[SOLVED] 100c and 100% use but no shutoff or effects?

Oct 6, 2019
9
1
25
Recently bought this pre-built: https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC...07VGJDKZ4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8. Specs are there.

Motherboard is built by ASRock...a B360M Xtreme (I think it's a modified Pro4)

Stock Intel Fan is installed. I don't do any overclocking or heavy rendering. Just audio workstation and some gaming.

At idle, I'm getting CPU temps anywhere between 32-50c. BIOS confirms that.
However, while playing a game monitoring software is showing temps that reach 100c. MSI Afterburner is showing 100% usage at times. This seems especially strange because I experience no ill effects in game. No stutter, noticeable slow down...I mean, at 100c I'd think the whole computer would just shut off.

I've used CoreTemp, SpeedFan, MSI Afterburner and they all report the same thing.

Any thoughts on why that might be? How can I get such a hot temp and high usage and not see any effect? Hoping it's a "duh" answer. CyberpowerPC is sending me a free cooler replacement, but it's just the same stock one and I have no reason to think they did it wrong the first time. My main confusion, again, comes from the fact that the system even let's itself get that hot.
 
Solution
Just finished installing the Arctic Freezer 34 esports Duo.

Idle temps now between 27c-32c

Ran a stress test with XTU and the temperature never rose above ~53c. Spent most of the time in the 44c-49c range.

Booted up Far Cry 5 and let the frame rate run wild, along with setting the resolution scaling higher than I even had it before, up to 2.0 (and then 4.0 with the nVidia Control Panel) and am getting great results. Temperature rarely hits 50c and when it does it hasn't broken 53c yet.

Couldn't be happier with this affordable cpu cooler, it literally more than halved my temps.

All this said, I don't think I'll ever know what the Intel Stock cooler could have really done. When I removed it there was barely any thermal paste on...

Kamal007v

Honorable
Nov 15, 2014
152
26
10,640
It won't shutdown unless you keep hitting 100C for a long time because it thermal throttles and try to keep the system up and running. It's bad but that's how it is. Even if you install another Intel stock cooler the result is going to be the same they are no use once the turbo boosts and cpu usage go up. A temporary fix would be to lock the fps or disabling turbo boost when you game until you get an after market cooler.
 
  • Like
Reactions: blabelguitarman
Oct 6, 2019
9
1
25
Okay, that makes some sense. You'd still think I would see some performance hits if it was throttling though, maybe not. So then my concern becomes even if I get a better cooling solution, what could be making my CPU hit 100% use? I haven't touched any bios setting since it arrived. Pretty much opened up the box and turned it on.

I don't just want to put a bandaid on a bigger problem.

It seems to hit those 100% use spikes even on the desktop when I'm just browsing a forum like this. That is to say, the MSI afterburner is reporting that. Task manager seems to report that each of the six cores is only using like 1%.

(Side note: why include a stock cooler with your processor that lets the processor rise far above dangerous heat levels under regular use?)
 

Kamal007v

Honorable
Nov 15, 2014
152
26
10,640
I'm writing this from what i have seen with my intel chip when i had the stock cooler. It doesn't throttle until the temps drop to a safe degree or downclock like a GPU. From 100C it throttles to 99-98C keeping the cpu turbo boosted hence no major drops in performance. Use XTU to monitor when your cpu hits 100C you can see the CPU throttle every couple of seconds and the temps go up and down. As for the cpu usage it depends on the games. Gaming pushing an i5 to 100% is normal. But 100% usage while browsing is strange. Does it use 100% for a long period of time or just a short burst? Task manager maybe incorrect even when i open it i see 65% usage of an i7 for a like a split second then it shows the actual usage like 3%. Use hwinfo64 and Intel XTU to monitor the usage then you can come to a conclusion. Cost cutting is why they ship it with the useless stock cooler. They know it's useless that's why the K chips don't come with one anymore.
 
Oct 6, 2019
9
1
25
Thanks. Didn't know about XTU yet. Been running AMD for many years.

I started to wonder if the fan was responding correctly to increasing temps, so I ran a stress test using XTU and had speedfan up at the same time. RPM hit around 2900 pretty quick so that seemed to check out.

Temps maxed at 97 during the test, so I never saw any throttling. It was at 100% usage the whole time of course. XTU is showing CPU utilization of about 13-20% while browsing now...sounds much more reasonable. No idea why Afterburner was giving me those 100% bursts. (Yes, it was just a short burst, a second or less at a time).

