Help with an older system - why are my temps so high?

[Rambunctious]

Hi everyone, amateur builder of many years but brand new to over-clocking. I have an older system used primarily for office applications and casual gaming. I'm worried that my hardware configuration is incorrect for air-cooling and I shouldn't mess with OC any. My temps hitting 90C under load and I don't know if its an airflow problem, age of the system, or I'm just making noob errors/assumptions. System spec shown below

Image shows 3 readings of my system, the baseline prior to overclocking, the 2nd set shows bump to 4500 MHz following an excellent step-by-step tutorial, and the 3rd is OC using the ASUS auto-tuning software. In each case, my temps are hitting 90. I don't have vents on top/side open - air coming into the case from the front and bottom vents.

A little help here? What am I doing wrong here & thanks for your patience!


MB: ASUS Z 170 Pro
CPU: Intel i7-6700K @ 4.0GHz
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Elite DDR4 (2x8GB) BLE8G4D26AFEA 2666MHz PC4-21300
GPU: GeForce GTX 1060 3GB
PSU: EVGA 850P2
CASE: Fractal R5
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15S

 

[bigtallanddopey]

Are you overclocking via the Asus software or in the bios? If it’s the software then I would recommend not to use it and alter settings in the bios instead.

90°c is too high, your cooler should be ok to overclock with. Maybe the air flow in your system can be improved but I’m not sure it’s the issue.

It seems to be giving the cpu too much voltage, which is probably down to a software overclock or a setting allowing the voltage to change. If you set the voltage in the bios for something like 1.4 then you should be able to hit 4.5/4.6 and have better temps.

 

[Rambunctious]

Are you overclocking via the Asus software or in the bios? If it’s the software then I would recommend not to use it and alter settings in the bios instead.

90°c is too high, your cooler should be ok to overclock with. Maybe the air flow in your system can be improved but I’m not sure it’s the issue.

It seems to be giving the cpu too much voltage, which is probably down to a software overclock or a setting allowing the voltage to change. If you set the voltage in the bios for something like 1.4 then you should be able to hit 4.5/4.6 and have better temps.

Thanks for the input, I tried both manual OC using XMP settings in the BIOS (report of CPU-Z/Core Temp in OP, middle image) and then using ASUS software in Windows 10 (image on the right). I *think* the core voltage is set in BIOS as 1.296 which is listed as default so I don't know why it registers so much higher. re: cooling, I can open some vents on my rig (top & side currently closed) to see if that helps.

 

[trents]

What app are you using for stress testing?

1.5v for a vcore is too high in my opinion, at least for 24/7 operation. I would not go more than 1.425. If I were you I would drop the overclock a notch, say to 4.4 ghz, and see what the minimum voltage was that would keep that stable.

Have you checked temps with the side panel off the case?

 

[EarthDog]

I only see one exhaust fan and have no idea where the front intake fan is. Assuming it's behind the HDDs, you're sending in slightly warmed air in the chassis across the HDDs. But that said, something isn't right. That CPU and that heatsink shouldn't have any problems overclocking. If you take the side panels off, do the temps drop a lot?

Also, XMP has to do with the memory, not the CPU.

 

[Rambunctious]

Using Prime 95 for stress test. App is new to me, following instruction from OC video on this board (

) and followed them exactly.

Removing side panel did not have desired result - took ~90-120 seconds to hit 90 C (about 60 seconds longer than with side panel on). Fan on rear of case blows out, CPU fan blows same direction and I DO have 1 intake fan on the front, mounted above the hard drives. Looks like CPU running ~31-33C when not under load and core voltage idles at 1.248-1.296

I went back to manual settings in BIOS, using XMP settings for RAM (thanks for reminding me), single core frequency to 45 putting target at 4500 MHz, confirmed CPU core voltage is 1.328 and DRM 1.214. I don't understand why core voltage shoots up to 1.5 under load (I thought it would have stayed at 1.328?)

