i5 2500k overclock with MSI Z77A-G45. General questions

Hello there!

Recently I started overclocking a bit, but I kind of realized maybe I shouldn't have bought this motherboard, or Ivy Bridge instead of my Sandy.... but anyhow

I have a few questions, that I hope someone might be able to answer

1. I bought new thermal paste yesterday and applied it after I cleaned off the old. Is it safe to overclock before the new past has "settled" or "cured" (whatever terms are used)? The Thermal Paste I bought is Arctic Silver 5.

2. How low possible can I get my idle CPU core volt when setting an overclock to 4-4.2Ghz? I want as low possible power consumption when I browser internet and such.

3. I tried finding an answer to what Intel C-State does, but I can't find anything that I understand. So, what does it mean?

4. Why does my Intel C-State disable itself when I enable it? Is it because I have C1E enabled, or because my CPU voltage is set to auto, or what?

5. Should I be content with using Auto setting for CPU core voltage, since the values seems low (1.136-1.16V), or should I do manual numbers myself?

6. Do you have any overall suggestions for a novice like me, when it comes to overclocking my system? Config below

This is how my current overclocking looks

Or here

I am not 100% sure if I am using Prime95 with correct settings. But at least the CPU goes up to 4.1Ghz and the temps get at a maximum 61degrees C.
These are my most general motherboard settings:

CPU ratio: 41
Internal PLL overcoltage: Enabled
EIST: Enabled
Intel Turbo Boost: Enabled

Enhanced Turbo: Disabled
Spread Spectrum: Disabled

Vdrop Offset Control: Auto
CPU core Voltage: Auto

C1E Support: Enabled
OverSpeed Protection: Enabled
Intel C-State: Disabled

CPU PLL Voltage: 1.800000V

My rig can be found in my profile, if you want to know what hardware I use
Thanks in advance!
Edited by Satyricon - 8/18/12 at 5:27am

Thanks for the advice and help.

Shortly after I posted my topic I got a BSOD. So I figured I' have to put in manual numbers instead of auto on Core Voltage.

But I have a question. Since I set my CPU on manual numbers, it seems that the cores doesn't idle, but the Watts go down.
Z-CPU shows that the cores are at 1600 MHz. But with RealTemp they show the cores running between 3600-4000Mhz during idle.

Is this normal, and which program should I trust giving me the correct values?

My current values:
CPU Ratio: x40
CPU core Voltage: 1.22V (set to 1.25V in BIOS)
Vdroop: Auto

CE1: Enabled
C-State: Disabled (Maybe this is the reasons why it doesn't go down to idle, but I can't seem to change it?)

Temps when idle: 29-33C
Temps when running Prime95: 64-68C

Should I try to set down my CPU voltage even more?

EDIT: I've searched and searched, but no one seems to know if the MSI Z77A motherboards can have their Vcore offset changed. Anyone have any idea?
Edited by Satyricon - 8/19/12 at 2:39am

I do not know if I should bother posting in this topic since the interest seems very vague. But ANYHOW.

Does anyone know why Real Temp shows my CPU running 3500-4000MHz clock during idle, meanwhile CPU-Z shows it as 1600Mhz idle, and 4000 MHz during load?

I have been running stable Prime 95 now for a few hours with 4.0 Ghz OC, but doesn't my Vcore seem extremely low?
1.16 V during full Prime95 Load. Temps around 55-60degrees C. 1.18 V during idle. 1.18 V set in Bios

And the last thing... I've been trying to find an answer for this, but can't seem to get a good explanation.
RealTemp shows something called VID, and the value is about 1.4061 during full load and around 1.3xx during idle.
What is VID?

Alright. Thanks for responding.
I believe that maybe CPU-Z is showing wrong Mhz.
What is your CPU core voltage at idle? Having Vdroop enabled makes my idle CPU core voltage increase, which seems normal, but is this bad for the CPU? But on the other hand I get a lot lower temps with Vdroop enabled.