Processor Cache Frequency, even with having just this browser window and XTU open, is jumping between 1.00Ghz - 3.59 - 2.59 and back again. While I've built several setups in the past I've never messed with these details so I'm not sure if that's normal? Does that mean it's going into it's 'turbo mode' over and over again for no reason? Surely it could stay around the 2.9 area for most things? I'm out of my element with this, though.

You said that hitting 100% usage while gaming on an i5 is normal. I was wondering why that might be? Maybe not the best multitasking CPU? Despite the terrifying temps I'm getting, the performance has been buttery smooth (I was playing Far Cry 5 at max settings with 1.5 resolution scaling...again, no stuttering or anything, I just randomly got curious about the temperature while playing). That said, maybe this processor wouldn't be good for someone who needs to stream/record/game/etc all at once. Since I typically am focused on 1 task at a time (game, or audio workstation, moderate tasks), I suppose it will work for me.

If you think all those stats sound normal, or if you'd like me to provide a screenshot of something else, let me know. If they sound normal, maybe what I'll do it apply the new stock cooler they send, just in case they did indeed screw up the installation. If it's same old, then maybe I'll need to bit the bullet and get an aftermarket solution.

I need to open the case anyway, I'm somewhat confused about the fan setup. The three front fans are like completely blocked by a glass plate, with a little vent at the top and bottom where I suppose the air sucks into? Maybe some of the problem lies in that airflow...but, then again, temps on MB and GPU are reasonable at all times.
 

Karadjgne

Titan
Ambassador
Gaming on a prior gen quad core i5 can easily get to 100% utilization, as games are getting to be 8 thread optimized, but it's pretty rare with a gex core atm. Different games use different threads at different levels. FarCry is quite hard on a cpu, so it's not surprising to see high usage on multiple cores, but would be to see 100% on all cores. In CSGO I hit 100% on 2 threads all the time, but only 2, the other 6 vary from @ 20% to 60%.

You could check in bios to see if CP enabled multi core enhancement (mce) as part of a cpu improvement package type deal. That'll jack up temps under high usage, but drop speeds on the turbo if it gets too warm. Many games the fps is so far above monitor refresh or not affected much by cpu speeds that even a 3-400MHz drop might not be noticed.

Most cpus will start throttling anywhere over @ 80° ish, more so by @ 90° ish and should definitely be throttling by 100° ish but load usage is not a constant thing in any game, it'll bounce consistently, so will voltages and temps. Core temps are read every 1/4 of a second, but software doesn't put those changes on screen every 1/4 of a second, or it'd be nothing but a blur. So you might see a change every 3-5 seconds, but the temp has bounced 10-20 times in that time with cpu changes.

It's only with programs like Prime95 small fft that do run a solid 100% even load that you can say 'yep, 78°C'
 

Kamal007v

Honorable
Nov 15, 2014
152
26
10,640
That sounds normal. Your case's airflow may not be the best but it can get things done once you install a decent cpu cooler. 97 degrees in a new system imagine the temps when dust accumulates. Intel's stock cooler installation is pretty simple it's highly unlikely to be messed up installation when your idle temps are fine. If you get the same results with the replacement you can lock the fps that might help a bit with the temps until you get an after market cooler.
 
Last edited:
Sitting at 97C seems as close as you can get to overheating without actually doing so..

I'd see if XTU allows a little undervolting, or, get a bettter cooler...(Mugen5 is inexpensive, and should be plenty, and, handles up through 9700K, if only marginally)
 
Oct 6, 2019
9
1
25
Thanks for the education! I will check BIOS for the MCE.

Even when just sitting at desktop with XTU open, should I be seeing the CPu frequency jumping into that higher range off and on? I thought that it would stay in it's lower range in the 2.xx, rather than almost hit it's turboed 3.xx and 4.xx.

I'll see if I can add additional overlays to monitor each individual core, regarding your comment about hitting 100% on all 6.

Gaming on a prior gen quad core i5 can easily get to 100% utilization, as games are getting to be 8 thread optimized, but it's pretty rare with a gex core atm. Different games use different threads at different levels. FarCry is quite hard on a cpu, so it's not surprising to see high usage on multiple cores, but would be to see 100% on all cores. In CSGO I hit 100% on 2 threads all the time, but only 2, the other 6 vary from @ 20% to 60%.

