Intel Core i5-2500K Review
| Category | Desktop | ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
|---|---|---|
| Target | mid-range | ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Socket Compatibility | LGA1155 | ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Integrated Graphics | Intel HD Graphics 3000 | ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Cooler Included | Yes | ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Overclock Potential | 17 % | ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Year | 2010 Model | ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Price | 289 USD | ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ |
| Number of Cores | 4 Cores | ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Number of Threads | 4 Threads | ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Core Frequency | 3.3 GHz | ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Boost Frequency | 3.7 GHz | ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Max Stable Overclock | 4.3 GHz | ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Power Consumption | 95 W | ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Manufacturing Process | 32 nm | ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| L3 Cache | 6 MB | ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Maximum Supported Memory | 32 GB | ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ |
| Price-Value Score | 59 % | ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Speed Score | 43 % | ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Productivity Score | 26 % | ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Gaming Score | 71 % | ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ |
| Max 1080p Bottleneck | 49.4 % | ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Max 1440p Bottleneck | 24.7 % | ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Max 4K Bottleneck | 12.3 % | ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
| Overall Score | 28/100 | ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ |
The Core i5-2500K is one of Intel's mid-range Desktop processors. It was released in 2010 with 4 cores and 4 threads. With base clock at 3.3GHz, max speed at 3.7GHz, and a 95W power rating. The Core i5-2500K is based on the Sandy Bridge 32nm family and is part of the Core i5 series.
That something is the Core i5-2500K. Intel cranks the TDP dial up to 95W on this 4-core 4-thread chip, making it the high-performance counterpart to the 65W Core i5-2405S, which is basically the same 32nm chip built with the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture, but with a lower TDP rating. That chip came away from our first look at the Sandy Bridge series with an Editor's Choice award, going toe-to-toe with AMD's A8-5500B, so it's fair to say we have high hopes for the higher-performance model. Intel still hasn't sampled the chip to the press, so we bought one at retail to put it under the microscope.
As the higher-priced version of the Core i5-2405S, the Core i5-2500K has higher base and Boost frequencies of 3.3 and 3.7 GHz, respectively. That's an increase in base frequency and a bump to boost clocks, but the real advantage should lay in the higher Package Power Tracking (PPT) envelope, which is a measurement of the maximum amount of power delivered to the socket. The Core i5-2405S's PPT tops out at 65W, while the motherboard can pump up to 142W to the Core i5-2500K at peak performance. That opens up much more aggressive boost behavior, on both single and multiple cores, that could widen the performance gap beyond what we see on the spec sheet.
The Intel Core i5-2500K is another impressive release from Intel and its 2 Generation of Core i5 chips. With it, you’re getting 4-cores and 4-threads, with a boost clock of 3.7GHz. It may not be the strongest contender ever made on paper, but when you see and feel the actual performance gains it offers, you’re certainly getting a lot of bang for your $289 buck.
One of the nice things about the Intel Core i5-2500K processors is that the retail boxed models come with a CPU cooler. So, you can pick something like the Intel Core i5-2500K up for $289 and don’t need to spend any extra money on CPU cooling.
The Intel Core i5-2500K retail boxed processor comes with the traditional ‘pancake’ CPU cooler. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done on this processor which is rated at 95W TDP. You do not need to have an aftermarket cooling solution unless you want to.
The gaming tests with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti installed in the test system showed the Intel Core i5-2500K was more capable than many might have expected. The basic mid-range processor from Intel that can be picked up for $289 was able to out perform the A8-5600K that runs $262.2 shipped in the three games we tested on. We know that you can’t test on just three games and declare something the overall victor, but it just goes to show that 4-core processors can still manage to get by today. Being able to play current game titles and stream to Twitch on the Core i5-2500K was something we give playable results, but we were pleasantly surprised. As games become more threaded the ‘value’ in a 4-core processor continues to go down, but you can still get by with something like the Core i5-2500K in a pinch.
That said, Intel still lags behind in frequency when the A8-5600K operates at 3.6GHz at any given moment and 3.9GHz when push comes to shove.
