i7-8700 Stock Cooler Question

[amanneedsaname]

I've read in certain comment sections that the stock cooler for the i7-8700 doesn't work well enough to keep it cool.

Can anyone here confirm if this is true or not, and if so, recommend a better cooler? Preferably relatively cheap since this cuts into the savings of the non K chip.

Thanks.

 

[clutchc]

Intel wouldn't guarantee their processors with that cooler if it didn't do the job. As long as you live in normal climes and have a clean case, it will be fine.

 

[wizake]

Intel wouldn't guarantee their processors with that cooler if it didn't do the job. As long as you live in normal climes and have a clean case, it will be fine.

What do you mean by guarantee? The CPU wont break, it will just start throttling when reaching 100 degrees to protect itself. The stock cooler is not enough to prevent that. Mine started throttling when using Adobe Lightroom to import and generate previews for a few hundred photos. So a normal use case, no stress testing. To me this is unacceptable. So I bought an aftermarket cooler. I am a bit disappointed because I thought I will save some money from the price difference between non k and k cpu + the extra cooler I would have needed for the K version. If I were to do it again, I would just get the K version

 

[amanneedsaname]

Which cooler did you get Wizake? I've used the Hyper 212 EVO in my last 3 builds, I'm wondering if there is something better now in that $20-$40 price range.

 

[wizake]

Which cooler did you get Wizake? I've used the Hyper 212 EVO in my last 3 builds, I'm wondering if there is something better now in that $20-$40 price range.

I bought a Scythe Mugen 5 Rev.B
Not sure about the price there, since I am probably on another continent, but here is about $64

It improved the temps, but during some stress testing I still got close to 100 deg. So I undervolted the CPU a bit and the temps came down a lot (15-20 degrees)

 

[clutchc]

Intel wouldn't guarantee their processors with that cooler if it didn't do the job. As long as you live in normal climes and have a clean case, it will be fine.

What do you mean by guarantee? The CPU wont break, it will just start throttling when reaching 100 degrees to protect itself. The stock cooler is not enough to prevent that. Mine started throttling when using Adobe Lightroom to import and generate previews for a few hundred photos. So a normal use case, no stress testing. To me this is unacceptable. So I bought an aftermarket cooler. I am a bit disappointed because I thought I will save some money from the price difference between non k and k cpu + the extra cooler I would have needed for the K version. If I were to do it again, I would just get the K version

Why would it ever get to 100C? The i7-8700 is only a 65W (TDP) processor. It should never get over the rated 74.1C max at 100% usage with the stock cooler.

I've never had an Intel CPU throttle on the stock cooler if it wasn't OC'ed and the PC was used in a normal room temp environment. And I've had a lot of them over the years.

 

[wizake]

Well, in theory, the theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not 😛
Mine did throttle, and it still did when stress testing with Prime95 with the aftermarket cooler. Until I added a negative voltage offset

Could be something wrong with my cpu ?

 

[clutchc]

Well, in theory, the theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not 😛
Mine did throttle, and it still did when stress testing with Prime95 with the aftermarket cooler. Until I added a negative voltage offset

Could be something wrong with my cpu ?

I doubt there's anything wrong with the CPU. The cooler fan, possibly. I've built a couple machines not too long ago using Intel CPUs that came with faulty cooling fans. Wouldn't get up to speed when needed. It wasn't a big deal at the time, because I was adding an after-market cooler anyway.