Stock Cooling

[nwo]

400-500mhz OC? The chip is stock 3.3 and the built in OC-For-Dummys that comes on these boards will give you 4.2GHz out of the box 99% of the time...

I said/meant an additional additional 400-500MHz overclock (i comparison to a $30 air cooler), not a 400-500MHz total overclock out of the box.

Why not spend 30$ to get your CPU up to ~4.8 ghz?

That's exactly what I am saying. You SHOULD be spending $30 to get your CPU up to 4.5-4.8 instead of $100 to get it to 5+.

And that's where you're wrong...

There are two versions :
1) i5 2500 which is a "simple" with no fancy overclocking options, not an enthusiast cpu (this should've been the one you were talking about)
2) i5 2500k is the enthusiast cpu because the k means it has an unlocked multiplier

Price doesn't have that much to do with them being made for enthusiasts or not, the features show it and unlocked multiplier smells like enthusiast from miles away.

I'm fully aware there are two versions, however, the i5 2500k does not qualify as an enthusiast CPU. Something like the 990x is an enthusiast CPU, or alternatively maybe an i7 2600k. i5 2500k is just a mainstream CPU made for 90% of the PC users/gamers out there.

On top of that stock cooling is "safe" to about 3.8 GHz while a good aftermarket air cooler gets you 4.5 GHz or more.
example of a lot more than 400-500 extra : http://namegt.com/661

Once again, that is not what I meant. I'm all for aftermarket cooling, but not the overpriced ones that will give you slightly more room to OC (this is where the 400-500MHz part comes into play).

[BicycleMafioso]

And that's where you're wrong...

Actually, no, no he wasn't.
The K-models have the better graphics-card, the unlocked multiplier is just a bonus only wanted by overclockers, ie, a minority who'd buy the k-version

[Deleted]

Actually, no, no he wasn't.
The K-models have the better graphics-card, the unlocked multiplier is just a bonus only wanted by overclockers, ie, a minority who'd buy the k-version

A pretty important "bonus" then if I can find this on the intel site :
http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/rese...449714.htm?prn

[Deleted]

Personally if you getting a aftermarket cooler soon I'd say wait untill then.

There are many factors when overclocking that can affect stability and performance, and the overclock you can reach on a stock cooler again can vary depending on the CPU you have (how far you can overclock CPU's even of the same model vary from one batch to the next). The airflow in your case is also a factor if you have a well laid out case with nice cooling you can push a stock cooler further then say a case thats not so great.

Overclocking the sandy bridge chips is very simple and very rewarding compaired to previous generations of CPU but as I said you may wish to hold off till you make a decision on the aftermarket cooler.

Recommendations from me come in the form of the corsair H70 or H50 (newer models support LGA1155 and provide suffecient cooling in a decent case compaired to the H70), Titen Finrir Evo is a powerfull yet moderatly priced air cooler as is the Be Quiet! Dark Rock Advanced.

Best of luck with the build and enjoy : ) its a great piece of kit.

[Yeyinde]

My 2500K is sitting at 4.4 at the moment (I have the H70 sitting on it from my previous build, purchased in a moment of "ooooo it's on offer!").
Temps peak at 45-50 degrees under Prime95 load (tempted to bounce it now and have a nosey at 4.9 tbh ¬¬)

My friend has the Coolmaster 212 (we bought the same cpu/mobo setups last weekend), and his temps are 10 degrees above mine.
My PC is also quieter.
There's more to a cooler than how far it lets you overclock the CPU

[Deleted]

My 2500K is sitting at 4.4 at the moment (I have the H70 sitting on it from my previous build, purchased in a moment of "ooooo it's on offer!").
Temps peak at 45-50 degrees under Prime95 load (tempted to bounce it now and have a nosey at 4.9 tbh ¬¬)

My friend has the Coolmaster 212 (we bought the same cpu/mobo setups last weekend), and his temps are 10 degrees above mine.
My PC is also quieter.
There's more to a cooler than how far it lets you overclock the CPU

Agreed, your system can have all the power in the world but if not setup right it'll sound like a jet going off when your systems on. I've always designed with whisper quiet in mind but can still manage some impressive overclocks.

And I've just read further up some one saying "I'm fully aware there are two versions, however, the i5 2500k does not qualify as an enthusiast CPU. Something like the 990x is an enthusiast CPU, or alternatively maybe an i7 2600k. i5 2500k is just a mainstream CPU made for 90% of the PC users/gamers out there."

I really have to disagree with this statemant. A enthusiast is just someone who is passionate about PC hardware and is more then willing to modify or squeeze the most from their hardware. People who buy top end just prove they have deep pockets most of the people that buy this sort of hardware in my experience dont even bother to overclock or modify components they either build or get myself or one of my collegues to put together and away they go. i2500k/i2600k can top a 980x (overclocked) in performance given the right overclock and im pretty damn sure they'll give a 990x a run for its money too given the only difference between the 980/990 is the clock speed. I'm all for getting hold of top notch components especially for those like me who only cycle our builds once every 3-5 years but dont be too quick to jump on the "enthusiast" components, most of the time theres a similar performance out there for less of a cost if you know what your doing. And dont even get me started on Fata1ty compents I can rant for hours about that apparently! : )

[Alan1187]

4ghz is completely safe. Honestly 4ghz is a low clock (the turbo kicks it to 3.8 stock I believe), using my cooler 4 was only hitting like 55ish Celsius, so on stock I would assume not a ton higher, so safe levels. As stated though, I would deffinitly consider setting aside some cash, and getting an aftermarket when available to go higher.

[Nellah]

My 2500K is sitting at 4.4 at the moment (I have the H70 sitting on it from my previous build, purchased in a moment of "ooooo it's on offer!").
Temps peak at 45-50 degrees under Prime95 load (tempted to bounce it now and have a nosey at 4.9 tbh ¬¬)

My friend has the Coolmaster 212 (we bought the same cpu/mobo setups last weekend), and his temps are 10 degrees above mine.
My PC is also quieter.
There's more to a cooler than how far it lets you overclock the CPU

Prime95 is outdated as a stress test... if you really want the CPU to max power draw, run the IntelBurnTest. That'll also tell you if your cooling system is working

[ayako]

Prime95 is outdated as a stress test... if you really want the CPU to max power draw, run the IntelBurnTest. That'll also tell you if your cooling system is working

Or

http://damage.vigilantesoftware.com/

[Deleted]

OK I couldn't resist at least having a go.

Got it at 3.9, had prime running all night (12 hours) and highest the temp hit was 64c ... Now I know that's only 0.2ghz over the turbo, but it will do me lovely until I get paid again and grab a decent cooler =)