Is it safe to overlock?
Basically I bought my i5 core 2500k processor from a friend (so no warranty or returns or anything) and have been using the stock cooler for quite a while. While I can probably do some overclocking with the stock cooler, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065 this cooler is only $20 and is amazing for the performance it gives (I don't think you can get better performance for a similar price). It would enable me to overclock further.
But... I have never overclocked before and I want to know if it's safe (the risk is that I lose a $200 CPU...). For example, how will I know if I am close to the CPU's potential? Are there safety features that prevent the CPU from just dying from excessive overclocking? Should I risk it? Is it even worth it?
Thanks.
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Are the programs from the CD that came from the motherboard used to measure CPU temperature, voltage, and to overlock the CPU viable programs to accomplish these tasks? For example, will I always get the same measurement of the temperature of the CPU if I use ASRock's application compared to a program like CoreTemp? Any recommended third party application?