Question 9900k with Z390 Aorus Master - Too hot

[WarMage3409]

Hello everyone,

I'd very much like to get some feedback from you knowledgeable folks.

My CPU is running too hot and throttling. My goal here would be to stabilize my system and get my CPU to run with as good a temp as it is realistically possible with my current hardware. From there, I'd very much like to start dwelving into OC as I've never tried it before. It doesn't matter that I might not be able to "achieve much" without some water cooling setup. My current goal is to learn and maybe if I learn enough I'll add an AIO later to push even further.

The setup :
i9-9900k + Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste
Noctua NH-D15
Gigabyte Z390 AORUS Master
CORSAIR Obsidian 500D RGB SE Mid-Tower Case (CC-9011139-WW)
- The case is running 6 case fan with positive air pressure. I know it's not the best case for airflow but I made sure there's enough / as much as I can get with that specific case.

Idle, with just Chrome open, my CPU is running at 71-73C
When poking the beast, it gets really hot and then throttle.

The BIOS is up to the most recent version with all default settings. The only setting I've changed is Enhanced multi-core performance set to disabled in order to try to rein in the i9-9900k temperature. I would've expected the CPU to run much cooler if not OC while being paired with a NH-D15 and being into a well ventilated case. I'm thinking something's awfully wrong here because it seems (from my own research) that my cooler should be able to maintain it at a better temp.

HWMonitor stats

Some of the default BIOS settings that seemed meaningful :
CPU Base clock auto 100MHz
CPU clock ratio auto 36
Ring ratio auto 43
IGP ratio auto 30
CPU V-Core auto 1.2v

I'd be super appreciated if you guys would help diagnose this. I really don't get why it's running this hot. It could be bad MOBO settings but then I really don't get all those OC settings yet. I'm kinda afraid of making changes and causing harm. It could maybe be that my thermal paste isn't good or too old ? I thought about ordering a newer, better one to see if the temp will behave differently.

Looking forward to anything you guys can share. So much to learn right ?
Have a wonderful day.

 

[Aeacus]

I know it's not the best case for airflow but I made sure there's enough / as much as I can get with that specific case.

Unless you aren't running Delta Industrial fans in there, you haven't done as much as you can.

For my amusement (and further knowledge of yours), take off your solid front panel and look if your CPU temps drop.
Tell me how much CPU temps dropped.

Arctic Silver 5

One of the poorest thermal pastes out there. So, i suggest that you switch that one out too.

Arctic MX-4 or MX-5 are far superior options. So is Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme.
And if you want to go all out, then: Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut. <- This is liquid metal and you need to be very careful in application. Put too much, it sweeps out to MoBo and short circuits the thing. But for liquid metal, there is no equivalent. No paste can come close to what liquid metal can do.

The case is running 6 case fan with positive air pressure.

And here would be another point of amusement. Run in negative pressure and look if your CPU temps improve.

Btw, i'm running my build with 7x fans (6x 140mm, 1x 120mm) and in slight negative pressure (Skylake build, full specs with pics in my sig).

I'll add an AIO later

What makes you think that AIO can beat king of air coolers (your NH-D15)? You do realize, that in the end, both, the air cooler and AIO, are still cooled by ambient air. Right?

while being paired with a NH-D15 and being into a well ventilated case.

Like i said above, poor thermal paste.

Also, if you want to see a well ventilated PC case, look towards my Corsair Graphite 760T V2 Black (Skylake build) or Corsair Obsidian 750D Airflow Edition (Haswell build). Your Corsair Obsidian 500D RGB SE is a hotbox.

 

[WarMage3409]

Hmm.... thank you for your input. I wish you didn't snide at me that much but it's still an acceptable tradeoff for the knowledge.

- Delta Industrial fans
I looked up those fans. They're cool. Will probably use them in my next build.

- Arctic Silver 5, One of the poorest thermal pastes out there.
That does hurt me a little. Back when I bought it, it was debated on forums and said to be very good. I guess I was misinformed. No matter, thank you for the suggestions, changing the paste will be my first step.

