Windows 7: Overclocking Intel E5400

A good stress testing tool for overclocking: Free Software - GIMPS

lol dude hes not contradicting himself, its very easy to keep a cool system with stock cooling. it's a simple one, just raise the fan's RPMs. case closed.

Fums your wrong. first of all Etihtsarom is completely right, that damn CPU is like 50 bucks it'd be a perfect way to test ur oc'ing abilities and what not. and if you cant afford a measily 50 bucks then you shouldnt be overclocking anyways, cuz oc'ing is a gamble anyway... even the best overclockiers burn a CPU now and then so do wut Etihtsarom said and take the risk, you dont have to jump straight to 3.5GHz you can go up a few 100Mhz each time and test it for stability, then find ur max. Your max may not be as much as mine, but you never know it might even be better then mine. Like i said earlier as well as ethisarom said take the risk and reap your reward. Unless you don't like to risk the cheap processor, then just get an extreme or an i7 and leave it at stock.

Make up your mind. You began by telling the man "bahhh, no problem, forget about cooling and just crank it up with the stock cooler", now, well... what you're saying is different, which is why the advice provided here has been irresponsible. After all, you're not donating any money if things go wrong, are you?

It's best to let the reader get a full understanding for him or herself, so they're fully aware of what they're doing. I don't disagree with you on the cores, to a point, because no two cores are the same, but you can't just toss out some random figure like 3.5 because you've read it a few times.

Links to guides. If you've got one that's going to provide more or alternative info than the one already given, link away.

First off, your prices are inaccurate: Newegg.com - e5400 Add taxes and shipping and it's a bit more than just "a measily [sic] 50 bucks".

Second, the highlighted portion is what should have been said from the get go. To not tell the user that he could fry his cpu following your advice is irresponsible. There's no way around that reality... no matter how hard or fast you dance.

Third, if you warn the person in advance, then you don't have to make assumptions. For instance, you both have just assumed that because it's a lower priced cpu, that it's within anyone's budget to just go out and fry one as "a test", which is absurd.

I mean really, to tell a guy to go ahead and crank it, then a few posts later say, oh wait, you really should think about cooling, and oops if you fry it just buy another because it's cheap ... well... that's incredible "advice".

... just sayin.

This post is for the OP. You can take a little from what Fumz said (which I've also said from the beginning but he missed it somehow) and be mindful of the cooling. Cooling means not necessarily changing the stock heatsink, just better airflow in the computer case - tuck away cables, may be add a fan. But I'm pretty sure your board and 5400 will do very well. Why? because I've done enough of it to know. Don't let people scare you. MOST of the time, the worst that happens is your CPU or RAM or board will not be able to clock as high as you want because of their limitation and lack of cooling, in which case, you have to improvise. That's it, nothing devastating will happen when your CPU overheats and crashes, it won't fry like these people tell you. Go for it. And if it actually fries, let me know, I'll send you another one. Don't think that I don't have these things laying around the house.

Hi Etihtsarom,

I didn't miss anything, I just disagree with a few points; however, we do agree on others.

We pretty much agree on what the chip is capable of. We also agree that cooling is important; although, imo, if you're going to tell someone to shoot for 3.5GHz, then you should probably also tell him to budget in an aftermarket cooler.

We just happen to disagree on how to go about clocking the chip: with software based tools or through the bios. I linked a guide that would educate the OP, and explain in great detail what needs to be done and how to go about doing it. Again: Howto: Overclock C2Q (quads) And C2D (duals) - A Guide V1.7 - OverclockersClub Forums

I'm sure we can agree that clocking a chip without any idea of what you're doing isn't the best advice in the world, no matter how cheap we may think the chip is.

Etihtsarom:

I am an old Overclocker... I cant handle a stock car, nor stock PC. I've always got to fiddle with speed!

As long as you realize the risks, the rewards are worth it! Now, as some have pointed out you need to do your homework. There are many forums devoted to Overclocking, such as Overclock.net - Overclocking.net ... read them for specifics. Maybe someone out there has some advice on your specific MB. I personally ran an E4500 at 2.8GHz... a stock 2.2GHz CPU. I also agree that you should go in small steps... 5% at a time max... find the fastest you can get your system to operate, then I back it down about 10% from that. As many have said cooling it very important when OC. Get a quality heatsink and fan... and use Arctic Silver thermal paste.

Not putting down your mobo but when I think OC, foxconn isnt a name I think of. Your other components are also crucial... quality MATCHED sticks of memory are a must! Good case cooling, good power supply...

Just start your homework and take it in small steps... you will be fine!