Question CPU overheating

[Zenith1102]

Hi, I have recently added some new fans to my pc to aid with the summer heat and help prevent overheating, however since doing so I have not seen an improvement, rather it has gotten worse. I have had the pc since 2023 so it is fairly new.

My specs are as follows

Case - NZXT H9 Flow dual chamber
CPU - i9 12900K
CPU cooler - NZXT Kraken 360 KR360-W1
Motherboard - ASUS ROG Strix Z690A
GPU - 4070TI super Windforce (with NZXT vertical stand)

The latest fan edition I got was the NZXT F360 single frame unit

At idle my pc is at 40°-50° but when I launch any game my average is 92° and max 100° causing my pc to stutter.

Below are the pictures of both my fan configuration and the temperatures before and after launching games.

https://imgur.com/a/DvY4L99

View: https://imgur.com/a/DvY4L99


Any help is much appreciated, especially if I need to rearrange my fans and/or reapply thermal paste

 

[NanoSuit3]

Yeah when WAS the last time you reapplied paste? I won't ask when the last time you like dedusted your system cuz that's obvious you've had it for 2 years but will ask if you do. I've had an ROG Maximus Z690 Hero for almost 2 years with the same CPU and GPU as yours only it's an ROG 4070 Ti Super OC and also had the same issues until I updated BIOS. Funnier thing is I haven't updated it in 2 years so that REALLY improved my stability to a maximum..............................................

 

[Zenith1102]

Yeah when WAS the last time you reapplied paste? I won't ask when the last time you like dedusted your system cuz that's obvious you've had it for 2 years but will ask if you do. I've had an ROG Maximus Z690 Hero for almost 2 years with the same CPU and GPU as yours only it's an ROG 4070 Ti Super OC and also had the same issues until I updated BIOS. Funnier thing is I haven't updated it in 2 years so that REALLY improved my stability to a maximum..............................................

thanks for responding!

I last applied it around a year ago when i upgraded to my 4070 ti, I do clean around every 6 months give or take. I hadn't thought to update the bios as I didn't think that would affect cpu temps, I will give that a go and see if it makes a difference!

 

[TerryLaze]

Your pic shows VID of above 1.5V ... which is very high but doesn't mean that the CPU actually gets that much V ,it could though.
Go into bios and upload a pic of all your CPU settings.

High Voltage but then also none of your cores go above 5.1 even though the 12900k should be boosting up to 5.2 ,your mobo might have an all core overclock going.

 

[Zenith1102]

so I have updated the bios, which gave me a notification saying "pcie x16 link speed has been modified to gen3" not sure what that means or if it was just while I was updating the bios?

also here is the cpu information as requested, I have not modified any of this so it must be the mobo that has changed things..

https://imgur.com/a/82uqP3x

View: https://imgur.com/a/82uqP3x

 

[Phaaze88]

Below are the pictures of both my fan configuration...

Going by that picture, you have:
-side intake
-bottom exhaust
-top intake
-rear exhaust

Flip the top and bottoms, that would likely help things along...

 

[Zenith1102]

Going by that picture, you have:
-side intake
-bottom exhaust
-top intake
-rear exhaust

Flip the top and bottoms, that would likely help things along...

the top is the radiator for the AIO, does that not have to be intake?

 

[SyCoREAPER]

the top is the radiator for the AIO, does that not have to be intake?

No. Heat rises. Always exhaust.

 

[Zenith1102]

No. Heat rises. Always exhaust.

so I need to flip the fans on the top so the back panel is facing the radiator? and then flip the fan unit on the bottom so the back panel of the fan is facing down? I thought it was the other way around for NZXT fans? im not sure

 

[SyCoREAPER]

Also you are heat soaking that pump with the vertical GPU. That's already inefficient for cooling the GPU, now that heat is rising right into the pump/CPU

 

[SyCoREAPER]

so I need to flip the fans on the top so the back panel is facing the radiator? and then flip the fan unit on the bottom so the back panel of the fan is facing down? I thought it was the other way around for NZXT fans? im not sure

Bottom fans need to be flipped as do the top. Sides and rear are correct.

i9 are heat pigs without undervolting. Your case looks like it fits a 420mm AIO, I'd switch to that.

 

[Zenith1102]

Also you are heat soaking that pump with the vertical GPU. That's already inefficient for cooling the GPU, now that heat is rising right into the pump/CPU

how do I stop heat soaking the cpu? as I like the vertical GPU mount, is there any way around doing that or do I just need to make the fans efficient and make sure theyre configured correctly to counter this?

 

[SyCoREAPER]

how do I stop heat soaking the cpu? as I like the vertical GPU mount, is there any way around doing that or do I just need to make the fans efficient and make sure theyre configured correctly to counter this?

Reversing the bottom fans will help the GPU have cool air pass over it and the fans pushing air out force it out faster.

I doubt it will solve the issue entirely though. As mentioned, i9's are a problem IMO and why I always went i7. 420mm will definitely solve it if it fits.

 

[thestryker]

If the issue shows up while gaming the maximum CPU power consumption is hardly a problem.

It actually sounds like there's a problem with the cooling because even with the less than ideal fan layout you shouldn't be overheating. Definitely check power consumption while gaming just to make sure nothing is too high, but also check the AIO tubes. If neither tube is notably hotter and the power consumption looks okay then repaste the AIO.

 

[Zenith1102]

hello, so I have followed all the above advice, I have switched the top and the bottom fan directions, which although a pain to do, it seems to have worked wonders, I have also repasted the thermal paste using asus extreme performance thermal paste, and I will post a picture below showing a stress test done on 3D mark, it is maxing at around 60-70 degrees so such a huge difference!
there is still spikes to around 80 on a stress test but it is a stress test for a reason i guess!

https://imgur.com/a/stress

View: https://imgur.com/a/stress-test-9vTOvRV#Jyz7lLr



only thing is power consumption now, as looking at this stress test it is maxxed out at 4900 MHz, is that okay? or should I change some overclock settings, as I have never delved into that before!

 

[Phaaze88]

as looking at this stress test it is maxxed out at 4900 MHz, is that okay?

By default, the maximum core frequency scales with the number of active/sleeping cores.
It will be at it's lowest when all, or nearly all, of the cores are loaded.

Now, if the frequencies happen to be the same regardless of how many cores are active/sleeping, then there's bound to be an overclock in place. Some boards run with OCs as their out of box defaults - no way to know which ones until you have it in your hands and are looking for it in monitoring software.