Can I overclock with my mobo (H61) and -K series CPU?

Basically I know nothing about overclocking (other than the stock fan won't be up to snuff), But I hope to upgrade to an Ivy Bridge CPU (mainly for HD 4000).

Problem is, the only ones coming out right away with HD 4000 are the i7s and the i5-3570K. The i7s are overkill for my needs, but having a K series without the intention of eventually unlocking it seems a bit wasteful (and I don't think I can wait for the other i5 with HD 4000 or the i3s)

What I'm wondering is, will I be able to overclock without buying a new motherboard? Thanks.

Really? I thought that with the unlocked multiplier of the K series processors I can just go into BIOS to set a higher maximum multiplier. I found the setting on my Mobo, but not having a K series I cannot tell if it allows me to set a higher multiplier or not.

H series boards can be overclocked, but generally not as well as a P or Z series, their are not as many voltage regulators and generally less chipset cooling.

That said to upgrade just for video you would be better off buying a nvidia video card the another CPU.

Wrench97 said:

H series boards can be overclocked, but generally not as well as a P or Z series, their are not as many voltage regulators and generally less chipset cooling.

That said to upgrade just for video you would be better off buying a nvidia video card the another CPU.

I wouldn't overclock it too much, only so I'd get some extra oomph when I need it. If I was in the range where I need a heavy-duty cooler for the CPU, then I'll be upgrading the board. From what I can tell I would be perfectly happy with just boosting the multiplier a little bit.

Most successful OC on the i series start by setting the ram speed lower, that way as you raise multiplier the ram is not running faster then it can handle.

What CPU do have currently?

Penitum G620

James7679 said:

Futur, they are not lying to you. You may be able to softclock with this board, but correct overclocking, it will not do. If you are considering to move into the K series Sandy, you should also consider moving to the z series board.

K series Ivy. And I only want to do it because the only i5 with HD 4000 to come out in the next little while has an unlocked multiplier. I literally do NOT need the overclock as the most CPU intensive program I use is VirtualBox. I just think that if I have it, then it would be nice to have a little extra oomph when I need it.