If extended overclocking and boost frequencies are trivial matters to you, Intel also offers the Core i5-2405S at $472. It’s still outfitted with 4-cores and 4-threads, but clocks in at a slower 2.5GHz and maxes out at only 3.3GHz.
Fresh from a successful roll-out of mainstream Core i5 CPUs, Intel's attack on AMD now extends down into the mid-range with its Core i5-2500K processors, which the company is making available as of Dec 2010.
Which GPU to Pick for Intel Core i5-2500K
Below is a comparison of all graphics cards average FPS performance (using an average of 80+ games at ultra quality settings), combined with the Intel Core i5-2500K.
| Graphics Card | Price | Cost Per Frame | Avg 1080p | Avg 1440p | Avg 4K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 24GB | $ 1,599 | $ 8 | 200.2 FPS
|
228 FPS
|
168.3 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Ti 20GB | $ 799 | $ 4.3 | 186.8 FPS
|
212.8 FPS
|
157.1 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB | $ 999 | $ 5.5 | 180.7 FPS
|
202 FPS
|
135.7 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 16GB | $ 1,199 | $ 6.9 | 173.5 FPS
|
197.5 FPS
|
145.8 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti 12GB | $ 799 | $ 4.8 | 166.7 FPS
|
189.7 FPS
|
139.9 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB | $ 899 | $ 5.5 | 164.3 FPS
|
183.6 FPS
|
123.3 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 24GB | $ 1,499 | $ 9.6 | 156 FPS
|
171.3 FPS
|
119 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT 16GB | $ 1,099 | $ 7.4 | 149.3 FPS
|
166.9 FPS
|
112.1 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti 24GB | $ 1,999 | $ 13.6 | 146.8 FPS
|
167.1 FPS
|
123.4 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT 16GB | $ 999 | $ 6.8 | 146.2 FPS
|
161.5 FPS
|
110.3 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT 16GB | $ 649 | $ 4.7 | 137.6 FPS
|
152 FPS
|
103.9 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 20GB | $ 799 | $ 5.9 | 135.9 FPS
|
152.3 FPS
|
109.7 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 10GB | $ 699 | $ 5.1 | 135.9 FPS
|
149.3 FPS
|
103.7 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 12GB | $ 599 | $ 4.6 | 131.2 FPS
|
145.7 FPS
|
106.2 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 10GB | $ 599 | $ 5.1 | 116.6 FPS
|
129.1 FPS
|
91.3 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 16GB | $ 579 | $ 5.3 | 109 FPS
|
120.4 FPS
|
82.2 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB | $ 499 | $ 4.8 | 104 FPS
|
114.2 FPS
|
79.3 FPS
|
| NVIDIA TITAN RTX 24GB | $ 2,499 | $ 26.2 | 95.5 FPS
|
108.3 FPS
|
75.7 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11GB | $ 1,299 | $ 14 | 92.9 FPS
|
105.4 FPS
|
73.7 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT 12GB | $ 479 | $ 5.2 | 91.8 FPS
|
102.1 FPS
|
68.8 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB 8GB | $ 399 | $ 4.4 | 90.2 FPS
|
101.5 FPS
|
72.7 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8GB | $ 399 | $ 4.7 | 85.2 FPS
|
96 FPS
|
68 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8GB | $ 699 | $ 8.3 | 84.3 FPS
|
94.7 FPS
|
65.9 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT 8GB | $ 399 | $ 4.9 | 81.4 FPS
|
90.9 FPS
|
62.5 FPS
|
| NVIDIA TITAN V 12GB | $ 2,999 | $ 37.1 | 80.8 FPS
|
91.7 FPS
|
65.4 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB | $ 299 | $ 3.7 | 80.8 FPS
|
91.4 FPS
|
65.4 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 7600 8GB | $ 269 | $ 3.3 | 80.7 FPS
|
90.4 FPS
|
61.9 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 8GB | $ 699 | $ 8.8 | 79.7 FPS
|
88.6 FPS
|
61.1 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB | $ 379 | $ 5 | 76.3 FPS
|
84.9 FPS
|
58 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB | $ 759 | $ 10.2 | 74.7 FPS
|
84.5 FPS
|
