• Happy holidays, folks! Thanks to each and every one of you for being part of the Tom's Hardware community!

[SOLVED] my cpu has low usage but really high temperatures when playing games

Status
Not open for further replies.

voicingbutton

Commendable
Jun 23, 2019
10
0
1,510
my cpu has recently started having high temps even though its only being used 50-60% it stays around 70-80 degrees Celsius and im not playing any high demanding games either most of the time i mainly play rainbow six siege at very high settings. and its only my cpu because my gpu stays around 60-70 degrees Celsius with the while having 97% usage.

my cpu is a i7-8700k running at 4.3ghz nd my cpu cooler is a cooler master masterliquid mL240L rgb.

if anyone can help that would be awsome.
 
Solution
Have you tried any stress tests/benchmarks to see what temperature it peaks at?

Possibly problems are it needs new thermal paste. The radiator needs cleaning or the radiator fans are not spinning properly. The pump could be dying or the could be an air blockage developing in the AIO system.
Have you tried any stress tests/benchmarks to see what temperature it peaks at?

Possibly problems are it needs new thermal paste. The radiator needs cleaning or the radiator fans are not spinning properly. The pump could be dying or the could be an air blockage developing in the AIO system.
 
Solution
I got a similar issue here. I run an i7-8750H. The computer is barely a year old so I highly doubt it is a thermal paste issue. I also cleaned the radiator and fans recently as well. This all happened after I reinstalled the Win 10 system on my laptop. Maybe that has something to do with it? How did you come across this issue?
 
I got a similar issue here. I run an i7-8750H. The computer is barely a year old so I highly doubt it is a thermal paste issue. I also cleaned the radiator and fans recently as well. This all happened after I reinstalled the Win 10 system on my laptop. Maybe that has something to do with it? How did you come across this issue?
I would start your own thread. However just because it’s less than a year old doesn’t mean new thermal paste won’t help. I’ve got a Dell G5 that’s less than 2 months old with a 9750H and even undervolting it still hits 90c in games. From online searching they say using a better quality thermal paste on this laptop can reduce temps by 5+ degrees, it’s the next thing on my list to do.
 
Id start by making sure the radiator is clear and if theres any software for that AIO check that if not go into bios maybe try adjusting the fan speed or try adding a fan for a push n pull effect see if that lowers temps at all before you pull it off the cpu also what are you monitoring temperatures with? And id buy a good quality thermal paste im not sure how good corsairs paste is but they have a kit at best buy that comes with a stencil to provide a nice thin layer to the complete cpu might be a option for ya but the pea size dab seems to work fine as well i used the cheaper corsair paste on a old i7 860 and temps dropped quite a bit but i havent used it on any of the newer chips im running a ryzen 5 3600 and these newer chips seem to run quite a bit hotter than the older ones the thermal throttle limit on your chip is 100C so while your temps are not ideal there still below the cap
 
The first folly is likely setting CPU/GPU usage ratio goals to begin with...

All kinds of folks out there chasing misconceptions of ''too much CPU usage' or, not enough, or " I think my GPU usage should be higher", etc...

Many games will indeed allow fairly high CPU usage , or GPU usage; heck, many might have both...

But one certainly can't just look at a GPU usage and say 'this is not high enough' without knowing the GPU and what resolution the game is being played at? The fastest GPUs with the most VRAM might have moderate GPU usage at only 1080P, where usage will go up with faster CPUs at high refresh rates, or, with faster CPUs trying to meet demand of a 144 Hz refresh monitor, etc...

Most of today's games have a decent amount of CPU load on them, some more than others, of course...

Let's instead check that your cooling is adequate for an 80-85% CPU load (in overall processing load, not in direct correlation with 'CPU usage' in task manager, as would be common under gaming scenarios... (no game will ever generate Prime95/small FFT sorts of loads/temps)

So far you've not listed any actual problem noted, so much as a possible 'are my temps too high for 'x' usage scenario'..

Just run CPU-Z/bench/stress CPU for 20-30 minutes...if temps at 65-75C, you are fine....(load in task manager will be 100%)

BTW, pumps can degrade after a year or two usage, as pumps get contaminated with sludge, gunk, corrosion, etc...; this would cause temps to gradually rise over the 18-24 month period, sometimes culminating in complete failure, sometimes just degraded temps...

Is your GPU perhaps only a GTX1050/1060 or RX570 class, easily saturated at 1080P with high levels of detail/texture/filtering?
 
I got a similar issue here. I run an i7-8750H. The computer is barely a year old so I highly doubt it is a thermal paste issue. I also cleaned the radiator and fans recently as well. This all happened after I reinstalled the Win 10 system on my laptop. Maybe that has something to do with it? How did you come across this issue?
the way i came across this issues is i can set my keyboard colors to monitor my cpu temps and after a few hours the color changes from an orage which is around 60-70 Celsius to dark red which is 73-80 celcius.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.