MSI's OC Genie 2 Questions.

[P00ters]

Im a complete noob about overclocking, so i decided to try out the MSI's OC genie 2.
I read some reviews and information about it.
Information about this overclock method shows great results.
It said its good for people who have no idea on how to overclock their computers.

I recently found out that my MSI mobo(Z77A-G41) has the "1 click OC."
I enabled it, but I can't really tell any difference...the performance seems to be the same from standard settings.
Is there any way to check that the OC Genie 2 is enabled and has made changes to to my computer?
Also, i really dont have any after markets expensive cooling supplies. Just a basic computer.
The CPU usage % is around 5-10% with only internet(chrome) running.
When I was running a game(heroes of newerth), it went up to 40-50%.
Im not sure how to check the temperature of my processor.
Will this be safe for me to keep running OC on my computer?

Ill provide my custom built computer specs below.

Motherboard = MSI Z77A-G41 Intel Z77 Motherboard
Processor = INTEL I5-3470 3.2GHZ 6M
Ram = Corsair XMS3 4GB PC10666 DDR3 1333MHz 4096MB (4x, 16gb)
Graphic Card = EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB 1024MB GDDR5 PCB PCIe
Power Supply = Thermaltake TR2 600W Power Supply
DVDRW = Samsung 24X DVDRW SATA OEM
HDD= Toshiba 1TB 7200rpm 3.5" SATA
SSD = Intel 330 Series 180GB SATA3 SSD Gen3
Computer Case = Thermaltake V9 Black Editon ATX Blk Mid-T

The computer case has bunch big and small fans all around it.

 

[Rjwaters147]

I'll start by answering your two questions:
Q: "Is there any way to check that the OC Genie 2 is enabled and has made changes to to my computer? "
A: You can verify a performance increase by benchmarking in a program such as 3DMark, Burn In, or Pass Mark.

Q:"Will this be safe for me to keep running OC on my computer? "
A: As long as your temperatures and voltages stay below manufacturer guide lines you should be fine.

Now for the advice:
If I were you I would drop that program all together, in my experience the only way to get a good and stable overclock is by the BIOS. I know it seems like a lot more work, but those OC programs never work nearly as good.

And for "It said its good for people who have no idea on how to overclock their computers. " .... that probably means they should learn some and realize what they're doing (ex. pro's/con's) before they even attempt OCing, I can't believe MSI would say that.

For starters you should read this: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/265056-29-2600k-2500k-overclocking-guide
I know its not you exact CPU but it should give you some good guidelines, and do some researching about your CPU too, such as temperatures and voltages.

If I were you I would get a nice CPU fan too, its really worth buy a fan over a new CPU. Remember overclocking is not something to be taken lightly, its a big process that takes a lot of work and time.

 

[donsrbin]

I'll start by answering your two questions:
Q: "Is there any way to check that the OC Genie 2 is enabled and has made changes to to my computer? "
A: You can verify a performance increase by benchmarking in a program such as 3DMark, Burn In, or Pass Mark.

Q:"Will this be safe for me to keep running OC on my computer? "
A: As long as your temperatures and voltages stay below manufacturer guide lines you should be fine.

Now for the advice:
If I were you I would drop that program all together, in my experience the only way to get a good and stable overclock is by the BIOS. I know it seems like a lot more work, but those OC programs never work nearly as good.

And for "It said its good for people who have no idea on how to overclock their computers. " .... that probably means they should learn some and realize what they're doing (ex. pro's/con's) before they even attempt OCing, I can't believe MSI would say that.

For starters you should read this: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/265056-29-2600k-2500k-overclocking-guide
I know its not you exact CPU but it should give you some good guidelines, and do some researching about your CPU too, such as temperatures and voltages.

If I were you I would get a nice CPU fan too, its really worth buy a fan over a new CPU. Remember overclocking is not something to be taken lightly, its a big process that takes a lot of work and time.

I agree to everything Rjwaters147 said, and I wanted to add this: if you play only Hon (and not something far more demanding like Battlefield 3, metro etc), you don't even need to overclock. Overclocking by itself shortens the life of your PC and it's simply stupid to OC if you don't really have to.

But if you DO want to overclock, use Google for detailed research and overclock in BIOS (if possible)

Happy new year

 

[P00ters]

i was researching more about my processor and many articles and threads talked about not to overclock the i5-3470. if i were to, i should've got the i5-3570.

thank you, donsrbin and Rjwaters147, for the replies. I really appreciate it.

I think I will disable the OC Genie.

If I were to upgrade my processor and cpu fan for a good overclock, which one do you guys recommend? Im making a budget of $200-$300 for a new processor some day. and for the cpu fan about $40-$100. Im looking for a i7 processor with "you get what you paid for."

 

[P00ters]

Best answer selected by P00ters.

 

[anderl12]

It isn't that you should not overclock it, it's that this CPU has the multiplier locked so the only way to OC is using the FSB ( highly not recommended ) and doing the 4 bins above method which gives you a max. of 3.9GHz. You can't go above that.

If you have the $200-$300 and can use them for a good CPU just go for the i7 but you won't notice any difference in gaming.

A good CPU cooler is the Thermalright True Spirit 140 but if you want these shitty pseudo water-coolers get the Corsair H100i/H80i.

 

[Rjwaters147]

I agree with what anderl12 said but if I were you I'd get the i5-2500k which is gonna be around $220 at the moment, and get a nice CPU cooler such as the Thermaltake Frio which is gonna be around $60.

I currently have a Corsair H100 on my AMD Phenom x6 1100T OC'ed at 4.2ghz and my max temperature is 41c, which is pretty good for a "shitty pseudo water-cooler".

 

[anderl12]

No, you didn't get me. I'm not saying pseudo water coolers don't cool well, it's just a waste of money. If you want water cooling, buy a "real" one - otherwise, get a air cooler. Just imo, tho.