How much should I OC my CPU to? (Athlon 760k)

[iColm]

I'm currently building my own gaming computer. I made it on a €500 budget. The CPU I have decided to get is the Athlon 760k, it is 3.8GHz and has 4 cores. I'm not sure if I should over-clock by much as I know it may go wrong. 😛 I have an after-market CPU cooler. I was thinking of just OCing to 4GHz but I'm not sure, should I over-clock higher? It's a black unlocked edition, therefore my friend said I could OC up about 4.5 GHz. If you have any other questions about my build etc. just let me know in the thread.

 

[ewok93]

What cooler do you have? With a nice one you can get to 4.5, with a cheaper one you can probably get around 4.3.

 

[iColm]

What cooler do you have? With a nice one you can get to 4.5, with a cheaper one you can probably get around 4.3.

I will be getting a Cooler Master Hyper 103. here's a link to it http://www.dabs.ie/products/coolermaster-hyper-103-3-heatpipe-1x92mm-pwm-blue-led-fan-tower-cpucooler-8ZCG.html
My friend told me it was very good for the price. Do you recommend OCing straight away?

 

[ewok93]

No reason not to, with that you should probable be able to get to 4.5, just go up to 4 and increase it slowly, run prime95 in between each raise.

 

[iColm]

No reason not to, with that you should probable be able to get to 4.5, just go up to 4 and increase it slowly, run prime95 in between each raise.

Ok, thanks What is prime95? This is my first build, my current computer is shockingly slow... 1GB RAM..

 

[ewok93]

It's a program that maxes out your CPU usage to make sure it won't crash or overheat at full load, you run it for about 2 hours. http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=205

 

[iColm]

It's a program that maxes out your CPU usage to make sure it won't crash or overheat at full load, you run it for about 2 hours. http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=205

Ok thanks Should I try that at 4.0GHz? or should I take the chance and only use it when I'm over-clocking higher? Oh and since it says you're a CPU Authority, would you please comment on my CPU thanks

 

[ewok93]

That means I got picked best answer 20 times haha. Try it out at 4 and tell me your temperatures after 2 hours.

 

[iColm]

That means I got picked best answer 20 times haha. Try it out at 4 and tell me your temperatures after 2 hours.

I don't actually have it yet xD But I now know what to do, thanks for your help 😀 Do you think this GPU would go with it well? As I know it requires a discrete GPU http://www.dabs.ie/products/asus-amd-radeon-7790-2gb-pci-express-hdmi-directcu-ii-oc-8PRY.html

 

[iColm]

That means I got picked best answer 20 times haha. Try it out at 4 and tell me your temperatures after 2 hours.

I don't actually have it yet xD But I now know what to do, thanks for your help 😀 Do you think this GPU would go with it well? As I know it requires a discrete GPU http://www.dabs.ie/products/asus-amd-radeon-7790-2gb-pci-express-hdmi-directcu-ii-oc-8PRY.html

 

[iColm]

The 760k will turbo core up to 4.1 by default, using that cooler 4.5 is very possible. I got 4.2 out of the stock cooler on my 750k. with a closed loop and a88 fm2+ extreme 6. I am running at 4.6 with lower voltage and 68c tops.

Nice! 😀 Is it a good CPU? the 760k is just a slightly better version I think How do you lower the voltage?

 

[iColm]

At 4.2 i needed 1.42v ,with new mb and closed loop 4.6 stable only needs 1.3v Make sure you buy a fm2+ board for future upgrades

Sorry but I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to these things, what do you mean by closed loop? My MotherBoard is this http://www.dabs.ie/products/asrock-fm2a75-pro4-fm2-amd-a75-ddr3-atx-8NNQ.html
It's a FM2 socket, the only thing I'd be upgrading is just more RAM and maybe another GPU, so I don't think there is a need for FM2+ as I'd have to probably change a few things in my build which would be quite annoying :/

 

