New to OCing. Intel i5 4690k is a liquid cooler worth-it?

[MrBlackandWhite]

Hello

I will probably open up a can of worms with this question but here goes

As some forum readers/contributors will know I have been having all sorts of issues with my PC build since last year. Intel have just replaced my CPU but it didnt solve my XMP implementation issue - but that is another story.

So i have found that I can boot into windows no problem with the i5 at 4.8Ghz/1.25V's (idle temps using coretemp seemed to be around 42/43deg). Great, I thought! I then tried using Asus AI suite 3 to OC and it got to 4.7 and just BSOD my system over and over. I then had to reset CMOS. This is the last time I try to use AI suite to OC! So I suspect I have a decent CPU. I am running at stock though until I figure some issues out.

I have a Z97-a board (I am changing this to a maximus ranger vii hopefully tomorrow though) and a CM HyperEvo 212 air cooler.

As I use my system for gaming mostly, and some surfing and word processing.

A) Will I benefit much from OCing my CPU?

B) If I overclock to 4.5/4.6 (I dont want to go crazy and push it too much) I will probably have to buy a liquid cooler. But I am not sure spending £100 (eg Corsair H110i) is going to get me £100 worth of performance gain. Perhaps that £100 would be better spent on a better graphics card in a few months? Unless new GPU's will be made specifically for skylakes platform? I Really tried hard to get hold of an Asus maximus hero vii but they are dicontinued and sold out everywhere.

System details:

CM 690 III case
Z97-a (soon to be a Asus maximus ranger vii)
i5 4690k
CM hyperEvo 212 CPU aircooler
AMD/Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Vapour-x
Samsung 840EVO 250GB SSD
Corsair Vengeance Pro 2 x 8GB DDR3 Dual kit 1866Mhz (real speed 1333mhz due to possible motherboard/psu issue)

I look forward to reading your replies/advice.

Many thanks in advance for any replies!

 

[DonkeyOatie]

No. You don't know how far your CPU will go. I got my good i5 4690K to 4.7Ghz on a $35 RAIJINTEK Pallas. and 4.8Ghz on a Noctua NH D15S. I do not need the Noctua, a $60 air solution would have been enough but I was preparing for a robust overclock of an i7 4790K.

You CPU seems to be better than mine, so it should run cooler at the speeds you want.

Overclocking is of very limited value for gaming on that chip, a few FPS at best. (which may change annoying 28FPS into OK 32FPS)

For what you want, your existing air cooler could be enough.

 

[MrBlackandWhite]

Ok thanks as always Donkey!

Its not so much the FPS that concerns me but how my PC performs overall. I seem to get alot of stuttering and juddering in battlefiled 4. At first I thought it was my internet but I have since learnewd that it is likely my memory/motherboardcpu might be the problem. I have other problems as I am sure you are aware by now so getting an answer is not easy at the moment.