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Can I overclock my iMac 24"?


Ayla
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Hi

 

My iMac can almost run the 1080p HD movies I play on it. I think that if I was able to overclock the CPU to 3.0Ghz for example, that it would be enough.

 

I have searched the forum and it doesn't look like there's an easy overclocking application for OS X (I saw CoolBook, but that's only for underclocking it seems).

 

But, can I boot into Windows and overclock my 2.8 Intel Extreme there and then when I boot back to OS X, the CPU will still be overclocked?

 

If yes, how do I do it, and what programs should I use?

 

Thanks, hope you can help.

Martin

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I have never owned a real Mac. But serious overclocking must be done from the BIOS.

Now: Macs don't have a BIOS. Besides iMacs are more similar to notebooks than to desktops, and notebook overclocking is a no no.

The best improvement for your Mac is increasing the RAM, if it isn't already maxed up (remember that *nix operating systems benefit more from an increase in RAM than an increase in CPU speed).

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But serious overclocking must be done from the BIOS.

Now: Macs don't have a BIOS.

Yep.

Besides iMacs are more similar to notebooks than to desktops, and notebook overclocking is a no no.

Agreed. iMacs are hot enough are they not? Overclocking is simply not healthy for the iMac.

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Thanks for the replys.

 

I have 4GB RAM so I should be covered.

 

Not healthy.. I can understand that, but I only need like 200Mhz or something (2.8 Extreme to 3.0Ghz).

 

Shouldn't that be possible without increasing heat noticeably?

 

Anyway, looking forward to hearing from someone who has tried it in Windows.

 

What I could find out from Google, my Chipset is Intel 965GM and my CPU is Intel X7900.

 

Regards

Martin

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I am not familiar with the cooling, haven't seen a strip down of the new imacs. However I would be concerned about any additional heat against the LCD panel causing the "twists" in the sub pixels to ware out faster. The screen is literally the most expensive part in those macs when it comes to parts and service fees. Best not to tempt fate.

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Not healthy.. I can understand that, but I only need like 200Mhz or something (2.8 Extreme to 3.0Ghz).

 

Shouldn't that be possible without increasing heat noticeably?

 

You'd hardly notice the increase in performance, but you might well notice the heat increase (and shorten the life of your iMac in the process)

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Somehow I seriously doubt the problem is that 200MHz missing... we're talking dual core here, right? Are the movies situated on a slow drive perhaps? Such as a USB or Optical Drive (Remember, you only have a Laptop's ODD but a Desktop's HDD)?

 

Either the Internal or a Firewire Drive should do the job properly if it's disc access. If it's not a throttling of the 25mbps that I believe 1080i video needs to play, (and I have a few 1080i things on my MBP's (2.4GHz C2D) internal HDD that play nice) then I'd look for other bottlenecks and such before wanting to overclock.

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I wouldn't do it just because it's a mac. It doesn't run how like a normal PC does, so that might screw with it, as well as cooling isn't meant for overclocking. But a 2.8 ghz extreme, YOU SHOULD NOT have any problems running 1080P. I can run 1080P under vlc and divx on a single core a64 2.2 ghz, x1900 system.

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If you can't play 1080p video with a 2.8 core 2 extreme, the CPU isn't ur problem. I can play 1080p video on a 1.8ghz Core 2 Duo running at stock speed. There's a stutter every 30 seconds or so, but otherwise, its smooth. Absolutely perfect playback at 2.0 and above.

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