Question i9 10th Gen OverHeating Issues and BottleNeck Potential? Should I keep my CPU?

[Rareshoriaaa]

Hello! Sorry if this will come out as obvious, but I had some issues with my i9. In 2020 I bought an i9 10900k, i have an ASUS PRIME P Z590 mb, but foolishly enough I had paired it to an air cooler Arctic Freezer Esports Duo 34 (which I am not lying - was less than 50 euro). For the first 2 years it ran fine, no issues at all, but MSI Afterburner's OSD always showed that the temps were around 65-90 in gaming (with only 30-40% usage max, in most games less than 30). Since last year, when playing hardware heavy games, after 1-2h it would shut down, sometimes telling me that s an overheat error (in a bluescreen error message), sometimes nothing at all and just restarting. ( in both instances)

I had now bought an Arctic Freezer II 2x120mm fans AIO (my case is normal, so these were the only that could fit), and now gaming temps are 45-70 (mostly towards the 45-55 zone but sometimes it reaches 60-70, but 70 MAX and very rarely), and in a Cinebench 2024 benchmark, where 100% of the CPU was used for 10 min, the MAX temp showed by CPU ID HW program was 85, which seems mad good to me.

My fear is, because the shutdown problem persisted for almost a year, is there a chance I may have fried my CPU having the pc shut down so many times after 1-2h of playing? When changing the cooler, I had observed that its old thermal paste was almost gone, inexistent.
Or can I continue using it anxiety free? Tbh, I havent noticed any performance changes or issues with it after changing to liquid cooling, quite the opposite, just Forza crashes but I guess that s a GPU driver problem, many people have that.


Also, I have a 3080ti and it runs just fine, but I am thinking of buying a 2nd hand 4090 when the 5000 series launch ( i have 1000w psu so im fine), only thing is - would the 10900k actually bottleneck a 4090?

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

my case is normal

what case?
and what is the overall system-wide cooling setup?

how/where is the cooler installed?

When changing the cooler, I had observed that its old thermal paste was almost gone, inexistent.

you did thoroughly clean and reapply, right?
and the type of thermal paste can make quite a difference, which type are you using?

I havent noticed any performance changes or issues with it after changing to liquid cooling, quite the opposite

what type of fan speed curve do you have setup for the cooler?

thinking of buying a 2nd hand 4090 when the 5000 series launch ( i have 1000w psu so im fine)

what is the make & model of the unit and how long has it been in use?

 

[bill001g]

It all depends on what resolution you are running. Most people using a 4090 or even a 3080ti are running at 4k.
In many cases the GPU is still the bottleneck but it greatly depends on the game.

I don't know about forza but I am pretty sure that game you want to run the video at the highest setting for the best looking display. That generally means your cpu is likely fine.

If you are one of those crazy guys who only care about frame rates running everything on low then you likely will hit a cpu bottleneck first. But it depends on the game as to how much a different cpu will affect it. Some games like very high clock rate on single cores other can use many cores and threads.

As I read though your post I was getting ready to post the standard , remove the cooler and make sure it clean and repaste it. That really is all you needed to do. Some paste gets dry and also will squeeze out over time.

Your old air cooler is a very good cooler although you can get better for the same price now days. Like most coolers it will come extrmely close to the 240 AIO you purchased. If you had not already bought it I would have recommended against it. Really you only use AIO on things like 13900k with the power limited removed. Then you use a 360 or larger AIO. Almost everything else you can cool with modern dual tower air coolers.

I would not hold your breath hopping to get a good deal on a 4090 or a 5090. Unless we get some change in the economy I bet nvidia will be greedy and put a list price of $2000 on a 5090. The 4090 for last 6 to 9 months is still selling for $300 or move above its list price. Maybe you get a used one for $1600 list price but they are using them for AI uses so they may retain their high price

 

[geofelt]

Your cpu is fine.
The processor monitors it's own temperature and will slow down or shut off to protect itself.
It worked exactly as designed.

What kinds of games do you play?
Try this simple test:
Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

What is the make/model of your 1000w psu?
Quality counts.

 

[Rareshoriaaa]

what case?
and what is the overall system-wide cooling setup?

how/where is the cooler installed?

you did thoroughly clean and reapply, right?
and the type of thermal paste can make quite a difference, which type are you using?

what type of fan speed curve do you have setup for the cooler?

what is the make & model of the unit and how long has it been in use?

I dont know the case, it s a red, cheap, normal, fractal design, probably around 50 eur
It has 2 fans in the front panel and that s all.

I did thoroughly clean and reapply, yes

I am using mx-5 or mx-6 which was given to me in the box of the new cooler

1800 RPM (max) for the AIO, 1200 RPM (max) for the 2 case fans

i9 10900k has been in use permanentley for the past 3-4 years since I bought it

cooler : Arctic Freezer II AIO 120x2mm fans

 

[Rareshoriaaa]

It all depends on what resolution you are running. Most people using a 4090 or even a 3080ti are running at 4k.
In many cases the GPU is still the bottleneck but it greatly depends on the game.

I don't know about forza but I am pretty sure that game you want to run the video at the highest setting for the best looking display. That generally means your cpu is likely fine.

If you are one of those crazy guys who only care about frame rates running everything on low then you likely will hit a cpu bottleneck first. But it depends on the game as to how much a different cpu will affect it. Some games like very high clock rate on single cores other can use many cores and threads.

As I read though your post I was getting ready to post the standard , remove the cooler and make sure it clean and repaste it. That really is all you needed to do. Some paste gets dry and also will squeeze out over time.

Your old air cooler is a very good cooler although you can get better for the same price now days. Like most coolers it will come extrmely close to the 240 AIO you purchased. If you had not already bought it I would have recommended against it. Really you only use AIO on things like 13900k with the power limited removed. Then you use a 360 or larger AIO. Almost everything else you can cool with modern dual tower air coolers.

I would not hold your breath hopping to get a good deal on a 4090 or a 5090. Unless we get some change in the economy I bet nvidia will be greedy and put a list price of $2000 on a 5090. The 4090 for last 6 to 9 months is still selling for $300 or move above its list price. Maybe you get a used one for $1600 list price but they are using them for AI uses so they may retain their high price

Im running 2k Res, 165 hz, I already have the 240 AIO, I was just hoping that buying a 4090 at maybe 1000-1300 euro when the 5090 launches and also hoping to experience no bottlenecks. I only run single player games at the max settings, with ray tracing , no DLSS and MSAA x 4 or x 8, im one of those crazy after visuals guy, for me, anything above 40 fps is fine

 

[Rareshoriaaa]

Your cpu is fine.
The processor monitors it's own temperature and will slow down or shut off to protect itself.
It worked exactly as designed.

What kinds of games do you play?
Try this simple test:
Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

What is the make/model of your 1000w psu?
Quality counts.

xbox game pass games mostly, modded skyrim, forza horizon 5, newer games or older games with mods on highest settings, including aa and rtx, on 2k

PSU is asus strix 1000w

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

what is the make & model of the unit and how long has it been in use?

this was meant in relation to the PSU info that was quoted.
questions/comments should always be related to the specific quote that they are appended to.

1800 RPM (max) for the AIO, 1200 RPM (max) for the 2 case fans

so you just leave them all at max all of the time?
no speed curves in place?

a red, cheap, normal, fractal design...has 2 fans in the front panel and that s all

so there is no exhaust whatsoever?

again, how/where is the radiator installed?

if you are regularly experiencing heat overload you should definitely invest in a better case with much better airflow throughout.