... I reduced the processor maximum state in power options and this immediately reduced temps to normal. I then set that back to 100, and lowered the overclock back to stock as suggested. Temps are way better now.
What exactly is going on here? Is the processor becoming damaged? ... If it is being damaged, how? Temps have been fine until now. I'm not well versed on OCing. I know enough to be dangerous. I had the motherboard automatically manage voltage, which was around 1.34 at 4.8ghz. Now at 4.2ghz it is around 1.2v ...
No, your processor is not becoming damaged. 1.34 Vcore is certainly well within the maximum recommended Vcore, which is 1.4 volts, so it's highly unlikely that Vcore is the issue. Pay close attention to package power consumption (Watts) in
Hardware Info (
HWiNFO) during your highest Core temperatures and heaviest workloads. Although the 7700K is a 95 Watt TDP processor, at your overclock settings running a 100% workload, power consumption should reach a maximum of about 125 Watts. Keep in mind that workload drives power consumption which drives Core temperatures.
Concerning Vcore, one size does
not fit all. Each Microarchitecture has a “Maximum Recommended Vcore”. For example, it’s important to point out that 22 nanometer 3rd and 4th Generation processors will
not tolerate the higher Core voltages of other Microarchitectures.
Here's the Maximum Recommended Vcore per Microarchitecture from 14 to 65 nanometers since 2006:
Each Microarchitecture also has a "
Degradation Curve". As a rule, CPUs are more susceptible to "
Electromigration" and degradation with each Die-shrink. However, the exception to the rule is 14 nanometer Microarchitecture, where advances in
FinFET transistor technology have improved voltage tolerance.
Here's how the Degradation Curves correspond to Maximum Recommended Vcore for 14 nanometer 5th through 10th Generation, which differs from 22 nanometer 3rd and 4th Generation:
As shown above, if you look very closely at the brown curve for 14 nanometer processors, which includes your 7700K, Vcore above 1.425, which agrees with Intel's own
Lab Test Engineers (see paragraphs 8, 9 & 10), can cause degradation over time due to "VT shift". Degradation Curves are directly related to the term “
Vt (Voltage threshold) Shift” which is expressed in millivolts (mv). Users can not monitor Vt Shift. With respect to overclocking and overvolting, Vt Shift basically represents the potential for
permanent loss of normal transistor performance. Excessively high Core voltage drives excessively high Power consumption and Core temperatures, all of which contribute to gradual Vt Shift over time. Core voltages that impose high Vt Shift values are
not recommended.
For a safety margin, this is why we recommend that 14 nanometer users should not exceed 1.4 volts. So as I said in my first sentence, your Vcore at 1.34 is well within the maximum recommended value for your 7700K. As such, it's highly unlikely that your Vcore was, or is, of any concern. However, it is
not recommended to overclock using "Auto" Vcore BIOS settings or motherboard OC tuning features, as significantly more Vcore than necessary is applied to maintain stability, which needlessly increases Power and heat. It's instead
highly recommended to use only "manual" Vcore in BIOS.
When the 7700K was launched in the first quarter of 2017, many articles were written that underscored problems with high Core temperatures, just as when the 3770K was launched in the 2nd quarter of 2012. As I mentioned in my first post, since the 7700K is not a "soldered" processor, it instead uses "paste" between the Die and the IHS (Integrated Heat Spreader) which unlike "
Indium" solder, loses its thermal bond to the Die over time.
More specifically, the TIM (Thermal Interface Material) that Intel used on 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Generation mainstream processors is a paste which, compared to Indium solder, has relatively poor thermal conductivity, and dries over time due to thermal cycling to the consistency of "chalk". So it's not unusual at all for older processors to experience increasingly higher Core temperatures.
The easiest solution is to manually decrease Vcore and frequency in BIOS, which decreases power consumption, and thus Core temperatures. Most overclocking Guides explain how to use manual Vcore settings. Alternatively, "delidding" your processor typically decreases Core temperatures by up to 20°C. Delidding replaces Intel's TIM with "liquid metal" which instead provides good thermal conductivity similar to previous generations of soldered processors.
You can purchase a delidding tool to safely do the job yourself, or you can send your CPU to a company called "
Silicon Lottery" who provides professional delidding services. Either solution will cost around $50 USD. For a minimal upcharge, in addition to delidding, you also can have Silicon Lottery “
bin" your processor, which will reveal its best overclock frequency and Core voltage settings.
Click on the link in my signature and read
Section 9 -
The TIM Problem. Also see the previous
Section 8 -
Overclocking and Voltage.
CT