Load Temps High on New Build

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
K

kevinea

Distinguished
Sep 1, 2008
7
0
18,510
I just built this system:

- GPU – MSI GeForce GTX 780Ti GAMING 3GB
- Processor - Intel Core i7-4790K
- SSD - Samsung XP941
- HDD – Seagate Barracuda 3TB STBD3000100
- RAM – GSkill Ares 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133
- Cooler – Noctua NH-U14S
- Motherboard - ASRock Z97 Extreme6
- PSU – EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G2

According to SpeedFan and HWMonitor (which agree), my CPU idles at about 30 degrees Celsius.
At load under Prime95, though, the temps go quickly to 65 degrees C, and then exceed 80 within 20 minutes. Now, I've built several systems over the years, and I am fairly careful about the amount of thermal paste to apply. I've gone through it twice now (cleaning the surfaces with isopropanol in between) and I get the same behavior both times. It has all the hallmarks of a poor thermal connection, but I can't see any problem. Both the processor and the heatsink look flat and smooth. The heatsink seems to seat down fairly well. The CPU fan is running full speed (1500 RPM) and the sides of the case are off. Ambient temp is around 24 degrees C. Could this behavior be normal for a non-overclocked 4790K? I would hope not, as the heatsink is pretty big and wasn't cheap. Any other suggestions on what to look at?
 
Solution
Hello man
Sort by date Sort by votes
Hello man

Hello man

Honorable
Aug 11, 2013
1,826
5
12,465


I have had my i5-3210M hit 94C under high load. But that said, with that cooler you should not be seeing those temps. Check the BIOS, make sure no auto-overclocking functions are enabled. Download CPU-Z, load up the CPU, then tell me what the multiplier and base clock are. I will look into what the should be, and if they are higher than that then the processor is overclocked somehow. Also, snag the voltage under load for me if you will.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
K

kevinea

Distinguished
Sep 1, 2008
7
0
18,510


CPU-Z reports a bus speed of 100 MHz, a multiplier of 42 (total speed 4.2 GHz) and VCore of 1.16 V. I've read that 4.2 GHz is normal for a 4790K. Not sure what stock VCore is supposed to be.


 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hello man

Hello man

Honorable
Aug 11, 2013
1,826
5
12,465


The CPU should run at 4.0Ghz without turbo boosting, and when it does, it should boost to 4.4Ghz. Something is a little off.

EDIT: That voltage seems a little low. The processor auto adjusts the voltage to keep stability, but still that seems low. Have you checked the BIOS for any auto overclcoking functions that might be on?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
K

kevinea

Distinguished
Sep 1, 2008
7
0
18,510
Well the BIOS has a lot of settings, most of which are on the default setting of "auto". However I don't think it's overclocking. The voltage goes down into the 0.8 - 0.9 range at idle, then 1.16 at load. It seems stable, but the temps are so high at load I just can't understand it. I'm going to fool with the BIOS settings some more, but I'd love some suggestions. One idea would be to add a fan to the heatsink so it is in a push-pull configuration. But I really think something else is going on. Any further ideas?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hello man

Hello man

Honorable
Aug 11, 2013
1,826
5
12,465


Well frankly it is exceeding its max safe operating temp of 72C, so I am surprised it is not throttling. I will look into it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
K

kevinea

Distinguished
Sep 1, 2008
7
0
18,510
Ok, now here's some interesting info. When I use the Intel ETU program for stress testing instead of Prime95, I get some different results:
Processor utilization: 98%-100%
Frequency: 4.2GHz
Cores: 4
Max Temp: 61 degrees C (confirmed also by HW Monitor)
Max VCore: 0.88 V

So, it seems Prime95 is a much more intense stress test. I read elsewhere that the new version of Prime95 (I have version 28.5) is unrealistically intense, due to some new instructions or some such. So maybe my rig is OK? At least 61 degrees seems like a much more reasonable result, and should be safe. Thoughts?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hello man

Hello man

Honorable
Aug 11, 2013
1,826
5
12,465


You're rig is probably just fine! There is NO regular program that will act like prime 95.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom