Question Problem with i7-13700K temperatures under load ?

[TwilightWolfi]

My i7-13700K idles at around 55C package and can reach into the 90s under only moderate load. It often seems to jump even to 100C when I'm doing anything slightly intensive, like playing a high graphical intensity game. The case has never had this problem before, and the pump and fans seem to do a reasonable job cooling the CPU down in any other situations, but might it be because of the very hot ambient temperature in a cramped study? The temperatures have jumped up a lot over the past couple of weeks and it does perform a lot worse on hotter days, but I didn't expect my tower to reach CPU-damaging temperatures. If so, is there anything I can do to ensure better airflow from the radiator exhaust to ensure it can maintain better temperatures?

Once or twice, the pump of the cooler has failed to the point where it flashes the entire case red and I have to turn off the PC and wait for the supercooled cooling liquid to cool down naturally. Could this be a pump issue as well?

 

[Lutfij]

When posting a thread of troubleshooting nature, it's customary to include your full system's specs. Please list the specs to your build like so:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
include the age of the PSU apart from it's make and model. BIOS version for your motherboard at this moment of time. For the sake of relevance, since you've stated being on an AIO, please mention how you've mounted the radiator to your chassis.

 

[Aeacus]

and can reach into the 90s under only moderate load. It often seems to jump even to 100C when I'm doing anything slightly intensive, like playing a high graphical intensity game.

100C out of the high-end Intel 13th and 14th gen chips is the new norm.
Review: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-i7-13700k/23.html

is there anything I can do to ensure better airflow from the radiator exhaust to ensure it can maintain better temperatures?

Well, you can put your AIO pump and rad fans at 100% when you game. Other than that, there aren't any easy fixes. Going with beefier/better AIO only goes so far that CPU peaks at 95C.

Cooling the 13700K wasn't as challenging as we experienced with the 13900K, largely because it has eight fewer e-cores than the flagship model. We peaked at 85C during stock operation with our 280mm Corsair H115i, and ran in the 95C range during heavily threaded workloads with a 5.5 GHz overclock.

Source: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i7-13700k-cpu-review/2

Undervolting is another thing you can try, since with less voltage to the chip - less heat produced as well.

 

[thestryker]

55C idle is quite high and 100C while gaming is extremely high even with a room having high ambient temperature. More information is needed to give good advice.

In addition to the questions listed by Lutfij above:
What is the fan configuration in your case?

Is there a clear path for airflow for the case where it's located?

 

[TwilightWolfi]

55C idle is quite high and 100C while gaming is extremely high even with a room having high ambient temperature. More information is needed to give good advice.

In addition to the questions listed by Lutfij above:
What is the fan configuration in your case?

Is there a clear path for airflow for the case where it's located?

The front three fans are intake, and the two radiator on the top plus the one on the back are exhaust, so the pressure should be equal inside.

It is in the corner of the room on my desk because there's not really anywhere else for it to go. There's not a huge amount of space in the room it's in, so the suboptimal airflow (putting it mildly, giving the issues) is functionally unavoidable. I have moved it away from the window so it's not being hit by hot midday sun, especially terrible as it's a black case, but it does mean that the hot air hasn't got anywhere to go, and good airflow in the room does miss the hot exhaust air.

 

[SkyNetRising]

The front three fans are intake, and the two radiator on the top plus the one on the back are exhaust, so the pressure should be equal inside.
It is in the corner of the room on my desk

List full specs of your system.
What is ambient temperature in your room?
Show photos of your system with side panel removed.
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

 

[TwilightWolfi]

List full specs of your system.
What is ambient temperature in your room?
Show photos of your system with side panel removed.
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

CPU: i7-13700k (not overclocked)
CPU cooler: Corsair H100i Elite LCD
Motherboard: MSI PRO Z790-A WIFI (ATX)
Ram: 32GB DDR5
SSD/HDD: 2TB M.2, 6TB HDD
GPU: MSI RTX 4080
PSU: Corsair RM850x 80 Plus Gold
Chassis: Corsair 4000x
OS: Windows 11
Monitor: 1x 1440p, 1x 1080p

https://imgur.com/a/08lCDAg

View: https://imgur.com/a/08lCDAg

https://imgur.com/a/A4Ff588

View: https://imgur.com/a/A4Ff588


Ambient temperature is usually about 30C on a day when it really struggles, but the CPU reached 100C yesterday when it was only 23C. With PC running, the room does get higher than outside temperatures.

 

[thestryker]

I'd be curious what happens if you run it without the side panel on. It's entirely possible the case isn't bringing in a high enough volume of cool air to keep things under control. One of my older systems is in a case with a closed off front and even with an easier to cool CPU using a 6800 XT in it is somewhat sketchy.

The idle temperature does still seem high though. It'd be worth checking to see if one tube on the AIO is noticeably hotter than the other.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Chassis: Corsair 4000x

Can glass front panel be removed?
I'd imagine it to be severely limiting air intake.

CPU: i7-13700k (not overclocked)
Motherboard: MSI PRO Z790-A WIFI (ATX)

Make sure, BIOS is updated to latest non-beta version, to mitigate 13th/14th gen cpu deterioration fault.
What BIOS version are you currently at?
Latest non-beta version is 7E07vAG.
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/PRO-Z790-A-WIFI/support

Change cpu power settings to Intel recommended baseline values.
PL1 125W, PL2 188W, Iccmax 249A.

