i7-7700 on Stock Cooler Running at Extremely Higher Temperatures while Gaming & Stress Test!!! WHY?

[Satyajit Mishra]

I purchased a new i7-7700 yesterday. I installed it on the Gigabyte GA-B250M-D3H motherboard by following all the instructions i.e. stock thermal paste intact, cooler securely latched to the motherboard etc. As soon as I enter BIOS, I saw that the temperature at idle is at 50°C (I'm unsure about the room temperature. But the room was air conditioned, so the temperature would have been low). So after installing a fresh copy of Windows 10 Pro x64, I installed GTA V & the temperature reached 88-90 within 2 minutes of game play (The game settings were at Normal). So I finally decided to do a stress/stability test using AIDA64 Extreme, to my surprise within 5 seconds the temperature reached 100°C & the CPU throttled immediately. As the CPU was overheating, I decided to stop the test.
When my system is idle, the clock speed is at 4GHz (even though the base frequency of this processor is 3.6GHz). The CPU fan keeps getting revved up & down every now & then too, its really annoying.

So can anyone please tell me why is my CPU overheating? I specifically upgraded to this CPU because of its 65W TDP from my old i5-3450 which had a 77W TDP. But the i5 never broke 80°C barrier even when it was being stressed with AIDA64. Please tell me how to solve this issue? Or is my unit defective?

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700 with Intel's LGA1151 Stock Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B250M-D3H (BIOS version F2)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR4 2400MHz C14
PSU: Corsair GS600
SSD: Samsung 750 EVO 250GB
HDD: WD Blue 2TB 5400RPM

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... Have you tried a MB battery removal and a CMOS clear/reset with your New CPU?

 

[ARICH5]

idle should be lower. my skylake i5 6400 idles @.47 Ghz with a 2.7 base clock. your idle is 4.0Ghz?

 

[ARICH5]

update bios? no igp right?

 

[Satyajit Mishra]

Hello... Have you tried a MB battery removal and a CMOS clear/reset with your New CPU?

No I haven't tried it, because the motherboard is also new.

 

[Satyajit Mishra]

idle should be lower. my skylake i5 6400 idles @.47 Ghz with a 2.7 base clock. your idle is 4.0Ghz?

Yes, when my system is idle the clock speed remains at 4GHz.

 

[Satyajit Mishra]

update bios? no igp right?

No, I haven't update my BIOS because currently there are 2 BIOS updates for my Gigabyte GA-B250M-D3H & one of them adds Intel Optane Memory compatibility & another is for V Core Voltage adjustment. By IGP, you mean Integrated Grpahics Processor right? Currently I'm using a ZOTAC GeForce GTX 760 4GB Graphics Card & not the Intel's HD Graphics 630.

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... You should do a CMOS clear/reset anytime you change the hardware installed in the MB... only takes ~5 mins B / it's holding information about you previous CPU... after the "Clear" it will gather new information and new instructions for your installed hardware on the next boot.

 

[Satyajit Mishra]

Hello... You should do a CMOS clear/reset anytime you change the hardware installed in the MB... only takes ~5 mins B / it's holding information about you previous CPU... after the Clear it will gather new information about your installed hardware on the next boot.

I never changed the hardware i.e. Processor in the MB as the MB was Brand New.

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello.... Ok... Well it worth shot... typically BIO's updates are for problems with some hardware devices... they are instructions to handle/set operating parameters for the hardware... settings get stored in the CMOS for faster Re-booting.

Basically if you have properly seated your CPU cooler and Thermal paste, and you are getting extreme temps then "CPU Voltage" specified by the BIO's version could be set wrong (high)... what is your current CPU voltage reported?

 

[Satyajit Mishra]

Hello.... Ok... Well it worth shot... typically BIO's updates are for problems with some hardware devices... they are instructions to handle/set operating parameters for the hardware... settings get stored in the CMOS for faster Re-booting.

Basically if you have properly seated your CPU cooler and Thermal paste, and you are getting extreme temps then "CPU Voltage" specified by the BIO's version could be set wrong (high)... what is your current CPU voltage reported?

In CPUID HWMonitor, the minimum voltage is 1.129 V & maximum voltage is 1.254. My system is running a few tabs in chrome browser with no other processes running in the background. My clock speed is still within the range of 4.1GHz-4.2GHz. And the temperature right now is 40°C.