58.8 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8GB | $ 499 | $ 6.7 | 74.3 FPS
|
81.6 FPS
|
56.6 FPS
|
| NVIDIA TITAN Xp 12GB | $ 1,199 | $ 16.4 | 73.3 FPS
|
81.6 FPS
|
58 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon VII 16GB | $ 699 | $ 9.5 | 73.3 FPS
|
81 FPS
|
55.3 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB | $ 399 | $ 5.6 | 71.3 FPS
|
78.8 FPS
|
53.8 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 8GB | $ 499 | $ 7.1 | 70.4 FPS
|
76.2 FPS
|
53.6 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 8GB | $ 200 | $ 2.8 | 70.4 FPS
|
78.8 FPS
|
56.4 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB | $ 329 | $ 4.7 | 69.9 FPS
|
77 FPS
|
54 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER 8GB | $ 400 | $ 6 | 66.6 FPS
|
70.9 FPS
|
49 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 5700 8GB | $ 349 | $ 5.3 | 65.4 FPS
|
72.3 FPS
|
49.3 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB | $ 499 | $ 7.9 | 63.5 FPS
|
69.1 FPS
|
47.3 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB | $ 350 | $ 5.6 | 62.7 FPS
|
65.3 FPS
|
44.2 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT 6GB | $ 279 | $ 4.5 | 61.7 FPS
|
67.6 FPS
|
46 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon R9 295X2 4GB | $ 1,499 | $ 25.2 | 59.5 FPS
|
63.8 FPS
|
46.5 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 8GB | $ 499 | $ 8.4 | 59.3 FPS
|
65.6 FPS
|
44.6 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB | $ 409 | $ 7 | 58.8 FPS
|
64 FPS
|
43.7 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti 6GB | $ 249 | $ 4.3 | 57.5 FPS
|
62.2 FPS
|
43.2 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X 12GB | $ 999 | $ 17.5 | 57.2 FPS
|
61.5 FPS
|
42 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB | $ 279 | $ 5 | 55.9 FPS
|
60.9 FPS
|
41.5 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 8GB | $ 399 | $ 7.2 | 55.6 FPS
|
61.3 FPS
|
41.8 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB | $ 399 | $ 7.4 | 54.1 FPS
|
58.4 FPS
|
39.6 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6GB | $ 229 | $ 4.3 | 52.7 FPS
|
57.5 FPS
|
39.3 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB | $ 649 | $ 13 | 49.8 FPS
|
53.9 FPS
|
36.7 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 6GB | $ 220 | $ 4.4 | 49.6 FPS
|
54 FPS
|
36.8 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 590 8GB | $ 279 | $ 5.9 | 47.1 FPS
|
49.8 FPS
|
33.2 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon R9 FURY X 4GB | $ 649 | $ 14.4 | 45.2 FPS
|
51.2 FPS
|
35.9 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4GB | $ 160 | $ 3.7 | 43.2 FPS
|
46.9 FPS
|
32 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB 8GB | $ 199 | $ 4.6 | 42.8 FPS
|
45.3 FPS
|
30.1 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB | $ 549 | $ 12.9 | 42.7 FPS
|
45.7 FPS
|
31.4 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB | $ 229 | $ 5.5 | 41.8 FPS
|
44.1 FPS
|
29.2 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon R9 Nano 4GB | $ 649 | $ 15.8 | 41.1 FPS
|
45.8 FPS
|
31.9 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK 6GB | $ 999 | $ 25 | 39.9 FPS
|
42.3 FPS
|
30.3 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon R9 FURY 4GB | $ 549 | $ 14.1 | 38.8 FPS
|
43.1 FPS
|
29.6 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB | $ 254 | $ 6.6 | 38.7 FPS
|
41.2 FPS
|
28.2 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 4GB 4GB | $ 169 | $ 4.4 | 38.4 FPS
|
40.7 FPS
|
27 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon R9 390X 8GB | $ 429 | $ 11.5 | 37.4 FPS
|
41.3 FPS
|
28.6 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3GB | $ 170 | $ 4.6 | 36.8 FPS
|
39.2 FPS
|
26.8 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB | $ 329 | $ 9.1 | 36.2 FPS
|
38.2 FPS
|
