[SOLVED] I7-12700KF Overheating While Playing Games

[DINAKERI]

Hi,
My I7-12700KF CPU has been overheating while playing any generally demanding games. For example, Total War, Rust, and any RTS. It'll reach temperatures of high 90C after a bit and will end with the game crashing or my entire computer crashing. It does not overheat on the other hand while playing games that are much easier to run like Stardew valley, and idle temps are always super low. Pulling up core temps or using Corsair ICUE software temps are usually in the 29-35 range while idle and typically sit at 29-31 on BIOS.

So, the Water cooler I use is the Master Liquid ML120L RGB. I believe it does work just fine, because of low temps on idle and under low CPU load, and I know the pump is running because I can feel it when I turn the PC on. With some research it sounds like the cooler I have is simply not good enough for the CPU, but before jumping to conclusions I would prefer asking people who know what they are talking about before going and buying a new Cooler.

Basically, if this is a problem I can resolve with my current hardware, and this isn't just a not good enough cooler issue then any tips on troubleshooting this would be greatly appreciated or just anything I should check on. If it's definitely a case where the hardware is just not up to par any recommendation on what to upgrade too would be appreciated as well.

Thank you.

Specs:
Motherboard: MSI MPG Z690 Edge WiFi DDR4
CPU: Intel i7-12700KF
GPU: GTX 1660 ti
RAM: 2 x Corsair Vengeance LPX 16gb 3200mhz
PSU: Thermaltake Smart Pro RGB 750W bronze
Cooler: Master Liquid Ml120L RGB
Storage: 2x Samsung 860 EVO 500 GB SSD
Storage: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB SSD NVME M.2
Case: HZXT H510 ATX Mid Tower Case

 

[BFG-9000]

You are using a190w CPU on a tiny 120mm cooler "rated" at 180w (ie it is designed to hold temperatures to 100°C at 180w) so it should throttle some.

You could always try a high-speed fan on the radiator but it may sound like a leaf blower before temperatures look OK, so a larger cooler would be strongly suggested.

 

[DINAKERI]

You are using a190w CPU on a tiny 120mm cooler "rated" at 180w (ie it is designed to hold temperatures to 100°C at 180w) so it should throttle some.

You could always try a high-speed fan on the radiator but it may sound like a leaf blower before temperatures look OK, so a larger cooler would be strongly suggested.

I see that makes a lot of sense so it’s definitely just the cooler isn’t good enough for the CPU. I guess I’ll be ordering a new one soon.

Thanks for the easy to understand explanation.