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... Well in the OS you should have the CPU throttling the base clock (energy savings)... unless your OS power settings are alter'd or you have disabled it in BIO's... in the BIO's you will have your CPU at full speed in the screens as norm. B /

I don't see any posted voltage info on this page for your CPU... https://ark.intel.com/products/97128/Intel-Core-i7-7700-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-4_20-GHz

Basically it takes time for the thermal paste to 'cure" or for the heatsink to settle down on the CPU for metal to metal contact... doing a stress test right after application is not wise... As you can Boil or "cook" your thermal paste... and when you boil/cook something you are emitting gas and air... exactly what you Don't want between your CPU and heat sink. The thermal paste is there to remove those things. B /

 

[machfelon]

The stock cooler sucks. Get an aftermarket one. Problem solved.

 

[Satyajit Mishra]

Hello... Well in the OS you should have the CPU throttling the base clock (energy savings)... unless your OS power settings are alter'd or you have disabled it in BIO's... in the BIO's you will have your CPU at full speed in the screens as norm. B /

I don't see any posted voltage info on this page for your CPU... https://ark.intel.com/products/97128/Intel-Core-i7-7700-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-4_20-GHz

Basically it takes time for the thermal paste to 'cure" or for the heatsink to settle down on the CPU for metal to metal contact... doing a stress test right after application is not wise... As you can Boil or "cook" your thermal paste... and when you boil/cook something you are emitting gas and air... exactly what you Don't want between your CPU and heat sink. The thermal paste is there to remove those things. B /

My system's power option is at High Performance (Control Panel settings). I haven't altered any of the bios settings. Can you please me how much time it will take for the thermal paste to cure?

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... with Thermal paste less is better... it is a "Band-Aid" when you Don't have "flat" metal to metal contact between the two surfaces... Pro overclockers will have their metal parts ground to micro-millimeters of 'flatness" ...and use Copper heatsinks. (copper has 2x's the thermal conductance of aluminum.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-conductivity-d_429.html

"Curing" for thermal paste means you are allowing it to spread out of the way of the two metal parts... your trying to provide the best 'thermal conductance" between those materials. You are trying to transfer the heat from the CPU to the heatsink and then somewhere else, like the air... that is the 'Physics" of what's going on here... Too much thermal paste will interrupt this natural process between the better conducting metal materials.

So... how long it takes depends on your application method... if you have a "pea" or "blob" or "X" method it will take longer... if you use a thin film method it won't take as long... day or two... you will see your idle temps go down with the fan/pump speed too.

The purpose of thermal paste is to 'displace" any air or gas between the microscopic metal surfaces... Because 'air" has a very low thermal conductance to it... that's all it's there for... it is not better than the pure metal to metal contact between the device and heatsink.

 

[Satyajit Mishra]

How long will it take for a thermal paste to cure, when it was pre-applied to the heatsink's base by the CPU manufacturer? I haven't used any aftermarket thermal paste as the thermal paste was pre-applied.
Check this image for reference: https://grantpalin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/building-computer-cpu-cooler-pads-1.jpg

 

[J_E_D_70]

You said above theres a bios update that addresses voltage. Sounds like a good place to start.

Probably do need an aftermarket cooler like an H7 since Intel did a poor job with the TIM on Kaby.

Change windows max performance down a notch.

In bios Speedstep should be on so thr cpu will idle at 1.6ghz. Also c-states should be enabled.

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... Personally... I would wipe that stuff off... and check the flatness of the heatsink... along with the quality of the polished surface first... remove any machining groves... do some wet sanding to achieve a mirror like finish... look at the CPU lid for problems and flatness... adjust as needed B D ...Check matting of the two surfaces.

And then with a clean finger apply a thin film over the CPU and heatsink polished surface... attach and screw down heatsink in a rotational/random pattern.

Let sit for a hour before a boot to the BIO's for a thermal check and gather fan speed numbers to determine if mounting went well... re-check tightness of heatsink screws.

Basically that is just a generic (thick) amount of thermal paste and not even applied evenly across the surface... how much air and gas gets into that Goo while the machine is Appling it? or mixing it for the next application. B O

Also that is a 'plastic push pin" mount cooler... you will never be able to maintain a good metal to metal contact (force) for the best thermal conductance... I would never use one of those on my personal CPU's. B /

 

[Satyajit Mishra]

Hello... Personally... I would wipe that stuff off... and check the flatness of the heatsink... along with the quality of the polished surface first... remove any machining groves... do some wet sanding to achieve a mirror like finish... look at the CPU lid for problems and flatness... adjust as needed B D ...Check matting of the two surfaces.

And then with a clean finger apply a thin film over the CPU and heatsink polished surface... attach and screw down heatsink in a rotational/random pattern.

Let sit for a hour before a boot to the BIO's for a thermal check and gather fan speed numbers to determine if mounting went well... re-check tightness of heatsink screws.

