i7 7700k stock w/ Noctua NHD15 Temp Question

[cadefoster]

I've just upgrade my heat sink to the Noctua NHD15 from a cooler master 212. My initial impressions are pretty good, I was hitting close to 80c in some games and now I rarely see it go above 65c with fairly low fan speeds so I'm very pleased. My only concern is my cpu temps fluctuate constantly while gaming, sometimes by as much a 10c at a time. I had similar fluctuations with the 212 but I was hoping the Noctua would have evened the temps out a bit. I'm pretty sure I got good even pressure with the install, I tightened both screws till they just stopped. I may have added a tad too much thermal paste but I don't think it was huge amount. Any thoughts as too why my temps constantly fluctuate? My idle temp is 25-30 which stays pretty stable with just occasional spikes.

win 10
asus z270 prime
i7 7700k
16g ddr 4
Corsair 750w gold psu
Fractal Design R5 Case
gtx 970

 

[bmockeg]

Sounds completely normal

 

[cadefoster]

Thanks for your input. The only reason I question it is I watch a lot of benchmark videos and other 7700s seem to run a a relatively constant temp. Which made me think I might have an issue somewhere since mine can fluctuate so rapidly.

 

[bmockeg]

Mine do the same thing

 

[Gam3r01]

Load changes while you game, meaning different temperatures.
Benchmarks are a solid, continuous load.

 

[mdd1963]

That's about the same as mine with same CPU/cooler...; same mainboard, even...

WIth MCE default enabled in BIOS, you might already be running all 4 cores at 4.5 GHz, which would make 64C gaming temps absolutely normal...

 

[mdd1963]

temps will only be relatively stable at/under constant heavy load conditions, like Prime 95/blended FFTs, where P95 v26.6 will induce about a 68C load, or, 73C with MCE (all-core max turbo) enabled...

Under less strenuous loads, temps can go from 35C to 68C and back down to 36C nearly instantaneously as clocks ramp up/down, which is normal....

 

[cadefoster]

Thanks for all the input. I'm not sure if I have MCE enabled in my bios, im I little embarrassed to say I wasn't aware of that setting. I'll definitely double check to see if it's enabled. I've been testing some more games and the max temps are still looking pretty good. I have seen the CPU hit 70c a couple of times but it's not sustained, 65c or so seems to be the average.

 

[mdd1963]

If you run a heavy load such as P95 for a few minutes, and see all cores ramp up to 4500 MHz in HWMonitor, then MCE is most definitely enabled....

If you see only a single core hit that clock speed, it is not enabled... (your NH-D15 can easily handle the 6C higher temps of MCE all-core 4.5 GHz operation...)

 

[cadefoster]

I finally had time to play around with my pc a bit more and do some testing. I checked the bios and MCE was set to auto which looks like its definitely enabled. I ran prime95 small ftt for a about 10 min and cores 1,2 and three maxed out are 75c but core 4 hit 78c. This is with cpu fans at 1200rpm. Does this sound like its in the ballpark of normal operation? or should I look at reinstalling the NH D15? Those temps just seem a little high to me.

 

[bmockeg]

Using prime95 is going to max your CPU out, its a stress test. Your temps would be the same,with a AIO water cooler as well. Completely fine. Only way to get lower temps is to delid.

 

[mdd1963]

some version of P95 are more stressful than others, and, it depends on if blended or small FFTs are run....; most like the older version (if you can find it) of 26.6, where blended FFTs only hits about 65-71C temps... (all well above any temps encountered in any gaming scenarios)

later versions, with small FFTs is most stressful..

I just ran P95 v28.8/small FFTs, and with 22C ambients, i had ~78C for cores 0,1,2, and core 4 at 80C, so I'd say your temps are fine...

 

[cadefoster]

That's great, thanks again for the help.