I have never overclocked before...

[Shyatic]

Currently I am running:

i5 2500 @ 3.3GHz (not OCed)
Radeon 7950
8GB RAM (it was a crucial kit, not a gamer-type kit)

Primarily I play Counterstrike GO, and rather than upgrading my machine that otherwise runs fine, I have now finally thought about overclocking.

First, was thinking of buying this to enable my overclocking adventures:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835181010

I think my question really lies in the idea of is it worth overclocking my CPU worth it, over say... just upgrading my PC? Does an i7 make a big difference in CSGO, or will I get the same benefit from OCing?

Is the cooler I'm choosing a pretty decent one? I don't care to push the envelope in terms of an OC -- something that will be stable under load and yet give good performance gains (percentage wise) for CSGO.

That's about it. Any great insight or knowledge would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Shyatic]

Additionally -- if there are good beginners guides to OC... they would be appreciated as well.

 

[EightySix Four]

Is it a 2500, 2500S, 2500T, or 2500K?

Either way, you're probably going to get better results from OCing the 7850 (which is a great overclocking card) than you are the CPU with CS:Go. I have a hard time believing that it is CPU bound.

 

[Shyatic]

Is it a 2500, 2500S, 2500T, or 2500K?

Not sure -- I will have to check CPU-Z when I get home. EDIT: Does it make a difference in terms of which can/can't be OCed?

 

[Burpo]

Only the 2500K is unlocked for overclocking.

 

[Puppies04]

Only the 2500K is unlocked for overclocking.

Correct, the others can be tweaked by a few percent but it isn't advised.

 

[Shyatic]

I should note I have this cooler currently: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Worth upgrading to WCing?

 

[EightySix Four]

I should note I have this cooler currently: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Worth upgrading to WCing?

Depends on if you have a 2500k or not. Either way, start with OCing the video card and see if you get the desired results. That 7850 can be cranked up quite a bit.

 

[Shyatic]

Depends on if you have a 2500k or not. Either way, start with OCing the video card and see if you get the desired results. That 7850 can be cranked up quite a bit.

If it is a 2500k, will it give me a decent OC?

And for the GPU OC... do that on stock cooling?

 

[Greenlepricon]

If it is a 2500k, will it give me a decent OC?

And for the GPU OC... do that on stock cooling?

Unless you want a crazy overclock, stock cooling on gpu's is generally good enough assuming your gpu isn't a dud. A couple hundred Mhz will do wonders. Make sure it's stable, cool enough, and find a noise level you're comfortable with. There are guides all over on how to do it, and it's way easier and faster imo than messing with a cpu. 2500k's are great overclockers too, but I'm thinking along the same lines of everyone else that you probably only need to clock it a little faster if at all. Games generally won't respond as much to cpu overclocks as gpu ones.

 

[Shyatic]

Processor 1 ID = 0
Number of cores 4 (max 8)
Number of threads 4 (max 16)
Name Intel Core i5 2500
Codename Sandy Bridge
Specification Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2500 CPU @ 3.30GHz
Package (platform ID) Socket 1155 LGA (0x1)
CPUID 6.A.7
Extended CPUID 6.2A

 

[Shyatic]

That's my CPU-Z... guessing it is not OCable, right?

 

[NTMBK]

That's my CPU-Z... guessing it is not OCable, right?

It is minorly overclockable... but you won't get much out of it.

 

[EightySix Four]

7850 Overclocking: http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-1828735/radeon-7850-overclocking-tutorial-full-guide.html