upgrading to i5 2500k ?

Hello, I am planning to upgrade my system , currently I have a q6600 G0 @ 3Ghz, GTX 480 and 4 GB of RAM (OCZ) @ 1333 Mhz, for cpu cooler I have a Corsair Hydro H100, I know is overkill for a q6600, I was planing first to overclokc the cpu up to 4 Ghz but due to the motherboard, I am not able to, the max I can get with my current motherboard is 3Ghz (the MB is faulty! thats why I cannot cross 3Ghz but warranty expired :P )

I was looking into the i5 2500k as I always see people overclocking the cpu up to 4.5Ghz, and as I have the Hydro H100, I think I can overclock it with no issues. So I was thinking to get an i5 2500k, with new motherboard and RAM of course, but I have some questions:

1-Is it worth to get the i5 2500k or can just I overclock the q6600 G0 to 4Ghz with good motherboard(which MB is recommended in this case) ?

2-Is there a better option than the i5 2500k, like an i7 that overclock up to 4.5Ghz?

3-In case you recommend to get the i5 or i7, can you recommend a motherboard and ram?

Thank you

1. Yes it is. 2500k wins easily clock to clock and you won't get that q6600 to run at 4ghz.

2. Nope. If the most demanding task you do is gaming, the i7 offers no additional performance while it costs considerably more.

3. Z68/Z77 chipset motherboard, I prefer Asrock (reliable, gets you at the 4,5ghz, not too expensive.) As for RAM I'd buy cheapest 2x4gbb ddr3 you can find. You might want to pay a little extra for something that has longer warranty.

It depends upon what your goals are. You seem to be mostly interested in just getting a high clock speed, but if you were interested in performance, I would say:

1. It's not worth it to get a new motherboard just to OC a Q6600. It's still going to be several generations behind the curve even when OC'd.

2. Get an i5-3570K. Why settle for last gen. The i5-3570K may be a bit more limited in how far you can overclock it, but that's mostly due to thermal issues and you have the H100 for that. Also, it should take less of an overclock to get the same performance out of a 3570K than a 2500K.

3. Get an H77/Z77 motherboard and 8Gigs (2x4) of DDR3-1600 RAM.

Thank you Niila and Quaker. I forgot to mention, I also work with Adobe After Effects and Sony Vegas vor video rendering, but considering price, I think I will stick to the i5.

Because is the first time I am entering the i5 systems, what clock should the RAM be to match the 4.5Ghz of the CPU?

About the motherboard, yes I know Asrock, but there are many Z68/Z77 chipset , whats the difference with Z68 and Z77 ? I need to make sure I choose the right one for the 4.5ghz overclock, can you give me a model of the motherboard?

Just going to add a point regarding your video rendering, check to see if there is any benefit to having Hyper Threading for these programs before making a purchase decision, the i5 doesn't have Hyper Threading, the i7's do.

I remember Adobe AE CS4 actually ran better in many tests with HT disabled, but no idea where things stand today, you'll have to check the current state of things.

Also, your q6600 G0 could hit 4 GHz, only one way to find out for certain, but HWBot lists many reaching (or exceeding) 4 GHz on water... but I'd still go with a current generation i5 (if Hyper Threading isn't an issue) or i7 (if it is) over a hard pressed older generation Intel Core2 Quad.

Good luck.

Oh, and the advice about grabbing the cheapest ddr3 you can find... don't do that if you intend to overclock, not worth the headache... spend a little extra to get decent timings and reliable RAM (and better warranty/support).

Also, concur on the Asrock board for value.

Edit: ASRock Z77 Extreme 6 seems to be a popular choice for value overclocking, Asus P8Z77-V Pro for a similar feature set (arguably better power management but higher price).

z68 vs z77. Native USB 3.0 support, better PCI-E 3.0 support and Virtu MVP when paired with an Ivybridge CPU. Effectively, not a great deal of difference at the moment.

