i7-4770k Prime95 Test runs the CPU too hot for confort, cant overclock at 4.2Ghz and 1.25V!

[zxgravediggerxz]

Hi guys,
I have searched but cant quite find my answer.

I just purchased an ASROCK Extreme 4 Z97 mobo with an i7-4770k. I am also using a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Heatsink. And I started doing stability and overclocking tests yesterday, only to find out that I have to put 1.25V for the CPU core to get it there. First Prime 95 (blend test) runs for 5 minutes at about 72-73C, after 5 min it increases FFT Size (i think that's what it does) and my CPU core Temp goes to the 90-100 and starts throttling and I have to stop it. I may have let it go for around 40-60sec at that temp before stopping it. I couldn't get my damn system stable at 4.2GHz. even at the stock speeds (3.65GHz) all 4 cores goes to 70-72C on Prime95 at the larger FFT (after 5 min), the first 5 min Prime95 runs at 60C. I thought I had the worst i7 untill i started thinking about my thermal paste application.

It's Been a while since I installed a CPU and immediately started realizing the error of my ways... I put a whole freaking tube of Arctic Silver 5 on top of the CPU *facepam*. Still at idle it would run in the high 20C and gaming in the 50-62C... however Prime95 really put it trough it's paces.

I wil be removing the glob of crap that I put on there and do it properly this time BUT i am still worried that the CPU might be bad. I had to crank it all the way to 1.25 for a mere 4.2Ghz in order to run Prime95 for the first 5min. I crashed pretty much every time before that.

So, my question; is my poor thermal paste application the reason why I have to put 1.25V to run 4.2GHz? Why does Prime 95 "explode" after 5 min? And last, what temperatures should I be aiming for this torture/stability test?


Thanks!

 

[zxgravediggerxz]

ok so I reapplied the thermal paste, properly this time and... same crap. I am running into 80C on Prime95 Small FFT on STOCK speeds! at 1.133v... I might have the WORST i7 cpu or something else is wrong?

 

[whalio]

Well I'm glad you reapplied thermal paste, now check to make sure the cooler is running properly. That's the only other thing I can think of that could be an issue.

Thermal paste shouldn't affect how much voltage you need at higher clocks.

Temps I would aim for would be 60 to 70ish C during stress testing. Max temp for that chip is probably 100 C though, so you have some wiggle room.

 

[zxgravediggerxz]

Well I'm glad you reapplied thermal paste, now check to make sure the cooler is running properly. That's the only other thing I can think of that could be an issue.

Thermal paste shouldn't affect how much voltage you need at higher clocks.

Temps I would aim for would be 60 to 70ish C during stress testing. Max temp for that chip is probably 100 C though, so you have some wiggle room.

The fans on the heatsink are running good. I added a 2nd fan to pull the air out so I have a push-pull trough the Hyper212 and when runing in the 80c+ I can touch the top of the heatsink and it's cool to the touch. The fans are running fine and the ambient temp is around 25C or 80F.

I did some searching around and found out that Prime95 could be the problem actually... check out my reply to the main thred.

 

[zxgravediggerxz]

I did some digging around for people having high Temps at stock running Prime95 and I found out that I am not alone.

I actually read that Prime95 should NOT be used to test Haswell Chips!

Ivy Bridge and Haswell are different chips and Prime95 actually overvolts the Haswell chips during the torture tests causing the thermal overload!

It is recommanded to use Aida64 or Intel Extreme Tuning Utility!

best example of this is this thread: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/38617-is-it-normal-for-my-4770k-to-have-around-90c-degree-on-full-load/


I will run the the above two utilities and see what comes out of it. I have a feeling that prime95 is at fault here for the high temperatures. During the Blend test, the first 5 minutes the CPU is loaded at 100% and it's in the 70's C and once it hits the FFT calc after the 5 min mark it goes up by 10-15deg! I think those veteran members are correct, don't use Prime95 for Haswell.

I will let you know what happens with the Intel Extreme Utility

 

[zxgravediggerxz]

Here are my results now.

I used the Intel Extreme Utility and overclocked my CPU to 4.3GHz @1.245V and ran several 5 minute Tortue/Stress tests and passed seveal benchmark measurements. My CPU got to 72-78C. I am going to call that a Success considering I couldnt even do a couple of minutes in Prime95 Small FFT.

I also ran multiple 5 min tests and a long 3-4hr Stress test at 4.2Ghz @ 1.2V and temp between 68-73C.

Testing took me a whole evening and I didn't even scratch the surface but I am MUCH happer. Maybe I will do an 8-10hr stability test on 4.2Ghz since I dont want my temp to go above 73C for that long of time.

I might also try to get 4.4Ghz but I dont want to push the CPU past 1.25V although my temps are cotained below 80c on 1.245V.