Question Intel i7 13700kf too hot to realistically use.

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Finnininininin

Finnininininin

Sep 27, 2023
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I'm a college student who built a pc for the dual purpose of gaming and productivity. The projects/assignments I'm working are fairly CPU intensive: video editing/rendering, 3d modelling, animation, game development, that sort of thing. My i7-13700kf seems to be handling the gaming portion of that fairly well, even with some pretty demanding games; the problem is that it thermal throttles in seconds whenever I put it under any real load, such as video or 3d rendering. My cooling system isn't that bad, but I've heard that the 13th gen is really hard to keep in check temperature-wise. I'd rather not try to undervolt it or mess with the clock speeds if I can, but I can't realistically use it as often as I need to, given how high the temperatures get. I'm considering that I might have to get a different CPU for this reason, but if there's an easy fix, that would be great to know. Worst case scenario, what kind of CPU would be able to handle all the rendering/intensive stuff I have to do, as well as run decently demanding games, without throttling the moment it's under any significant stress?



*extra context I forgot to say*

  • it's throttling at 100c and won't go below 95c no matter how long I wait
  • My cooler is a DeepCool ak620 Zero Dark, and my case is a Corsair 4000X RGB with a couple extra exhaust fans.
  • Motherboard is an MSI MAG z790 Tomahawk Wifi
  • while the CPU only overheats with CPU-intense programs like Davinci Resolve, I'd like a CPU that can handle both that and newer, fairly demanding games as well
  • temperatures when gaming have never been concerning, but trying to render anything in programs like Blender or Davinci sends it to 100c in seconds, and it doesn't go below 95c during that time


Any help/suggestions are greatly appreciated.

this is the first forum post I've made, so please forgive any info/formatting errors
 
@Finnininininin
I would not recommend using an air cooler for an Intel 13700K or 13900K CPU. You will never get maximum performance out of these CPUs with a typical air cooler.

If you do not like seeing sky high temperatures, go into the BIOS and lower the PL1 and PL2 turbo power limits to however much heat your heatsink can dissipate. Perhaps 150W for these power limits would be a good place to start testing. There is no need to buy a different CPU. The power limits are infinitely adjustable. You can also use ThrottleStop to adjust these limits while you are in Windows without having to reboot.

Many motherboards default to setting these two power limits to the max, 4095W. That is what causes 100C core temperatures.

An undervolt can drop full load temps by up to 15C. Keep that in mind if you do not want to change the power limits.
 
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uWebb429 said:
@Finnininininin
I would not recommend using an air cooler for an Intel 13700K or 13900K CPU. You will never get maximum performance out of these CPUs with a typical air cooler.

If you do not like seeing sky high temperatures, go into the BIOS and lower the PL1 and PL2 turbo power limits to however much heat your heatsink can dissipate. Perhaps 150W for these power limits would be a good place to start testing. There is no need to buy a different CPU. The power limits are infinitely adjustable. You can also use ThrottleStop to adjust these limits while you are in Windows without having to reboot.

Many motherboards default to setting these two power limits to the max, 4095W. That is what causes 100C core temperatures.

An undervolt can drop full load temps by up to 15C. Keep that in mind if you do not want to change the power limits.
Click to expand...
Thank you! that's good to know. This is actually the first pc I've built, and I don't know anything about changing power limits/voltage. Does changing the voltage have any major impact on the CPU's speed/lifespan?
 
Finnininininin said:
Thank you! that's good to know. This is actually the first pc I've built, and I don't know anything about changing power limits/voltage. Does changing the voltage have any major impact on the CPU's speed/lifespan?
Click to expand...
Repeatedly thermal cycling s CPU isn't great for longevity.

My 13700 would immediately spike like yours. Now I have a 360 AIO and have not gone above 75 (results will of course vary) under load with a modest overclock.

A 240mm MIGHT be OK but still might reach 100.

If you are worried about tinkering in the BIOS you can follow some simple guides on how to use Intel XTU from in Windows to lower the frequencies and voltages. I use XTU daily (because I cannot get into my BIOS without a ton of work) and have never had any issues.
 
Finnininininin said:
Does changing the voltage have any major impact on the CPU's speed/lifespan?
Click to expand...
Lowering the voltage will reduce power consumption. This will reduce heat. Lifespan is not a major issue. Most users get tired of their computer and sell it or replace it long before the CPU dies. In theory, less voltage and a cooler running CPU should increase its lifespan.

