[SOLVED] Question regarding 6700K Voltage and temp

[ItzEvolv]

Hi everybody.

Question about voltage and tempratures on my i7 6700K. Help would be very appreciated.

Here is the TL;DR for people who don't want to read the entire post:
Question 1) Why does every program in Windows show a different temprature, and why does it fluctuate like this?
Question 2) Is it harmful for the CPU to run on 1.3 (1.296) Volts, or should I keep it on 1.2 Volts manually?

I'm running an Asus Z170 Pro Gaming motherboard with a i7 6700K

For question 1:
I've build this PC about 3 to 4 years ago and noticed this same issue, however it seemed to be resolved, untill I now recently resetted my BIOS settings after reinstalling Windows. (chose to do this because I wanted a clean and as-new PC).
Basically every single program I install on my PC which is capable of monitoring tempratures , shows another value. Tried running them at the same time, tried running them seperately, but that doesn't change anything. HWMonitor is showing about 30c up to even 60c when the PC is baiscally ideling (only running HWMonitor). And even in idle it keeps jumping up and down between those numbers like a maniac.

I have configured the chassis fans to spin at certain temps with Q-Fan in the BIOS. It works, but also here noticed they spin up much later than HWMonitor indicates that the given tempratures for the fans to spin up, has been reached.

I'm wondering what is going on, and what to trust. In the BIOS the temp seems to be stable, mostly somewhere around 20 to 40c, but in HWMonitor it jumps like crazy.


For question 2:
So like I mentioned before, I have reset my BIOS settings. I was looking around for a bit and I've noticed that the motherboard gives the CPU 1.296 volts.
Online I've found multiple sources saying an 6700K should run on 1.2. So I have configured it to run on 1.2 on Manual mode now (which I believe I already had, before resetting the BIOS settings). But on Auto mode it does nearly run the CPU on 1.3 volts. Is this bad? And should I set it back to Auto, or leave it manually on 1.2 Volts?


Thanks to everybody reading this. Hope someone can clarify things for me in this situation.
Hoping to get some answers . If any pictures of the BIOS configuration are needed to offer better help, please let me know.

 

[extreme_noob]

Different software will sometimes detect the wrong temp sensor and think its cpu temp. Coretemp and hwinfo64 are best at not doing this.

Does 1.3V occur at idle or under load?

 

[CompuTronix]

HardcoreWolf,

Regarding your 1st question:

The spikes and fluctuations you're observing are completely normal and expected.

Core temperatures respond instantly to changes in load.

Intel’s specification for Digital Thermal Sensor (DTS) response time is 256 milliseconds, or about 1/4th of a second. Since Windows has dozens of Processes and Services running in the background, it’s normal to see rapid and random Core temperature “spikes” or fluctuations, especially during the first few minutes after startup. Any software activity will show some percentage of CPU Utilization in Windows Task Manager, where unnecessary Tray items, Startups, Processes and Services that contribute to excessive spiking can be disabled.

6th Generation processors introduced "Speed Shift" technology in Windows 10, which responds much faster to changes in workload than "SpeedStep" due to having many more Core speed and Core voltage transition levels. This allows the processor to more rapidly complete brief tasks then quickly return to idle, which reduces overall Power consumption and increases efficiency.

Since 7th through 9th Generation Speed Shift is twice as fast as 6th Generation, some users complain of Core temperature spikes which can also cause fluctuations in fan RPM at idle. Motherboard manufacturers have implemented BIOS updates that include separate SpeedStep and Speed Shift settings with more flexible fan curves and time delay options.

Also, as extreme_noob has correctly pointed out, unlike Hardware Monitor and many other monitoring utilities, Hardware Info and Core Temp are frequently updated and known to be quite accurate. However, many monitoring utilities will instead mislabel, misreport or “offset” thermal values for various sensors, which can be highly confusing and misleading. Also, be aware that when simultaneously running two or more monitoring utilities, it’s possible for them to interfere with one another.