- Run in negative pressure and look if your CPU temps improve.
That's.... an interesting take. Most of what I said strongly suggested going for positive air pressure for both cooling and dust accumulation and more. Still, I don't mind doing the test. Will change my fan speed to inverse the pressure and test my temps.

- What makes you think that AIO can beat king of air coolers
I love my NH-D15. I would never say anything wrong about it. Still, it's just a fact that water cooler have a higher temperature transfer coefficient than air. Combine that with a much bigger radiator meaning bigger dissipation surface and more fans / air cooling meaning better cooling overall. NH-D15 is great, really really great, but as far as my own research have indicated big AIO (240 and especially 360mm) have better overall efficiency.

- Your Corsair Obsidian 500D RGB SE is a hotbox
Well, I did mention I knew this case wasn't at the top of the airflow chart. Still, it's not at the bottom either. Let's just say it's middle of the pack. Meaning that there shouldn't be any issue if running stock pc parts with a few fans. I completely agree that I could've picked a better case but back then I didn't know better so I'm just happy I didn't pick a terrible one ^^.

Now, I'm looking forward to tweaking my case. Correcting that thermal paste. I wonder how much of a difference it'll do.

 

[thestryker]

Idle, with just Chrome open, my CPU is running at 71-73C
When poking the beast, it gets really hot and then throttle.

...

HWMonitor stats

Is this picture from idle + chrome? If so then it's showing 60% utilization which could easily explain the temps.

For that case I think I'd try 3 intake in the front, 1 intake top front, exhaust back and 1 exhaust top back with a 6 fan config.

What are you seeing it thermal throttle in?

 

[WarMage3409]

- 60%
Yes, that's Chrome. I've just checked again and it's at 55.3% with 3 Chrome tabs.

- What are you seeing it thermal throttle in?
Mostly games and some work stuff like running VMs. To be absolutely sure, I went and installed AIDA64 and ran some stress tests.

 

[thestryker]

Well it definitely shouldn't be throttling in games as those are extremely light across cores (ex: my CPU hits upper-60s encoding but never goes above mid-50s gaming).

When you're doing a stress test have you been watching the temps and seen it hit 100C?

Have you taken the CPU cooler off cleaned it and the CPU, repasted and then reinstalled it?

I'm just trying to narrow some things down because that CPU cooler is plenty for that CPU even overclocked. Your voltages and all that sort of thing seem perfectly fine and even in a non-optimal case you should not be seeing throttling.

 

[Aeacus]

- Delta Industrial fans
I looked up those fans. They're cool. Will probably use them in my next build.

Best fans on the market, in terms of performance.
Consumer option would be Noctua. But Delta Industrial is best in the world.

- Arctic Silver 5, One of the poorest thermal pastes out there.
That does hurt me a little. Back when I bought it, it was debated on forums and said to be very good. I guess I was misinformed. No matter, thank you for the suggestions, changing the paste will be my first step.

Anyone can debate in the forums and praise the product they have fondness of. E.g i've seen complete crap of PSUs praised to high heaven, but that doesn't mean the PSU IS actually good. (Unless we are the Orcs from Warhammer 40K and our belief alone can make the product good. )

Or on another sense; when someone claims that driving drunk is safe and should be done without concern, would you drive drunk? If not, then why not?

As far as Arctic Silver 5 goes, don't confuse it with Arctic Cooling (usually referred to as "Arctic". E.g Arctic MX-4 i talked above.) Arctic Silver and Arctic Cooling are two different companies. Arctic Silver only has 3 thermal products in their entire lineup (homepage), while Arctic Cooling is one of the best PC cooling companies out there, by making great AIOs, air coolers and case fans, among other products (homepage). E.g my CPU cooler is Arctic Cooling Freezer i32, usually referred as "Arctic Freezer i32" combined with Arctic MX-4 thermal paste. Oh and i replaced the stock fan with 2x 120mm Corsair ML120 Pro red LED fans (for better performance and in push-pull).

