Overclocking My 8700k

[lelandmcdonalds]

Hello.
I recently built a PC, and I was wondering how effectively I would be able to overclock my i7-8700k.
Motherboard: MSI z370 Tomahawk
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
Assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Very little with the EVO.

 

[lelandmcdonalds]

Very little with the EVO.

How much do you think I could get? Do you have any suggestions for CPU cooler upgrades? Thank you for your time.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Depends on the case , AIR Cooling or AIO water.

 

[photonboy]

The EVO would be a very poor choice indeed.

Unless you get a good LIQUID COOLER (i.e. 280mm Kraken x64) which can get expensive:
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/2RdFf7/nzxt-kraken-x62-rev-2-982-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-rl-krx62-02
or
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/RH2rxr/corsair-cpu-cooler-cw9060027ww

the alternative is a really good AIR COOLER (good Noctua or similar) then tweak until your worst-case for the CPU doesn't exceed roughly 80degC (real world worst-case like sustained HANDBRAKE using all threads, not Prime95 stress testing).

I had looked at the Cryorig H5 Ultimate/Universal in the past but they don't seem to be as good as I'd thought.

Not sure if LOOKS matter (window on case?) but here's some good air coolers:

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/xCL7YJ/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd15s
and
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/xFw323/cryorig-cpu-cooler-crr1a

This one isn't quite as good but may suffice to keep a locked 4.6GHz all cores. Not sure as it depends on room temp, case cooling etc as well.
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/YwGkcf/be-quiet-cpu-cooler-bk018

I have mixed feelings on liquid coolers. If it was MY SYSTEM I would probably get the Noctua NH-D15S then tweak to whatever the best overclock is I can get.

I wouldn't stress about trying to hit 5GHz or higher on all cores when the REAL WORLD experience should be pretty minimal compared to say 4.7GHz but the cooling requirement starts rapidly going higher with every extra 100MHz (due to the voltage increase).

 

[photonboy]

Also make sure the CPU cooler has no problems with:

a) DDR4 clearance, and
b) side case (see case site for "cpu cooler height" maximum such as 158mm)
c) liquid coolers-> make sure it fits the case and has no clearance issues with the motherboard (some thick ones may hit the top of the motherboard)

In some air coolers you can move the FAN up a bit (if sufficient case height clearance). You can also look at the DDR4 clearance and look at something like Corsair LPX (low profile) which I think is 31mm or close.

 

[photonboy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5AP_Nqqx8E

i7-8700K + Noctua NH-D15S at 5GHz

apparently Prime95 for one hour got about 81degC so real-world for this EXACT situation (including room temp etc) is pretty favorable. You may get slightly different results especially if your motherboard applies a slightly higher VOLTAGE but even if you ended up dropping the frequency a bit lower this cooler looks pretty good.

Air coolers are more reliable than liquid coolers too, and sometimes PUMP NOISE can be annoying.