[iColm]

At 4.2 i needed 1.42v ,with new mb and closed loop 4.6 stable only needs 1.3v Make sure you buy a fm2+ board for future upgrades

Sorry but I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to these things, what do you mean by closed loop? My MotherBoard is this http://www.dabs.ie/products/asrock-fm2a75-pro4-fm2-amd-a75-ddr3-atx-8NNQ.html
It's a FM2 socket, the only thing I'd be upgrading is just more RAM and maybe another GPU, so I don't think there is a need for FM2+ as I'd have to probably change a few things in my build which would be quite annoying :/

Closed loop = water cooled heatsink like h50,h80 etx. Mine is a big water 2.0 pro with push /pull fans. The fm2 a75 is a good board with good over clocking headroom but is a dead socket. Fm2 apu's will be replaced with fm2+ apu's( kaveri) next year.

Fm2+ (kaveri) apu's will not work on fm2 boards like your a75pro. But fm2 richland/trinity will work on new fm2+ boards so buy a fm2+ board now and have the ability to upgrade in the future. Fm2+ added benefit is better voltage control now and pcie 3.0 when you upgrade to kaveri later.

I see, water cooling looks pretty cool alright but it's a bit expensive.. :/

The thing is I'd have to get a different CPU cooler as well :/ I don't think I'd be upgrading my computer much, I'd probably just build another one when it comes to it this is just a cheap build so I can get a feel for computers, in a few years I intend to build a another that would be a lot better Thanks for your advise BTW 😀 So you're saying that all my FM2 items will be compatible with a FM2+ MoBo?

 

[iColm]

At 4.2 i needed 1.42v ,with new mb and closed loop 4.6 stable only needs 1.3v Make sure you buy a fm2+ board for future upgrades

Sorry but I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to these things, what do you mean by closed loop? My MotherBoard is this http://www.dabs.ie/products/asrock-fm2a75-pro4-fm2-amd-a75-ddr3-atx-8NNQ.html
It's a FM2 socket, the only thing I'd be upgrading is just more RAM and maybe another GPU, so I don't think there is a need for FM2+ as I'd have to probably change a few things in my build which would be quite annoying :/

Closed loop = water cooled heatsink like h50,h80 etx. Mine is a big water 2.0 pro with push /pull fans. The fm2 a75 is a good board with good over clocking headroom but is a dead socket. Fm2 apu's will be replaced with fm2+ apu's( kaveri) next year.

Fm2+ (kaveri) apu's will not work on fm2 boards like your a75pro. But fm2 richland/trinity will work on new fm2+ boards so buy a fm2+ board now and have the ability to upgrade in the future. Fm2+ added benefit is better voltage control now and pcie 3.0 when you upgrade to kaveri later.

I see, water cooling looks pretty cool alright but it's a bit expensive.. :/

The thing is I'd have to get a different CPU cooler as well :/ I don't think I'd be upgrading my computer much, I'd probably just build another one when it comes to it this is just a cheap build so I can get a feel for computers, in a few years I intend to build a another that would be a lot better Thanks for your advise BTW 😀 So you're saying that all my FM2 items will be compatible with a FM2+ MoBo?

Yes, i think you see the benefits of buying fm2+ over fm2 now. even if you do not overclock the upgrade path is huge.

Would everything still be compatible? All the items I'm buying now? Like the CPU cooler, GPU, RAM etc. I'm ordering everything in 3 days.. and I don't want to change it all up just before I order

 

[iColm]

Yes all compatible. I would recommend going with the asus extreme 6 like mine or gigabyte sniper

That's great! 😀 are you 100% sure though? could you please send me a link or something, I really don't want to get and and find that it doesn't work :/
I've switched to the Gigabyte Sniper for now and that should still be compatible with everything?

 

[iColm]

Don't forget to close out the thread with best answer to ewok, He started you down the right road until i jumped in. Good luck

ok thanks for all your help