[SOLVED] 9900k thermal throttling in games

[DaronMal]

Hello!

I noticed I was having temp issues after trying a Cinebench run and my CPU overheated instantly, causing thermal throttling. Since then, I've had HWINFO up while gaming and noticed I throttle in both games I'm playing right now (Fallout 4 and Hell Let Loose.)

I don't think it should be throttling so easily, especially as quick as it does in Cinebench.

Specs:
CPU: i9 9900k @ 4.9GHz
CPU Cooler: Corsair iCUE H115i PRO XT w/ 2 Noctua fans (push config through the radiator)
GPU: RTX 3090 FE
MOBO: Asus ROG Maximus XI Hero (WIFI)
Case: Fractal Design Define 7 XL (I've been trying to play with the front door thing open for better airflow, makes no difference.)
Fan Config:
2 Noctua fans pulling from outside through mesh filter (cleaned both filter and fans, no change)
1 Noctua fan pushing out the back.
2 Noctua fans pushing through AIO radiator.

I've set the fan curves for all case fans and the 2 AIO ones to basically 100% when over 70c (doesnt seem to help)
I'm not sure how exactly to tell what the pump is doing in terms of power, whether it's going full tilt or not. The site won't let me attached/add images, keeps saying something went wrong. iCUE says pump at idle is running at 2632 RPM, and my CPU package is currently 57c at idle.

 

[Phaaze88]

The site won't let me attached/add images, keeps saying something went wrong

You have to use image hosting sites, such as imgur.com, postimages.org, or imgbb.com, or it doesn't work.
PLEASE remove GLASS PANEL before taking pictures of the interior. The pictures can come out blurrier, and the glass can reflect certain things.

Physical check: While under a load. Feel both tubes. Software saying the pump is running does not mean the fluid is flowing properly.
Good flow: I can't tell much of a difference between them, or I think this one is a little warmer than that one.
Poor flow: Ok, this is definitely a night and day difference of hot and cold.

 

[DaronMal]

You have to use image hosting sites, such as imgur.com, postimages.org, or imgbb.com, or it doesn't work.

I uploaded them to Imgur and Postimages but no matter what when I use Insert Image it still says "Something went wrong". I've just pasted the links below because I can't see why it doesn't want to work:

https://imgur.com/a/1Rp0ero

View: https://imgur.com/a/1Rp0ero
- iCUE and HWINFO

https://imgur.com/a/7bni0bE

View: https://imgur.com/a/7bni0bE
- Inside case pictures (ignore trash tier cable management, I've moved the cables around and just haven't bothered fixing them.

I ran Cinebench and felt the tubes and they seem the same to me in terms of temp.

Edit: Apparently the Insert Link one works, not Insert Image.

 

[Phaaze88]

I uploaded them to Imgur and Postimages but no matter what when I use Insert Image it still says "Something went wrong". I've just pasted the links below because I can't see why it doesn't want to work:

https://imgur.com/a/1Rp0ero

View: https://imgur.com/a/1Rp0ero
- iCUE and HWINFO

Screenshots 3 and 4 are not Cinebench, are they? Those look pretty even?

 

[DaronMal]

Screenshots 3 and 4 are not Cinebench, are they? Those look pretty even?

Sorry no, here's a picture mid-Cinebench run with temps in HWINFO reset pre-run.

https://imgur.com/b3dQLz6

View: https://imgur.com/b3dQLz6

 

[Phaaze88]

The temperature gap between the hottest and coolest looks normal - granted, the cores are supposed to throttle at 100C, so that could be a red herring.

Next is to check the paste spread. The die is located dead center, underneath the Integrated Heat Spreader, so if there's a large spread outward from the center, that should be good.
If the paste spread is good, and the liquid flow is good, then the problem is getting enough air through the cooler. [I trust you're no stranger to mounting a cooler, yes?]

 

[Phaaze88]

EDIT:

Double checking, but did you check those tubes while Cinebench was running? The physical check doesn't count if it was idling.

 

[DaronMal]

EDIT:

Double checking, but did you check those tubes while Cinebench was running? The physical check doesn't count if it was idling.

I did check with Cinebench running for that test.

Here's the pic of my thermal paste on my CPU after removing the cooler

https://imgur.com/XszcuPn

View: https://imgur.com/XszcuPn


Here's the Cooler

https://imgur.com/Ysdd2Ua

View: https://imgur.com/Ysdd2Ua

 

[Phaaze88]

Oh, there's unoccupied space right in the middle. Definitely need to redo that.





EDIT: What paste do you have on hand?
If it's Kryonaut, you're supposed to manually spread that one.

 

[DaronMal]

Yeah, after I took the pics I managed to find some Arctic Silver and reapplied, much better now. Watched a 1440p video while I waited for the system to equalize a bit to my normal it's sitting at 36c average, max of 53c idle. I ran Cinebench and only got +30 pts but took a screenshot mid run again, as well as an idle screenshot.

https://imgur.com/a/bUyfMaw

View: https://imgur.com/a/bUyfMaw

 

[Phaaze88]

How's the in game temperature?

 

[DaronMal]

it looks like right now the problem may have been the thermal paste, it hit a max of 87c in Hell Let Loose which is a lot better than what it was before.

 

[Phaaze88]

Nice

 

[DaronMal]

Thank you!