Intel (again) Addresses Instability in 13th and 14th Gen Core i5/i7 CPUs with New Microcode

Intel once again has announced new measures to address instability issues found in some 13th and 14th Gen Core “Raptor Lake” processors, specifically targeting Core i5 and i7 models.

www.guru3d.com

 

[TwilightWolfi]

Can glass front panel be removed?
I'd imagine it to be severely limiting air intake.

Make sure, BIOS is updated to latest non-beta version, to mitigate 13th/14th gen cpu deterioration fault.
What BIOS version are you currently at?
Latest non-beta version is 7E07vAG.
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/PRO-Z790-A-WIFI/support

Change cpu power settings to Intel recommended baseline values.
PL1 125W, PL2 188W, Iccmax 249A.

Intel (again) Addresses Instability in 13th and 14th Gen Core i5/i7 CPUs with New Microcode

Intel once again has announced new measures to address instability issues found in some 13th and 14th Gen Core “Raptor Lake” processors, specifically targeting Core i5 and i7 models.

www.guru3d.com

After flashing my BIOS, I have encountered a new, more technical problem: my PC now refuses to boot into Windows. It identifies the boot manager partition on my M.2, it's first in the boot order, but it just boots into the BIOS over and over again. I've had this problem before when I first built the PC, but the issues I have now are subtly different, as the BIOS recognises the boot partition, simply refusing to boot to it. I'm attempted the CMS BIOS, and it doesn't recognise any boot partition at all, asking me to insert a bootable drive or restart and try again.

 

[SkyNetRising]

my PC now refuses to boot into Windows. It identifies the boot manager partition on my M.2, it's first in the boot order, but it just boots into the BIOS over and over again.

Bootloader might be located on your HDD instead.
Set Windows Boot Manager on HDD - to first in boot order.
Also turn off Secure Boot in BIOS.

If that doesn't fix it then boot from windows installation media into command prompt (press Shift+F10),
execute following commands and show screenshot.
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

diskpart​

list disk​

select disk 0​

list partition​

select disk 1​

list partition​

list volume​

 

[TwilightWolfi]

Bootloader might be located on your HDD instead.
Set Windows Boot Manager on HDD - to first in boot order.
Also turn off Secure Boot in BIOS.

If that doesn't fix it then boot from windows installation media into command prompt (press Shift+F10),
execute following commands and show screenshot.
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

diskpart​

list disk​

select disk 0​

list partition​

select disk 1​

list partition​

list volume​

My bootloader has for the past two years been definitely on my 120GB M.2. Even the bios notices that in the boot order, listing "TCSUNBOW 120GB" as the Windows Boot Manager partition. I'm bemused as to why the diskpart lists one of my 3TB HDDs as drive C though.

https://imgur.com/a/lVtkPl6

View: https://imgur.com/a/lVtkPl6

 

[SkyNetRising]

You have two 3TB HDDs (not single 6TB HDD).
I need also to see command output for

list disk​

select disk 2​

list partition​

​

If there are more disks, then also

select disk 3​

list partition​

 

[SkyNetRising]

I'm bemused as to why the diskpart lists one of my 3TB HDDs as drive C though.

In windows installation environment drive letters get assigned on random.
This is normal.

 

[TwilightWolfi]

You have two 3TB HDDs (not single 6TB HDD).
I need also to see command output for

list disk​

select disk 2​

list partition​

​

If there are more disks, then also

select disk 3​

list partition​

I have 5 drives: two HDDs and three M.2 drives.

https://imgur.com/a/OSFr7Jn

View: https://imgur.com/a/OSFr7Jn

 

[SkyNetRising]

Bootloader is on your 120GB disk.
Disable CSM.
Disable secure boot.
Set first boot device to Windows Boor Manager on 120GB disk.

 

[TwilightWolfi]

Bootloader is on your 120GB disk.
Disable CSM.
Disable secure boot.
Set first boot device to Windows Boor Manager on 120GB disk.

I have done all of these things and it still boots to BIOS.
I can show my BIOS home screen and all these things individually set if it will help.

 

[TwilightWolfi]

https://imgur.com/a/j65R3Ky

View: https://imgur.com/a/j65R3Ky

 

[thestryker]

Change cpu power settings to Intel recommended baseline values.
PL1 125W, PL2 188W, Iccmax 249A.

Do not do this as these profiles were never actually recommended by Intel and shortly after the leak they specifically said not to: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-com...ashes-stick-to-intels-official-power-profiles

 

[TwilightWolfi]

Do not do this as these profiles were never actually recommended by Intel and shortly after the leak they specifically said not to: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-com...ashes-stick-to-intels-official-power-profiles

Don't worry, I haven't touched the power profiles at all.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Do not do this as these profiles were never actually recommended by Intel and shortly after the leak they specifically said not to

Baseline profile values will improve temperatures.
If your system is overheating, then it's definitely worth to consider using them.

 

[thestryker]

Baseline profile values will improve temperatures.
If your system is overheating, then it's definitely worth to consider using them.

No, when Intel says not to use them because they're not official profiles you shouldn't. In fact the first ones (I assume it's been fixed) from Gigabyte had high voltage on that profile. If the system is overheating then that problem needs to be solved first. We're not talking about the system doing all core heavy workloads here.

If you want to cap power consumption use a proper profile and manually set PL2 and/or set a temperature limit.

 

[thestryker]

I have done all of these things and it still boots to BIOS.
I can show my BIOS home screen and all these things individually set if it will help.

You've already done everything that comes to mind here so I don't have much to add regarding the boot issue.

Only question I have is have you tried booting without the removable drive? (this really shouldn't make any difference, but you've already done everything that should have)