OCing i5-2500K on GA-Z68XP-UD4

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cyzlak

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Hi all. I have never OC'd before. I just bought a GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD4 , i5-2500k and 8GB G.Skill RAM.

I would like to OC my i5. I have read several guides and I just installed CPUID HW Monitor. I am now worried about my temps.

I'm using the stock HSF and on stock clocks the idle temps are 35-38°C. This is quite high isn't it?

Also, I'm not very sure about all the motherboard settings. Many of the guides I've read have MSI and Asus boards which have different motherboard settings. Do you think using EasyTune is a safe way to OC? The highest setting puts it at 4.1GHZ. If I do that and watch my temps and vcore do you think I'll be okay?

Also, I should probably get some proper thermal paste (I used some white ceramic goop on my stock cooler that seemed cheap and nasty) and a aftermarket cooler. Which are the best?
 
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first of your temps are very low. high temps start at 60C and 70C is where you are really pushing your card. as far as thermal paste anything of quality will get the job done so other than that just choose a brand you like :). as far as overclocking goes manually set your dram timings to what the factory recommends, set your cpu voltage on manual, disable turbo and power saving in your bios, and finally start raising your cpu multiplier until your system cant run pcmark06 or prime95 without it crashing. when it does crash raise your voltage a couple of clicks (hit + while changing the settings) then try again at last known good multiplier. raise the multiplier again and test. when you reach a max clock ceiling or your V hits around 1.5...

nagol567

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first of your temps are very low. high temps start at 60C and 70C is where you are really pushing your card. as far as thermal paste anything of quality will get the job done so other than that just choose a brand you like :). as far as overclocking goes manually set your dram timings to what the factory recommends, set your cpu voltage on manual, disable turbo and power saving in your bios, and finally start raising your cpu multiplier until your system cant run pcmark06 or prime95 without it crashing. when it does crash raise your voltage a couple of clicks (hit + while changing the settings) then try again at last known good multiplier. raise the multiplier again and test. when you reach a max clock ceiling or your V hits around 1.5 then lower your ram multiplier and raise your bus speed by 2-4 at a time and test. make sure your HT and RAM dont go too high you may have to lower their multipliers. also, if you get stuck at any point try raising your NB voltage a little bit.
keep an eye on your temps and ask any questions you need!
 
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cyzlak

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Thanks man. Trying to decide on a cooler. I've noticed the Frio, V8 and 212+ get recommended here a lot. I looked at them and saw another, the Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler.

Is anyone familiar with this cooler and do you think it will work well? My main attraction to it is how quiet it is for the amount of cooling it provides.
 

cyzlak

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Under load (stock cooler and clock) I've discovered my CPU temp is around 92C. Now would this be because of crappy thermal compound, no airflow in the case? My room temp is quite low, about 22C most of the time. Is this going to do damage?

Is there anything I should do now to prevent damage to my processor? Once I decide on a cooler I will be buying it ASAP.
 

cyzlak

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Excellent, cheers. I think I'm going to go with the Noctura NH-D14, has great reviews overall.

What do you guys use to accurately measure temps on a board like mine? (GA-Z68XP-UD4)
 

cyzlak

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Overkill maybe but temps are going to increase as I will push the i5 past 4ghz. As it is now the cpu at max load hits 80-90C on stock clocks so I think it's a good investment. I have an old Cooler Master Centurion case. Thinking about upgrading to a Fractal R3
 

cyzlak

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I got it OC'd right now to

40x multiplier
1.34V
DRAM Timings 9-10-9-28

All stable @ ~4.0ghz
55°C under max load stress testing with prime95 :)


Should I go higher...?
 
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