discussion Unlocking Dangers

[johnnyd]

Hi all, I've just ordered a new computer and I'm considering some small amounts of overclocking but I'm not familiar with the process and would like some information on any dangers associated with it. I'm also quite interested in unlocking my processor as well.

Are there certain ranges in which overclocking is allowed by manufacturers in honoring warranties? Or is any amount grounds for denying an RMA? Also, say a 3 core processor is unlocked to 4, is the process reversible - or are you taking risks that you could ruin your processor on the spot?

My processor and motherboard:
Athlon x3 440
Gigabyte GA-MA78LM-S2H AMD760G

...here's my other components incase any other information is needed:
OCZ StealthXStream OCZ500SXS 500W ATX12V 24PIN Active PFC ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan Black
Powercolor Radeon HD 5770 PCs 875MHZ 1GB 4.9GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI DP DIRECTX11 PCI-E Video Card
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA2 3.5IN 8.5MS 7200RPM 32MB Hard Drive OEM *3YR MFR Warranty
Patriot Extreme Performance Pgs 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-6400 CL5-5-5-12 Dual Channel Memory Kit

Thanks for the help! :biggrin:

 

[Perineum]

You can attempt to unlock the core and use it. It will unlock, it just might not be usable. If so, just lock it out again.

 

[cul8erppl]

everything is done in the BIOS. So, yeah, you can go from 3 to 4, then 4 to 3 again. Well, you may not be able to unlock that 4th core, it depends on your luck of the draw.

again, everything is done in the BIOS. So, i don't think a manufacturer would know if u OC'd your chip or not. So, yeah, if u were to put ur chip in another MOBO that didn't have OC BIOS settings, it would read as the regular manufacturer speed.

Basically, small OC'ing should be okay, even on stock cooling. On better air-cooling, you could run better OC's. On water-cooling, you could go crazy.

But if u try to OC like madness without good cooling, u'll fry your chip. I have pretty good air-cooling, so I OC'd from 2.6GHz to 3.25GHz. I could go higher stable, but I don't feel like it.

GL with the OC's.

 

[johnnyd]

Thanks for the replies guys!

So if you do damage say a processor or video card due to overclocking, it's usually still covered under warranty? I guess there must be some tell-tale signs if someone OC'd their card way past its limits that would render it unreturnable.. but otherwise, a small amount of stable OCing is A-okay?

That's good to know. So there's really no point in me not trying to unlock that 4th core as soon as I get my computer started up and running correctly? I guess it would be a good practice to wait a few days and make sure that it isn't defective at stock speeds at least.

Hopefully my $50 mobo doesn't turn out to be a bad choice either :biggrin:

 

[Pax]

I just picked up an i7-875k and right on the box it clearly states that ocing may void the warranty. How they'd know about it, I don't know. Just look up the warranty info for your chip and I'm sure it'll say if it's covered or not.

Then you just have to decide if the warranty matters. It's only a few hundred bucks if you fry a chip (and hopefully nothing else).