But as far as thermal paste itself goes, 10 years ago, there was a huge testing and roundup of all kinds of thermal pastes. Here are the results for high mounting pressure on air coolers (essentially what you have with your NH-D15),
link: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-performance-benchmark,3616-18.html

- Run in negative pressure and look if your CPU temps improve.
That's.... an interesting take. Most of what I said strongly suggested going for positive air pressure for both cooling and dust accumulation and more. Still, I don't mind doing the test. Will change my fan speed to inverse the pressure and test my temps.

I'd like to see the one who claims that positive pressure is best in terms of cooling. 🙄

Since the reality is, that while positive pressure is best against dust accumulation, it is the worst in terms of cooling, compared to other two: neutral and negative pressure.

Rule #2: Have More Exhaust Fans Than Intake Fans (Negative Pressure)
This is important to remember because having more intake fans (Positive Pressure) than exhaust can lead to stagnant air. Stagnant air leads to higher internal temperatures since there aren't enough fans removing the heated air from the inside of the case. In general, positive pressure doesn’t cool as well as negative pressure will. That said, one of the benefits of Positive Pressure is that less dust will enter the system.
Negative pressure provides the best cooling performance for enthusiast (often heat intensive) builds. It builds on natural convection and works with graphics cards.

Source + further reading: https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...-fans-and-keeping-your-computer-cool.1542215/

And to add to the above (which isn't included in article); negative pressure works like vaccuum, where as soon as the hot air is produced, it will be sucked out of the PC case, thus providing better cooling to PC components.

And here is visual demonstration of all 3 pressure systems as well, in a great looking PC case (Corsair 760T);

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh6F2eccMec

- What makes you think that AIO can beat king of air coolers
I love my NH-D15. I would never say anything wrong about it. Still, it's just a fact that water cooler have a higher temperature transfer coefficient than air. Combine that with a much bigger radiator meaning bigger dissipation surface and more fans / air cooling meaning better cooling overall. NH-D15 is great, really really great, but as far as my own research have indicated big AIO (240 and especially 360mm) have better overall efficiency.

It is true that AIOs have bigger surface area than air coolers (due to the rad) and it takes far longer (usually 30mins) until liquid in an AIO heats to the max it can get, but there are downsides to the AIOs as well.
As far as AIOs vs air coolers go, you won't gain any cooling performance, if you go with AIO over air cooler, since both, in the end, are still cooled by ambient air.
For equal cooling performance between AIOs and air coolers, rad needs to be 240mm or 280mm. Smaller rads: 120mm and 140mm are almost always outperformed by mid-sized air coolers. Single slot rads are good in mini-ITX builds where you don't have enough CPU cooler clearance to install mid-sized CPU air cooler.

Here are the positive sides of both (air and AIO) CPU cooling methods;

Pros of air coolers:
less cost
less maintenance
less noise
far longer longevity
no leakage risks
doesn't take up case fan slots
additional cooling for the RAM
CPU cools down faster after heavy heat output

Pros of AIOs:
no RAM clearance issues*
no CPU clearance issues
CPU takes longer time to heat up during heavy heat output (about 30 mins)
* on some cases, top mounted rad can give RAM clearance issues

While how the CPU cooler looks inside the PC depends on a person. Some people prefer to see small AIO pump in the middle of their MoBo with tubing going to the rad while others prefer to see big heatsink with fans in the middle of their MoBo.

Main difference between AIO and air cooler is that with AIO, you'll get more noise at a higher cost while cooling performance remains the same.
Here's also one good article for you to read where king of air coolers (Noctua NH-D15) was put against 5x high-end AIOs, including former king of AIOs (NZXT x61 Kraken),
link: http://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-d15-versus-closed-loop-liquid-coolers/1

