Stable i7-2600K OC range?

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My setup is going to be air.

The case itself has (2) 250mm fans and (1) 120mm fan. I have room to add another if need be. As far as the CPU fan, I've selected the Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B. The Noctua is a beast, but a pain in the ass to install from reviews I've gotten. So, I've picked something with enough power to handle the job, but easy to install.

My thing is this:

The voltage is what I am worried about. I would love to push out 5.0 GHz, but be able to handle the heat it would generate in order to keep the processor stable. 5.0 GHz is more of the high range on that processor if I remember correctly, so something around 4.3-4.5 GHz would be more mid-range OC.

So at 4.5 GHz, what would you recommend as far as power supply and CPU cooler in order to keep the system stable?
 
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Have you bought the Zalman yet, I hope not!

Did you consider if the fan goes out, it can only be replaced by an identical replacement from Zalman?

That heat sink design is so Old School, I'm surprised Zalman is still selling it, it's in 9th place at Frosty Tech.

And you cannot add additional fans to the heat sink, as higher cooling performance comes from the push/pull of usually dual fans you really should have gone with the Noctua NH-D14.

Let me explain why I recommend the Noctua, at this very minute it is running an AMD 965BE overclocked to 3900mhz passively, meaning no fans are mounted on it only the case airflow is cooling it.

It's been stable for hours of Prime95 testing, passively cooling.

How does that translate to your 2600K cooling, simply the cooler you can keep it, the higher 24/7 overclock you'll be able to run and remain in an acceptable temperature range.
 
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1) Is this a gaming rig, or something else?
For gaming, a 2500K is plenty; spend the difference onbetter graphics.

2) Why the need for ultra high overclocks?

3) How high you can go will depend on the chip.
I read somewhere(wish I could find it) that the breakdown of what is possible runs along the following:
Almost any 2500K or 2600K will get to 4.0.
About 50% will do 4.5.
5-10% can do 5.0.
Who knows, you could get lucky.

4) There seems to be an upper limit that can't be passed with better, even insane cooling.

5) My take is get a decent cooler, oc without playing with voltages, and be happy with what you get.
 
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I would go for the Noctua NH-D14 awesome cooler and no it is not hard to install. I have 2 right now one on a Z68 Fatl1ty with I-2600K, and an AMD 1100T on a 990Fxa Gigabyte board. I had max temps at 4.2Ghz using intel burn under 60C with Hyperthreading enabled. I have the 1100T right now running Intel Burn with a max Temp of 48C on very high setting. 😉
 
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1) Totally agree unless the OP has a direct need for the 2600K you can overclock a 2500K up to the same range top end wise, however from my own tests gaming frames per second does not improve from 4.5ghz to 5.0ghz, so OP unless you'll be video encoding, and using software such that the Hyper Threading of the 2600K can be fully utilized, why not get the 2500K and as geofelt said apply the unused money to better graphics.

2)Usually just for bragging rights, benchmarks will improve at the higher clocks, but not gaming.

3) Additionally I think some claiming they've hit a wall just haven't discovered how to get all they can from it.

4) As with every CPU there's a point it just won't go beyond.

5) We disagree there, but I respect your right to do what works best for you.

And with all due respect geofelt, I didn't address your post to pick it apart, I saw it was well laid out and wanted to add some comments of my own. Ryan
 
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Good comments 4ryan6.

To address an earlier part of the OP's question:

The psu you need is more dependent on the graphics card than most anything else, including overclocking.
Here is a list of EVGA recommendations for a variety of graphics cards:

GTX550ti needs 400w with 24a on the 12v rails plus one 6-pin PCI-E power lead.

GTX560 needs 450w with 24a on the 12v rails plus two 6-pin PCI-E power leads.

GTX560Ti needs 500w with 30a on the 12v rails plus two 6-pin PCI-E power leads.

GTX570 needs 550w with 38a on the 12v rails plus two 6-pin PCI-E power leads.

GTX580 needs 600w with 42a on the 12v rails plus one 6-pin and one 8-pin PCI-E power lead.

GTX590 needs 700w with 50a on the 12v rails plus two 8-pin PCI-E power leads or 4 6-pin power leads.

Regardless, do not try to economize with a cheap psu. My short list of quality psu's would include Seasonic. PC P&C. Antec, Corsair, and XFX.

