Best solution for Asrock Z68 M-ITX Overclock

The i5 2500S is the low power version of the regular 2500. 65w vs 95w for the 2500/2500K.

The regular 2500 will overclock 400Mhz via the Turbo Boost function on a P67 or Z68 motherboard. The 2500K is needed for true overclocking.

I am not certain if the 2500S will even overclock via the Turbo Boost function due to the lower 65w TDP. If it will overclock at all it will be limited to the same 400Mhz overclock as the standard 2500 and would probably be fine with stock cooling.

The 2500s is 2.7 standard up to 3.7 via turbo boost. Easily overclockable. Im going with the "s" because its all going into a super small enclosure. I guess I'll just have to measure once the Mobo arrives. Let me know if ya can come up with something better than to suggest I choose a different processor.  

Have you actually tried overclocking it? It only has a 65w TDP unlike the 2500's 95w TDP. And only the "K" model processors are truly unlocked and overclockable. The others are limited to 4 "bins" over stock or 400Mhz in the case of the 2500.

Why do they label turbo boost up to 3.7ghz then?

That is the max Turbo Boost speed of any 2500.

Non K series processors have limited overclocking on P67 and Z68 boards of 4 "bins" over stock as I have said 3 times now. Only the 2500K is truly unlocked. If you want speeds over 4Ghz you need a K.

I can't really find anything about the S model and limited overclocking. Due to the much lower 65w TDP I really doubt it will even overclock at all. If it does you will have to raise the voltage in BIOS and that negates the whole reason of getting the S model in the first place.

OK. Got it now. So... If i did go with a 2500k overclocked on a asrock z68 mini itx board what fan/cooling system would you recommend?

Turbo boost is not overclocking. Think of turbo as a variable max speed; it's technically stock speed so it's not overclocking. Overclocking would be "over" stock speed; ie higher than 3.7ghz. As anort said you would only be able to overclock 400mhz, to 4.1ghz and this is only with 1 core as you are actually adjusting the max turbo speed. Turbo has different speeds depending on how many cores are being used. At stock:
4 cores-2.8ghz
3 cores-3.2
2 cores-3.6
1 core-3.7
The s version does oc 400mhz like the non k. The stock cooler should be fine for this. Otherwise I believe the hyper tx3 would be a good fit. Ocing isn't going make much of a difference for gaming since your gpu is going to be pretty weak since you want low profile. The gpu is the most important part for gaming and is going to hold you back.

^ This for the most part. A few games benefit from higher clock speeds but mostly you will be GPU limited.

You did not say you were building a gaming computer though. What will the primary use be?

Diablo 3, and solidworks. The gpu is going to be a sapphire 6670 low profile, going with 8gb ram, 64gb solid state .

Don't expect much from a 6670 at least not at 1920 x 1080.

If your budget permits Solidworks would benefit from a 2600/2600K. It can use the extra 4 threads that Hyperthreading provides. Also if your budget permits I recommend at least a 120GB SSD. You will thank yourself later.

Do you have experience with the 6670 I was under the impression it could handle 1080?

Also the ssd, ram, and motherboard were already purchased. Looking at getting a Viako Mini Letter Style case, the sapphire gpu and was trying to keep cost down on cpu but would like atleast quad core.

Thanks for the help you two. I'm trying to beat that norm that mini itx is for low end, I think with a little smarts and case engineering you can fit a very good computer in a very small space. I kinda hate big ass towers to. I'd rather just stick the comp out in the open rather in a big metal suit case.

I have to agree. You are going to have a hard time cooling a case like that with minimum airflow. The 2500S or even the 2400 would be optimal.

As the review k1114 linked to shows the HD6670 is doing OK at 1920 x 1080 on medium....in games a year old.

Newegg has some great deals on SSDs right now.

The Samsung 830 128GB SSD. Probably the best consumer SSD on the market right now. $139 with free shipping.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?SID=hQi8XHop...

120GB OCZ Agility 3. $103 after rebate with free shipping.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?SID=jC-VUHop...

90GB OCZ Vertex 3 $82 with free shipping.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?SID=j8rIznop...

Oops. Forget my SSD recommendations.

Diablo 3 only on this comp... and some solid works... I dont think it will be that graphics intensive for D3. But back to my original question. What CPU coolers fit on the asrock z68 mini itx since its pcie slot seems pretty close to the CPU( thats why the scythe is 5mm to big)??

Can this fit? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Well if you read the newegg reviews....

" Pros: Stable, never crashed. Using this board until a DIFFERENT brand releases a Z77 board soon, the replacement for Z68.

Cons: Throttles!!! I have an i7-2600K and this board will throttle after some time with Prime95, verified by CPU-Z. My motherboard and CPU temperatures are very low thanks to heatsinks added to all mosfets and watercooling. I even replaced the northbridge cooler.

Other Thoughts: ASRock knows about this - I know people have been asking tech support for an answer. This problem exists for their older H67-based ITX boards, also. Forums have many people complaining about the throttling issue. Manufacturers can respond to Newegg reviews - look through these reviews and you will find ASRock is missing.

Manufacturer Response:
Dear AsRock Customer

We sincerely apologize for that you having throttle issue. Since Z68M-ITX is designed for home theater, we're not recommended users to overclock CPU on Z68M-ITX. When overclocking, CPU frequency will be changed once temperature is high to protect the system. If you have any technical questions or warranty issues in the future please contact us at user@asrockamerica.com

Thank you

AsRock SUPPORT
Tech Support Email: user@asrockamerica.com"

Since the manufacturer recommends you do not overclock with this board I will stick to my above post recommending the i5 2500S or the i5 2400 and just use the stock cooler.

Pretty much the only other thing I see fitting is a closed loop cooler like the H60. This will be louder than stock cooling but it will cool better.

Board is out of stock on newegg.

No way that fits in the case he wants to use.

Yup just about where i'm at. I've been looking into water cooling for the past couple days but ill have to get the case and mobo to find out truly how much room i have.

Best answer selected by birchnick10.