Cheaper i5 for overclocking

[mason marnell@1457018692]

I heard that it is possible to overclock a non-k Intel CPUs. I was wondering if it would be smart to to get either an i5 4590 or even a 4460 and overclock it to the level of the 4690k. Is there any drawbacks to overclocking a non-k CPU? Thanks!

 

[synphul]

There's no significant way to overclock locked core i5's. You might be able to raise the baseclock some, default is 100mhz and you might be lucky to get to 104 or 105mhz before it becomes unstable. You also might be able to get the cores to stay at full turbo across all 4 cores. Typically turbo boost on the 4590 goes up to 3.7 - that's when a single core is maxed out. When 2 cores are at 100% it drops to 3.6, when 3-4 cores reach 100% it only turbos to 3.6ghz. If you were able to keep all four at 3.7 and raise the baseclock to 104mhz stable, that's 104 x 37 multiplier which equates to 3.84 ghz.

For any significant overclocking, you need a k series cpu and a compatible motherboard. Getting 100-200mhz is technically an 'oc' but hardly noticeable. Where overclocking a 4690k takes it from not only running 3.9ghz (turbo) across all 4 cores but up to 4.5-4.6ghz which is 600-700mhz above max turbo. Big difference.

 

[Alessio7496]

The main draw backs are that you're not getting Intel's "Limited Unlocked" feature, which is where the K comes from. It basically just means that the CPU settings BIOS will not feature a clock speed multiplier, necessary for overclocking the CPU. In this instance, you want to find turbo boost clock speed and overclock using that. Your CPU must be either an i5 or i7 for this. If you can't find a turbo boost clock speed, then I'm afraid it's likely the CPU is locked completely.

If you purchase an i5 4690 for example, it's the same as the 4690K except overclocking is easier on the K. I wouldn't be "smart" to purchase a non-K CPU, however if you can successfully overclock than it's called good budgeting/money saving. I'd recommend just buying a 4690K. I've one myself, and it OC's very well. It's also the best i5 on the market, AND the best bang for your buck i5.

You also should make sure to have a Z97 chipset to overclock.