Hi peeps

 

I have been trying to find the answers myself but internet can be pretty much confusing and intimidating for a beginner like me. I know this is the right place to ask although this may have been covered for hundreds of times.

 

I'm about to overclock my i5 25k and it is just a mild one, say 3.8 or 3.9 max. Knowing i5 25k is able to go further, way further than that, I'm more into stability and longevity.

 

My questions are:

1. Which one is the best action in terms of lifespan, disabling Speed Step or not?

 

2. Will fluctuating clock speed from 1.6 when idle to 3.8 stimulate instability or even unnecessary workload?

 

3.at what level of overclocking can i5 25k run with stock voltage?

 

4. I'm currently running TherrmalTake Contac 21, 92 mm, single fanblade. Will that be sufficient?

 

Note: I will also disable turbo and I dedicate my PC for FSX (and a bit of FS() .

 

 

Thank You very much in advance, your help and suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

 

 

Respectfully

Heres a quick way to get an overclock without to much trouble not an expert but anyway not sure without knowing your bios but here goes.

 

turboboost - Auto

c1e - Disable

c3/c6 - Disable

cpu/eist - Disable

Limit cpuid max - Disable

cpu thermal monitor - Auto

 

Now lastly just change the base clk or cpu clock ratio it will be called one of these most likely the first one you change that number from like if it says 35 change it to 42 you will see instantly what the new clock is right near it listed play with that number each time you change it higher or lower you will see the results.

 

Next download cpuid install it and launch it you will see the new overclock should be pretty close to what you saw in the bios - hope this helps just overclocked mine to 4.6 but on water so dont do that, good luck.

 

Leave the ram alone just leave it on auto no reason to change it on a simple overclock.

1. Which one is the best action in terms of lifespan, disabling Speed Step or not?

 

SpeedStep on for sure.

 

2. Will fluctuating clock speed from 1.6 when idle to 3.8 stimulate instability or even unnecessary workload?

 

Not at all.

 

3.at what level of overclocking can i5 25k run with stock voltage?

 

Hard to tell, every chip is different, but I would say some 4 - 4.2GHz should be doable

 

4. I'm currently running TherrmalTake Contac 21, 92 mm, single fanblade. Will that be sufficient?

 

Yeah, should be fine for 4.4 - 4.5GHz maybe if properly seated and decent TIM applied

 

Mind you, you can't just set the CPU speed and leave the Vcore alone (set to Auto) and expect it to run on default Vcore. Auto means just that, that the system will choose what Vcore to apply.

Overclocking always takes (or should take) some effort to check everything's running in spec

Just for your information, I have been running my 25K at 4.5 ghz for the last two years with no problems. I do, however, use a liquid cooler to keep the cpu temperatures below 60C. So, I would think that any OC of 4.2 or below would be fine, just watch the temperatures. Heat is the issue.

 

Have fun...

I've always kept all energy saving features on when overclocking.

 

No issues with a 4 GHz OC on my old i7920, and no issues at all with energy saving features on with 3770K at 4.5 GHz.

SpeedStep on for sure.

 

 

 

Not at all.

 

 

 

Hard to tell, every chip is different, but I would say some 4 - 4.2GHz should be doable

 

 

 

Yeah, should be fine for 4.4 - 4.5GHz maybe if properly seated and decent TIM applied

 

Mind you, you can't just set the CPU speed and leave the Vcore alone (set to Auto) and expect it to run on default Vcore. Auto means just that, that the system will choose what Vcore to apply.

Overclocking always takes (or should take) some effort to check everything's running in spec

Just for your information, I have been running my 25K at 4.5 ghz for the last two years with no problems. I do, however, use a liquid cooler to keep the cpu temperatures below 60C. So, I would think that any OC of 4.2 or below would be fine, just watch the temperatures. Heat is the issue.

 

Have fun...

 

Thanks, but even though I either turn the Speed Step on or off, isn't the voltage still the same? One that affects longevity is the heat, the Vcore.. setting Speed Step on or off wont reduce nor increase Vcore, am I wrong?

 

I've always kept all energy saving features on when overclocking.

 

No issues with a 4 GHz OC on my old i7920, and no issues at all with energy saving features on with 3770K at 4.5 GHz.

 

Glad to know that but Sandy Bridge is relatively new so no one has been able to confirm that overclocking is really 'safe'. I have no doubt that it is very compatible for overclocking however.

1. Enable Speedstep. It doesn't cause any stability issues at all, for me at least, with my i5 2500K at 4.7 GHz. Please note that Speedstep will only kick in if C1E is ENABLED. Disable C3 and C6.

 

2. Not at all, in fact it increases life span.

 

3. Hard to tell, but not much really. You'll need to increase the voltage. For 3.8 GHz I guess 1.25V should be enough, could be more, could be less. For 4.5 GHz you'll mostly need 1.33-1.35V.

My recommendation is to put it on 1.4V, which is the maximum safe voltage. Then see how far you CPU will go. If you temps are fine, it'll still last for years, especially with Speedstep enabled. Sandy Bridge are very tough CPUs so no need to worry as long as you stay at or below 1.4V and 75C (as stated below).

 

4. It should be enough if your CPU does not exceed 75C on 100% load in Prime95 or Intel Burn Test.

 

Good luck!

Thanks, but even though I either turn the Speed Step on or off, isn't the voltage still the same? One that affects longevity is the heat, the Vcore.. setting Speed Step on or off wont reduce nor increase Vcore, am I wrong?

 

You must use offset mode for that, and i highly recommend that. In this case, C1E must be enabled, and C3 and C6 disabled.

This is a good place to find all answers, just search through the forums: http://www.overclock...inc-spreadsheet

Don't be afraid to go for higher Vcore if heat is not the problem. Just test your overclock and see if there is any problems with heat or stability. It's good to start with IBT test(becouse it's fast), if you can keep your temps below 90C(during IBT), you are probably stable. After you set desired clock and find stable Vcore(Need to test with Prime95 version 27.7 for at least a couple of hours), you can proceed to calculate offset.

And after that, even if you are stable for several hours with Prime95, you'll need to add a little bit more of Vcore for full stability. This means about +0.010 - 0.015 more offset. The higher means more stability, but more heat too.

Good Luck!

 

In this thread, in the last post you can find a short explanation of how to calculate offset: http://forum.avsim.n...rclocking-help/