Question CPU temperatures shooting up while gaming

[JoeyJoeZa]

Just got a new I5 13600KF with a Deepcool Castle 360 AIO. Rest of the setup:
GPU: RTX 2060 (Gigabyte)
Memory: GSkill Trident 32 Gb DDR5 6400Mhz
MB: MSI MAG Tomahawk Z790

So while a quick gaming session yesterday I saw that CPU temps would jump up past 90 degrees. This only happened once or twice and quickly cooled down but I feel a bit concerned. I used the pre-applied thermal paste on the AIO and wondering if I shouldn't rather replace it?

Also how can I ensure the pump is actually running since I can't really hear it running?

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

You shouldn't worry about spike temperatures. Worry about the average temperature. Do you know what that temperature is?

 

[JoeyJoeZa]

So I was using HWInfo and it looked like it was stable in the high 40s low 50s. After the spike it also returned to around this mark within seconds. I'm just nervous with this being my first AIO that something is either not working or not making proper contact.

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

Remember that it takes anywhere from 15-30 mins for an aio to fully balance out to control temperatures. After that the temperature readings should stay pretty consistent. They will either average med to low or stay high if not cooling correctly. If you are experiencing many high spikes, I would try to adjust the fan /cooling settings. If you are averaging 40-50 then you are fine. Also remember a cpu will not self-destruct if it gets too hot, it will simply throttle itself until it cools down. If you experience throttling, then you have a problem.

 

[JoeyJoeZa]

Alright, thanks for the info. My concern was that it was immediately throttling when under load.

 

[Paperdoc]

No, it won't throttle immediately. I don't know whether this next applies to your CPU. There are SOME CPU's with disconcerting quirk. On certain sudden load changes they get very hot in one or two cores for a few seconds, then cool right back down. This is NOT dangerous for the CPU but it does make people worry unnecessarily.

 

[Karadjgne]

A core goes to work. Inside and on that core is a temp probe which reads the temps every 256ms. As the core goes to work, that work and power use creates heat. A lot of heat. That heat has to travel from the core, through the TIM, be absorbed by the IHS, radiate through the paste, be absorbed and moderated by the cold plate. Which takes longer than 256ms.

On top of that is reported time. While the temp is read every 256ms, it generally only gets reported every 1000ms and shown on the screen every 3 seconds or so.

So if the cpu sees work temps of 60-90-60-70, and gets reported on the second read, you'll see a temp of 90 on screen. If it reports on 3rd read, you'll see 60, regardless of temps actually hitting 90. Average temp is 70.

Best way to check temps is with a consistant load, not a spiked or variable load. Prime95 Small FFT with AVX Disabled is a 100% load that's consistant. That'll tell you what the temp really is.

AIO's transfer heat to the rad by the liquid. The liquid is far colder than the cpu and stays that way. But you'll need to run the test for @ half an hour to allow the liquid to get as warm as it will get, acclimation. Ait coolers have the advantage there as they use vapor chamber heatpipes, which only take 5 minutes to acclimate.