i7 4770k reaching high temperatures with h110i GTX

The 4770K was notorious for temp problems due to TIM issues under the CPU heat spreader.

Re-seating the cooler with a fresh layer of paste is a good place to start.

If you're not OCing, what stock voltage is being set in the bios? If it's a bit high, it might be worth trying dropping it a little

Which version of Prime95?

Do not use Prime95 versions later than 26.6 on 2nd through 7th Generation i3, i5 or i7 CPU's, which all have AVX (Advanced Vector Extension) Instruction Sets. Prime95 versions later than 26.6 run AVX code on the CPU's Floating Point Unit (FPU) which causes unrealistic temperatures up to 20°C higher. The FPU test in the utility AIDA64 shows similar results.

AVX can be disabled in Prime95 versions later than 26.6 by inserting "CpuSupportsAVX=0" into the "local.txt" file in Prime95's folder. However, since Core temperatures will be the same as 26.6, it's easier to just use 26.6. Recent motherboards address the AVX problem by providing offset adjustments in BIOS. AVX doesn't affect Core i 1st Generation, Core 2, Pentium or Celeron processors since they don't have AVX Instruction Sets.

Please download Prime 95 v26.6 - Prime95 v26.6 - http://www.mersenneforum.org/showthread.php?t=15504

Run Small FFT's for 10 minutes.

Also, you might want to read this Sticky: Intel Temperature Guide - http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1800828/intel-temperature-guide.html

CT

Bdog0820,

"Super late reply" ... that's a monumental understatement ... late by only 1 year and 4 days?

Q: What is your ambient temperature?

Standard or "normal" is 22°C or 72°F. Core temperatures increase and decrease with ambient temperature.

The 4770K was launched in the 2nd Quarter of 2013, so your particular processor could be over 5 years old. Intel began using "TIM" between the Die and IHS when 3rd Gen Ivy Bridge launched in the 2nd Quarter of 2012, or about 6 years ago. Problems with high Core temperatures immediately became the "new normal". However, at that time the effective longevity of Intel's TIM was unknown.

Prior to 3rd Gen Ivy Bridge, 2nd Gen Sandy Bridge and earlier processors used "Indium" solder between the Die and IHS, which has good thermal conductivity, and is thermally stable over time. Unfortunately, we are now seeing increasingly severe problems with high Core temperature due to internal TIM failures in earlier 3rd and 4th Gen processors, as well as later 4th Gen Haswell refresh Devil's Canyon processors, which were launched in the 2nd Quarter of 2014. In other words, Intel's IHS / Die TIM is showing it's age.

I recently troubleshot a rig with a 4690K that had inexplicably high Core temperatures which had become worse over the past year or so. We suspected the problem was being caused by yet another failure of Intel's internal TIM. Our suspicions were confirmed when once delidded, there was clear visual evidence that the TIM had lost it's thermal bond with the Die, and was thoroughly dried out. After applying liquid metal and relidding, Core temperatures were lower than expected, and temperature deviations between highest and lowest Cores had significantly decreased.

You may be experiencing a similar problem.

Further, without delidding, 22 nanometer processors typically become quite difficult to effectively cool above 1.25 Vcore, and Vcore above 1.3 is not recommended for 22nm microarchitecture.

Also, your H110i GTX is yet another variable. Some units are known to have weak IHS contact pressure on thinner motherboards. AIO's are notorious for pump degradation and premature failure, especially those which run 24/7. Moreover, as AIO's use dissimilar metals (copper water block & aluminum radiator) they're vulnerable to decreased circulation as galvanic corrosion creates sediment buildups that cause radiator blockages and pump wear. Loss of coolant over time due to permeation is another problem.

Check your waterblock to make sure it's secure.

You might also want to consider delidding. As your 3 year warranty is most likely expired, that's no longer an issue. Rather than delid with the risky razor blade method, delidding can be safely accomplished with a "delidding tool" such as the Rockit 88 - https://rockitcool.myshopify.com/

If you don't want to do it yourself, there's a company named "Silicon Lottery" that tests, bins and sells overclocked, delidded "K" CPU's. They also offer fast and professional delidding services - https://siliconlottery.com/collections/all/products/delidl

If your ambient temperature is reasonable and your AIO is secure and operating properly, then delidding will most assuredly solve the problem.

In my opinion, due to having a soldered IHS, 2nd Gen Sandy Bridge processors were the last thermally predictable and well behaved CPU's that Intel manufactured. Consequently, I've been delidding since 3rd Gen, and it's the only truly effective solution to get Core temperatures under control in higher TDP processors such as i9's, i7's and i5's.

CT