2500 vs 2500k for stock cooler overclock

I would not overclock on stock cooling, EVER.

the intel stock coolers are terrible (and have been for years).

If you want to overclock, get a good aftermarket cooler, they range from $50 to $200 (so one can fit into ur budget).

but yes, overclocking can be very beneficial.

Thanks for the response.

You would never overclock on stock cooling. Do you always overclock? If you were stuck with stock cooling why not just overclock as much as you can while keeping your temperatures under control?

I feel like I'm shooting in the dark. I just want the highest value cpu solution I can get for around $200-$220. Maybe that involves getting a lesser cpu and a better cooler.

Edit: I'll just get the 2500k and XIGMATEK LOKI SD963 to avoid the hassle of further thinking.

You can try to OverClock but watch temps... Stock Cooler aren't any different from some after market coolers... I got a Tt V1 AX and it perform the same as stock cooler...

^Good plan up there with the Xigmatek.
Do you have a graphics card that's worth this processor?

Get the CMH212+ for $30 at pricewatch.com...

I've overclocked plenty of times on stock cooling. A 10% overclock is a nice way to increase the return on the CPU you bought. A stock 2400 or even 2500 should be able to overclock by increasing the turbo state by up to 4 bins higher than normal. Meaning that your 3.3ghz should be overclockable to 3.8 without problems. That is pretty much the limit of it though for non k chips. More info here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-rev...

Really though the 2500k is what you want to buy if you want to overclock. If you live close to a microcenter you can literally pick up a 2500k for the same price as a 2400.

Best answer selected by Confused Turtle.

There are great benchmarks for most hardware, but it's hard to know what to expect from an aftermarket cooler. It's hard to say what value you're getting. You probably agree.



I'm thinking the Radeon 6950. But even if it can't take advantage of it, I use professional software that will make wonderful use of it. I probably won't ever crossfire it, but I do have that option available as well.



Thank you for answering my question.



Exactly. Why not get that free 10% overclock?

I know about the Turbo. But it sounds like the non-k version doesn't benefit much from other overclocking. No wonder when I searched for "overclock i5-2500" on google it showed results instead for "overclock it-2500k"

I had never heard of microcenter. They are not in Utah. I looked at their price on the 2500k and it is crazy good. I'll have to see some of their other prices and consider a road trip. Probably not worth it, but I'll see.