27.1 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 480 8GB | $ 400 | $ 11.4 | 35.1 FPS
|
38.5 FPS
|
26.9 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon R9 390 8GB | $ 329 | $ 9.4 | 34.9 FPS
|
37.7 FPS
|
24.6 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB | $ 169 | $ 4.9 | 34.5 FPS
|
37.2 FPS
|
24.8 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB | $ 149 | $ 4.5 | 32.9 FPS
|
35.6 FPS
|
24.2 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 470 4GB | $ 179 | $ 5.8 | 30.8 FPS
|
33.4 FPS
|
22.7 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon R9 380X 4GB | $ 229 | $ 8.8 | 25.9 FPS
|
27.8 FPS
|
19.3 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon R9 285 2GB | $ 249 | $ 10.7 | 23.2 FPS
|
25 FPS
|
16.4 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon R9 380 2GB | $ 199 | $ 8.6 | 23.1 FPS
|
24.8 FPS
|
16.4 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB | $ 169 | $ 7.4 | 22.7 FPS
|
24.5 FPS
|
16.7 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB | $ 279 | $ 12.4 | 22.5 FPS
|
24.4 FPS
|
15.7 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 2GB | $ 199 | $ 9 | 22.2 FPS
|
23.8 FPS
|
16 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 3GB | $ 169 | $ 8.8 | 19.3 FPS
|
20.7 FPS
|
13.8 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 560 4GB | $ 99 | $ 5.5 | 17.9 FPS
|
18.9 FPS
|
12.7 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 2GB | $ 159 | $ 9.1 | 17.5 FPS
|
18.5 FPS
|
12.9 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon R7 370 2GB | $ 149 | $ 8.7 | 17.2 FPS
|
17.4 FPS
|
12.2 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon R7 265 2GB | $ 149 | $ 8.7 | 17.1 FPS
|
16.8 FPS
|
11.8 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 460 4GB | $ 140 | $ 8.9 | 15.8 FPS
|
16.7 FPS
|
11.3 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB | $ 149 | $ 9.8 | 15.2 FPS
|
14.4 FPS
|
10.1 FPS
|
| AMD Radeon RX 550 2GB | $ 79 | $ 6.3 | 12.5 FPS
|
13.3 FPS
|
8.9 FPS
|
| NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 2GB | $ 79 | $ 6.6 | 11.9 FPS
|
12.6 FPS
|
8.2 FPS
|
Related Discussions and Issues
You can inplace upgrade win7 to win10 for free.
Also, could Windows 7 be partly to blame for bad gaming performance?
No, but he REALLY should go to Win10 considering there's no more security updates for Win7 and it's going to become more vulnerable every day he stays with Win7 (not to mention getting Windows 7 to run on a Ryzen platform is a PAIN IN THE ASS).
You're going to have to wipe/reload windows in order to do a motherboard change, as Win7 doesn't support platform migration, going to Win10 at this time would be a good idea.
He would like to have things future proofed for when Big Navi comes out
That's not really a thing.
would this mean X570
No. X570 supports PCIe 4.0, yes - but considering a 2080 Ti can't saturate a PCIe 3.0 x16 bus to the point where performance drops, big navi isn't going to either.
Your build looks good, but you should probably also consider a new power supply, as it's quite possible that the power supply your friend has won't have the same connectors that will be on AMD's next big thing, and you don't want to adapt that.
The CPU is 100% the performance bottleneck in games like Modern Warfare. We're seeing more and more games now that really love having more than 4 cores so those old quad cores are finally getting to the point where they need to be replaced.
The parts you linked are just fine and will be a huge improvement for him.
I'd save $90 and go with the $85 1600AF instead of 3600.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-i7-2600K-SR00C-3-4GHz-Quad-Core-Processor/264613741249?hash=item3d9c3542c1:g:XeUAAOSwAeBeL0uG
I had one if these i7 2600k ran it at 4.6ghz. For it's time it was a great cpu. Very cheap upgrade. Slap an aio on it and ramp it up a ghz.