Personally, i'd go with air coolers every day of the week. With same cooling performance, the pros of air coolers outweigh the pros of AIOs considerably. While, for me, the 3 main pros would be:
1. Less noise.
Since i like my PC to be quiet, i can't stand the loud noise AIO makes. Also, when air gets trapped inside the AIO (some AIOs are more prone to this than others), there's additional noise coming from inside the pump.
2. Longevity.
Cheaper AIOs usually last 2-3 years and high-end ones 4-5 years before you need to replace it. While with air coolers, their life expectancy is basically unlimited. Only thing that can go bad on an air cooler is the fan on it. If the fan dies, your CPU still has cooling in form of a big heatsink. Also, new 120mm or 140mm fan doesn't cost much and it's easy to replace one. While with AIOs, the main thing that usually goes bad is the pump itself. And when that happens, your CPU has no cooling whatsoever. Since you can't replace pump on an AIO, you need to buy whole new AIO to replace the old one out.
3. No leakage risks.
Since there's liquid circling inside the AIO, there is always a risk that your AIO can leak. While it's rare, it has happened. It's well known fact that liquids and electronics don't mix.

- Your Corsair Obsidian 500D RGB SE is a hotbox
Well, I did mention I knew this case wasn't at the top of the airflow chart. Still, it's not at the bottom either. Let's just say it's middle of the pack. Meaning that there shouldn't be any issue if running stock pc parts with a few fans. I completely agree that I could've picked a better case but back then I didn't know better so I'm just happy I didn't pick a terrible one ^^.

Any PC case with solid front panel can't be called "middle of the pack" since the main source of intake air is restricted considerably. Now, there are ways of mitigating that, e.g running high static pressure fans on high speeds, so that the fans have the power to pull the air in between the small gaps at the front panel, but that will lead to high audible noise. Both what the fan itself produces and airflow being pulled through the small gaps.

Moreover, i wouldn't say that your PC has "stock parts". You have Core i9 in there with beefy GPU (and while you didn't say which GPU you have, i'm sure it's also high end. Or in other words, i don't think you'd be using iGPU.) "Stock parts" would be Core i3 or i5 with GTX 16-series GPU and then, the Corsair 500D would be fine in terms of temps. But yours is high end. And with high end components, you will get a lot more heat production, than with "stock parts".

I see that you haven't done the simple test i asked of you. By running your build without front panel. I suggest that you do that. Take the fancy tempered glass front panel off, dust filter too and run bare fans on front. Look if your CPU temps drop. I'm quite sure it does.

Once you've done this simple test, there are ways on moving forwards. Best option would be replacing the PC case with better one, the one that has grille/mesh at the front and not a solid panel (be it metal or TG).
But if you want to keep your fancy aquarium, you can still do that. Then, one option is where you need to install high static pressure fans at the front, and run them on higher speeds, so that there is enough airflow through the front. But like i said above, downside is high audible noise.
Another option is running negative pressure. This way, you can keep your fancy ARGB fans on the front, spinning somewhat, where their only purpose is providing eyecandy. While running the top 2x 140mm and rear 1x 120mm exhaust fans at far higher speed (to create negative air pressure).

 

[Eugene$$]

i have that cpu as well, runnings stock 4.7 GHz 1.24 v, equiped with noctua nh-u12a in mesh case, it idles in 30's, in gaming its never passes 60, you have a tempered case, get some mesh cash for airflow.

try to repaste..

 

[WarMage3409]

To everyone who took the time to comment :​

Thank you so much. It feels like I'm going to solve this issue any time now and I'm looking forward to thinkering with my case and get some OC experience.​

@thestryker​

- I'm just trying to narrow some things down because that CPU cooler is plenty for that CPU even overclocked. Your voltages and all that sort of thing seem perfectly fine and even in a non-optimal case you should not be seeing throttling.
You're most likely right about the CPU repasting. I did it a week ago but I used the aforementionned Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste. It could be too old / really inneffective. Especially if you think the few BIOS settings I've mentioned are correct. I can't wait to test that Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme that Aeacus suggested.

The thing is, since I'm much of a novice in term of voltage and everything OC I had a very hard time making sure my MOBO settings were "normal". So it was difficult to eliminate possibilities and arrive to a conclusion.

