I've been encountering some seriously high temperatures with my Intel Core ultra 265k while playing Battlefield 6. It typically reaches between 85-95 degrees Celsius at 70-80% load. Although the CPU is rated to withstand temperatures up to 105 degrees before thermal throttling, I'm concerned my cooling system might be insufficient. I'm using a Thermaltake Astro's 600 cooler, which is a twin tower air cooler designed for a TDP of 265 watts. Given that the ultra 265k can draw up to 250 watts when boosted (with a regular TDP of 125 watts), I'm wondering if others have experienced similar high temperatures with this setup. I've already reapplied the thermal paste that came with the cooler but the temperatures remain the same. My case, a Corsair 3500x, has good airflow, and my GPU stays cool at just 56 degrees under load. Any advice would really help!
2 Answers
Keep in mind that the cooling ratings provided by manufacturers can be misleading. They often only indicate performance under ideal conditions. A dual tower cooler might struggle to manage 220 watts continuously under heavy load. You may want to try undervolting or power limiting your CPU. I suspect it could throttle hard while running benchmarks like Prime95 or Cinebench.
Good point about the RL-ILM! If your motherboard doesn’t have one, consider getting an LGA1851 contact frame. A lot of people underestimate the effectiveness of air cooling for the 265k with the right setup. Ensure the cooler is installed correctly and that airflow is solid, and you should notice a decrease in temps.
Those temps seem to be within the range for dual-tower air coolers, so it might not be a total disaster. Just make sure everything's seated properly and consider the workload.
I can relate! When I tested my 265k at 250 watts, I hit 75-80°C with a Peerless Assassin 120, and that was at half fan speed. If you didn’t use a RL-ILM on your motherboard and the thermal paste application was off, that could explain the high temps.