Which system suits?

[TroubledViking]

Hi guys,

I'm getting my new PC soon and I want to overclock my CPU for the extra performance and I understand that this causes a serious amount of heat to build up = bad for processor. Anyway, I'm getting an Intel i5-2500 processor and an ASUS P8H77-M-Pro Motherboard.

My question is, will I need expanded cooling and if so, what would be recommended? More/better fans or liquid cooling? I read that some liquid coolers aren't much better than fans?

Sorry if this is nooby stuff, but any advice would be much appreciated

 

[Machin3]

Not nooby at all, welcome first of all. Um, there are some heatsinks that work amazingly well. I'm not sure how much overclocking you want to do, whether its going to be 3.5Ghz or 5Ghz. Obviously higher you go the hotter it will be under load.

But, if your going midrange overclocking like say around the ~4.0 - 4.3 ghz, you can take a look at cooler master's Hyper series heatsinks. You are able to mount 2 120mm fans to it for a push/pull configuration.

You also have the option to do an all in one liquid cooling system such as Corsair's H-series. I'm not sure what kind of case you have and if you can fit this but a Corsair H100 could do good for overclocking in the midrange area. Even if you can't fit it, the Corsair H80 is still a good buy.

 

[TroubledViking]

Machin3,

Thanks for the speedy reply and welcome.

Honestly, I'm not sure how much I want to over clock it. I just plan on using the software that comes with the GPU/MOBO/CPU (They all have some sort of overclock feature listed on their sites for each piece! :s)

Anyway, this link is to my case I'm currently using. It's a bit old I think, but does the job. http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?C=1317&ID=1443

 

[kdfresh09]

i dont think you can overclock the i5 2500, especialy on the "H" series boards. you will need a 2500k, on a "Z" series board. with the "H" series you can only overclock the gpu thats on the cpu die.

 

[wolfeking]

a P67 will overclock it too. But you do need a 2500k to do it well.

 

[TroubledViking]

Well, I was under the impression that they could be perhaps boosted? I'm not 100% with these things.

The MOBO page mentions it has a GPU 'booster' in it http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8H77M_PRO/#overview

And the GPU reckons it has over clock software (ASUS Gamer OSD) http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/NVIDIA_Series/ENGTX550_Ti_DCDI1GD5/

But like I said, I'm not sure about these things. Also, I read that the i5 could Over clock, but perhaps this is not the right version?

Anyway, thanks for all the help so far!

 

[wolfeking]

the 2500K will overclock well. The 2500 will overclock too, but no where near as well.

As for it, you can use all the software and BIOS features you want, you will never be able to overclock the CPU on a H series motherboard. Its a chipset limitation. P and Z will allow you to overclock the CPU.

 

[TroubledViking]

the 2500K will overclock well. The 2500 will overclock too, but no where near as well.

As for it, you can use all the software and BIOS features you want, you will never be able to overclock the CPU on a H series motherboard. Its a chipset limitation. P and Z will allow you to overclock the CPU.

So the problem is in the Motherboard choice. This isn't really an issue for me and I guess this way it saves money!

Thanks for fixing me up here, very helpful and much appreciated

 

[wolfeking]

if my math is right, most 2500k systems can overclock 60% and be good. The amount before you get an error is not a certain amount for each chip, but varies from chip to chip. some will hit 5GHz, and some will only get 4.4GHz. It all depends on the chip.

I think you need to do some reading up on computer components before you offer more advice.

 

[TroubledViking]

Just an update guys, I quoted my motherboard model from the quote my computer technician gave me. After reviewing all my manuals and what not, it appears he has actually installed an i5-2500k processor and a P8Z77-M Pro (ASUS) motherboard. Does that change anything?

Sorry to keep posting on what I thought was an answered question

Thanks

 

[wolfeking]

that should overclock quite well with sufficient cooling.

 

[TroubledViking]

Wolfeking, I've added a second 120mm fan to the front of my case pulling air in, across my CPU/GPU and pretty much everything in there. So, I guess now I will see what I can do with this thing (within reason). I was surprised my computer guy put this other stuff in there...

Thanks much