Overclocking i5-3570K & Possible Hardware Limitations

[roghero]

Sorry for the novel guys but I really need help/advice. I have been dabbling in overclocking my i5-3570k with an MSI z77 Mpower mobo. When I say dabbling I mean I OC Genie to 4.2 with temps of 40 C which is nice then from there I can adjust the Control Center multiplier to 43x to get 4.3 and temps stay the same and is stable but as soon as I hike it up to 44x I get the BSOD. I would really like to get it up to at least 4.5 ghz and I know I need a little more knowledge in OCing other than the out of box overclocking the mpower brings. So the real question right now is what my hardware limitations are at this point and time. So is my build sufficient enough for my OC goal or should I upgrade certain components. I will have my build and possible upgrades I am looking into down below. I will be doing more research on OCing but my main question is my hardware limitations, let me know what you think and where I should improve.

My Baby:
MSI Z77 Mpower
i5 3570k
Silenx EFZ 120-HA5 (Thinking about getting better fans for push/pull)
Corsair XMS 3 16 GB (2x8 GB) Was able to XMP to 1600 MHz which is stock
MSI 660Ti Power Edition
Corsair Force GT 90GB (Game SSD)
San Disk 64GB (OS SSD)
Excelsior 350 GB Dinosaur HDD (Everything else)
Hitachi External 500 GB (Media Files)
Antec EA 650 Green
Cooler Master Storm Trooper
LG DVD Drive

I have a $260 plus or minus $10-20 to spend and $100 of this 260 is sitting idle in my office in the form of a Corsair H100 and depending on the responses I get, I will either return or install. I also plan on going SLI with next years tax return so I plan on maybe getting a beefier PSU withing the next few months or now for said SLI upgrade.

Possible upgrades paths:

-Better knowledge of overclocking and I will read stickys and do research
-Two nice fans for push/pull for current CPU cooler (Aerocool Sharks or CM Sickleflow R4)
- H100 (100)
-Noctua NHD14 (90)
-Cooler Master V8/V6 (50)
-NZXT Havik 140 (60)
-120 GB Monster Daytona SSD (110)
-90GB Corsair GT SSD (110) *matches my other SSD
-MSI Reflex SSD or Intel Cherryville SSD 240 GB (Yes I know none of the SSD's will help my OC but if my rig is sufficient for OC than I will splurge for one of these and possibly along with a more cost effective improvement)
-RAIDMAX RX-850AE 850W ATX

Yes I do know that the SSD's will do nothing for my OC but it still would be nice heh. OC is priority though so if my system will not suffice for my overclock goal than SSD will be out of the question.

 

[amuffin]

We're going to have to make some BIG adjustments....

I'll get back to you tomorrow.

 

[MacJacob]

I have the MSI Mpower motherboard with the i5-3570k too. I'm using the H80 for my CPU cooler. I was getting the BOSD but then I did some reading on our chip and how to overclock it with our motherboard.

Disabled the PLL over voltage in your UEFI. Not sure why?? lol and what that does?? lol. My OC Genie set to customize. Set the OC Genie CPU Ratio to 45. Now this is the tricky part and dangerous part so be careful here or you will be RMA out of luck lol Your OC Genie CPU Core Voltage 1.20 to 1.35 no higher yet I used 1.25 and that worked for me. Every CPU is different and that is the fun part to figuring out the right voltage for your chip.

Our chip can run hot. That is what I've been reading from a lot of forms. People are saying 90c is okay yet no higher and I do not think that is ok?? My chip has been stable and no higher than 76c on prime95 which made me stand up and start sweating hotter than my CPU. Do not run prime95 longer than an hour. People will run that program for 24 hours and that is just dumb don't do that... I run my CPU on prime95 for 20 minutes and then restarted my computer and played BF3 for five hour. On Bf3 my core settings did not get any higher than 60c.

Not sure what you're talking about when you referring to the SSD yet I think you're talking about returning your cooler to get a bigger SSD. keep the cooler not a question...

SLI has been a problem with the new games and giving people the frames that we don't want.

 

[Adroid]

I read that the H100 sucks for the price. I would explore other options. You can find something better for less money.

Also, spend part of that 200$ towards a better, future-proof PSU. Skimping on the PSU is not a good idea - not to mention you are going to pay more by buying one now and one later.

And my two bits you only need one SSD for your OS, if there is room put one or two of your other favorite programs. I am happy with a WD Caviar Black 1TB that comes with a 5 year warranty (probably safer to save important files on than a SSD) for less than 100$ on amazon.

 

[abelk1]

Like the above poster I would buy a nice PSU something like the seasonic x750 which I have in my rig. Also for the cooling aspect I run a nzxt kraken x60 water cooler in my phantom 410 case. Idk if your case supports 280mm (2x 140mm fans) rads but they also make a smaller version called the x40 that is a single 140mm. The x60 far outperforms the 100i, I now idle at 25-27 c and under full load the max I have seen is 45 C after 4 hours of gameplay on bf3