[CPUs] Intel i5-3570k Stable Overclock?

Your OC will be limited by temperatures with a 3570K. It just runs WAY hot when OC'd, but you probably know that.

Really, there are too many factors at play to give you an exact answer on what will be the best OC for you, but in general, I'd say you should be able to get to 4.3 or so before temps start to be excessive (with the 212 Evo).

And no OC is ever completely "safe", but you won't be running a high Vcore for 4.3 anyway (may not even need to go much above stock), so it's a "safe-er" OC anyway.

Just watch those temps.

What exactly do I have to do to overclock my CPU? I know that it's done in the BIOS, but that's about it. What are "excessive" and "safe" temperatures for an overclocked i5-3570k? Also, (forgive my ignorance once again) what is Vcore???

Thanks!

Basically, all you have to worry about are the multipliers and voltage (if you use the Turbo multi's, there are a few other things to go over, but the guides here will explain that).

You can read the Sandy Bridge OC guides here to give you a good idea on how to do it, but the voltage will be different, of course. Everything else is the same, though.

I don't go exactly by those guides myself (I leave SpeedStep and C1E enabled and use offsets for Vcore (no need for a full speed 24/7 OC) and I use the main multiplier, not the Turbo multi's, like the Turbo OC guide says), but they'll help you get the gist of what you're looking at, anyway.

As far as temps go, "excessive" would be 85C+, and "safe" is 70C or below. Realistically, you may be in the mid to high 70's at 4.3 with the Evo (maybe even a bit warmer), but that's not terrible as long as it doesn't reach the high end of the excessive range (it'll throttle at ~100C to save itself, anyway). For longevity though, under 70 is preferred.

Is there a better aftermarket heatsink than the Cooler Master 212 Evo? It seemed like this had amazing reviews, and is at an amazing price, but if there is something better (Not Watercooled), please let me know.

The 212 Evo is awesome for what is costs (I LOVE mine on my 2500K), but yes, there are better, especially for cooling the insanely hot running Ivy CPU's (when OC'd).

Take a look at at the Noctua NH-D14 or Phanteks PH-TC14PE. They'll get you to 4.5 with relative ease, and probably a good bit beyond, if you have a good chip.

A great review on the Phanteks (includes a comparison the NH-D14 and 212 Evo): http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/phanteks_ph_tc1...

Wow!! Thanks for the pictures. So Overclocking is that easy huh? What kind of heatsink do you have?

What do you use your PC for? My rig is mainly for gaming and video editing. Do you really notice a difference in performance from your stock speeds to your overclocked speeds?

What's your cooling system? I just ordered the Cooler Master 212 Evo from NewEgg, hopefully that should get my temps down quite a bit. Do you edit videos? Because that's where my CPU temp gets the highest

That's good to hear. It's nice to hear people still being practical and using air cooling when overclocking, most people (that i've asked anyway) say that water cooling is a must for any overclock. What are your idle and under load temps in your rigs?

What is the most CPU intensive thing you do on your PC? I game and edit videos alot, and I notice that my CPU gets to it's highest temps when I'm exporting my videos with Adobe Premiere.

Really? Because on Starcraft 2 (All Ultra Settings) my temps reach around 55C-60C , and during Battlefield 3 (All Ultra Settings) temps are around the same. When I export videos using Adobe Premiere, my temps reach around 65C-70C...

Forgive my ignorance, but what's Fold?  

Best answer selected by mixolydian.

Im running an ASRock Extreme 4 with an i5 3570k. Currently overclock at 4.4ghz. I have a hyper 212 evo and after nights of gaming i was at a consistent 38.5 Celsius. This with the samsung 30nm ram, you can have a ridiculously fast, relatively safe machine.

I am running the Intel DX79TO mobo with an i7-3820 cpu with the Corsair H100 cooler. Running in Starcraft2, all setting on their highest setting my machine never runs over 35-37C. No OC done.

I just purchased a new setup to play with... MSi Ravager Case, MSi Z77-GD55 (Military Class /OC Genie), Intel i5-3570k, Intel Thermal Solution, 8gb Patriot Extreme 1600 DDR3, OCZ Vector (boot drive), WD Blue (7200rpm storage drive), and a Corsair GS600 power supply. I'm kinda excited to see what kinda of performance I can get out of it. Anyone's thoughts?