Intel i7 920 Overclock

[Crungus]

Hello there. I'm new to this forum so you'll have the excuse any errors I make. Basically, I wanna Overclock my CPU since it currently sits at 2.66 Ghz. I'm completely new to overclooking and I've never done it in my life before. I ran a quick check with Speedfan to check the heat and this is the result I got. Any help will be greatly appreciated.



Here are my system specs:
CPU - Intel Core i7-920, 2.66 Ghz (Link: http://ark.intel.com/products/37147/Intel-Core-i7-920-Processor-8M-Cache-2_66-GHz-4_80-GTs-Intel-QPI)
GPU - GeForce GTX 750 (Link: http://www.nvidia.com/gtx-700-graphics-cards/gtx-750/)
Motherboard - ASUSTek P6T SE (Link: https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P6T_SE/)
RAM - 12 GBytes of DDR3
Windows 7 (6.1) Professional 64-bit
DirectX 11.0

If you need any more specs, I'll gladly post them here and as I said, any help is appreciated, thank you.
​

 

[Witchdoctor]

Well before you start you want to make sure you have effective cooling
Beating the heat is job #1

what cooler are you using ?

 

[Crungus]

I'm not sure. I got this PC for free from my mom's old workspace. Is there a way to check or will I have to open my PC? I know how to, I've replaced my GPU, CPU, Motherboard and Storage before.

 

[Witchdoctor]

I would assume it is a stock Intel
I would leave well enough alone unless you are willing to invest into a better cooler.

I have not air cooled since the 90's so I would look to a better source for a good one
I Know a lot speak highly of the CM 212 Evo, that may be out of fashion though ?

 

[Rainwater]

From the sounds of it he has a fully enclosed case he has to "open" up and if he got it from his Mom's old workspace then I am sure it's not a showcase pc. Anyways point is fashion doesn't sound like an issue. But most definitely the first thing you need to invest in is an after market cpu cooler. The evo he listed is around 30 dollars and should be adequate enough to get you well over 3 Ghz. Also not sure what psu you have but it needs to be somewhat decent and somewhat powerful to get a decent overclock as well. But cooling is your number one priority all around. Case cooling and cpu cooling.

 

[trents]

Hold on now. If this is a an OEM workstation it my very well have a small form factor case or be a mini tower and the Coolermaster hyper 212 Evo would be too tall to fit into it, as would most or all 120mm fan based aftermarket tower coolers.

Crungus, what is the make and model of the PC?

 

[Rainwater]

Oh ya duh is it an i7-920 or an i7-920k because idk if you can overclock it anyway. Are those unlocked?

- - - Updated - - -

Nevermind, my bad there wasn't a k series on those.

 

[Crungus]

I'll try and see if I can find out the model of the case. I know that's it's Acer and it's definately a tower. And it was not a showcase PC, my Mom works as an architect so they had to have decent PC's to use the programs they had.

 

[trents]

If nothing else, a picture of the tower would be helpful to get an idea of it's size. Actually, if you would measure across the top panel it would give an idea of how tall a cooler it would accommodate.

 

[Rainwater]

https://www.reevoo.com/p/acer-aspire-m7720-i7-920

When I search Acer i7 920 I see the Acer Aspire here. If it is a case this sixe it will more than likely be plenty big enough.

 

[wingman99]

Can you even overclock the Motherboard?

 

[trents]

From what information the OP has given, the motherboard looks to be an enthusiast class motherboard. So I would guess so. He gives a link in his system specs.

 

[wingman99]

Well if that is true the OP can overclock to 3.2GHz with the stock cooler.

 

[Rainwater]

Ya thats a really decent x58 Asus. Better than the Gigabyte z68 I overclocked my old 2600k on for sure.

 

[M@rk]

You can overclock on that board.

As said above, CPU cooler first priority, Then PSU. Can you post what model is your PSU?

 

[Crungus]

Sorry for the late replies. So I'm currently at my Dad's house and I have a different PC here so I won't be able to check what PSU I have nor can I take a picture/measure the case for now. I'll try to go over and see if I can measure it, take a picture of it and find out the model of my PSU and case.

Thanks for all the replies guys. Means alot

 

[DeadSmiley]

After you get your cooling sorted, update to the latest BIOS. If you can swing it get a Xeon X5660 (6 cores/12 threads). It will most likely get 4.0GHz or better. Mine is running 4.37GHz. You can get the X5660 for $50 all day long on Ebay. It will kick the stuffing out of the i7-920.

 

[Crungus]

Some updates:

Well, I'm back I guess. I opened up my PC, took some pictures and stuff and here's what I got.

The fan I'm currently using seems to be an Intel DC12V and my PSU is a Fractal Design Tesla 650W. I took some pictures of the PSU, cooler and case (I would upload them but they're too large)

https://imgur.com/c9o0I7x

https://imgur.com/Dd3T6QH

https://imgur.com/jRCHu2q

https://imgur.com/xDCxufL

https://imgur.com/I60aChe

And don't worry, I cleaned out all the dust with a can of compressed air and a toothbrush.

 

[M@rk]

The PSU should be fine for overclocking. The cooler is a stock intel cooler, So get a decent cooler like the CM212 but before buying check if your case is big enough for that cooler.

 

[Rainwater]

Just from first glance it definitely looks like the case is big enough. If not then there are many after market air coolers that will fit. And like Mark said your psu should do just fine. I would recommend a can of duster. Or four. Lol Then lets get you overclocking.