We'll focus on the Core i5 750 chip as it delivers the best overclocking bang for your buck. With that behind us, here's our guide to clocking the twangers out of Intel's new Lynnfield processor.ġ. Third, if you want to guarantee that you don't toast your CPU or mobo, steer clear of voltage tweekery. It'll take a little longer, but you'll get better results and remove virtually all the danger from the process. Second, take small steps, not huge leaps. We therefore suggest you follow a few golden rules.įirst, never make a change to your system's BIOS settings that you do not fully understand. Despite the fact that overclocking has become utterly mainstream in recent years, some risks remain. As ever, it's a case of diminishing returns as you scale heights of Intel's processor price list.įirst a disclaimer. That's a pretty poor result given that the Core i7 870 costs nearly three times as much as the 750. A maximum frequency on air of 4.33GHz is pretty awesome in isolation, But it's only marginally better than the Core i5 750 manages. More to the point, it's the difference between 100 per cent smooth frame rates or occasional stutters in demanding games, such as World in Conflict.Īs for the 2.93GHz Core i7 870, well, it produces a little less impressive results. That's idiot-proof, risk-free overclocking headroom of 1.5GHz. Our sample chip hits 4.2GHz, using nothing more than a standard air cooler and stock voltages. The Core i5 750 is officially a 2.66GHz model. Our Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition chip won't clock up by more than 400MHz without massaging the voltage settings. Intel has, however, dropped many restrictions on power management by motherboard vendors, letting you practically play with the power limits on even the lower-cost chipsets, like H470, B460, and H410. As for AMD's Phenom processors, unless you have an exotic cooling kit to hand, the meagre headroom they deliver looks pathetic in comparison. We compare the specs of the Intel 2400 to see how it stacks up against its competitors including the Intel Core i5 3470, Intel Core i3 3220 and Intel Core. The Core i5-10500 isnt an unlocked processor, meaning you cant use the base clock multiplier to overclock it. The smaller the overlap between the yellow and green bars, the better the value for money. Components that offer the best value for money have great performance (yellow) and a low price (green). Intel's now traditional 1GHz+ boost still applies. This chart compares the Intel Core i5-2400 Processor with the most popular Processors over the last 30 days.