Upgrading from i5-2500K - Build help
Haven't upgraded since I bought my i5-2500k in 2011. Finally installed Borderlands 3 and the frames just aren't cutting it with my 27" 144hz Dell monitor.
What is your intended use for this build? The more details the better.
Gaming almost exclusively.
If gaming, what kind of performance are you looking for? (Screen resolution, framerate, game settings)
2560x1440, 144fps, medium settings is fine.
What is your budget (ballpark is okay)?
~$750 excluding video card for now.
In what country are you purchasing your parts?
US.
PCPartPicker Part List
Type Item Price CPU AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor $174.99 @ Newegg Motherboard MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard $114.99 @ Best Buy Memory Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory $94.99 @ Best Buy Storage Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive $99.99 @ Best Buy Video Card EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4 GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card - Case NZXT H510 ATX Mid Tower Case $69.99 @ Best Buy Power Supply Corsair CXM 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply $94.98 @ Newegg Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts Total $649.93 Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-29 13:32 EDT-0400Provide any additional details you wish below.
Already have an EVGA 970 I will stick with. Also live about 15 minutes from Microcenter, so I will be getting everything there.
Any help or feedback is appreciated! Thank you all.
Looks solid. Only recommendations I could make, which are purely optional, are to switch from RGB RAM to normal RAM at 3600mhz since Ryzen likes fast RAM, but there's not a huge difference between either, a few frames gain in games from the 3600mhz I believe. Also switch out the 500gb NVME for a 1tb SATA m.2 as the difference in normal usage and gaming is negligible and the extra space would be more of an immediate benefit.
It's a solid build, my suggestions are just to fit what I would go for in your case.
Got it. I already have a 850 EVO I can use for storage as well from my old build, so may use that.
Agreed on the ssd. Get a mx500/wd blue 1Tb, because even if you have an old ssd, more ssd storage is always good, fuck hdds for anything other than mass storage of photos/tv, etc.
Looks good overall, except you should buy this RAM kit instead of the one you have listed there.
It's both faster and less expensive.
Looks good, I think my current build as G.Skill
Need help with BSODs on a OC'd i5-2500k @ 4.5Ghz
A looong time ago I OC'd my chip to 4.5Ghz. It ran stable for many years, but recently I've been getting BSODs with "WHEA uncorrectable error" and "Clock watchdog timeout" errors.
I'm pretty certain they're related to my OC because when I reverted to stock settings I stopped getting them. I'd like to keep my OC or as close to it as possible though - what do I need to change? Here are pics of my current settings:
https://imgur.com/A28G8Gr
https://imgur.com/hnlV6Qz
https://imgur.com/6BwEw9w
https://imgur.com/Csmf1EN
Edit: Forgot voltage pics:
https://imgur.com/l9FOLyh
https://imgur.com/W3WzKoC
If you have no settings to change voltages, your motherboard probably doesnt overclock and you probably shouldnt anyway
It does, somehow I forgot those pics, will update shortly.
I'd drop it to 4.4GHz and check if it's stable, and if not dial back even further or upgrade my cooling, assuming you're using the stock cooler.
Your voltage setting is actually pretty reasonable for Sandy Bridge, and as long as your cooling is adequate you may want to bump it up one notch (eg, to 1.375 or even 1.4v).
From my experience, you may also want to try dropping the PLL voltage to 1.8v from the shown 1.9v.
What I'd do first though, is pull the cooler and re-apply some thermal paste. If it's from an old application, it's possible that it's dried up and is no longer effective. You can then, from that point, either try jumping right back in at 4.5GHz or start to step up your frequency and voltage again to determine where your sweet spot sits at this point in the platform's life. :)
Thank, I rebuilt my computer a few years ago due to a move, so I don't think the thermal paste is too old, though I'll try to keep checking the temps.
I bumped up the voltage to 1.36 and decreased the PLL to 1.8, if it's still unstable I'll increase the CPU to 1.375 gradually and watch temps.
