i5 2500k Overclocking problems

[meringo]

Hi. I'm having the hardest time overclocking my i5 2500k. I have my multiplier set to 42, and voltage at 1.290 and have idle temps at 32c and load (prime95 blend) that reaches about 85 before the system crashes after 15 minutes. I've read plenty of forums on the subject, but have yet to write in myself. I know this is an older chip, but does anyone have any suggestions? I posted pics below of my bios settings.

ALSO - I tried re-seating the heat sync and fan after cleaning it nicely and applying fresh Arctic Silver 5, changed a few degrees, but still unstable.

 

[rhysiam]

What's CPU cooler are you using? Also, what's your motherboard and power supply?

Those chips are usually very good at overclocking and you shouldn't have heat issues with a decent aftermarket cooler.

 

[meringo]

What's CPU cooler are you using? Also, what's your motherboard and power supply?

Those chips are usually very good at overclocking and you shouldn't have heat issues with a decent aftermarket cooler.

Sorry, I think I forgot to have it display my sig.

Gigabyte Z77x-UP4-TH
Intel i5 2500k
Evo 212+ Cooler
2x 4gb Patriot G2 1600 Ram
Asus Geforce GTX 780 3gb
Samsung 840 64gb (OS)
BP4 mSATA 256gb
SeaSonic X Series X-850

 

[xfiremadex]

Try going a little lower and see if it stops. Some times when overclocking a little over the max can cause your pc to crash.

 

[meringo]

Try going a little lower and see if it stops. Some times when overclocking a little over the max can cause your pc to crash.

Running prime95 now, with multiplier set to 40 and voltage at auto. Should be a piece of cake, but I'm seeing temps in the high 80s only 8 minutes in.

 

[meringo]

If it crashes after 40, I'm going to reset CMOS... see if that helps. I've had this 2500k since launch, is it possible it is kicking the bucket?

 

[meringo]

Pulling the CMOS battery did certainly did something!

Temps reach a 73 degree peak now with the multiplier at 40. I'm 12 minutes into Prim95 and will report back.

 

[rhysiam]

That is a lot of heat from a Sandy Bridge at a pretty modest OC. So if you're confident the cooler mounted properly and you didn't overdo the thermal paste, maybe you just got a bit of a lemon of a CPU. It's probably not kicking the bucket, just may be a poor overclocker. The rest of your build is solid so there shouldn't be any issues there.

 

[meringo]

I went ahead and re applied thermal paste again after a good cleaning. Instead of the line down the center method, I did the pea size dot in the center. The OC is much more stable, I've got it running at 4.5 with voltage at 1.330

Temps are around 75 degrees after 20 minutes of blend test.

Not exactly great, but it's no longer crashing.

I'm starting to think I just got a bad 2500k... But hey, maybe I'll just do a light 4.2 OC