First time Overclocking Sandy Bridge E Processor

[(Cowherd)]

Hi,
Never did this but I and my friend are planing to overclocking the Sandy Bridge E Processor. He has accumulated all kind of setup for this and now we are going to overclock the same. The motherboard which we are using is ASUS Rampage. So this board has ample of utilities to keep the computer at safer limits. I want to ask what can be most base frequency where the cpu can stay without getting burned up completely. There are some how some possibilties that due to improper overclocking process, we can loose the processors life or it can damage it. So to be on the safer side what can be the best settings.

[Beatrix]

Sandy Bridge is the second generation intel processor which comes with overclocking support. There is nothing to much worry about killing your cpu. You can stay at proper frequency with optimial settings. I will advice you to read a guide for the same - Guide on How to safely Overclock your computer.

[SinarB]

Sandy Bridge cpu are capable of handling overclocking. They can run on high clock base without getting damaged. If you are not sure enough you can try using tools like OCCT or any other to test your system stability. The tool will provide you information that will your system can stand this process or not. Anyhow the basic system config you mentioned is great enough for this. If you are using republic of gamer series board then you can overclock the same with on board utility. The extreme tuner option allows you to play with ample of functions. Check each of the settings properly before modifying anything. I will not advice you to do this unless you can understand the options provided. It has being found that Sandy Bridge cpus were facing trouble after increasing the cpu frequency to 4.6. So it would be better if you can stay under a safe value.

[TonyaSingh]

One more important thing that you should consider is the power requirement. Do not ignore this. The higher frequency you will try to play the more better and stable power is needed. Because low power supply can lead to rise in cpu temperature. If you are going for really high clock rate add a liquid cooling in your system.

[prem11]

I think it can lie down on 4.5 for sometime. The important thing that should be controlled is cooling. If there is no proper cooling in the system then your cpu can burn out and you will face major loss. So just by adding a simple fan will not workout. You had mentioned nothing about the cooler used in your system. Try to stay below 4 if possible gaining some lock rate can keep you happy. Anyhow the cpu series is rock solid to handle the overclocking process. I am here talking about Intel Core i7 which is better in the race. Limited overclocking can let you stay safer. Try Turbo boost settings which has default profile in it. Those default profile comes with optimal settings that does not really hurts the cpu.

[Loverface]

Other hardware parts like ram too also play a role in gaining performance from overclocking. I hope you had enough amount of ram on your system to handle the process.

[Ves]

Intel Core i7 is a costly cpu. I had heard that Intel was planing for some kind of overclocking insurance. Luckily I found this thread. The thread gives some info on overclocking insurance by Intel. I hope this can help you.

Intel Plans to Provide Insurance over CPU Overclocking

[TBina]

One thing you must remember at the time of overclocking is that each cpu has a kind of ideal clock rate. At this rate the cpu chips are ready to provide you the best performance. You will need to find that point for your processor and the amount of power consumed to reach or stay on that frequency. Both are important. CPU are not damaged because of overclocking they suffered because of power supply. This should not fluctuate. They should lie stable in working. Intel processor are good enough for overclocking.