Thanks Nerel, alright, so far I have:

-ASRock Z77 Extreme 6
-Processor Intel Core i5 2500K (3,3GHz)
-RAM: ???

Any advice for the RAM, Gskill, Kingstone, etc etc ? And what CAS is recommended ?

First thing, check the motherboard manufacturer's supported memory list, not an exclusive list but it does show what memory they've tested on the board...

http://www.asrock.com/mb/memory.asp?...Z77%20Extreme6

I tend to stick with G.Skill or Corsair memory of late, been impressed by some of the G.Skill Ripjaws I've tried (and happy with the price).

CAS timings are pretty much all over the place, faster clock... worse timings...

http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=370

Looks like a decent set, 9-11-9-28-2N timings seem okay for the RAMs speed and it's on the motherboard supported list.

I just ordered something like this:

Product : Corsair Carbide Series 500R - Midtowermodel - ATX - geen voeding ( ATX ) - USB/FireWire/Audio

Product : Scythe Mugen 2 rev.B SCMG-2100 - Koeler voor processor - ( Socket 478, Socket 754, Socket 940, Socket 775, Socket 939, Socket 11

Product : ASUS GTX670-DC2-2GD5 - Grafische kaart - GF GTX 670 - 2 GB GDDR5 - PCI Express 3.0 x16 - DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort

Product : Corsair Enthusiast Series Modular TX550M - Voeding ( intern ) - ATX12V 2.31/ EPS12V 2.92 - 80 PLUS

Product : Crucial m4 - Solid state drive - 128 GB - intern - 2.5'' - SATA-600

Product : Corsair Vengeance - Geheugen - 8 GB : 2 x 4 GB - DIMM 240-pins low profile - DDR3 - 1600 MHz / PC3-12800 - CL9 - 1.5 V -

Product : ASRock Z77 Extreme4 - Moederbord - ATX zonder CPU - LGA1155 Socket - Z77 - USB 3.0 - Gigabit Ethernet - interne afbeeldingen - H

Product : Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 - Vaste schijf - 2 TB - intern - 3.5" - SATA-600 - 7200 tpm -buffer: 64 MB

Product : Intel Core i5 3570K - 3.4 GHz - 4 Cores - 4 Threads - 6 MB cache - LGA1155

I was also told to get the 3570K and the asrock Z77.

SSD will be for windows and primary games.

@aspi are you from NL or BE ? lol , I am in NL . That's a nice setup you got there. Are you overclocking the 3570K ?

Thanks again Nerel.

I'm from NL too, and not sure about overclocking, I still need to get the pc/stuff i don't think it will be needed, I doubt there will be much that wont run great.

All while back, when single core CPUs ran at MHz speeds instead of GHz, overclocking was a way to get some extra performance, which was often needed to get things to run smoother.
Nowadays, overclocking is really more of a "hobby" than anything else. If you look at performance charts, you'll see that almost any i5 or better CPU can run any game at a constant 60fps - the limiting factor is the GPU. There's not really any need to run at more than 60fps (At 1920x1080, single LCD) unless you have a monitor that has a higher refresh rate or you're doing 3D gaming.
When you start off with a CPU that is already on the fast end of i5, like an i5-2500K or i5-3570K there is really no need to overclock it to get smooth 60fps performance.
Some people these days are suggesting buying an i5-2500K because it overclocks better than the i5-3570K in spite of the possibility that a 3570K at a lower clock can match the performance of a 2500K at a higher clock. They are simply after the fastest clock speed they can get, for grins.

So:
- OC'ing isn't really necessary, especially with faster i5 and i7 CPUs.
- OC'ing requires extra expense, both for "unlocked" processors and additional cooling. (Although the cost can be reasonably low)
- OC'ing puts more stress on your components, can potentially result in more noise (from cooling fans), and costs more power.

