Help with an overclock i5 2500k

I recently had to update my bios because i was having bsod problems it took care of them. Now i wanted to overclock my cpu but not sure what voltages i should use with the new bios i'm using for my ga-p67a-ud4 (f7 i belive). Also wanted to if it's possible to overclock only when the cpu is in use instead of a 24/7 overclock.

Dunno how it is with sandy bridge, but Z67 mobos are generally advised for OC on Ivy Bridge(Z77) and the only possible mobos to use for OC Haswell(Z87).

Anyway if you don't want it 24/7 you have to enable Intel Speedstep and maybe also not set your computer(in windows this is) to balanced performance.

Have you OC'ed it before? There are plenty of guides for Sandy Bridge OCing. Most likely you can take it up to 4.2 without touching the voltage at all. I hope you use something better than the standard cooling on it.

@horgen123: I had it overclocked before i updated the bios but not sure what voltage i should use the one i had before most likely won't work anymore and wanted to see if anyone knew what would be a good voltage to use. When i overclocked it before i used 1.3V and it worked fine.

Most likely it will be stable at a lower voltage. Start with what you used and then see if you can either lower the voltage or go higher in speed if that is what you want.

You should try 1.4V. I wouldn't go higher then 1.5V.

1.4V means a lot of heat.

At 1.4v it WILL run hot. See how high you can get the multiplier while on stock voltage. If you want to go higher, increase the voltage and then the multiplier. Rinse and repeat, basically. It's all about testing to see at what speeds you can stay stable at.

I wouldn't go even close to 1.4V. 1.25 is high enough and that was after turning it down from 1.3V. where I was getting temps in the 80s.

OP, you're just going to have to experiment, each CPU is different. For a guide on all of your settings, I would try to find a guide on your bios and see what you should do with the rest of the settings if you run into instability issues.

This is a very good suggestion. Though start low.

every CPU is different. i had to go to 1.34V to get my 2500K to 4.2ghz. i have tried it clear up to 1.4V and i cannot get it to go any higher and stay stable. i wasnt scared of heat though, since i have a Hyper 212 cooling it... if you havent seen them.... here you go... yeah it is basically the size of a softball and has dual 120mm fans:

I'm close to 1.4V and I'm still staying pretty cool. But it is true every CPU is different.

Right. And I'm using Ivy-Bridge, so while it is much more efficient, it's not exactly cooler due to the way Intel decided to put the covers on over the Die in this lineup.