Intel 4790 cooling problem under load

[kevin0x21]

Hi,

A few months ago I built the following system:
Motherboard: Asus Z970PRO (WIFI AC)
CPU: Intel Core I7 4790 (Not the K version)
Case: Coolermaster K280
CPU Cooler: Be Quiet! Shadow Rock Topflow

I haven't really done any stress testing over the past few months so I started doing some benchmarks, try some games and ran Prime95 and the CPU is way too hot in my opinion. Note, I set the CPU fan speed to 100% in my BIOS to make sure it wasn't running too slow)

Idle temps are fine they are about 20C - 35C but as soon as I start something which puts even the slightest load on the CPU the temperatures shoot to 70 degrees in a second and keep on climbing. I ran assassins creed for a while which used a 60% load with the following result

- Directly after start cpu core temps of 75 degrees (overall cpu still 30-ish)
- After only 15 minutes of playing the core temps were at 95 degrees and the overall cpu temp at 68 degrees)

And those results are only with an average load of 60%, running prime95 at 100% immediately increases the temperatures to 90-ish.

I checked these temps with multiple programs, core temp, hwmonitor and speedfan they all gave me the same temps. I also rebooted my system and quickly accessed the bios which also reported a high CPU temp.

I have reattached my cooler a couple of times to make sure that wasn't the problem (used arctic silver thermal paste)

Also as I mentioned I don't have the K edition of this CPU so it's not overclocked or anything.

Any ideas on how to solve this? Would buying a better cooler like the Noctua D15 solve this problem? Is it normal that the core temps are that high? Should I only worry about the overal CPU temp?

Cooling CPUs Intel

 

[geofelt]

95c is waay too hot.

Stress test using OCCT.
It will give you readings of vcore and stop the test if you reach 85c.
While you can't overclock a non "K" via the multiplier, it is possible to get 2% or so via the fsb.
Have you possibly selected some sort of overclock in the bios by some option like "optimize settings"?
Run cpu-Z and look at vcore.
Under load, I would not expect the vcore to go past 1.2v. It is the vcore that drives up the heat.
Once you go past 1.30v, heat rises rapidly Over that it is not good for 24/7 operation.

Your cooler is a downdraft type which is not very efficient.
A tower type will be much better.
I would expect even a $30 cm hyper212 or the stock intel cooler to do the job.
The Noctua NH-D14/15 is as good as it gets for cooling and quiet.
But, I really don't think it would be necessary.
If money is not that tight, I think a single 140mm fan tower cooler from noctua or Phanteks would be appropriate.
Regardless, you will need some airflow in the case to get the heat out.
What graphics card do you have?
That is usually a main contributor to heat issues.

What case do you have?
If your case has two 120mm intake fans, you should be OK.

Try taking the side covers off and see how you do.

 

[geofelt]

There are different stress test methods. They each use different parts of the cpu chip to exercise.
I used to use prime95, but I find OCCT to be more useful.
I suspect, but can not document that the stress is more representative of what we actually do.
Another test is the Intel burn test which is designed to heat up the cpu. I see no point in that.

How are you measuring power usage?
The thermal design of the 4770 is 84w.

 

[geofelt]

Your current cooler should be better.
The stock cooler only barely does the job and the small fan gets noisy under load.

Only one intake fan may not provide as much intake air for a GTX970 card along with the cpu.
The graphics card fan coolers cool the gpu well, but now your case needs to deal with the hot air.

You could replace the front case fan with a higher rpm fan, but that would add noise.

I don't see an urgent problem that needs to be resolved.

If you want a better cooler, I can suggest this Noctua unit:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608041

If you DO want to get both lower temperatures and a quiet running pc, then I think you need to look at a different case. www.silentpcreview.com is a good place to research quiet components.
But be advised once you go down the quiet path, there is no end.
Here is their recommendation on cases:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article75-page5.html

 

[cjablang]

Don't use Prime 95, but if you must, use version 26.6. Use Aida 64 or Intel Extreme Tuning Utility. Every time I use Prime 95 (current version) I hit 100c instantly. I use the ones I recommended I hit an avg of 70-80c