 

[EarthDog]

Set your core voltage manually (override). Don't use targets.

 

[Rambunctious]

Set your core voltage manually (override). Don't use targets.

I don't think I am? (see pic of current BIOS) Sorry I'm not more knowledgeable on this, I've built 7-8 systems, this is the first time I've tried to OC.

 

[trents]

CPU Core Voltage Overide is on Auto. Are there other settings in that same line item with which you can set a fixed amount of override voltage rather than Auto?

 

[Rambunctious]

CPU Core Voltage Overide is on Auto. Are there other settings in that same line item with which you can set a fixed amount of override voltage rather than Auto?

Good question, I cannot change that line item (CPU core voltage override:Auto) but I can change the drop-down above it to Offset Mode or Adaptive Mode each of which have a limited number of settings when selected.

Offset Mode
Sign + / -
Voltage offset: auto (cannot change)

Adaptive mode
Sign + / -
Additional Turbo core voltage: auto (cannot change)
Offset voltage: auto (cannot change)

 

[EarthDog]

You should be able to type in a number in the CPU Core Voltage Overide field...where it says auto? Like 1.35?

Just like you did with DRAM (why did you change that? Leave it alone for now).

EDIT: Also, is your BIOS updated to the latest version?

 

[Rambunctious]

You should be able to type in a number in the CPU Core Voltage Overide field...where it says auto? Like 1.35?

Just like you did with DRAM (why did you change that? Leave it alone for now).

EDIT: Also, is your BIOS updated to the latest version?

I would say we're getting somewhere but Windows now unstable, rebooted while typing my response . I WAS able to type in a value on top of AUTO (isn't obvious you can do that, no focus change in context) and starting at 1.35 I started testing the system. Prime 95 was spitting errors at me but as I increased voltage they were taking longer to appear. At voltage of 1.395 I thought we had success until failure reported by Prime 95 about 2-3 minutes into torture test (and then that whole Windows reboot while typing my response). I don't understand the output (see attachment). I can drop core speed from 4500 to 4400 but I'm just guessing now. Good news, it’s not the airflow!

Bios is latest version, I upgraded prior to trying to OC. I changed DRAM while following the youtube instructions (and my RAM supports OC as well?)

 

[trents]

Simply put, for the level of overclock you are shooting for, you do not yet have enough vcore supplied. I think you may have to wind up settling for a lower overclock than what you are currently shooting for.

 

[Rambunctious]

Simply put, for the level of overclock you are shooting for, you do not yet have enough vcore supplied. I think you may have to wind up settling for a lower overclock than what you are currently shooting for.

Ok, so following your suggestion I applied more voltage to the CPU Core Voltage Override field (1.425) and dropped speed (4400 MHz). Ran stress test and for 45 minutes and ran stable with temps just hitting 80C. Do you suspect I am good to go with these numbers? Very excited!

 

[Mr.Scott]

Ran stress test and for 45 minutes and ran stable with temps just hitting 80C. Do you suspect I am good to go with these numbers? Very excited!

Probably. 1.4v-1.45v is about the max I'd run on air. Coordinate your overclock with that. Temps are pretty much maxxed out. If you delidded the CPU and liquid metaled it, your temps would be much lower. Crappy tim job from the factory ruins the temps on these CPU's.

 

[Rambunctious]

Probably. 1.4v-1.45v is about the max I'd run on air. Coordinate your overclock with that. Temps are pretty much maxxed out. If you delidded the CPU and liquid metaled it, your temps would be much lower. Crappy tim job from the factory ruins the temps on these CPU's.

I'll try to drop it down from 1.45, I just went straight from 1.395 to 1.45 because trents mentioned more voltage. I think I'm stable, been doing office work/zoom all evening. I'm looking forward to trying it out on a game.

THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE. Nice to see a helpful forum of knowledgeable people willing to help others out.

 

[trents]

Your temps are no longer an issue. To confirm stability, I would make sure you run Prime95 for at least an hour. Two hours would be better.