I've recently been playing games on my Intel Core i9 10900k with liquid cooling, and I've noticed some significant FPS drops, even in older games. For instance, a game from 2007 is barely hitting 20 FPS during action sequences. I've observed that while gaming, my CPU clock speed fluctuates between 700 and 1200 MHz, reaching temps of up to 76°C (178.8°F). In performance mode, I previously managed to maintain good FPS at temperatures around 80-84°C (176-183°F), but lately, even with performance mode activated, my FPS has dropped to 16-24, with clock speeds still hovering between 700 and 1200 MHz at 84°C.
When I close the games, the temperature decreases to about 80°C (176°F) and the speed jumps up to around 3400 MHz. However, if I exit performance mode, my PC seems to struggle, staying at 700 MHz until the temperature falls to around 73°C (163°F), after which it starts running again at around 1700-3400 MHz, depending on power needs. So, I'm wondering, is this thermal throttling? What steps can I take to fix this?
1 Answer
It might be throttling if your CPU clock drops below 3700 MHz. Usually, Intel CPUs won't throttle until they hit about 100°C, so there could be something up with your BIOS settings or maybe the motherboard VRM is overheating and causing throttling instead. Can you tell me what brand and model of motherboard you're using?
It's a Lenovo, Product 3715; it's a prebuilt system.