Core I5 2500k and stock cooler.

[shoe3k]

I just bought this cpu over the 2600k. I will be strictly be doing lots of gaming and saw many benches of the 2500k beating the 2600k.

I plan to do a mild overclock on stocking cooling. Is the stock cooler good enough for a 400MHz O/C using IC7 thermal paste? I'm just worried about load temps and 24/7 usability.

[mimart7]

That will do, just keep an eye on the volts and temps. You should be able to hit that on stock volts, maybe just a little extra. Get an aftermarket cooler, as soon as you can.

[BigE4u]

I wouldnt bother wasting time overclocking with the stock cooler, the cpu should be plenty fast as is till you get an aftermarket HSF, then knock yourself out.

[§k¥¥ |{£øúÐz]

honestly you shouldn't even need to overclock lol. just leave it stock unless your frame rates are low

[shoe3k]

I'm going to hold off on the O/C until I get a better heatsink. I have been reading reviews with the heatsink just being adequate for stock clocks. You guys have any recommendations for a cooler that will fit a ASUS P8P67 mobo? I just want a couple of options, so I can review and compare each one. Thanks!

[mimart7]

It's more about your case than the mobo. What's your budget?

[Nagoshi]

Originally Posted by BigE4u

I wouldnt bother wasting time overclocking with the stock cooler, the cpu should be plenty fast as is till you get an aftermarket HSF, then knock yourself out.

Its different with Sandybridge, they run much cooler than any other Intel chips on stock heatsinks. Back when they were still being reviewed under NDA people got 5GHz benchable with the stock cooler...

OP will be good for a small overclock so long as temps are within check.

[BigE4u]

Their results are not typical for the everage user, those competitive extreme overclockers operate their systems in a non-enclosed environment plus have chilled ambient temperatures to boot, so a stock cooler probably gets by just barely.

[Jahova]

Since when did the 2500K beat the 2600K? I'm pretty sure the 2600K can break 5Ghz, and clock-per-clock is faster than the 2500K. Somehow the math has been flawed?

For some reason, Intel made the stock cooler just barely enough for the Sandybridge CPUs. I'd recommend not even play with overclocking until you can cool it down. In fact, consider underclocking or turning Turbo off.

[shoe3k]

Originally Posted by Jahova

Since when did the 2500K beat the 2600K? I'm pretty sure the 2600K can break 5Ghz, and clock-per-clock is faster than the 2500K. Somehow the math has been flawed?

For some reason, Intel made the stock cooler just barely enough for the Sandybridge CPUs. I'd recommend not even play with overclocking until you can cool it down. In fact, consider underclocking or turning Turbo off.

Look at the entire review of the 2500k and 2600k in games. It is cheaper and makes a better bang for the buck vs the 2600k. I was going to go with the 2600k until I ready some of the reviews where the 2500k beat the 2600k in a lot of games that I play. The extra threads on the 2600k also make processor work harder increasing temps.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/t...2100-tested/20

Originally Posted by mimart7

It's more about your case than the mobo. What's your budget?

My budget for a cooler would be $30-$50. This is the case I'm using:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129066
Antec Three Hundred Midtower Case review - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX_nXwX_EzU

[LMHmedchem]

This is my favorite low cost case at the moment,
Diablotek EVO Mid Tower ATX Case ($40)

It has all the features I like in a case and is pretty cheap, especially if you live near a microcenter where you can pick it up. It has side mounted HDD bays, unlike the dreaded Antec setup that takes forever to change out a drive. It has a bottom mounted PSU, motherboard cutout, cable management cutouts, an included SSD tray, painted black interior, and 4 fans stock.

I have fit a CM 212+ in this case, but there isn't room for a taller CPU heatsink, so keep that in mind. It also doesn't have front USB 3.0 ports or front esata if that is important.

some other good cases
COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 ($50)
- has a side window, but no side mounted HDD trays

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 II ($70 w/ship)
- very nice case if you can get free shipping or local pickup, amazon has a better price right now

COOLER MASTER Storm Enforcer SGC-1000-KWN1 ($90)
- has front USB 3.0 ports for onboard, plus side window

COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced ($98 w/ship)
- this is my favorite case to build in, especially with an added side window, but it is very expensive right now. I have seen it as low as $60 with free shipping.

I guess of the above I might go for the Centurion from amazon for $60 shipped.

Additional Comment:

Well if I had actually read this, I would have seen that you were looking for a cooler, not a case. You can usually get the CM 212+ for ~$30, and it's a reasonable cooler.

The spire thermax eclipse II is better,
Spire TherMax Eclipse II SP984B1-V2 universal CPU Cooler ($55)
but it will stretch your budget a bit, especially if you replace the stock fans. Just make sure it will fit in your case, it is pretty big. I can never use this if I need all four RAM slots, but that is true of most coolers now.

LMHmedcdhem

[shoe3k]

Thanks. I'm going to research that cooler. I want to get a couple of them to compare.