Looking for guidance as 1st time OCer!

[erwinna]

Greetings Earthlings!

I recently build my first computer and am really excited about the whole experience. I am now interested in overclocking and I am seeking words of advice, helpfull colums/write-ups, food for thought, etc. from those who are experienced OCers. I want to avoid any noob mistakes where possible, especially ones that may compromise my system in any way.

Here is my build:
Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3, i5 2500K, Asus GTX 680 (yet to arrive in the mail), Corsair Vengeance 16gb @ 1600mhz, Antec HCP 750Watt PSU, OCZ Agility 60gb SSD, WD Black Caviar 1TB HDD, Antec Kuhler H20 920.

I am very new to this and the most I have braved doing is OCing through the Auto OCing from Turbo Boost that the Asus mobo offers (OCed @ 4.2 currently). I am still unschooled in voltages, OCing RAM, etc.

*as a note, with my current OC my CPU is usually sitting at about 31 degrees celsius and my system at 32 degrees celsius. My understanging is that this is a very good temperature to be at. Also, I am using this system for gaming primarily.

**also I have read the beginners guides posted in these forums, just want some general feedback from people specific to my build, etc.

 

[amuffin]

Never use the tools that they give you! They usually use too much voltage! What is the speed you are aiming for? Use prime95 in order to check to see if your overclock is stable. Run it for a few hours, but first read the guide below.



Read this guide: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274821-29-sandy-bridge-series-overclocking-cores-guide

 

[erwinna]

Thanks! With regards to speed I dont know just how far I can take my system stabily but just want to play and experimento safely.