@Aeacus​

- Since the reality is, that while positive pressure is best against dust accumulation, it is the worst in terms of cooling, compared to other two: neutral and negative pressure
You've convinced me. I've been fed bad information. The shared info is truly appreciated I'll be more careful from now on as to avoid such pitfalls. I might not be able to properly get negative pressure in my current case. I mean, sure, everything's possible with enough thinkering but I don't want to mess up the case itself. I will probably consider buying a new case as a mid term solution while the CPU repasting should provide a more immediate relief.

@Aeacus​

- Your point about high end air cooler being equal to the best AIO.
I did not yet have the time to go and look at all the data / link / videos you've provided but this is something I'm most interested about. I've thought for a long time now that AIO were, ultimately, better than air coolers. That high end AIO would provide 10-20c better cooling. Maybe things changed at some point and I did not realize it. That being said, you're making me wonder if the reason why you're saying air cooler and do as good a job as AIO is because of those new high tech liquid metal thermal compound ? Just a thought. I really do like the idea of improving thermal paste but the risk is real. It's all about having enough experience to do a proper application but most normal people can't really risk blowing up a high end CPU. I might buy a cheap MOBO + CPU off of ebay or something just to practice a bit before I risk my main and only desktop. That very important desktop on which I do so much stuff.

@Aeacus​

- Moreover, i wouldn't say that your PC has "stock parts"
Yes, sorry about that. I guess it's a translation error as I'm not a native english speaker. I meant that my fancy PC parts are running on stock values. I haven't tweaked them yet. No OC.

Also, sorry to disappoint but I'm running a GeForce RTX 2080. As far as I know, it's a pretty old GPU now. It was nice when it was released but in 2023 I guess it's starting to be slow ? Mostly because it doesn't have enough onboard graphgic memory for newer titles to run smoothly.

@Aeacus​

- I see that you haven't done the simple test i asked of you. By running your build without front panel. I suggest that you do that. Take the fancy tempered glass front panel off, dust filter too and run bare fans on front. Look if your CPU temps drop. I'm quite sure it does.
To be honest, it's a good suggestion. I know what you're talking about but the 500D isn't the worst offender in that category because there's a bigger gap on both side of the front glass panel than most case with the same design. It's still a bad design. Very aesthetic but lead to poor airflow. Anyway, I can't do it. I simply can't. The glass front isn't removable as it's glued to the case itself. What I can do is run without a side panel which is a test I'll do next weekend to see how much of a difference it does. If I'm right about my current theory, it won't do much which will lead again to the CPU paste not doing it's job. The thing you aren't aware is that this computer is running in a basement away from sunlight with air conditioning always on. The ambient temp, at the very worst, will reach 26 degree celsius while it's usually a stable 23c.

@Aeacus​

- But if you want to keep your fancy aquarium, you can still do that.
That's actually the best description of that case I've ever heard. I've laughed a lot when I read that. Well yes, I do find the case aesthetically pleasing and all. Still, my next one will have better thermal for sure.

That previous comment combined with the one regarding the RGB fans is leading me to believe my case is irritating you hahaha. That's fine. To be honest, I am a sucker for LEDs and having a "lit up" case. I find that to be really enjoyable. Same as people who like to have a faux fireplace just to see flame visuals. So yes, I absolutely enjoy my RGB light show and wouldn't go without. So I don't exactly regret buying that case I'll just make a wiser choice next time and get my RGB from somewhere else.

Mr Aeacus, I'll finish by saying that your reply is appreciated and gave me much food for thoughts. A few good laugh too. Man, a fancy aquarium, that's just hilarious. You've definitively contributed to solving my current issue while also helping my future plans. I don't know if I'll go all out and change everthing but what's guaranteed is that my next case will have better thermal / airflow and I'll seriously consider the fans you've mentioned. I've already purchased new thermal paste too. I really do love the NH-D15 so if it can provide as good cooling as AIOs then I'm more than happy to keep it.

@Eugene$$​

Thank you for the information. It's giving me an idea of what could be considered normal for that CPU + Cooler setup. Clearly, I've got something wrong over here. Most people point out the obvious case but since it's in a cool environment at all times and does have better airflow than most solid front panel cases I wouldn't be so quick to accuse the case itself. If it was the case, I would see high GPU temps too and that's not the case. Still, I'm not saying I won't test for the case too, I will, but the current evidence doesn't support the case being the culprit.

