2500k+ H50= ?

[AW_3_3]

Hey guys!

Well, my current setup is as follows, and this sunday I will be receiving an i5-2500k, and an ASUS P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3 motherboard. I plan on overclocking, and for that I have a few general questions regarding the overclocking, and cooling.

Case: Antec Three Hundred
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965BE @ 3.75Ghz (1.43vCore)
RAM: 8GB (2x4) Corsair XMS3 DDR3-1333
Graphics: 2x Crossfired XFX Radeon 5770s (OC 910/1315)
PSU: XFX 650W Pro Modular- 80PLUS Bronze
Storage: 1x Intel X-25V 40GB, 1x WD 640GB Blue, 1x Samsung 500GB/5400RPM
ODD: 1x Samsung BD-ROM/DVD+RW, 1x LG DVD+RW
Cooling-
CPU: Lapped Corsair H50 watercooling, with two Rocketfish fixed speed 1200RPM 120mm fans, in exhaust configuration (Push-pull).
Side Panel: 1x Silverstone FN121 120mm
Front: 2x Rocketfish Fixed Speed 1200RPM 120mm fans
Top: 1x Antec Tri-cool 140mm exhaust, in low speed


Alright, so like I said, I will be getting the 2500k and new mobo. I'm going to change things up, or I'd like to. First of all, I'm going to use new fans on the radiator. I have two of the Corsair 120mm PWM fans that come with their watercooling kits, they go up to 1600RPM, and push a decent amount of air while being pretty quiet. Now, the P8Z68 has a few PWM controllable fans. One CPU Waterpump, One CPU Fan, and One Chassis fan, and one 3 pin CPU fan. What I'm thinking is plug the Waterpump into the 3 pin block (since it is fixed speed), and both Corsair PWM fans as the Radiator fans. I assume that i can use both 4-pin CPU plugs to control the fans, based on CPU temperature? That is what I'd like to do, if possible.

On that topic, would the H50 even be sufficent to cool an 4.5Ghz+ 2500k? I suppose it depends on voltage, but I'm feeling a little nervous about it. I don't want to kill it with high temps, but I want to get a good OC out of it too. Thoughts on this appreciated.

Next, I'm considering turning the 140mm top fan around into an intake fan. The PSU, two graphics cards, and CPU Rad fans are all exhaust. I'm wondering if a Positive case pressure, and a fan blowing directly onto the CPU VRMs and voltage equipment would be better than keeping it as an exhaust. Opinions?

As far as the OC itself goes, I've heard that offset voltage is the way to go for vcore, since it allows the cpu to undervolt itself when idle. This the case?


Thanks in advance, or Arigatou!

 

[pan1cattack]

Your H50 will be fine cooling your 2500k at 4.5GHz. Heck, the stock cooler can do it somewhat well. Just keep your vcore below 1.3 (it shouldn't need to be higher).
I'm using manual voltage, as I have no need to undervolt my cpu (it's hardly idle), but if you leave Intel Smartstep enabled, it should slow down/undervolt your proc at idle anyways.
As for cooling, I would suggest having your H50 fans as intakes. The air outside your case will always be cooler than the air inside it. You can still have the 140mm as an intake, as it will cool your RAM, and feed your gpu/psu with fresh air.
Cheers!