Overclocking and CPU life span

[Rusty S]

I have one quick question. Does overclocking your procerssor significantly lessen the life expectancy of it? I have an Athlon 64 Socket 939, Venice core. It's stock speed is 1.8Ghz, but I easily can, and have pushed it to 2.2Ghz with stock cooling. Would such an overclock reduce its life span significantly, or give it a higher chance of burning out? What is the life expectancy of a CPU anyway?

 

[Addis]

Generally no, not by a significant amount anyway. As long as the temps are kept reasonably low and you don't increase the core voltage then you shouldn't have any problems with the lifespan.

 

[Big B]

I've heard a CPU's lifespan is 15-20 years, and you might see it deteriorated to 10-15 years. While electromigration may deteriorate the CPU, most people don't have the same computer for 10 years. I don't know anybody that does either.