 

[Aeacus]

I've thought for a long time now that AIO were, ultimately, better than air coolers. That high end AIO would provide 10-20c better cooling.

Just think a bit. How could AIO offer 10-20C less cooling when it is also cooled by the very same ambient air as tower-type air coolers? 🤔

Main diff between AIO and air cooler is, that it takes time for liquid in AIO to heat up, resulting in a situation where when you have short bursts of high productivity, the CPU overall remains near idle temps. However, when workload is longer, ~30mins, liquid in AIO will heat up to the max and so does the CPU temp, that you can monitor from e.g HWinfo64. Now, once the long workload is over and CPU doesn't output a lot of heat, AIO will actually feed the heat back to the CPU, since liquid in AIO is still hotter than what CPU is currently producing. And it takes a bit of time until liquid too cools off.
With air coolers, as soon as there is load on CPU, the CPU temps go up. Air cooler doesn't "suck up" heat into itself and keep it, instead, it expels as soon as CPU generates it. Once the load on CPU stops, CPU temps also drop down and there is no heat feedback to CPU as it is with AIO.

The glass front isn't removable as it's glued to the case itself.

That's actually bad design and 1st for me to hear Corsair doing it cheap. For example, if the TG panel bursts into pieces or gets solid scratches on it, you can not change it. You need to buy new PC case.

In this case, open up the side panel and look if temps go down.

That previous comment combined with the one regarding the RGB fans is leading me to believe my case is irritating you hahaha. That's fine. To be honest, I am a sucker for LEDs and having a "lit up" case. I find that to be really enjoyable. Same as people who like to have a faux fireplace just to see flame visuals. So yes, I absolutely enjoy my RGB light show and wouldn't go without. So I don't exactly regret buying that case I'll just make a wiser choice next time and get my RGB from somewhere else.

Well, it's not just 500D alone that irritates me but any PC case that has solid front panel. Since it's bad idea to compromise PC's cooling in favor of looks. Latter of which, PC case manufacturers have done time and time again.

Though, you don't need to have TG front panel for PC to look good. You still can make stunning PC even without TG panels on a PC case.

For example;

Well built PC in a good airflow case:

Or the unicorn puke build:

🤔

Of course, when powered off, the example build still looks good:

Can't say the same to the unicorn puke build, since without power, there is 0 RGB:

So, which of the two builds you think has better aesthetics?

and I'll seriously consider the fans you've mentioned.

Well, Delta Industrial fans are the best, but for consumers Noctua is also a solid choice. Even Noctua offers some industrial grade fans,
lineup: https://noctua.at/en/products/fan

Most people point out the obvious case but since it's in a cool environment at all times and does have better airflow than most solid front panel cases I wouldn't be so quick to accuse the case itself.

It's more like combination of different things, that result in high temps, rather than one aspect alone. Those being:
* poor thermal paste
* questionable performance fans (if you have stock ARGB fans in there, then those are mainly for eyecandy, rather than actual cooling)
* restricted airflow PC case (poor performance front intake fans make it even worse)
* positive pressure inside the PC (which leads to stagnant air, heating up internals even more)
* open-air type of GPU (open-air type GPU dissipates all of it's heat into PC case. While if you'd have blower type GPU, it would expel all it's heat out of the PCI-E bracket, directly outside of the case.)

 

[falcon291]

Hello everyone,

I'd very much like to get some feedback from you knowledgeable folks.

My CPU is running too hot and throttling. My goal here would be to stabilize my system and get my CPU to run with as good a temp as it is realistically possible with my current hardware. From there, I'd very much like to start dwelving into OC as I've never tried it before. It doesn't matter that I might not be able to "achieve much" without some water cooling setup. My current goal is to learn and maybe if I learn enough I'll add an AIO later to push even further.