Intel i5 2500k + AMD Radeon R9 200 series Overclocked at 4.0ghz HELP running HOT
Hello! I have an Intel i5 2500k 3.3ghz CPU with a Radeon R9 200 series GPU on my Gigabyte z68 motherboard. Basic fans and set up nothing special.
I went to over clock at 4.5ghz and i expierenced repeated failure, tuning and tuning my settings scouring the web, but i could never get my OS to load it just kept restarting. So i gave up temporarily and put the CPU clock at 40x which Ive read, automatically does the rest.
I’ve tried it WITH and WITHOUT XMP enabled Profile1
At some points it likes to lock me out of bios but I get around it using alternative startup, not sure if thats messing with my settings, does windows 10 alternative startup disable bios mods/put you in safe mode or something?
I finally got it to work! But then I went to test it on a game, and OpenHardware said my CPU is running a cool 40-50ish degrees which is fine. But my GPU is running at 94degrees. I shut the game off and let it cool, but I don’t understand what’s affecting my GPU if all i did was use the intel auto overclock on my processor.
I’d love to chat with someone about optimizing my set up, fixing this, and i’d love to overclock it to 4.5ghz after I get 4.0ghz stable.
First things first.
Your hardware is quite old, that means some parts of it wont run as spec anymore, specifically the thermal solutions. I first recommend that you disassemble the Gpu Cooler and replace the thermal interface (you will need thermal paste)
Consider delidding your CPU. You can drop 10-20c by doing this.
List your BIOS settings (voltages)
Make sure you’ve got latest BIOS.
Edit: 5. Google search for average clocks per voltage settings for your CPU. For example I’ve got 10x3570K and I know avg. 4.5GHz needs avg. 1.3v.
I will check the thermal paste and see if it’s okay, the pc was jusg built by my friend a couple weeks ago.
The thing about the GPU randomly getting hot is it was running 4.5ghz a few days ago with no problems not getting hot at all. after it reset, and I did a 4.0ghz overclock (i couldnt get 4.5 to work) its now overheating which means somethings definitely wrong.
BIOS settings: Opening Page:
Bios Version: FD BCLK:100.32mhz CPU Frequency: 3992.14mhz Memory Frequency: 1330.72mhz Total Memory Size: 16384 mb
CPU Temp 31
Vcore: 1.284-1.296 Dram Voltage:1.524
Advanced Frequency Settings: CPU Clock Ratio: 40x CPU frequency: 4.00GHZ (100x40) BLCK/DMI/PEG clock control: Disabled BLCK/DMI/PEG Frequency: 1000 100.0mhz XMP Profile: Disabled System Memory Multiplier: Auto Memory Frequency: 1333 Internal Graphics Clock: Auto 1100
Advanced CPU Core Features: Internal CPU PLL voltage: Auto Real Tome Ratio Changes in OS: Disabled Intel Turbo Boost Tech: Auto 1Core: Auto 37 2Core: Auto 36 3Core: Auto 35 4Core: Auto 34 Turbo Power limit: 95 180 Core Current Limit 97 150 CPU Cores enabled: all CPU advanced Halt C1E: Auto C3/C6: Auto Cpu Thermal Monitor : Auto Cpu EIST Function : Auto
Advanced Memory Status: System Memory Multiplier: Auto Memory Frequency: 1333 Performance Enhance: Turbo Dram Timing: Auto DDR voltage: 1.5v VIT voltage:1.05v Channel interleavjng auto rank jnterleaving auto channel A: 9-9-9-24
Channel B: 9-9-9-24
Advanced Voltage: Multi Step Load Line: Level 6 Vcore: 1.320 Normal DVID: +0.050v QPI VOLTAGE 1.050v [1.160v] system agent voltage : Auto 0.920v graphics core : Auto 1.110v graphics dvid : Auto +0.000
cpu pll 1.800v
dram voltage : Auto dram vref : Auto dram termination : Auto cha data vref : Auto chb data vref : Auto
This is me trying to do a simple overclock to 4.0ghz, only thing i changed from basic was changing CPU clock multiplier to 40x
Consider delidding your CPU. You can drop 10-20c by doing this.
2500k is soldered so this is a good way to kill your CPU.
