re: PC Discussion - Gaming, Performance and Enthusiasts

H80i would be the minimum to make any sense to liquid cool for the purposes of overclocking. Are you trying to get the most ideal cooling solution to overclock that Pentium, or do you just really want a liquid cooler? Honestly, a hyper 212 would be the most I'd put into cooling it. Spending as much on the cooler as the CPU contradicts the point of the G3258's bang-for-buck status. Beyond that, you might as well put the money you'd spend on a $50+ cooler towards an i3 instead -- essentially a Pentium with hyperthreading. Even at stock, it'll match or beat an overclocked G3258. Hell, the cost of an H80 and G3258 would get you an i5, which would give you a lot more "headroom" for GPU upgrades in the future.

A Hyper 212 will get you more than 90% of any given G3258's overclocking potential (LN2 excluded). The cost of getting that last 10% is rarely worth it from a practical standpoint. You'd need a better cooler in the realm of H80i or Noctua NH-D14, and also a better mobo most likely. The H81 boards, while they may have overclocking support enabled, are not going to sustain the voltage you need for anything beyond a modest overclock.