[mac128k-1984]

arstechnica is reporting that Gateway is offering to sell over-clocked computers with a warranty no less. Seems kind of reckless and well desperate on their part

[mdc]

As long as it has a warranty, and I'd go with desperate.

[mac128k-1984]

I also read a news report (I forget where now) that some stock owners are pushing to get on the director's board and want a quick turn around to gateway's profits so much so that if they don't occur they'll push to sell the company.

[Gossamer]

Not bad

However, sales rep Courtney Reinders told Ars that the only machine that can be overclocked will be the highest-end model, the FX530XL, and that the processor can be overclocked from 2.93GHz to 4.2GHz

[mitchell_pgh]

Well, it's an interesting sales strategy.

I'd consider buying one if I were 14... and GHz meant the world to me.

[Eug Wanker]

My Sonnet G4 1.7 GHz CPU upgrade is actually an overclocked 1.42 GHz chip.

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh 

Well, it's an interesting sales strategy.

I'd consider buying one if I were 14... and GHz meant the world to me.

There has to be a noticeable performance difference between a Core 2 Extreme 2.9 and 4.2

[Dork.]

It's not a terrible idea to sell OC'd computers with a warranty, if they take the trouble to do some in-house testing first to make sure that the particular CPU that they have can handle the overclocking. If they test properly, then any chips that fail at the high speed can probably still be used (and sold!) at the lower speed with no ill effects..

Heck, I wouldn't be all that suprised if they had data from Intel that said that OC'd processors have a reduced MTBF. What would Gateway care of OC'ing reduced the life of the processor from 10 years to 1.5 years if they're only warrantying it for 1 year?

If they're not testing, though, and are assuming that just because all the current crop of chips can be OC'd then they'll stay that way, then they deserve to go bankrupt....

[Todd Madson]

The Apple G5 2.5 and 2.7 duals were essentially overclocked 2.3 chips.

This all came from french macsite MacBidoiulle who got it from someone on the inside.

[Dork.]

Remember that there's no magic to overclocking -- all you do is pump in a higher clock than the part is rated for. How do semiconductor manufacturers rate parts? By testing.

Sometimes, when semiconductor manufacturers increase their clock speed offerings, they're not really changing anything about the part , they're just testing it at the higher frequencies. So, Apple could have been getting the exact same part from Moto, but instead of only being tested at 2.3GHz, they were also tested at 2.5 and 2.7. Any parts that failed were sold as 2.3 parts.

[Tuoder]

I used to overclock everything I could get my hands on. If things are cooled and powered properly, they can be overclocked. They won't last as long, but I am a geek, by the time it blows up I'll already have a new one. Also, as I recall, VoodooPC has been doing this for a while, and there are video card makers who do the same.

[mac128k-1984]

Originally Posted by Dork. 

It's not a terrible idea to sell OC'd computers with a warranty,

It may not be terrible but its certainly desperate.

[Tuoder]

Originally Posted by mac128k-1984 

It may not be terrible but its certainly desperate.

I am not sure that desparate is even the right word. These parts are regularly "binned". That is to say that sometimes the difference between the 1.83Ghz chip and the 2.33 Ghz chip is the sticker on the outside and the multiplier on the chip.

[foo2]

Exactly -- how is this desperate? They have a marketing opportunity, and they're taking advantage of it - makes sense to me.