My 24/7 stable overclock with my IB 3770K is 4.5 Ghz with no de-lidding. I prefer modest overclocks because it results in a more stable platform. Fsx is fickle enough without also having to deal with an unstable OC. Config file tweaks and setting adjustments in NVIDIA Inspector have netted me a lot more of a performance increase than "pushing the envelope" of my CPU. Many people spend a lot of time maximizing their hardware and than ignore all of the software tweaks that Fsx requires.

I run my i7 3770K at stock 3.5 and for me it works and I am happy. Performance is good and everything does what I want it to. I certainly wouldn't fuss over a 0.2ghz increase and just enjoy flying. If there were two machines exactly the same side by side and one had the 0,2ghz increase I doubt anyone would notice the difference in performance anyway. I've moved on from worrying about what should or shouldnt be running in Windows services, tweaking the life out of my fsx.cfg etc etc Get a flight going, look out of the cockpit window and enjoy what you already have.

Totally agreed with this. You can choke any system with FSX, with or without add-ons, and there's far more to be gained by turning down a setting or two in FSX than from over clocking.Overclocking is fun for those who find it an interesting challenge and hobby to spend money and time on. It's a cheaper and safer hobby than turbocharging and customizing stock cars. :)Even stock FSX on a six-year-old Core2Duo system is impressive enough, with a lifetime of fun to be had, with the right perspective.

+1 for getting too close to you max output.  New to OC here and I have an (old lol Phenom II 965 BE), in my limited experience in OC I stuck to the safe old multiplier method and I am at 4.1 vs 3.4 stock.  Temps are cool (Cooler Master Hyper 212) air cooled no liquid and I simply have my dog on a treadmill chasing treats to operate my cooling fans other than that, I am quite happy not to try to get the extra enth.  

 

So, 20.0 on the Multiplier, FSB at 202 voltage on auto.  Life is good.

 

There's no point in pushing for every drop of performance and thus generating more heat and degradation, when a minor change to a slider or two will achieve the same and be barely noticable in terms of image quality.

 

And what's more, the rate at which wattage & heat increases progressively exponentially, hence the increasingly diminishing returns...