Question from a complete novice

miseryguts

miseryguts

miseryguts

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21 Sep 2011
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119
Location
Workington, Cumbria
OK, so iv'e been trying to educate myself as much as possible regarding overclocking and after reading countless threads have come to the conclusion that i desperately need some form of cooling if i want to go any higher than my current 3.2GHz stable o/c from stock 2.67 i7 920.

I think i understand the basics of overclocking & tried some Vcore increases to around1.3, upped the BCLK Frequency to 1.70 & the Clock ratio to 21 and then ran Prime95 & Core Temp (which showed all cores practically in meltdown) so i have returned the settings to the 3.2GHz - CPU Clock Ratio [20x] BCLK Frequency [160] CPU Vcore 1.26875v [1.22500v]
At the above clocks Core Temp shows the four cores hovering at around the 55c - 60c mark.

I realise what i'm posting is probably painfully obvious to most here, but i am a complete novice as far as overclocking & upgrading is concerned (my last PC was an ancient laptop)
I have read in multiple threads & posts that lots of i7 920 owners have been easily able to reach a stable 4.0Ghz+ overclock but sadly they don't go into detail regarding their cooling.
Can someone advise me what sort of cooler (type, make & model etc) i should be looking to get to achieve the results (or at least as close as possible) i mention above, budget i'm afraid is a consideration, so as cheap as possible please (in the UK)
And if possible one that is relatively easy to install, as i have never even opened a PC case before (everyone has to start somewhere right..?) i am afraid i do not know what model of case mine is (does this matter..?) but the brand is CoolerMaster.

Thanks.
 
You'll fry your cpu if you're not careful mate. I wouldn't stress it until you've got better cooling and it's quite possible it'll not do 4.0Ghz.

A Noctua NH-D14 or a Corsair H70 would keep it cool. Both a similar price, if you are concerned about space you may be better off with the Corsair. Do a Google and you'll find extensive reviews of both.

Keep reading as much as you can, you'll want decent airflow in your case too. You can't really cut corners when it comes to cooling and overclocking, if you do you could end up with a a very expensive paperweight. You probably want to have a good read of your motherboard manual too.
 
Hi mate and welcome to the forums. :)
The noctua nh-d14 or the corsair cooler are both excellent coolers, but at around £70, they are expensive.
The thermalright silver arrow is the best air cooler, and can be got, for around £50 ish.
A popular budget cooler is the Gelid Tranquilo http://overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-001-GD and at £26 is reasonable.

also a good cooler is the Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B, these can be picked up for around £25ish used.

what type of ram have you? as some ram have heat fins on top, and this can limit what coolers you can get.
regarding the case, whatever cooler you decide on, cut a piece of cardboard the same height as the cooler. eg. 155mm, put the cardboard on the motherboard, (unplug the pc ;)) and does the side of the case still fit? this way you can check before you buy, if the cooler fits your case.

i have a noctua nh-d14 and i must say it was a piece of cake to fit it,
usually there are guides (youtube) on how to fit most coolers.
The cooler should come with thermal paste already applied or in a tube. this will be good enough, so you dont need to buy 'better' (about 1-2.C difference) paste.
Have a look on youtube, on how to apply thermal paste. ;)
its basically a thick paste that goes onto the top of the cpu, and then you push the cooler down onto it and secure the cooler. it helps transfer the heat away from the cpu.
NEVER, not use thermal paste.

dont be afraid to ask for help if you need more advice
 
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