The setup :
i9-9900k + Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste
Noctua NH-D15
Gigabyte Z390 AORUS Master
CORSAIR Obsidian 500D RGB SE Mid-Tower Case (CC-9011139-WW)
- The case is running 6 case fan with positive air pressure. I know it's not the best case for airflow but I made sure there's enough / as much as I can get with that specific case.

Idle, with just Chrome open, my CPU is running at 71-73C
When poking the beast, it gets really hot and then throttle.

The BIOS is up to the most recent version with all default settings. The only setting I've changed is Enhanced multi-core performance set to disabled in order to try to rein in the i9-9900k temperature. I would've expected the CPU to run much cooler if not OC while being paired with a NH-D15 and being into a well ventilated case. I'm thinking something's awfully wrong here because it seems (from my own research) that my cooler should be able to maintain it at a better temp.

HWMonitor stats

Some of the default BIOS settings that seemed meaningful :
CPU Base clock auto 100MHz
CPU clock ratio auto 36
Ring ratio auto 43
IGP ratio auto 30
CPU V-Core auto 1.2v

I'd be super appreciated if you guys would help diagnose this. I really don't get why it's running this hot. It could be bad MOBO settings but then I really don't get all those OC settings yet. I'm kinda afraid of making changes and causing harm. It could maybe be that my thermal paste isn't good or too old ? I thought about ordering a newer, better one to see if the temp will behave differently.

Looking forward to anything you guys can share. So much to learn right ?
Have a wonderful day.

Idle temperature is too high. NH-D15 works fine with 13900K, so it is supposed to work even fine with 9900K. I would reinstall the cooler, I don't know if you tried it.

 

[WarMage3409]

To everyone who tried to help :
Thank you very much.

This is the conclusion in regard to this story. I'll try to give you guys at least an idea of what went down.

I reseated the CPU at least 5 times. 2 with Arctic Silver 5 before I was made aware it's a bad paste and 3 times with the newly pruchased Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut paste. I also did multiple test with the case side panels removed and all that. At the end of the day, unfortunately, I didn't really improve my situation.

My current idle temp is 68-73C.

On the other side of the medal, I did get considerable PC building and paste applying experience. the Grizzly paste is hard to apply as it's quite sticky and refuses to apply neatly tending toward uneven application. The seringe applicator add-on is neat and the easiest way to apply the paste while the provided little plastic shovel tend to be hard to use as the paste stick to it and doesn't spread nicely.

During all my tests and the 10 or more time I've dissasembled and reassembled my system I ended up running into more issues. Nothing too major except one. At some point, accidentally, I damaged my motherboard CPU socket. Yeah, some pins were bent. I was careful but that doens't protect you from an accident. At that point, the PC wouldn't boot anymore. Clearly, it was because of the bent pins. At that point, having nothing else to lose, I grabbed the best magnifying glass I had, a needle and went to work fixing my pins. Ultimately, I succeeded. Now, of course, that kind of fix doesn't mean the system will keep working in the future.

Because of all the issue I've been having. Because of the bad case. Because of the bad paste. Because even with changing the paste I do not see a temp improvement..... and most of all, because I'm just a normal human being with no electronic hardware troubleshooting experience, I'm calling off this adventure. I'm done. The PC works for now.... which is great.... it's not worth thinkering with any more. I did my best, went as far as I could, learned a lot but ultimately it doesn't look like I'll get a sunny ending.

Before I damage it any more I'll simply move on and try to buy my next PC sooner. It's an absolute waste of good pc components which is the only thing that really annoys me. The money's an issue too but that's a problem pretty much everyone has too.

I wanted to "recondition" this old build. Make the CPU run with a more acceptable temp, then play around with OC a little to learn and all that and ultimately keep this old PC around as some sort of server. A PC I could run stuff of, stock data, etc. Well, now it's clear that plan's scrapped because the PC isn't stable enough. The CPU could melt. The motherboard could stop working at any point. So it's the end of that idea.

Well, I'll make sure to use all that new knowledge of mine and build the best next PC I can testing it from the get-go to make sure all the temps are normal and everything's working as it's supposed.

Again, thank you everyone. It's with a sad smile that I move on from this experience.