There are hundreds of guides on YouTube etc. that can show you how to control your CPU using Intel XTU or ThrottleStop. It is not overly complicated. Here is an example using ThrottleStop.

At the top, the Turbo Power Limits section shows what power limits the CPU is currently using. The Power Limit Controls section beneath that lets you enter in any power limit values you like. I have a desktop computer with excellent cooling so I am using 300W for both of the turbo power limits.

Different motherboards from different companies may have slightly different names in the BIOS for these two power limits. The advantage of using software compared to making changes in the BIOS is that you can immediately see the results without having to reboot and go into the BIOS.

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Finnininininin said:
Thanks, I'll look into that! Any recommendations for a good 360 AIO?
Click to expand...
Despite my PC being mostly MSI, I replaced the MSI cooler.

Anway so avoid MSI. Look at Corsair, NZXT. I'm sure other brands are good but those two ive had experience with.

I currently have a Corsair Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE CAPELLIX. It's far from perfect in terms of a product but the performance is outstanding. To elaborate, iCue is junk so I let the motherboard control the fans instead of the included adapter/hub.
 
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uWebb429 said:
I am also very happy with the performance of my Corsair RGB Pro XT.


I left the add on iCue control software in the box. The cooler works great without it. Avoid AIO coolers with the pump located in the radiator. These seem to be problematic.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I have to use the hub (I think), unless the ribbon cable is only for RGB. I do have a MB cable as well that Corsair counterintuitive says to use the CPU header NOT waterpump.

As for pump in the radiator, indeed, that's why MSI should be avoided IMO. It seems counterintuitive, being that the pump is away from the heat source but it's the general concensus its a bad design.

OH for OP @Finnininininin
Try to find an AIO Cooler with a fill plug. My Corsair for example has one. It's not something that will affect anything short term but eventually 2-3 years from now the fluid might have evaporated a bit. It's nice to have the ability to refill if needed down the line.
 
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One question regarding 360mm AIOs...
would this AIO be able to fit this case? I found a reddit thread that says it can, but I just want to be sure. there's a set of 3 front-facing case fans, as well as a metal shelf covering the PSU that seem like they'd get in the way?
 
Using Intel's XTU, you can certainly lower the max boost clocks a tad, as sometimes that last couple hundred MHz really cranks up the heat; lesser clock speeds might also allow a slight undervolt...

(You might also check for MCE/boost duration behavior within your BIOS, perhaps selecting less aggressive peak power/boost duration options more realistic to current cooling solution(
 
I have simply limited max cpu temperature to 80c in my Asus bios and it's working well !. Apparently it reduces clocks if 80c is exceeded. I'm using a Noctua NH-D15S air cooler, Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme paste and custom fan curve with no problems whatsoever, reasonably quiet too (13900KF).
 
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It is worth pointing out that raptor lake CPUs do get hot no matter which cooler you decide to go for.

You don't however lose much in performance especially for your cpu cooler.

www.tomshardware.com

Core i9-13900K Cooling Guide: Testing Intel's Flagship With Budget Air and Big AIOs

The Core i9-13900K can push even the most capable liquid coolers to their limits, but you don’t lose that much performance if you go with budget-priced air cooling.
www.tomshardware.com www.tomshardware.com
 
By the way, this is my first message in this forum. Hello everyone.

I have a 13700 KF and MSI Z790 Tomahawk DDR5 WIFI motherboard. You will not experience performance loss at low voltage as in the settings below. Therefore, since the processor will not heat up, CPU clock speeds will not decrease.

Do not touch core clock speeds at all
So keep it on Automatic
Just follow these steps and try
CPU Core Voltage Mode = Adaptive + Offset
CPU Core Voltage = 1.310
CPU Core Voltage Mode = -
CPU Core Voltage Offset = 0.070
>Go to DigitALL Power section
LL Calibration = 7
>Advanced CPU Configuration
Intel Speed Shift technology = Enabled
Improved Turbo = Enabled
Long Term Power Limit = 175
Short Term Power Limit = 230
CPU Lite load Control = Advanced
AA/DC Loadliner = Both AUTOMATIC

This much.
R23 is also 31K. MAX temperatures between 79-81
Timespy CPU test: 22k
 
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