Regarding your 2nd question:

Core voltage and workloads drive Core temperatures, so lower Vcore results in lower Core temperatures. However, 14 nanometer 6th Generation processors can safely tolerate Core voltages up to 1.400 without any risk of degradation, so you're well within limits at 1.300 Vcvore.

Each Microarchitecture has a “Maximum Recommended Vcore”. Here's the Maximum Recommended Vcore per Microarchitecture from 14 to 65 nanometers since 2006:

We have a Guide that covers this topic. It's a "Sticky" which is located at the top of the CPUs Forum where you posted this Thread. If you look up there at the Stickies you can't miss it. All the answers you seek are already in the Intel Temperature Guide.

We encourage our Members to check the Stickies before posting Threads, as they frequently contain the information you need. This can save you time needlessly searching for answers, or waiting for others to responds with perhaps less than "well informed" answers.

If you'd like to get yourself up to speed on this topic, then give the Guide a read. Your 1st question is covered in Sections 3, 4 and 13, while your 2nd question is covered in Section 8.

CT

 

[ItzEvolv]

Different software will sometimes detect the wrong temp sensor and think its cpu temp. Coretemp and hwinfo64 are best at not doing this.

Does 1.3V occur at idle or under load?

Thank you for your answer and time

 

[ItzEvolv]

HardcoreWolf,

Regarding your 1st question:

The spikes and fluctuations you're observing are completely normal and expected.

Core temperatures respond instantly to changes in load.

Intel’s specification for Digital Thermal Sensor (DTS) response time is 256 milliseconds, or about 1/4th of a second. Since Windows has dozens of Processes and Services running in the background, it’s normal to see rapid and random Core temperature “spikes” or fluctuations, especially during the first few minutes after startup. Any software activity will show some percentage of CPU Utilization in Windows Task Manager, where unnecessary Tray items, Startups, Processes and Services that contribute to excessive spiking can be disabled.

6th Generation processors introduced "Speed Shift" technology in Windows 10, which responds much faster to changes in workload than "SpeedStep" due to having many more Core speed and Core voltage transition levels. This allows the processor to more rapidly complete brief tasks then quickly return to idle, which reduces overall Power consumption and increases efficiency.

Since 7th through 9th Generation Speed Shift is twice as fast as 6th Generation, some users complain of Core temperature spikes which can also cause fluctuations in fan RPM at idle. Motherboard manufacturers have implemented BIOS updates that include separate SpeedStep and Speed Shift settings with more flexible fan curves and time delay options.

Also, as extreme_noob has correctly pointed out, unlike Hardware Monitor, Hardware Info and Core Temp are frequently updated and known to be quite accurate. However, many monitoring utilities will instead mislabel, misreport or “offset” thermal values for various sensors, which can be highly confusing and misleading. Also, be aware that when simultaneously running two or more monitoring utilities, it’s possible for them to interfere with one another.

Regarding your 2nd question:

14 nanometer 6th Generation processors can safely tolerate Core voltages up to 1.400, so you're well within limits at 1.300 Vcvore. Each Microarchitecture has a “Maximum Recommended Vcore”. Here's the Maximum Recommended Vcore per Microarchitecture from 14 to 65 nanometers since 2006:

We have a Guide that covers this topic. It's a "Sticky" which is located at the top of the CPUs Forum where you posted this Thread. If you look up there at the Stickies you can't miss it. All the answers you seek are already in the Intel Temperature Guide.

We encourage our Members to check the Stickies before posting Threads, as they frequently contain the information you need. This can save you time needlessly searching for answers, or waiting for others to responds with perhaps less than "well informed" answers.

If you'd like to get yourself up to speed on this topic, then give the Guide a read. Your 1st question is covered in Sections 4 and 13, while your 2nd question is covered in Section 8.

CT

Amazing answer, thanks a lot for all the time spent on it! Don't think I've ever received such a detailed and nice reply on any forum. Your answer explains a lot to me, learned a buch of it and helped me out very much. Thanks a million!!