 

[Aeacus]

Could be bad silicon lottery as well. This would explain why your CPU runs hotter than the average.

To bring temps down, you could look towards down clocking/undervolting. Sure, there may be performance loss (especially when down clocking), but on the flip side, temps are lower as well. And with this, you can extend your CPU lifespan quite a bit. E.g make it a small home server that you planned about.

Regarding CPU OC;
Back in the day, with older CPUs, CPU OC was worthwhile.

E.g i have i5-6600K with 3.5 GHz base and 3.9 Ghz boost. With CPU OC, i could get it 4.5 Ghz all core (increase of 600 Mhz over boost), or with delid, ~4.7 Ghz all core (800 Mhz over boost). And there have been some delidded i5-6600K CPUs, that can hold 5 Ghz all core.

Latest gen CPU, e.g i7-13700K, is so efficient, that most chips out there, can only hold all core stable at 5.5 Ghz (100 Mhz over boost). With this, there is so little OC headroom, that CPU OC, IMO, isn't worthwhile.
Here's TH review of i7-13700K,
link: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i7-13700k-cpu-review/2
where TH got 5.5 Ghz with 280mm rad AIO. TH review also says that depending on silicone lottery and even more cooling, 360mm rad AIO, CPU OC could hold stable at 5.7 Ghz (300 Mhz over boost).

So, 100-300 Mhz OC over boost clocks is so little, that CPU OC with current, highly efficient chips, isn't worthwhile. There won't be any meaningful performance increase.
If the headroom would be bigger, like it is with my 6th gen CPU, where on minimum, i look towards 600 Mhz increase over boost clocks (or up to 1.1 Ghz over boost, if very lucky with delidded chip), then CPU OC makes sense.

All-in-all, CPU OC is dying niche and outside of record breaking, isn't worth the effort anymore.

But if you want to try it out, i suggest Core i5 K-series, 6th - 8th gen. They aren't that hot running and also have good OC headroom. Newer chips are better optimized, making OC pointless.

 

[thestryker]

Bad silicon lottery does not explain the idle temps. No CPU of that era should be running that hot with a good cooler while idling even if it's running a static clockspeed.

Again, thank you everyone. It's with a sad smile that I move on from this experience.

Here's hoping your future experiences go a little better.

Just out of curiosity are you the original owner of this CPU or did you buy it used/get it from someone? I'm only asking because delidding was a lot more common in the 8th/9th gen than now and if this CPU had been delidded you could simply be experiencing the effects of whatever TIM was applied no longer being there.

 

[WallysWorld]

Other than the case, I have almost the same system which was built in September 2019:

i9-9900k also with Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste
Noctua NH-D15
Gigabyte Z390 AORUS Master
Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Tempered

I have all of the the 9900k cores running at 5 Ghz and I get about 36-38c at idle in the winter and about 41-42c in the summer. This is with the Phanteks delivered fans and no added fans. Latest bios installed as well.

 

[WarMage3409]

@Aeacus
Oh sweet irony. It would've been worthwhile to OC this build but it went sideways instead. I take very good care of my things as I usually tend to keep them for a long time. So it's a little sad that despite it all this PC decided to revolt and began to emulate a volcano.

@thestryker
A valid question. I'm the original owner of all the parts. None has been tempered with outside of what's normal to do.

I know for sure the case isn't part of the temp issue. So it's anywhere between the mobo socket, the CPU and the cooler. Could be something's worn and isn't working at it should like the CPU silicone or maybe even the cooler could have an issue of sorts that I wouldn't recognize with my lack of experience.

I simply couldn't figure it out. Now I'm merely hoping the PC will hold out long enough for me to get a new one together. It's frustrating to admit defeat but there comes a point where it's the only logical thing left to do. The parts in this PC aren't worth going to the store for an official diagnosis as there's also the motherboard pin issues that could simply decide not to work at any point especially if anyone decide to remove the CPU once more from it's socket. I'm glad enough it decided to boot again after I fiddled with the pins in desesperation.

What's certain is that I'll do my very best to use all the info in this thread in order to help me get on the right track with building my new PC.