Overclocking 2600K with ASUS Z68 on AIR. What Air CPU COOLER ???

Hey guys,

I have a 2600k and Asus Deluxe Z68 LGA1155.

It will be inside a COSMOS II case. My DDR3 is 1600mhz RIPJAWZ X series 4x4GB for 16GB total.


I have two questions-

First question,

Can I overclock with the stock cooler? How far is safe with the stock cooler? A reasonable and stable OC that can be maintained daily without cooling upgrade?

Second,

For a real OC I need a better CPU cooler and possibly Thermal Compound. YES?
Ok, assuming I do- what should I get.

I can spend $50 on the cooler I am thinking as a good budget.

Reccomend me a CPU cooler and thermal compound if needed.



Lastly,

Where is the best place to go to find the reccomended settings for a good OC on my board and CPU ?

1) With stock cooler 4.0Ghz.

2) Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO falls under your budget (no major need to purchase aftermarket thermal compound).

3) Depends on what CPU cooler you'll be using. For a nice 4.5Ghz over clock, check out this previous thread:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] ooth-2500k