I recently did some stress testing on my Intel 12600KF with a Peerless Assassin 120 SE cooler. During the test, which included Prime95 and Furmark, I recorded peak temperatures of 98C while the CPU was drawing around 175W to 195W of power. The ambient temperature in my room was about 25C. I'm worried about those high temps since I only used a pea-sized amount of thermal paste in the center. Given that the Peerless Assassin has a TDP range of 120W to 265W, does this temperature seem off to anyone? Should I consider reapplying the thermal paste for better coverage?
5 Answers
First off, are you sure you took off the plastic cover from the bottom of the cooler? That would definitely cause issues if you didn't. But it sounds like the temp might actually be normal for such an intense test like Prime95. If the general consensus is that this is typical performance, maybe just a re-paste for better coverage won't hurt, but redoing it might not be worth the hassle, especially since Prime95 is so stressful.
Looks like a lot of power for that cooler based on its specs. But given the heat generated during stress tests like Prime95, it's not too surprising to see high temps. Just keep an eye on your typical workload temperatures; if they’re fine, you’re probably good to go!
Yeah, those temps sound pretty normal considering you're running a tough stress test. The important part is what your temps look like during regular usage; keep an eye on those. If they’re manageable, have no worries!
I’d suggest repasting. But hey, Prime95 really pushes CPUs hard! If you're consistently pulling 175W+, you might want a beefier cooler. However, for gaming, you likely won't hit those levels, so if that’s what you’re mostly doing, those temps shouldn’t cause any issues.
Thanks for the input! I think I’ll skip the repaste since most games don’t push 100W, and these temps are still pretty manageable.
Honestly, running Prime95 isn’t very realistic for day-to-day use. Modern CPUs like your 12600KF do get hot, but if everything else is running smoothly and stable, I wouldn’t worry too much about this test's results. Just focus on your typical usage temperatures!
Yep, no plastic on the cooler! If it had been there, I'd have seen throttling much sooner. Sounds like everyone's saying this peak temp is pretty standard, so I'll keep it as is for now.