[solved]New CPU; severe overheating + uneven core temps[solved]

[Arya]

As the thread says. My i7 6700K isn't heating evenly under load - there's a notable discrepency between the various core temperatures. Two are reaching 66-68 under stress test, the other two are running 60-62 degrees. During Prime95 testing the CPU itself hit 80 degrees before I shut it off.

Should I be concerned by this? I haven't been able to find any straight answers about the 6700k's operating temp range and have no idea whether 80 degrees is a problem or not. I also have no idea whether the odd and very unequal core heating is indicative of a problem, or how to fix it.

Any help would be appreciated.

[76561198343548661]

TCase for i7 6700K is 64C thus Tj=64+5=69C and max TJ is 100C .

You re hitting even lower temp that Intel measured at their lab along with the stock cooler under full load = 69C core temp .

Open RealTemGT and see

[Arya]

Alright, but what about the fact that one of the cores is running more than 10 degrees colder then the others?

[just.kamk /idle]

Up to 10°C difference in cores is normal. If you want to gain more precise results, try "RealtempGT".

80°C on a k-CPU @ stock clock is a bit high, though not unhealthy - ♥♥♥♥♥♥ cooler?

[76561198343548661]

Yes 100C is Tj Max or max Core temp , safe should be considered up to 70-72C
{LINK REMOVED}http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-1800828/intel-temperature-guide.html?_ga=1.165529215.1320402705.1482429496

[Kaihekoa]

A small discrepancy between core temps is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. Temps can also spike on individual cores when the CPU load is uneven across cores, also perfectly normal. I don't recommend using Prime95 to stress test because it can drive load temps way beyond anything you would ever normally see. ASUS Realbench is what I use. General consensus on OC boards for max temp while stress testing is ~80-85C on Skylake. From what I have read, these temp spikes and uneven temps across cores are due to the smaller die and lack of a soldered heat spreader on Skylake. If you are willing to void your warranty and get into the enthusiast level of OC'ing, investigate a CPU delidding tool. A delidded CPU with a liquid metal TIM can see drastic drops in temps (15-20 C) and reduction in thermal spikes. Intel has really been mucking up the thermal performance of their CPUs, but it is only evident when getting into enthusiast level overclocking and cooling.

[76561198343548661]

The core with the lowest temp seems to get parked often cos not needed for the workload

[Arya]

I ran a Torture Test in Prime95, with RealtempGT monitoring. Got to 91 across all cores - I'm really starting to wonder about this. I have a gargantuan CPU cooler - a huge twin-fan tower that should be more than enough to keep the CPU cool. I'm wondering if the Thermal Paste might not have spread properly.

Realtemp showed much more even temps than HW Monitor - that no longer concerns me. What worries me is the CPU getting up to 90 degrees. Admittedly that's happening during Prime95's ultimate Torture Test but I would expect more from this cooler.

The other very strange thing, is that the CPU isn't using turbo clock. I'm starting to wonder if my Motherboard isn't doing something unhelpful - IE applying an automatic performance profile or 1-click overclock.

[76561198343548661]

Often people turn off the turbo clock when have overclocked . Just restore the default settings in BIOS to get back the normal CPU behavior

[Kaihekoa]

Try loading optimized defaults in BIOS and retesting. 90 is way too hot for stock clocks with your cooler.

[Arya]

Will do, BRB.

Although Kai - that was an extreme torture test score. I just did a quick test in a game and only got 65 across the board - which is absolutely perfect for a 6700K.

[Arya]

Alright, Turbo clock is back up and running. Time to do another game test to get a realistic idea of how it's running under load.

[Arya]

OK. Thanks for the tip Kai, seems like it was an iffy Bios setting afterall. My second benchmark returned a clean 60 degrees across the board, which is about what I would expect from this cooler and this kind of weather.

[Kaihekoa]

Glad to hear it. Might have been a really high auto voltage setting or something. Now you can manually OC her and see how far it goes.

[Arya]

Originally posted by Kaihekoa:

Glad to hear it. Might have been a really high auto voltage setting or something. Now you manually OC her and see how far it goes.

That was indeed the problem, the voltages were set unusually high for some bizarre reason. Setting them back to normal fixed everything.