You could check in bios to see if CP enabled multi core enhancement (mce) as part of a cpu improvement package type deal. That'll jack up temps under high usage, but drop speeds on the turbo if it gets too warm. Many games the fps is so far above monitor refresh or not affected much by cpu speeds that even a 3-400MHz drop might not be noticed.

Most cpus will start throttling anywhere over @ 80° ish, more so by @ 90° ish and should definitely be throttling by 100° ish but load usage is not a constant thing in any game, it'll bounce consistently, so will voltages and temps. Core temps are read every 1/4 of a second, but software doesn't put those changes on screen every 1/4 of a second, or it'd be nothing but a blur. So you might see a change every 3-5 seconds, but the temp has bounced 10-20 times in that time with cpu changes.

It's only with programs like Prime95 small fft that do run a solid 100% even load that you can say 'yep, 78°C'
 
Oct 6, 2019
9
1
25
Thanks, never done that before, so I'm not sure I'd do it safely. I can live without the games until a new cooler would come! Audio work doesn't seem to send the CPU to hell. Gonna check a few other things per the other posters suggestions and if I don't find success, install the stock cooler replacement...then just buy aftermarket as you said if all else fails. Thanks for the recommendation, too.

Sitting at 97C seems as close as you can get to overheating without actually doing so..

I'd see if XTU allows a little undervolting, or, get a bettter cooler...(Mugen5 is inexpensive, and should be plenty, and, handles up through 9700K, if only marginally)
 
Oct 6, 2019
9
1
25
Thanks, that's somewhat reassuring!

I lock fps through the game client? Through Nvidia control panel? Somewhere else?
That sounds normal. Your case's airflow may not be the best but it can get things done once you install a decent cpu cooler. 97 degrees in a new system imagine the temps when dust accumulates. Intel's stock cooler installation is pretty simple it's highly unlikely to be messed up installation when your idle temps are fine. If you get the same results with the replacement you can lock the fps that might help a bit with the temps until you get an after market cooler.
 
Oct 6, 2019
9
1
25
Alright so I played with some settings and then tested another game.

Booted up Witcher 3 and ran on max settings.
Got CPU temps below 60c with ~40% CPU usage or less

Apart from being a few years older, I was trying to think what the difference were, then I remembered that I had Far Cry 5 running at 1.5x resolution scaling.

Reducing the scaling back to 1.0x, I now get temps around 80-85c, much better than touching 100c.
Frame Rate Cap at 45, CPU temps around high 70s and about 70% CPU use
Frame Rate Cap at 30, CPU temps around mid 70c and about 50% CPU use

Didn't have and MCE option in BIOS.

CPU is no longer having every core hit 100% use as soon as I dropped the resolution scaling down.

I could live with 80-85 with this stock cooler, but I don't like it. I'll probably get an aftermarket.
I'd like to be able to return to the beauty of the 1.5x scaling (I have a 1080p monitor and run everything 1920x1080 still, so it's nice to taste a higher resolution), but clearly that won't be wise without a better cooling solution.

Indeed, Far Cry 5 does seem to stress the CPU out way more than I'd expect. So that, plus my scaling, was the main culprit for insane temperatures.

Still idling around 40-55c though. Yuck.

Thanks everyone! I'll update after the new installation. You all helped put my mind at ease that there is nothing screwy with my CPU or settings...just a taxing game at too high a resolution with a terrible stock fan.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kamal007v
Oct 6, 2019
9
1
25
Just finished installing the Arctic Freezer 34 esports Duo.

Idle temps now between 27c-32c

Ran a stress test with XTU and the temperature never rose above ~53c. Spent most of the time in the 44c-49c range.

Booted up Far Cry 5 and let the frame rate run wild, along with setting the resolution scaling higher than I even had it before, up to 2.0 (and then 4.0 with the nVidia Control Panel) and am getting great results. Temperature rarely hits 50c and when it does it hasn't broken 53c yet.

Couldn't be happier with this affordable cpu cooler, it literally more than halved my temps.

All this said, I don't think I'll ever know what the Intel Stock cooler could have really done. When I removed it there was barely any thermal paste on it at all. The radiator basically came off with the plastic pegs with no effort at all. No slight twist or even pull. There were two pea sized circles that covered maybe 20% of the total area of the CPU. I suppose I could have reapplied a reasonable amount of paste and tried the stock cooler again, but I couldn't fight the urge to just throw the Arctic on there.
 
Solution