FWIW the 2500k is already unlocked. Also, it generally only requires more power if you up the voltage (which you probably shouldn't be doing as this is what kills processors faster/immediately). Without doing that you can usually still get a good ~300-500 Mhz depending on MB and case cooling. With a good aftermarket cooler you can get an extra Ghz, but its not worth the price unless you are doing something that actually needs the extra speed.

Ok this is what I found so far:

-i5 2500K - Available
-ASRock Z77 Extreme 4 (will this work too ? I can't find the Extreme 6 available)
-G.SKILL RipjawsX F3-17000CL9D-8GBXLD (super difficult to find, almost all store have it in red and with unknown availability but I found a shop that will have it soon, now how soon, I don't know.)

Is the Extreme4 good to go ? or it must be the extreme 6 for the overclocking ? please let me know.

Thank you.

I would also buy the i5 3570K, just because it's only 10-20euro's more expensive..
Overclocking is totaly unnessesary imo, but like said above it's a hobby
When you google Overclock i5 2500k you'll find a nice guid of how to OC and how far you can go, tbh I would never go to 4.5Ghz, stick to 4-4.2Ghz max with liquid cooling.
This is my Mobo: MSI Z68A-G45 (G3), MSI is known for its Overclocking help-center in the BIOS screen where you can gently adjust the voltages while monitoring the temperature of your cpu. (http://nl.hardware.info/reviews/2458...i-z68a-gd65-g3)

BTW: Ram why spend that amount of money on it? Okay it's superior to Kingston value ram, but for that price I can buy 16Gb of ram (I was always told Ram does not matter)
Anywayz I don't know much about overclocking because it's kinda useless for the average gamer (even for the hardcore gamers), It drains a lot of power, it makes the warranty invallid(even for the unlocked versions) and you always have the chance of malfunctioning

Azerty.nl
Peace!

Hi Malevolence,

I am Dutch too but living in the US for quite a while now. We are fortunate to have New Egg....

I just upgraded my computer and I got the following:

ASUS Sabertooth Z77
Intel i5-3570k
2 x 8 GB G.Skill RAM at 1600 MHz
EVGA GTX 670
Samsung 830 SSD 256 GB
I kept the case and the power supply.

Needless to say that I love my new build. The SSD is amazingly fast, unbelievable how fast GW instances load...


Whatever you do, you have to use a Z77 motherboard and an Ivy Bridge CPU. Don't take the 2500, which is Sandy Bridge. For gaming there is no sense to go i7 - take the highest rated i5 (3570k).

Groetjes,

Tim

But i5-2500K costs more than the locked i5-2500. Plus you need to buy a better cooler. So it does cost more overall. ($50 or more, CPU+cooler)

Most of the power consumed in a CPU happens when transistors switch states. The faster the clock, the more often they switch, the more power is consumed. Basic electronics/physics. However, there will be a proportionally larger increase in power consumption if you up the voltage.

Alright, considering all the recommendations posted, I bought the following:

-i5 3570K , I believe, with the H100 I can overclock to a stable to 4.2Ghz, I really don't need 4.5Ghz.
-ASRock Z77 Extreme 4 , because is a very popular choice and recommended.
-G.SKILL RipjawsX F3-17000CL9D-8GBXLD to ensure compatibility with ASRock Z77 Extreme 4.

The CPU and the motherboard I should recieve them on thursday, but the RAM will take a bit longer. After I put all the pieces together I will let you know the results.

Again, as always guru community is the best ever, thank you for your help

I am happy to announce that I got the i5 3570K and the Asrock Z77 Extreme 4. Yesterday I built the new system (RAM is still not coming but I used my OCZ in the meantime) and the combination works perfect.

The i5 3570k is overclocked to 4.2 Ghz stable, tested for 5 hours Prime95,max temp reached was 69º, never crossed the 69º, not bad at all, I am super happy with the results ! In this leaving the CPU voltage at auto ! lol , so tweaking (lowering) a bit the voltage should give better temp results.

Thanks again.

Edit:

Screenshot taken after the test:



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Screenshot of the test on load showing the overclocking to 4.2 Ghz:



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