Want help to overclock Intel Core i5 on MSI P55 motherboard @ 4Ghz

I made this thread for sharing overclocking advice. I want help from those who had successfully reached 4Ghz on Intel Core i5 processor. I had searched on various articles and resources where it was mentioned, that this cpu is capable of reaching that frequency. I want to know what error you face and what are the things that must be avoided in overclocking. I had gone through a number of post recently which says that their system became usable after few hours even if they have liquid cooling. So that actually reduced my interest here. I am looking for safer options here. And what this motherboard MSI P55 GD80. Is this good. I checked the ios of this board which shows certain stuff related to overclocking. So should I use this or there is any better third party software which is cool enough for this. I am using 2x2 sticks of DDR3 corsair ram along with a nvidia gpu. I am happy with the current system performance, but notice certain artifacts which I play diablo. It looks that the game is not utilizing the full cpu power. My friend had overclocked the same cpu and was able to gain around 3.6. He is using Intel motherboard. The same game when tested on this system, the quality was far more better. It is necessary to overclock the ram also to get stable performance or by doing only the cpu does the job. I do not really want to touch 4Ghz but it is fine if I can reach upto 3.6Ghz also. I also want to notify that I am not using a liquid cooler. I have a traditional cpu fan. I am sure that I will get replies to upgrade my cpu cooler. So that can be a later part.

Yes the first thing that I want to advice you is to upgrade your cpu cooler. Because the cpu generates more heat at the time of overclocking and the regular fan that it has is not capable or removing it. So yes go and buy and good liquid cooling kit and then ask for instructions to overclock your cpu.

Even I will recommend you to have a good cooling support before overclocking. You can take a risk here and for that I will advice you to use the bios utility for overclocking. Go in bios and raise the cpu frequency. Then monitor the cpu temperature. If your cpu temperature rises then do not overclock as the current cooler is not sufficient. You can use tools like OCCT or Prime95 to run test. This software will tell you the maximum limit of your cpu based on current hardware. I do not think overclocking ram will help you much. So avoid that. Try to concentrate more the cpu overclocking. If while testing with prime95 or OCCT your system crashes, then it means your system is not capable of handling the pressure. I will simply do not recommend you to go for that. Wrong overclocking can cause dead system permanently and you can do nothing in that. According to me reaching 3.6 is quiet higher based on your existing hardware. You had not mentioned what PSU you have. If it is 400w or below that then also your system lies at maximum risk. You have a gpu along with that when you overclock your cpu will not get enough power. And on the same time the cpu fan will more faster to remove extra heat. All this will result in unstable system. you can go with minor changes only. Like just for testing purpose you can raise the existing frequency to 10%. Liquid cooler is an essential part of overclocking process. It keeps your system cooler and on the same hand the cpu can process more powerfully.

Talking about RAM overclocking you need to play with fsb settings. When you increase that the ram is overclocked. A overclocked ram offer you more physical memory and that too at faster rate. But there are maximum chances that your system will not remain stable. It is necessary that when you are planing to overclock your ram your ram specification must be unique. That means both should of common mhz and brand. Or else the system will crash instantly. Second thing you have to ensure the right voltage for ram to function is properly. In that case a third party software will better. Because bios utility can be complicated for you. If you are thinking to take your cpu over 3Ghz then that can be a dream on your existing system.

I do not agree with above post. No one here is discussing on your motherboard. MSI P55-GD80 is a good motherboard which comes with on board overclocking utility. It is especially made for overclocking people. It has a features called as OC Genie. This tool helps you to auto adjust cpu frequency based on the requirement. It does not just boot the cpu clock rate. Turn this on from Bios. It is inside overclocking menu. Anyhow it is not possible for a beginner to find the right ration between clock rate and ram frequency. It is quiet complicated. To get the right settings OC Genie offers you a simple method. By turning it on it is also possible to gain 4GHz easily. It is a kind of auto overclocking utility. You do not require to interfere in the existing settings. The software is responsible to manage cpu clock rate based on app requirement. It not only boost the cpu but also handles other fsb related issues. So in short it also control your ram overclocking settings. OC Gennie is a awesome tool which boost your cpu performance within seconds. You can easily get between 3.2 to 3.8. But yes you need a good cooler for that. You can go air coolers which are specially made for overclocking. Just turn it on from the motherboard your cpu and ram is overclocked. You run cpuz and found the exact core speed. You can differentiate by turning it on and then off after sometime. Also one thing that I want to tell about this is, the motherboard that you has is built with strong capacitors. This does not blow up so easily. That is why your system will even work stable on regular room temperature. There are very less chances of failure while overclocking. OC Genie does not simply put the cpu @ 4Ghz. It manages the right ratio based on your requirement. If you want you can turn this on at the time of playing games only.

That is right. In overclocking your motherboard too plays a important part. I can blindly say that you can overclock and you will not face issue on MSI P55 GD80. Do not go for any third party utility.