New i5-2500k Question/help

[jr8801]

I got a whole new system the other day, put it together, and installed all updates, drivers, and antivirus. Downloaded all the system monitors i could find (speedTemp, SpeedFan, Aida64, and CPUID ZPU-z) and also downloaded Prime95, Super Pi, and 3D Mark Vantage.

My system:
I5-2500k @ 4.4Ghz
Corsair CPU Cooler A50
Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3
PNY optima 4gb 1333mhz x 2
XFX Radeon HD 6870
Samsung Spinpoint 1tb
Antec 750w PSU
and 4 Antec case fans variable speed (all set on high)

I slowly moved my turbo boost to 44 x from 34 x by (2 at a time). I ran Prime 95 at boot along with Realtemp, Speed Fan, and CPUID CPu-z for 3 hours after every change.

I got to 4.4Ghz with Average Temps at practically 0% use: 25c, 29c, 28c, 30c
High Temps=30c on all
Low Temps=23c, 24c,27c,28c

Once i run Prime95 Average temps rise to: 56-59c on every core
High temp recorded after 3 hours= 59c, 67c, 59c, 69c
Low temp recorded after 3 hours= 46c,47c,46c,49c

I figured this was pretty stable after about three hours (i know your suppose to run Prime for 24 hours to be sure of stability but i planned on going a little higher. I decided to go up by jump my turbo up by 1 x (4.5Ghz) and i loaded windows, loaded all my monitors, and then opened Prime95 and got BSOD immediately.

Have a reached my limit?
Are these temps decent i know i dont have the acclaimed 212 cpu cooler?
All my voltage settings are pretty much (auto). My QPI/Vtt voltage is at 1.050v, Dynamic Vcore= Auto, Dram Voltage=1.50, BCKL=100.0MHz.

I was wondering... I have 8 gb of memory installed, My board shows that memory is installed in slot 1 and 3 yet the sticks are right next to each other. Should i move my slot 3 stick into slot 2? Will this make a difference?
Also i have 4x2gb Hynix ram at same speed as my 2x4gb sticks. Should i use the 4 sticks or the 2 sticks? Lastly Can i mix the ram and use 2x4gb and 2x2gb as the ram is the same speed?

 

[jr8801]

Stock voltage and i am using a Corsair A50 Cpu Cooler

 

[jr8801]

I already used Prime 95 at 4.2Ghz for 3 hours. No error, No high temp over 65c and it ran averagely at 58-59c on all cores. As well as at 4.4 Ghz and only bumped my high temp to 69c, and ran averagely at 56-59c.

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

4.4GHz is pretty good at stock voltage. All you need to do now is increase the voltage until 4.5GHz is stable. The average for that speed is 1.3-1.35v, but I don't know how much the Auto voltage setting is giving it.

The A50 cooler is actually better than the Hyper 212 Plus.

Your RAM should be installed like this:
Slot 1 (closest to CPU): Empty
Slot 2: RAM
Slot 3: Empty
Slot 4: RAM

You could try mixing the RAM but that may cause instability. If you are going to do this, put the 4GB sticks into slots 2-4 and the 2GB sticks into slots 1-3.

To keep Sandy Bridge happy for a long-term overclock:
1. Keep the peak Prime95 core temps below 75ºC
2. Keep the CPU voltage below 1.4v

 

[jr8801]

Best answer selected by jr8801.

 

[jr8801]

Thanks for your help Leaps. I decided to go back down to 4.2GHz. I ran Prime95 for 4 hours with no temp over 64c on the stock voltage still. Ill let it stay at this Freq for a couple days and see if the ram is compatible together. Is there any type of benchmark or stress test for ram to make sure it is stable?

 

[vexion]

Can jr or anyone else help me out? I'm trying to OC using the exact same board, the exact same CPU, and a Hyper 212+. I can't find a VCore option anywhere. I'm using the F5 BIOS. I've posted about it on OC.net with pictures (http://www.overclock.net/intel-general/1045666-trouble-overclocking-my-i5-2500k-gigabyte.html). Apologies, I can't format well right now. Typing on a phone. Any help would be *tremendously* appreciated!

 

[vexion]

Also, jr8801, Memtest86+ is the gold standard for memory testing. Google it, burn the .iso to a disc using ImgBurn or just the built-in Windows 7 ISO burner, boot from that disc, and run it overnight.

 

[jr8801]

Hey vexion, i am not quite sure what to change for vcore as i never changed my voltage and decided to clock down to 4.2 which iv ran for 3 days with no crashes. I also ran Prime95 for 24 hours with no temp over 65c. Iv decided to read a couple different tutorial/walkthroughs before proceeding with changing the voltage as i dont want to burn up cpu.

 

[Spitfire328]

Guys i am doing the same method of ocing and Im at 4.4ghz but thats stock voltage "setting".(auto is what the bios comes with and guys if you monitor the realtime useage it peaks at 1.5 v+ . this is not good)......due to this drastic amount of overvoltage i don think its safe to overclock this mobo and a SB chip with auto settings ........im slowly coming to the conclusion that this mobo is tottaly unoptimized for ocing even tho my chip (i72600k) might be.