Normal temperatures on i7-4790K with Noctua NH-U12S ?

[Ben-Erai]

Hellou, fellow gamers... I´m running i7-4790K with Noctua NH-U12S (turbo fan mode, not 100% duty cycle). I´m getting these temperatures (Real Temp 3.70):

1. IDLING: 30C – 32C (ambient 21C)
2. GAMING: Metro 2033 Redux (ultra settings) max 54C at max 51% load @ 4GHz and max 63C @ 4.4GHz (both clocks at auto core voltages)
3. STRESS TESTING with OCCT 4.4.1 small test: max 70C @ 4GHz (auto core voltage cca 1,27V). At 4.4GHz (auto core voltage cca 1,3V) temperatures were from 80C to 85C for a while – when it crossed 85C, OCCT stopped the test.

I´m wondering if these temps are OK for this combination of CPU/voltages and air cooling? I know I can lower voltages to lower the temps, but are these temps normal for auto voltages? The cooler is secured tightly, I checked. Thank you kindly for answers...

 

[loosescrews]

Generally, it is better not to use auto voltages while overclocking. You can generally get the same perfomrance and stability with lower voltages than auto gives you.

Those temps should be fine.

 

[Ben-Erai]

Generally, it is better not to use auto voltages while overclocking. You can generally get the same perfomrance and stability with lower voltages than auto gives you.

Those temps should be fine.

Is using Turbo considered as overclocking?

 

[Abmario]

It is recommend not to go beyond 80C temp.. I would also suggest not to auto-overclock, most overclocking software take over voltage in which would leads to higher temperature...

I would suggest tweak your UEFI (Bios), manually set voltage, either from lower voltage then gradually set it up.. or set voltage at range where your cpu can overclock lower temp than 80C with Noctua..

As long as you limit your voltage settings in the UEFI and once stable, you may use overclocking software "auto-OC" and that for sure it will adjust different clock speed but not higher than the set voltage..

For setting up voltage vs temp, you may refer to this:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8227/devils-canyon-review-intel-core-i7-4790k-and-i5-4690k/2
Note: cooler used is not from Noctua..

Edited: Turbo Boost is a feature built into your cpu that requires no modifications on your part to use, even non-z motherboard can support turbo mode of your cpu, i7-4790k can go from 4.0 to 4.4gHz.

 

[Ben-Erai]

It is recommend not to go beyond 80C temp.. I would also suggest not to auto-overclock, most overclocking software take over voltage in which would leads to higher temperature...

I would suggest tweak your UEFI (Bios), manually set voltage, either from lower voltage then gradually set it up.. or set voltage at range where your cpu can overclock lower temp than 80C with Noctua..

As long as you limit your voltage settings in the UEFI and once stable, you may use overclocking software "auto-OC" and that for sure it will adjust different clock speed but not higher than the set voltage..

So if I avoid overclocking/using Turbo completely and lock the clock at 4GHz, can I go with temperatures listed in the beginning of this thread? 4GHz is plenty enough for todays gaming IMO... I got Asus Maximus VII Ranger, Kingston 16GB DDR3-1866 CL9 savage and Asus GTX980 4GB in my rig...

 

[loosescrews]

Even when I am not overclocking I often manually set the voltage to lower than the auto value.

 

[Ben-Erai]

Even when I am not overclocking I often manually set the voltage to lower than the auto value.

Yes, I found out that my i7-4790K is completely stable at 4GHz at 1,05V which brings temps down but not that much... -2C on average..

 

[Abmario]

It is recommend not to go beyond 80C temp.. I would also suggest not to auto-overclock, most overclocking software take over voltage in which would leads to higher temperature...

I would suggest tweak your UEFI (Bios), manually set voltage, either from lower voltage then gradually set it up.. or set voltage at range where your cpu can overclock lower temp than 80C with Noctua..

As long as you limit your voltage settings in the UEFI and once stable, you may use overclocking software "auto-OC" and that for sure it will adjust different clock speed but not higher than the set voltage..

So if I avoid overclocking/using Turbo completely and lock the clock at 4GHz, can I go with temperatures listed in the beginning of this thread? 4GHz is plenty enough for todays gaming IMO... I got Asus Maximus VII Ranger, Kingston 16GB DDR3-1866 CL9 savage and Asus GTX980 4GB in my rig...

Turbo = you are referring to Asus Suite Turbo mode... (This is the auto-voltage software thing..)

I have edited my post adding info about turbo boost, but it came late. Your cpu i7-4790k has a Turbo Boost feature, from 4.0ghz (stock) to 4.4gHz (turbo)...

Turbo boost should be enabled by default in your bios. Download CPU Z and try gaming or any intensive tasks .. if your CPU clocks go over 4.0ghz, it has turbo boost enabled.


Going back to overclocking, when we say set it manually, Go into UEFI (bios), you can either set CPU multiplier or set the Vcore (voltage)...

Under Extreme Tweaker, set CPU ratio from 35 to 44, then leave others to auto.. you will see the values are automatically changing as well...(or make multiplier higher as long your cpu can handle it, not to mention temperature)..

OR other method: adjust only the Vcore for 1.23 - 1.3, leave everything to Auto.. again see if which overclocking voltage good for your cpu.

Now even If you have Asus Suite installed, and put your system to Turbo/ High performance.. As long as you set the multiplier (I prefer to use it) or Vcore to a limit... your Asus Suite Turbo will not go beyond your set multiplier or Vcore...

You may also try other guides on overclocking:
http://lifehacker.com/a-beginners-introduction-to-overclocking-your-intel-pr-5580998
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1722630/intel-god-quick-dirty-guide-4ghz-haswell.html

 

[Ben-Erai]

Thank you, I will look into this further.