Intel Vs AMD: Which CPU is Best?
Jul 12, 2020 - A rivalry for the ages, and a question often asked and wondered about. Whenever you want to build or upgrade your PC, you have to make a decision: Buy an Intel or AMD processor?
Impact of RAM Size and Speed on Gaming Benchmarks
Jul 5, 2020 - Does RAM size and speed affect your gaming performance? should you invest in a high performance RAM kit? Find out here.
Who Is Lilith and What Terrifies Us About This Diablo Demon?
Jul 24, 2023 No evil entity is more scary than Lilith herself, shrouded in darkness.
Why You Should Always Buy a Mid-to-High-Range Gaming PC?
Jun 23, 2020 - Mid- and high-range builds perform very well for their price, and are better than the entry-level in terms of power, longevity, and reliability, and they offer more bang for your buck especially when looking at their price-by-year advantage.
Should you buy a Pre-Built PC or a Custom PC?
Jun 11, 2020 - Pre-built systems are an attractive option for those who are less concerned with the minute details of every component in their build. Building your own PC is the best solution for those who want full control over every aspect of their build. It provides the most thorough customization options, from the CPU to the fans and lighting.
How to use CPUAgent To Find The Right CPU
Jun 2, 2020 - How to find the Right CPU? Whether you’re building or upgrading a PC, the processor matters a lot. CPUAgent is the right tool to help you find and choose the right CPU for your needs.
RTX 3070 with 10600k vs 3700x Bottleneck Comparison
Sep 03, 2020 - Save your CPU money and invest it in a powerful GPU instead. So, which affordable yet powerfulrt CPU strikes the best performance-price balance with the NVIDIA RTX 3070?
10600K vs 3600X: Battle of the mid-range CPUs
May 23, 2020 - The best performance to price value mid-range cpus are here. Find out more in this comprehensive review and summary of the Core i5-10600K vs Ryzen 5 3600X's capabilities.
10700K vs 3700X: Specs, 80+ Game Benchmarks, Bottleneck, and Streaming Analysis
May 22, 2020 - Which one is worth it, Core i7-10700K or Ryzen 7 3700X? Find out in this comprehensive review and summary of the Core i7-10700K vs Ryzen 7 3700X's capabilities.
13900K vs 3900X: Specs, 80+ Game Benchmarks, Bottleneck, and Streaming Analysis
May 21, 2020 - 10 cores vs 12 cores. Top-of-the-line very high-end cpus duke it out.
2500K vs 3570K vs 4670K vs 6600K vs 7600K vs 8600K vs 9600K vs 10600K: Should you consider upgrading?
May 21, 2020 - In this massive comparison across 8 generations of Intel Core i5 series CPUs, we explore the performance improvements by generation and whether it is reasonable or not to upgrade to Intel's latest.
Friend has 1070 FTW but Intel i5 2500k and 1600 DDR3 RAM and is still running Windows 7. Experiences subpar performance in games like Modern Warfare. Looking for help with upgrading everything except GPU.
I did post about this a few months back and it seems the CPU is almost certainly the issue, but I'm just looking for extra confirmation before he buys everything. He wouldn't mind spending up to $600, but is this really necessary? He would like to have things future proofed for when Big Navi comes out - would this mean X570? Here is what I came up with so far. Also, could Windows 7 be partly to blame for bad gaming performance?
Thanks in advance for any help provided!!
[PCPartPicker Part List]( https://pcpartpicker.com/list/nNZFWD )
Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor]( https://pcpartpicker.com/product/9nm323/amd-ryzen-5-3600-36-thz-6-core-processor-100-100000031box ) | $174.99 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** | [MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard]( https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jcYQzy/msi-b450-tomahawk-max-atx-am4-motherboard-b450-tomahawk-max ) | $114.89 @ Amazon
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory]( https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jBZzK8/gskill-ripjaws-v-16-gb-2-x-8-gb-ddr4-3600-memory-f4-3600c16d-16gvkc ) | $82.99 @ Newegg
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| **Total** | **$372.87**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker]( https://pcpartpicker.com ) 2020-02-25 17:37 EST-0500 |