Is Overclocking Over?

Here is a question that isn't so simple to answer, Is Overclocking Over?  The guys at ExtremeTech ask the question and come up with an interesting conclusion.

While we were tossing around story ideas this week, one of the ExtremeTech guys lobbed out this doozy of a press release he received from Kingston. It basically explained how a Romanian overclocking team smashed a few overclocking records, including pushing Kingston’s HyperX DDR3 memory to an incredible 3600MHz (at CL10). The Lab501 team did this, and their other record breakers, with the aid of liquid nitrogen which cooled the RAM down to a frosty -196°C.

I remember reading that story and seemed like big news, both for Kingston and for Lab501.  The thing that most people say when I talk about LN2 cooling is, "Is cooling your system like that practical?"  Of course the answer is no, mostly due to things like voltage degradation and supplies of LN2.  You also have to consider that as processors advance you don't need to overclock to get the performance you "need".  The keyword here is "need" since some of us just "want" more.

Related Web URL: http://enews.extremetech.com/u.d?L4Gjk8bVNiyrT78ED...