptops and desktops.

I have a MSI mobo and a MSI gpu that provides that, I never tried it tho.