Question about i5 2500k

[qwerty123456]

Hi,
I'm sort of new to overclocking. I did it on the q6600 way back, but finally moved on.
Right now I'm at 4.6 on a i5 2500k, @ 1.36 vcore.
I have some questions.
Is that safe? Could I lower the vcore?

I've seen screenshots of other p67 motherboards, and the font on the vcore setting seems to vary. On mine, at 1.36v, it's red, which scares me. On some screenshot somewhere else, it's in a yellow font at that voltage.
So if it's in red font, is it alright to have it at that voltage? Would it be safe to bump it further for a higher overclock? and why is it that mine happens to be red at 1.36 while others can handle much higher?

By the way, I'd like to get to 4.8 or so, or 5 or above if possible.
Idle temps are 25,
during video games, >50


Thanks.

 

[Estabon]

To answer your question- I would keep it below 1.40 if i were you, so bump it up to 4.8 with 1.37/8 vcore and if you are on air, make sure the temps dont go over 75c (75c is where cpu starts to wear really really fast. Try to keep it at 70 max. Im on watercooling, so mine is under 40 all day long at 100% usage 4ghz, you get the point.) Run a prime95 for a couple hours and monitor with cpuz. Oc is really dependent on the mobo. Asus oc really well while boards like gigabyte dont. Also as far as voltages, it depends on the chip. Every chip is different. With my experience, 1.36 is safe.

Some honest advice- It really depends on what you want out of your machine. I have my 2500k at 4ghz stable no problems at stock voltage. I could probably get it to 5ghz, but for the gaming i am using it for, there is no point. It sounds like you game as well, so i would advise you to keep it at 4.6ghz or drop it to 4.4ghz so your cpu lasts more than 3 years. If you are super wealthy and can afford to blow up your cpu, keep going until you hit 5.9ghz and beat KINGPIN's Vantage scores. Otherwise, there is no noticeable difference while gaming.

 

[bearclaw99]

All depends on the chip. My i7 2600K will do 4.6 ghz @ 1.32v. You might be able to go lower, you'll have to test it though

Anything under 1.4v is generally safe for 24/7 use as long as your temps are good too

 

[Cerealkiller45_86]

What are u using for cooling? I have my i5 2500k running at 4.5 GHz, temp is around 38-40C, never goes over 55 when full load. I'm using Corsair H50 watercooler on my Asus Sabertooth P67 B3 mobo. oops almost forgot...my Core voltage is at 1.28.

 

[Guest]

You can actually go for 4.8GHz on that voltage, it is a safe voltage, but I say you set the multiplier to 48x and stress test. 5GHz is gonna need work, but not worth it IMHO.

and what is your CPU cooler?

 

[Cerealkiller45_86]

hehe I'm plenty happy at my 4.5GHz, no need for overkill...i actually tried 5.1...then got scared and backed down.

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

My general guidelines for keeping Sandy Bridge happy for a long-term overclock:
1. Keep peak Prime95 core temps below 75ºC
2. Keep CPU voltage below 1.4v

If your system needs 1.36v to be stable at 4.6GHz, it is highly unlikely that you will be able to get 5.0GHz out of that CPU. It's usually only the CPUs that get high OCs on low voltage that will get to 5.0GHz or higher. You might be able to get 4.8GHz though. My 2500K required 1.328v for 4.5GHz, but needs 1.504v for the 4.8GHz speed I have it at now. Note that I do not recommend that voltage for normal overclockers -- I am willing and able to buy a new CPU when this one fries due to excessive voltage.

The color in the BIOS is determined by the board manufacturer. Some manufacturers don't use any colors, like my ASRock board. Others use them for warnings when you go past certain voltages, like ASUS. It doesn't really mean anything.

 

[qwerty123456]

well @ cerealkiller, I use the scythe ninja 3 although it was not quite what I wanted. hell, my old arctic cooler 7 freezer pro on my lga 775 was better, and smaller.

On games like The Witcher 2, which is really demanding, it gets up to about 60 C, sometimes higher, which scares me.
But on games like AC:Brotherhood, it doesn't get very high.

if I had the money on hand I'd go get a silver arrow or something; now that I have the shaman I'm aware of the fact that thermalright is the best at air cooling.


Also I haven't done extensive testing, just some super pi when I wanted 4.8, 4.9, but I noticed the boot would fail if I had it at 1.35, and now it works, so no harm done if it's still a safe voltage.

 

[Cerealkiller45_86]

gratz on getting it to work for you.

 

[qwerty123456]

so disregard my previous praise of this heatsink.

it doesn't stand a chance against a >4ghz OC, I finally did some real testing and in prime blend it got to 83C (VERY bad) in about 3 seconds. Then I got a 124 BSOD.
Cool!

also I don't know where I got 25, it's usually 30, 35ish idle and 50+ load

and it's so huge! such an enormous heatsink, and it doesn't even perform? not to mention the long, frustrating installation.


live and learn I guess.

I'm going to call newegg and see if I can return it. I don't really know how their return policy works, and it's not really stated clearly on their site.
I might return it and then go get a silver arrow, then i'd only have to spend another $30 or so.

Ideas?
or is this thread dead?

 

[qwerty123456]

Best answer selected by qwerty123456.