Quote Originally Posted by inferKNOX View Post
  1. Is overclocking memory necessary, because I bought A-DATA DDR3-1333 RAM that I don't think is very overclockable at all & is not an option for me.
  2. I noticed SNiiPE_DoGG bought the OCZ Platinum AMD Edition, which is lower voltage wise compared to the OCZ Platinum Enhanced Bandwidth Edition I've had my eye on (extended RAM heatsinks are not an option for me). The AMD edition says it's meant solely for AM3, which is hard to sell later, so my question is, is the higher 1.9v vs 1.65v bad for the Phenom II? (Answered by TurboDiv=post #816)
    I was thinking of getting the 1.9v and trying to dail down the voltage as best I can. Does that sound ok?
  3. What is the benefit of NB overclock, is it speed gain, stability or to enhance the ability to overclock the CPU and/or RAM?
  4. Lastly, does overclocking decrease the lifespan of components? If so, it is significantly so? (obviously I don't mean Xtreme overclocking, just a 24/7 OC)
    I'd also like to get maximum life out of the equipment, hence my modest overclock ambitions.

1) Overclocking memory is not required. All you need is ram that will run stable at whatever frequency and timings it's rated for.

2) Answered

3) NB frequency is tied to your L3 cache. The faster your cpu-nb the faster your L3 cache is running. Performance is the reason to overclock this.

4) Overclocking by itself does not decrease the lifetime of the cpu or motherboard. The heat generated if not dissipated properly is what degrades the components and leads to decreased lifetime. I have an opteron 165 running at 2.8ghz(1.8ghz stock) for 3 1/2 years never a single problem. I have a Athlon XP 2500+ that I ran at 2.3ghz for 6 years 24/7. I finally semi-retired that old bad boy. Take a rest good buddy you've served me well. lol