If your budget permits, look for one of the Noctua coolers. They are as effective as any, and they come with some of the best and quietest fans.
The NH-D14 is about as good as it gets.
But for 1/3 the price, the Xigmatek gaia or CM hyper212 will do the job almost as well.
 
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Same chip and board here, with noctua nh-d14...

I took it up to 4.8ghz with 1.35-1.38 volts.

I opted to go with a 24/7 overclock of 4.6ghz with 1.33v. After 30 minutes of prime95, the temps hovered around 60-63c with an ambient temp of 20-21c. Stability testing was done by running prime95 on 3 physical cores, 6 threads total, and 3DMark 11 running on 1 physical core, 2 threads on extreme setting. Prime95 was warmed up for about 10-15 minutes before starting 3DMark 11. I think this is the ideal stability test for a gamer. For rendering and/or other audio/video stuffs I guess running just prime95 for an extended period of time, generally the amount of time you could expect render jobs to take plus some, like 24 hrs.

How stable totally depends on what you plan to do with the system and if you can afford to risk a crash after several hours into some type of rendering or other...
 
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Starting with these questions I am going to answer everyone I can!

1. This is a gaming rig with video editing, graphical work as a secondary use. So yes, I will require the i7-2600k for the hyper threading.

2. I don't necessarily need "ultra high" overclocks. I just want a mid-range STABLE overclock for a very proficient performance out of my CPU.

5. I think I'll pass, but thanks :).

4ryan:

No, I have not yet bought any of the parts yet. I still have a month or so before I will start buying anything. Which is why I am asking questions, getting the best bang for my buck. Everyone can find my current build right here: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/325624-31-need-good-intelligent-advice

Clonazepam:

I would rather not risk crashing (shows the lack of stability). And I'd rather not bottleneck.

4ryan:

I have been looking into the CM Hyper 212+
 
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I think you'll be fine with whatever you decide. Once you have all the hardware in hand, and run at stock, and at overclocked settings, you can then determine whether the gain is trivial or not for what you need. Tom's usually clocks these SB chips at 4.0ghz for many benchmarks so that's probably a good first target... use it awhile, and adjust fire if needed.
 
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4.6 is cake, tho I'm not so sure what temps wud be with the Zalman. These were my 1st day results with the SIlver Arrow

Stock 51,53, 53, 51 (1.224) LLC = Auto
4.0 Ghz 52, 54, 55, 52 (1.016-1.024) LLC = Auto
4.2 GHz 54, 56, 57, 55 (1.256 - 1.264) LLC = Auto
4.4 Ghz 56, 60, 60, 67 (1.280 - 1.288) LLC = Auto
4.6 Ghz 62, 66, 68, 65 (1.360 - 1.368) LLC = High
4.8 Ghz 71, 77, 79, 72 (1.408 - 1.416) LLC = Ultra High*

After the TIM cured a bit I tweaked things and set up 2 BIOS profiles.....everyday boot at 4.6 w/ HT on and gamne boot w/ HT off at 4.8 .... all temps run below 68C

AT release, this was Asus' experience

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1578110

1. Approximately 50% of CPUs can go up to 4.4~4.5 GHz
2. Approximately 40% of CPUs can go up to 4.6~4.7 GHz
3. Approximately 10% of CPUs can go up to 4.8~5 GHz (50+ multipliers are about 2% of this group)

It's gotten better.

Taken from this thread which is the best SB OC guide I have seen yet

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1578110
 
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As been one of the minority who got to 5.1ghz it really is silly hot and no air cooler is really ready for that. I was hitting 80-90c on my cooler at 1.475 volts!
Click to expand...

get a better cooler .....

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=674&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=4

It's almost ironic that coolers like [the Thermalright Silver Arrow] are becoming available just as processors transition to designs that may ultimately render them unnecessary; even overclocked to 5GHz, an Intel Sandy Bridge 2600K doesn't need anywhere near this level of cooling.
Click to expand...
 
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Dude, for your chip sake stick between 1.32 1.38 , i manged to get 4.5 GHz out of the 2600k with 1.284 V ( Turbo OFF ) ^.^ but am sure am quite lucky with that volt....... so i doubt you need more than that, you don't wanna end up with a fried i7 :)
 
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