New to overclocking

xriccix · 29 May 2014 at 15:09

Hi!

So I am upgrading my GPU soon and after some adivce have decided to over clock my i5-2500k CPU 3.30GHz, which is plugged into Gigabyte Z68X-UD3P-B3. I'll also be upgrading too a corsair Hydro H100i cooler.

I have never overclocked before and I'm quite nervous about it. Id love to get to speeds over 4.3GHz.

I'm after any advice/guides/settings to help me pop my overclocking cherry!

Stuen4y · 29 May 2014 at 16:04

2500K can go over 5GHz if it's a good sample and is cooled properly so it's deffinitely worth to give it a try, you will receive more than a hefty improvement and an upgrade is not really that great of an option after overclock. Just think carefully when buying the AIO cooler with all its drawbacks and positives. For your case a high end single tower(TRUE Spirit 140 Power, U14S, Archon SB-E, and the rest of the fleet) might be a better solution.

xriccix · 29 May 2014 at 16:49

Stuen4y said:
2500K can go over 5GHz if it's a good sample and is cooled properly so it's deffinitely worth to give it a try, you will receive more than a hefty improvement and an upgrade is not really that great of an option after overclock. Just think carefully when buying the AIO cooler with all its drawbacks and positives. For your case a high end single tower(TRUE Spirit 140 Power, U14S, Archon SB-E, and the rest of the fleet) might be a better solution.

I was looking at the NH-U14S, why would it be better than a AIO? I would certainly feel more comfortable fitting the NH-U14S.

xriccix · 29 May 2014 at 21:39

Also, is there a basic settings guide?

Jumper118 · 29 May 2014 at 21:53

xriccix said:
I was looking at the NH-U14S, why would it be better than a AIO? I would certainly feel more comfortable fitting the NH-U14S.

i have a 2550k and i can say that any good air cooler should handle the cpu fine all the way up to 1.4v. air coolers tend to be more reliable than aio's as the only thing that can go wrong is the fan and that is highly unlikely. i would start overclock by setting the voltage to 1.3v and then see how high you can overclock at that voltage as its very safe. start by going straight to 4ghz with a x40 multiplier. test it with prime 95 or intel burn test for 30 mins. if it passes this test and does crash, go back into the bios and put the multiplier up to x42. if it passes at x42 go up to x44. from x44 i would go up x1 at a time until it fails the test or crashes. if it fails or crashes, you will need to raise the voltage to 1.32v and try the same speed. if you keep repeating this until the max cpu temp gets to 80c when its running prime 95 or intel burn test, then once you get to that point run the test for a bit longer. some people run it for 4 hours, some people run it for 24 hours. it depends how long you run your pc for normally.

LaneyEFC · 30 May 2014 at 06:00

I have been thinking about overclocking my i5 2500k .. i have the Zalman CNPS9900 cpu cooler.. will that be enough to keep temps cool?

Stuen4y · 30 May 2014 at 07:22

LaneyEFC said:
I have been thinking about overclocking my i5 2500k .. i have the Zalman CNPS9900 cpu cooler.. will that be enough to keep temps cool?

On my opinion you will not get the maximum out of it, but it should be fine for some overclock - under 4.5GHz for sure.

xriccix said:
I was looking at the NH-U14S, why would it be better than a AIO? I would certainly feel more comfortable fitting the NH-U14S.

With the AIO you have multiple points that could fail, usually all but the most expensive models have some kind of pump noise and for a processor with such a small TDP it will not make the most dramatic difference in the world. I am not saying it will perform worse, just that the price differential is not worth it. And please, take a look at the Power before buying the Noctua. It is just a beast and is so cheap.

xriccix · 30 May 2014 at 09:24

So getting a bit more confident after reading a few guides and advice here. Didn't really want to format but if i have to i will.

snips86x · 30 May 2014 at 10:07

xriccix said:
So getting a bit more confident after reading a few guides and advice here. Didn't really want to format but if i have to i will.

Format what?

As for overclocking, look in your BIOS and see if you can choose an XMP profile. IIRC, I used these settings:

Load Line Calibration (LLC) = high
CPU Clock = Try x43 or x44 first and see how it goes
CPU voltage in offset mode = +0.020v in offset
CPU vCore set to 1.025
CPU current capability 120%
Phase control extreme
VTT at 1 notch over the stock

These settings are for my ASUS V Gene, so your Gigabyte will be different for sure. Some of the terminology will be similar. If you start getting Blue Screens, note down the error code and refer to this guide:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?266589-The-OverClockers-BSOD-code-list

If at any point you want to rest back to factory settings, either pull out the BIOS battery or load optimised defaults in the BIOS.

snips86x · 30 May 2014 at 10:13

LaneyEFC said:
I have been thinking about overclocking my i5 2500k .. i have the Zalman CNPS9900 cpu cooler.. will that be enough to keep temps cool?

Start your own thread, no hijacking!!

xriccix · 30 May 2014 at 10:20

The guides i have read suggested re-formatting my SSD with windows on and re-installing windows and all drivers before attempting overclocking.

snips86x · 30 May 2014 at 10:26

xriccix said:
The guides i have read suggested re-formatting my SSD with windows on and re-installing windows and all drivers before attempting overclocking.

Rubbish mate, just go for it. You cannot mess it up, it will just crash and you start again! If you have any Gigabyte software installed which is supposed to help overclock, just uninstall it!

xriccix · 30 May 2014 at 10:40

Ok will do! you mind posting you settings?

snips86x · 30 May 2014 at 10:44

xriccix said:
Ok will do! you mind posting you settings?

As above mate, I've posted what I've used in the past

These settings don't require you to disable power saving & sleep states. It works in conjunction with and may require some fine tuning, depending on the results you get!

I recommend you download a CPU monitoring tool to keep an eye on the clock & temps. You can easily tell if you are throttling due to heat or something else.

xriccix · 30 May 2014 at 10:50

thanks snips! i didn't see that reply!

LaneyEFC · 30 May 2014 at 12:56

Stuen4y said:
On my opinion you will not get the maximum out of it, but it should be fine for some overclock - under 4.5GHz for sure.

Thanks.. Only really want to go to about 4.3

snips86x said:
Start your own thread, no hijacking!!

And there is already a thread similar, why would I spam another thread when I could find the answer here while there on the same discussion?

DoneADougalOnSofa · 31 May 2014 at 03:13

Tbh, most 2500Ks will do 4.3gig on auto no problems. Simply change the multiplier to 43 and away you go. You can then try and chip the voltages down a bit if you want, or just try 45x... My old 2500K ran well within limits on auto settings at 4.5- and most of them will.
Going north of 4.6gig is the challenge...

xriccix · 31 May 2014 at 09:46

running at 4.3 with no upgrades at all

gonna wait till new cooler and system rebuild before i try and take it further