Basically that is just a generic (thick) amount of thermal paste and not even applied evenly across the surface... how much air and gas gets into that Goo while the machine is Appling it? or mixing it for the next application. B O

Also that is a 'plastic push pin" mount cooler... you will never be able to maintain a good metal to metal contact (force) for the best thermal conductance... I would never use one of those on my personal CPU's. B /

Another thing that has been bugging me is that; even though the i7-7700 base clock speed is 3.6GHz, no matter what (system idle or under load) the clock speed hover at 4.1GHz-4.2GHz (Max Turbo Frequency).

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... ya me too... your BCK is not backing down... that is a BIO's, CPU, or OS function... do a CMOS clear and/or try a BIO's update... check your OS power setting for the CPU. the intel Speed step is not active in your OS for some reason... as stated above... a CMOs clear will bring the BIO's back to "defaults" and the speedstep will/should be enabled in the BIO's for the CPU.

 

[Karadjgne]

You have a fresh copy of win10. That's probably going to be the issue as Windows is going g to constantly updating for the next few days-week depending on when you aren't active on the pc. As far as high bios temps, that's normal to see because you don't actually get idle speeds in bios, it'll be running full turbo speeds until you get to Windows, then the OS will slow things down (normally)
For most pastes there is no cure time, that's pretty much relegated to junk like AS5, the standard included factory paste is equitable in performance, but superior in that respect. Once the cpu sees its first heat cycle, it'll be set, and it's already done that if you hit 80+. Just make sure all 4x of the pushpin's are fully seated, quite often they seat almost there but not quite, so will result in higher core temps. Yes they feel like you should have used a hammer to seat them, brand new pins require a lot of pressure to seat correctly.

At 1.129-1.254v, you can expect 40°C on that cooler, it's actually not a bad temp at all.

Give it a few days, let windows finish its upgrading and settle down. Make sure the cooler is set right, then run the stress tests. By then, hopefully the update concerning voltages will be installed. If all that fails, then try a bios flash to the latest version (the board might be new, but it was built some time ago and probably already has an outdated bios)

 

[teknobug]

Mine idles at 800Mhz and 40C, peaks out at 83C while gaming.

Probably one of the hottest CPU's I've had since the Pentium Pros back in the late 90's.

 

[Satyajit Mishra]

You have a fresh copy of win10. That's probably going to be the issue as Windows is going g to constantly updating for the next few days-week depending on when you aren't active on the pc. As far as high bios temps, that's normal to see because you don't actually get idle speeds in bios, it'll be running full turbo speeds until you get to Windows, then the OS will slow things down (normally)
For most pastes there is no cure time, that's pretty much relegated to junk like AS5, the standard included factory paste is equitable in performance, but superior in that respect. Once the cpu sees its first heat cycle, it'll be set, and it's already done that if you hit 80+. Just make sure all 4x of the pushpin's are fully seated, quite often they seat almost there but not quite, so will result in higher core temps. Yes they feel like you should have used a hammer to seat them, brand new pins require a lot of pressure to seat correctly.

At 1.129-1.254v, you can expect 40°C on that cooler, it's actually not a bad temp at all.

Give it a few days, let windows finish its upgrading and settle down. Make sure the cooler is set right, then run the stress tests. By then, hopefully the update concerning voltages will be installed. If all that fails, then try a bios flash to the latest version (the board might be new, but it was built some time ago and probably already has an outdated bios)

Actually in the BIOS I get 4GHz speed & 50°C temp. In system at idle (No Windows Update or any other process i.e. at 0-3% CPU Load) I'm getting 4.1-4.2GHz speed & 40°C temp. While gaming (GTA V) temp goes as high as 90°C with 5 minutes of gameplay. I ran the Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool & my CPU PASSED it. But when I tried AIDA64 Extreme within 5 seconds, the temp reaches 100°C & the CPU starts to throttle.
To the best of my knowledge, I have latched the cooler properly (After installing it, I tried to give it a gentle wiggle & it didn't budge). But I will unmount & remount the cooler again, just to see if it will make any difference.
Sorry for asking another question within a question but, can an Intel LGA1155 CPU Stock Cooler be used in place of an Intel LGA1151 CPU Stock Cooler for with i7-7700?

 

[madmatt30]

You can use a lga1155 cooler but the newer one that came with the i7 should actually be better.

 

[J_E_D_70]

If you are in the bios at 4ghz then the mobo is probably broken. No reason it should be above 1.6ghz. Again, reset to stock settings and get the bios with voltage fix. If it doesn't then return the board.